Babe, hold me tight
Ooooh tighter, tighter
Let me feel your skin against my skin
Your lips against my lips
Let me take you away to paradise
Paradise, paradise
Darling sweet paradise
Let me take you to p-p-paradise
Low sultry tones filled Maine's ears as she drove through EDSA. The music barely had any lyrics, except for that chorus, and it annoyed her to hear 'ooh' and electro music that repeated. Ang problema pa, tatlong istasyon na ng radyo ang pinapakinggan niya, at palaging pinapatugtog ito.
Songs used to be better than this. Songs used to tell stories. Carefully crafted. With feelings. Right now all the vibes she's getting is the desire to smash the singer's head to a wall. Idagdag pa na nasa gitna siya ng traffic-- well, she wasn't exactly in the best of moods.
She turned off the radio before it makes her ears pop.
Six years had passed since she was last in the Philippines. Marami nang nagbago, but she can still easily pick out the old places. Ang masaklap pa, inabot na siya ng gabi sa traffic. She should've taken her brother's advice and headed straight to Bulacan. Pero ano pang magagawa niya, eh ipit na ipit na siya sa gitna ng kalsada.
"Anak ng," she mumbled to herself. Mukhang aabutin pa siya ng isa pang oras sa traffic na 'to.
Sumandal si Maine sa upuan at huminga ng malalim. Merong bagong mall, tapos bagong eatery, tapos sa bandang kaliwa may mga club na rin. Umakyat ang tingin niya sa mga billboards-- halos hindi niya na kilala yung mga bagong artista. Dumadaan ang tingin niya sa billboard sa kabilang kalsada nang biglang bumusina ang van sa likod niya.
Napabalikwas si Maine at napaayos ng upo.
"Hold your horses, geez," bulong niya, tsaka inapakan ang gas. Pagtingin niya sa side mirror, nakita niyang sinubukan ng van na mag-counterflow, pero wala nang gagalawan at naipit ito sa paglipat sa kabilang lane.
"Hah! Buti nga!"
Maine's attention was stolen once again when she heard the distant sound of fireworks. Ibinaba niya ang bintana ng sasakyan para mas makita ang mga ilaw. She never really liked fireworks, but she knew someone who does.
We were firecrackers that exploded on sight
But our explosion was silent, just light
The lights had faded when the sound happened
A noise that shook the earth, smooth surfaces dented
Maine took a sharp breath in and shook her head fiercely, slamming a hand on the horn so hard she surprised herself too.
"That's enough foolishness, Mendoza. Nakamove on na tayo, di ba? Move on na." 🎵