Pagdating ng Saturday, I realized it was November na. Time flew too swiftly. I was busy with acads and org work that I failed to notice time passing by. Finals were approaching too. So, as much as I could, I refused any gala to study except for when I was really drained and needed some alcohol and relaxation.
"Have you eaten breakfast?" I let River go inside my unit as I lowered the volume of my music. "Yes,"
Napatingin ako sa niluto kong pancakes, I guess I'd just eat that later for meriyenda. Tinignan ko ulit si River at nakitang pinagmamasdan niya ako. Tumikhim ako at pumunta na sa coffee table ko. I took my laptop from there and walked to the dining table. I placed the plate of pancakes on my kitchen island before covering it up with the pantakip that had holes in it.
"Let's do our paper here," he walked and sat before me. Unti-unti niyang nilabas ang mga gamit niya habang pinagmamasdan ko siya.
He was wearing a black shirt, green shorts, and an expensive-looking watch on his wrist. The muscles he had were obvious in his get-up, it looked... hot. I wasn't going to lie and say he looked okay because he wasn't. He was hot. Okay. Hot.
It was damn early in the morning and... gosh!
"By the way, you can connect to my WIFI na lang, River. The name is Delo Santos, and the password is 'pancreas13.'" His eyes looked at me with a baffled face. "Really? That's your WIFI password?"
"I once read body organs make great passwords because they were hard to guess..."
I admit, it sounded weird at first because people usually had dates or names as their passwords. But that was just it! It wasn't supposed to be familiar, it was supposed to be different!
"Good... thinking, I guess," he smiled as if something was amusing. Hey, all I knew was that my password was useful and hard to know.
"So, have you written down three films?" I started asking him about our paper. We were going to write an essay about a historical film that had inaccurate depictions of the past. Then, we would correct the misinformation within those films.
"Yeah, here," he gave me a tiny piece of paper that had a distinct type of writing. So, this was how River wrote... His capital letters were the same size as his small letters... It looked like the ones you see on a wall graffiti here in Manila.
"Oh, I've watched one of these," I told him. "Rewatch it with me then," tumango ako.
"Yeah, let's choose that one—it's worth the watch, and we could probably write a ton of things about it."
We messaged each other about this paper. He was going to write suggestions for our movie while I was going to be the one who did the APA citations, he said he was terrible at it. But he did say he wanted to learn, so he'd come with me when I'd write it.
"Kumain ka na ba ng almusal?" bigla niyang tanong kalagitnaan ng pagse-search ko sa laptop ko. "Hindi pa, akala ko kasi... rito ka kakain. Mamaya na lang ako kakain, I drank tea anyway."
"Kainin na natin," sinara niya ang laptop niya at inusog 'yon sa gilid. I stared at him. "It's fine, River. I'm not hungry pa naman,"
"You're really going to say that after making a face?" my brows met. "What face?"
"The 'it's your fault I didn't eat my pancake' face," he was just joking, but somehow, it made me feel ashamed. Maybe I did look like I wanted him to feel guilty.
"Anghel, I was just kidding. Don't feel bad, besides I really want to eat your food now that I know you cooked it for me. Akala ko kasi it was... you know, common courtesy." Oh, his words felt genuine.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to guilt-trip you." He shook his head sidewards. "No, no, I was just kidding. Let's eat na, promise, this isn't out of guilt."
I closed my laptop and stood up. Nilabas ko ang syrup from the ref and put it on the dining table. "Can I get the utensils?" tanong ni River. Tumango ako.
Tumayo rin si River at kumuha ng mga fork and knife. I took the plate of pancakes and sat before him again. Without any word, he suddenly put a pancake on my empty plate and put another on his.
"T-thanks," medyo gulat kong sabi habang kinukuha ang butter. Nagpahid ako sa pancake into. "Oh, do you want strawberry? Or blueberries? Or banana with this?" tumango siya at tumayo. "No, ako na, wait mo na lang. Put butter na," I pushed the container of butter to him.
I took out the sliced fruits—which were always ready for this type of meal and smoothies—and took some forks.
"Here, choose anything you want," I said as I bit my fork in between my lips. Kumuha ako ng banana at blueberry, saka naglagay sa pancake ko. Then, I glazed it with some syrup.
