__________________
The trouble with real life is, there's no reset button.
- Donald E. Westlake
__________________
Napangiti si Kria when she got a notification from her ipad. Hellene was calling to check on her. Agad naman niyang sinagot ang tawag ng pinsan.
" 'sup Hel?" she chirped as she ate a spoonful of Nutella
"Lemme guess, kagigising mo palang?" taas kilay na tanong ni Hellene sa kanya, to which she just shrugged and grinned.
"No worries masusundo padin kita sa airport bukas. Congrats pala Dr. Anjelicka Hellene Altima" she winked. Hellene just rolled her eyes.
"Nothing to congratulate about! I still have my clerkship and internship after." Hellene grumbled
"Oh c'mon let me celebrate your freedom from endless schoolworks! At least next year sa ospital ka na?" Kria smiled. Hellene just shrugged
"I guess so. I'm just so bummed out so you better tour me in Japan!" giit ng pinsan sa kanya
"Hey! I promised didn't I?" she smiled. It has been four years. Since she and her cousin left the Philippines. May isang taon pa dapat sila sa college that time, ngunit alam ni Hellene na kailangang lumayo ni Kria sa lugar na iyon.
They both moved in the US, in New Hampshire at doon tinapos ni Hellene ang pre-med niya, luckily her cousin was smart enough and her brother was influential enough to get her into a student-exchange program in the last minute. Kaya naman ay katatapos palang nito sa pangatlong taon nito sa medisina. Hellene still fulfilled her promise to her parents to be a doctor and she unlike before that she envied her cousin, now nothing can ever make her feel negatively against Hellene anymore, nothing but awe for this woman who became everything to everyone.
Kria knew just how much her cousin sacrificed for her. She tried to convince Hellene that she was gonna be okay and that Hellene should just go back to finish her pre-med ngunit tumanggi ito. Hellene stayed by her side. Kria was extremely grateful. Sa mga panahong mag-isa lang siya, ay tanging si Hellene lamang ang nasandalan niya.
But unlike Helllene...
She didn't fit quite well in New Hampshire. She didn't continue her college course. And after a year of wallowing in misery, she told Hellene that she wanted to travel and find herself. To which Hellene agreed, for her own healing.
Kria travelled alone. But she made sure Hellene would know where she was and how she was doing. She owed her that much. Until she fell inlove with the beauty and culture of Japan. And she decided to stay.
"Alright then, see you tomorrow! Nice hair by the way" Hellene smiled and Kria just matched her grin.
She grew out her hair and bleached it. She was now sporting a platinum blonde hairdo in contrast with her pale white skin
"Thanks" she replied as she munched on her dinner. Kung dinner nga bang matatawag ang nutella.
"You legit look like a K-pop star" Hellene winked as Kria rolled her eyes at her cousin
"Puhlease, I'd rather be a J-Rock star" she said as Hellene just smiled.
"Imma board the plane now. See you tomorrow" saad ni Hellene as Kria smiled at tumango.
Bumuntong-hininga si Kria as she fixed herself. Seeing Hellene made her remember of a certain person from the past.
Ang nakaraang bangungot sa kanya. Kria violently shook her head. She vowed to herself na hindi na muling bibisitahin ang nakaraan. Na ibaon na ito sa limot, Kria of the past was dedad, and she made sure that she came out stronger.
Kria cracked her back, mukhang kailangan nanaman niyang bisitahin ang gym, pag ganito lang ay siguradong wala siyang matatapos ngayon gabi. Kria became a painter, she sold her art online under an anonymous name and so far it has been rewarding.
But that night, her backpain was too much to ignore. Kaya naman ipinusod niya ang kanyang buhok in a messy bun and donned on her gym clothes layered by a huge jacket which reached to half of her thighs.
Bahagyang sumulyap din siya sa ilang lata ng spray-paints niya at saka inilagay ang mga iyon sa duffel bag niya, maybe she'd feel better if she painted some graffiti on some alley walls. She was about to head out when she caught a glimpse of her guitar.
Her heart sunk upon seeing it as she head out and walked in the cold streets of Tokyo. She was in deep-thought when she remembered her guitar, ever since she left the Philippines ay hindi na siya umawit muli. Singing brought back the pain...
Brought back memories.
Brought back...Corvette.
Kria sighed "Siya nanaman Kria?" sita niya sa sarili, but she promised herself that she'd be kinder to herself, even though the memory of him burns and haunted her, she gave herself a break because she knew she needed to heal from the trauma of the past.
"Kaya mo yan Kria" kausap niya sa sarili as she clutched her jacket tighter when the cold breeze passed by her.
Inilapag ni Kria ang kanyang bag as she shook a white spray can, she intended to cover the wall of ugly graffiti with some art but before she could spray her paint
A strum of a guitar...
Along with a soulful voice na nakapukaw ng interes ni Kria
You and I
We're like fireworks and symphonies exploding in the sky
With you, I'm alive
Like all the missing pieces of my heart
They finally collide
So stop time right here in the moonlight
'Cause I don't ever wanna close my eyes
The man kept singing as Kria lowered her spray paint. The voice was coming from the other side of the wall. He was singing an english song without a hint of Japanese accent. And there was something in his voice, his voice was so pleasing to the ears but at the same time sadness was echoed in his voice.