"You like cooking?" River asked as he cut his food. "Food with instructions on the raw package, yes." He took a bite and nodded.
"You live alone here? No sibling or relative?" tumango ako. "Do you also live in a condo?"
"Yeah, it's just beside yours, actually. We're neighbors." Tumaas ang dalawa kong kilay. "Really? What a koinky-dink!"
He cut his pancake again, the fruits were falling from it and staying on the side of the pancake. "So, how's Manila been so far?"
"Why do you speak like that?" I questioned as I bit my strawberry. "Like what?"
"Like you know I don't live in Manila," he stood up and got water for us. "Well, judging by the way that you live here is enough to think you don't live in Manila."
Oh, I thought he saw that post of me too... Nakalagay roon 'yung city where I lived, e. "Oh, right. Manila's been... crowded and... polluted, but I know that the street sweepers are doing a terrific job at cleaning the place. It's just..."
"The huge companies that create the most pollution don't own up to their acts, I get it." He continued for me.
Wow. Opinionated. We have the same thoughts.
"Yeah... The big people don't own up to their actions, it makes me furious at times. To know that they are deliberately being ignorant sometimes is... making my head hurt. They make so many products every day, and they don't throw their trash correctly. Minsan pa, the health of their workers is affected by that. Pero wala kang pagmamalasakit na makita. Imagine being one of the contributors of a huge part of carbon dioxide in our world and acting so... indifferent, it's almost hopeless with the CEOs acting for their own self-interests most of the time."
Tumango si River at uminom ng tubig. "DevStud ka, right?" tumango ako. "What's your program pala?" ako naman ang nanguwestiyon.
"Applied econ and applied corporate management," my mouth formed an 'o' as I nodded. "What's it all about?"
"Math, business, and managerial work." It was a broad answer, but I understood. He couldn't go into details since it really was a program covering huge and many topics.
"Your program, what's it about?" he returned my question. I swallowed what I was chewing before I answered. "It's a multidisciplinary program. We're focused on the economic, political, and sociological aspects of underdeveloped and developing countries."
"Wow, that's so... complex," we chuckle at how slowly he said the final word and continued eating. "What job do you want to have after college?" aniya.
"I want to work in an international NGO," ngumiti siya. "That sounds nice, and I think it would suit you."
"How can you say that?" he shrugged. "You just seem like someone who'd do a lot for others, I don't know it's... a feeling I got the moment you gave the note. That alone proved your care for a mere stranger who looked sad—what more can you do if it was for others who were looking more hurt and hopeless?"
Napabukas ang bibig ko dahil sa... detailed observation niya tungkol sa akin.
And it made me feel kilig.
I never even knew that about myself. I never saw myself from that... perspective. I always thought I was... just normal. Like, you know, a decent human being. But, I guess, because the world was not always letting you meet good people, someone who was kind was rare. It sounded depressing and... disheartening. However, I chose to use it as a reason to be kind.
For a brief moment, I felt seen and appreciated.
My friends from high school and Alexis appreciated me, yes. But there was just something about River's words and face right now that... screamed extreme gratitude.
Or maybe I was reading into it too much.
Maybe he was just being nice and truthful.
We agreed to watch the film together on my couch before we started on our individual work. Two hours pass by, and we finished watching. It was 1:04 in the afternoon. I cooked lunch for the both of us since we were both hungry already.
"Anything I could help with?" tanong niya habang pinapanood akong maghiwa ng mga rekados. "You said you only knew how to cook when there's instruction," sheepishly, I smiled.
"Secret lang na I know how to cook, in general, kasi I feel like I don't cook that well. So, don't expect a Gordon Ramsay meal when I finish." Narinig ko ang tawa niya. "I'm not really picky, I eat what's handed to me."
"Even if it's not so good?" ngumuso siya at halatang tinatago ang ngiting nagbabadya. "Unless that's seafood, I could eat anything."
"Oh, you allergic?" tumango siya. "When I eat too much of it, I get an allergic reaction. I can eat some from time to time, but I prefer meat."
"Are you subtly asking me to cook you some meat next time?" his mouth opened and I chuckled at his priceless reaction to my implication. "Hey, I didn't say that—you did." Lalo akong natawa sa sinambit niya.
"But who am I to complain about free food?" he put his elbows on the kitchen island where I was slicing.
"Wala kang training today?" casually, I asked. "None, sa Monday na ulit." Tumango ako at naamoy na ang kumukulong sabaw mula sa kaldero.
Hinalo ko muli iyon ng ilang beses.
"What's that?" I almost jumped because of River's sudden question behind me. "Shit," natawa siya. "Sorry, I was curious. Are you okay? Did I offend you? I'll back off,"
Bumalik siya sa unang puwesto niya sa harap ng kitchen island ko habang nakatitig ako sa kanya. "No, I was just... startled. I'm fine, I wasn't offended, River."
I finished up what I was doing and waited for the rice to cook. River was on his phone. I took my phone too and used it while waiting. Then, I received a message from Alexis.
Alexis: LOOK AT RIVER'S NEW TWEET NOW!!!!!
I complied with her... well, request—or should I say order—and opened Twitter.
River Abad @al3xandr3
thank heavens im taking histo now
1:23 PM · Twitter for iPhone
💭 1 🔁 🤍
It was a tweet that was posted just now. I replied to Alexis.
Me: what about his tweet?
I saw the bubble in our conversation and waited for her response. We exchanged a few messages before the rice was fully cooked.
Alexis: DUH who else in the world would be glad to take that subject if there was nothing in it for them ???
Me: people who are fond of history?
Alexis: okay, besides those
Me: people like us who are required to take it?
Alexis: okay, nvmd. BUT HIS tweet included the word 'heavens' what do u think of that??
Me: idk, wdym
Alexis: tamad magtype
Me: hashahs what do u mean ba kasi
Alexis: ur name is anjel, and angels come from??
Me: God?
Alexis: MALI, heaven! u come from heaven!
Me: the spelling is diff, alex
Alexis: AY BASTA I SAY U DO
Kumain na kami ni River nung pinatay ko ang phone ko dahil gutom na talaga ako. We talked about our college life and the things we were interested in. He knew how to play the piano pala, and I told him I used to be a gymnast. He was utterly in awe of that. He even teased me and said I should put my foot on my head as a sample of what I used to do. I knew I could still do that, but actually complying with River's request would be really funny and I didn't want to be a laughingstock.
"What song do you play the most? Like the song you love playing on the piano," I took his empty plate and glass and put them in the sink.
"It's a piece I learned when I was five, it's Gymnopédie No. One." I washed my hands and sat before him again. "What does it sound like?"
He opened his phone and searched for something, probably the piece he was talking about. But I found out I was wrong when he suddenly showed me a video of him playing the piano. The phone was placed at the side while his fingers moved gracefully. A soft and melodic sound was produced as River played the instrument. The video lasted for about two minutes, I didn't realize River was just watching me watch his video.
"That was beautiful, why is it your favorite piece?" I leaned on the table as my elbows got laid on it. "My mother used to play it for me before I went to bed. Kids like hearing bedtime stories, right? Well, I liked hearing my Mama play the piano before sleeping."
For a short moment, I melted.
My heart throbbed. My facial expressions became unreadable. And my mind expanded.
His reason... was so sweet, so loving. Never in my wildest dreams did I think he was a gentle guy given that he had the physique of a mature man. His words become something that made me smile at him.
No one breaks eye contact for a straight minute. Only when I felt shy for peeking at him too much that our eyes glance at something else.
"Uuwi ka na?" tumikhim ako. "Yes, after I wash those." He looked at my sink, it was full.
"No, I'll do that. Sige na, uwi ka na." He didn't listen to me, he stood up and walked to the sink. He began washing while I watched him.
"Thanks," mabilis na sabi ko sa kanya habang sinasabon niya ang isang baso. "Happy to help,"
When he went home, I created a draft of my part before I lay on my bed. The electricity still shocked me even after River left. Our eyes searching each other's was... so inexpressible. It was like our eyes were communicating through codes, through an extraterrestrial language. It was just one minute, Anghel.
Akala ko ba hindi ko naman siya crush?