Lumapit si Kria sa pader at sumandal saka niya pinakinggan ang umaawit and closed her eyes to savour the beautiful voice in the night
Without you, I feel broke
Like I'm half of a whole
Without you, I've got no hand to hold
Without you, I feel torn
Like a sail in a storm
Without you, I'm just a sad song
I'm just a sad song
Patuloy na kanta ng lalaki sa kabilang pader, he was singing a great song, and before Kria knew it, ibinuka na niya ang sariling mga labi para kantahin ang mga sumunod na linya
With you I fall
It's like I'm leaving all my past in silhouettes upon the wall
With you I'm a beautiful mess
It's like we're standing hand in hand
With all our fears upon the edge
Saglit na natiligan ang gitara ng lalaki nang marinig ang awitin niya, malamang ay nagulat itong may nakikinig pala sa kanya at ngayon ay sumabay pa. Kria lowkey expected the guy to walk away but instead, he kept strumming his guitar at humabol sa kanyang awitin so she continued.
So stop time right here in the moonlight
'Cause I don't ever wanna close my eyes
She thought he would stop the song and try to talk to her, but instead he continued singing too, na para bang sinabayan nalang siya sa isang impromptu duet
Without you, I feel broke
Like I'm half of a wholeWithout you, I've got no hand to holdWithout you, I feel tornLike a sail in a stormWithout you, I'm just a sad song
He sang, and for a very long time Kria just found herself smiling and found her voice to sing again. The next part will be a duet and she wondered how their voices will blend but heck she wanted to hear their voice
You're the perfect melody
The only harmony
I wanna hear
You're my favorite part of me
With you standing next to me
I've got nothing to fear
Not to blow her own horn but their voices blended together perfectly, and it was like her dark clouds were lifted from her.
Without you, I feel broke
Like I'm half of a whole
Without you, I've got no hand to hold
Without you, I feel torn
Like a sail in a storm
Without you, I'm just a sad song
Without you, I feel broke
Like I'm half of a whole
Without you, I've got no hand to hold
Without you, I feel torn
Like a sail in a storm
Without you, I'm just a sad song
I'm just a sad song
They finally stopped singing at naiwan ang ngiti sa labi ni Kria. She took her bag and was about to walk away when..
"Hey" the guy behind the wall called out, at bahagyang nanlaki ang mga mata ni Kria.
"Nice voice" he continued, Kria's heart was beating loudly as she felt blood flush her cheeks. Kaya naman bago pa siya makagawa ng kung ano'ng kagagahan ay nagtatatakbo na siya pabalik sa bahay niya.
***
Reino held his guitar saka siya sumampa sa pader upang makilala ang nagmamay-ari ng tinig na bumulabog sa kanyang pag-iisa, well not in a bad way because heck the woman can sing!
But before he could jump over, ay tanging ang tumatakbong pigura ng babae ang nakita nalang nito.
"Them weird Japs." he sighed saka nagkamot ng ulo.
"Makikiduet tapos lalayasan ako" he mumbled before walking the opposite direction, ngunit tinapunan pa niya ng lingon ang papalayong pigura ng misteryosang babaeng may-ari ng tinig.
***
Humihingal si Kria nang makarating sa kanyang unit. Her cheeks were still flushed at nakakabingi padin ang tibok ng kanyang puso.
"What the heck..." she muttered
She wasn't sure what the hell was that about, maybe it was because she was re-discovering her passion in music after such a long time. Tanging ang pag-awit lamang ang tunay na nakakapagpakalma sa kanya, it was only through music that she found herself. Yet, she avoided singing for the past four years to bury a memory.
"Because it was my songs that brought me to him" she mused
But now that she experienced the joy of singing again, it was like life itself came back to her. She knew it was kinda dramatic but...
Kria reached to her guitar.
"I'm sorry to have abandoned you for so long..." hinging tawad niya sa kanyang gitara at inalis ito mula sa case and strummed it softly.
She took out her phone and recorded herself singing. A song that will be sent to Hellene. Dahil alam niyang bagama't naka-antabay lang sa paghilom ng mga sugat niya si Hellene, they both abandoned the first thing which connected them since they were kids.
Music.
Hellene abandoned music for her parents' approval, and she abandoned music because of Corvette's memories.
But now...? thanks to that man's voice, she was willing to face the music again to make her whole again.
"Thank you, stranger" she whispered as she ended her song.
***
"Yo dude! Where did you go?" tanong ng kabanda ni Reino na si Reita.
"Out. To chill a bit" Reino briefly answered
"C'mon dude you're not still moping are you?" Loz said as Reino just brushed them off and went to his room sa trailer truck nila.
Ibinagsak ni Reino ang pagod na katawan sa malambot na kama at kinapa niya ang singsing na nakalagay sa kanyang kwintas.
He sighed "I miss you Rain...I'm sorry" he whispered at tinapkan ng braso ang mga mata saka pumikit.
However, a voice echoed in his mind. The voice of the woman who he just had a duet with behind the wall up in the alley.
A lop-sided smirk appeared on his lips as he remembered her running figure away
"Heh. Weirdo"
__to be continued.