[Listen to the song above for better reading experience]
_ _ _ _ _
The sun's up and the room's still.
Warm rays shine from the window down to my bed and I try to calm my mind.
Huminga ako ng malalim at tiningnan ang oras.
He'll be here soon.
I should finish up.
Hastily, I put the last of my personal belongings inside my bag.
Kukunin ko na sana ang mask ko when from the corner of my eye, I see the figure of the jar and I stop.
I quickly shut my eyes closed.
Don't think about it, Myrah.
Don't even look at it.
Don't.
Slowly, I open my eyes and focus on the mask that is just an arm's length away.
That's it.
Just reach for the damn mask.
But right as I was about to reach for my mask, my eyes betray me and wander to the small jar placed on the table beside the now empty bed.
Damnit.
My fingers freeze on top of the mask and I couldn't help but stare at the SimSimi gummies inside the jar.
I sigh and hang my head.
Lord, help me.
Feeling all the emotion flow back in me, I sit down on the bed.
I lean my forehead on my hands and prop my elbows on my knees.
Scenes of what happened last night invade my mind as I descend back into the darkness.
. . .
When I held the jar close to my face, I saw no ordinary gummy bears.
They were in the shape of the chick I despised.
SimSimi.
Realization hit me like a truck and my breath hitched.
Kieth.
.
.
.
Hah!
No.
That's impossible.
He couldn't be the chef.
Baka naisip lang ng chef na bigyan ako nito dahil alam niyang endorser ako ng SimSimi products.
Yeah...
I mean, the chef could be a fan of mine for all I know.
Baka it's his way of saying na he's a fan.
Right. Baka yun nga.
Bakit ba siya agad ang naisip mo, Myrah? You don't even know if he cooks or not.
Plus he's too busy to even find time to come.
Why would you even think that?
In denial and confused, a voice echoes inside my head and I recall Nurse Lucy's words.
He said that if you saw that jar, you'd know.
I stare at the jar intently and as I look closer, I notice one chick different from the others.
It was small but it had a small 'k' on its back.
I blink hard.
And I blink again.
Hindi ko alam kung bakit pero unti-unting nanikip ang dibdib ko. My mouth began to quiver and I had to bite it down.
Full of shock, disbelief and confusion, I blink again and again hanging on to the last bit of hope that maybe I was mistaken.
That maybe it was all a trick of the light or something.
Pero kahit anong gawin ko, the stupid chicks face and the letter are still there.
"U-um, Miss Mira? Is something wrong?" I hear Nurse Lucy's worried voice and I turn to look at her.
A glint of concern and worry are evident in her eyes and I immediately give her a weak smile.
Umiling ako, "No, everything's just fine."
I try to widen my smile to reassure her but I heard my voice crack and it was then that I notice the cold streams of tears flowing down my cheeks.
Huh?
My eyes widen and I reach to touch my cheek.
"You're not fine! Are you hurt? Is it your head again?" She asks worriedly as she looks for signs of pain.
I gather all my strength, wipe my cheeks dry and put down the jar.
"No, I'm fine. Don't worry. I'm just a little bit sad that I won't be seeing you anymore. That's all." I lie through my teeth and smile.
"You sure?" She asks, still hesitant.
"Yes, Nurse Lucy, I'm okay. Stop being such a worry wart." I force out a light chuckle.
She eyes me suspiciously but eventually gives in and brushes it off.
"Geez, don't scare me like that." She breathes out, relieved.
"I'm sorry." I bow apologetically.
"All my years as a nurse, you're the only adult that's actually sad about being discharged." She says in disbelief and awe as she shakes her head.
"Well, it might've been boring but it's the longest break I had so far and I made a nice friend too." Ngumiti ako sa kanya and that seemed to have convinced her since nawala na ang duda at kaba sa mga mata niya.
She smiled at what I said and to avoid any more conversations, I look at my food and clap my hands together.
"Thank you for the food."
I had already lost my appetite but I needed to pretend to eat the food like I normally would to not make her worry.
"So, do you know who your chef is now?" She asks expectantly, still clueless.
I drop the clump of rice I picked up.
She didn't notice this and continued talking.
"I personally haven't seen his face clearly but there was a time when something went wrong with your food and a group of men escorted a man inside the kitchen! I even stole a glance and saw him cooking!" She shares with me, her eyes filled with excitement.
It was clear that she wanted to tell me a lot of things but couldn't do so until now.
Ako naman, walang imik.
All I could do was listen.
She looked at me and she smiled, "You really are treated with the utmost care Miss Mira. I hope you know that."
I bite my lip and nod. "Yeah, I guess so."
Still oblivious, she asked again and scooted over like a teenage girl looking for gossip.
"So tell me... do you really know who he is?"
She isn't one to show her excitement but somehow, the identity of my chef intrigues her so much that she asked me the same question twice.
Didn't it occur to you that I may be avoiding the question?
Lucy, the chef's my ex.
The same ex that I'm trying to forget but does stupid things that make me feel conflicted inside!
I hate him.
I don't even want to eat his food.
So would you please, please, mind your own business and stop asking?
Gustong-gusto ko sanang sabihin sa kanya to in the most polite way possible...
Pero seeing her so giddy, I couldn't bare to burst her bubble.
And so, I say, "He's an old friend."
"Oh I see! Wow, an old friend huh... I guess he wanted to surprise you." She comments while thinking.
I lower my head to the food and try my best to take a bite.
"Something like that." Sabi ko sabay subo.
She was about to say something again and I immediately cut her off, "Um...Can I eat now?" I add a small smile to not seem too rude.
"Ah! Right. Of course! Sorry. Stories like these are very rare here so I got quite carried away. It's hard dealing with dead people everyday." She sighs, "But anyway! enjoy your meal! I apologize for the inconvenience Miss."
She bows and moves away from me, flustered.
After that, hindi na nagtanong si Nurse Lucy tungkol sa chef at hinayaan lang niya akong kumain.
As I ate, I couldn't help but think about the fact that he had been the one feeding me for fourteen days straight.
And that, as much as I hated admitting it, I cried because he really did care after all.
The moment I acknowledged that, my mind went haywire.
I seriously can't describe it in any other word.
. . .
That night, I didn't get a second of sleep.
I found myself thinking about Kieth and the effort he put.
Pero ultimately, I decided to brush it off and pretend to not know the truth.
There's still a possibility na hindi pala siya ang nagluto ng mga pagkain despite what Nurse Lucy said.
For all I know, he could be playing me again.
I'm grateful, yes.
But I'm not gullible.
At least not anymore.
"Hey pigs, you ready?"
V knocks on the door and I quickly stand up.
"Ah, yeah! Just finished." I say and without thinking, I grab the jar and shove it inside my bag.
The door slides open and V comes in, wearing his bright smile.
"Congrats on getting discharged, pigs." He envelopes me in a big warm hug and he kisses the top of my head.
"Thanks." I push the thoughts of doubt out my mind and hug him back.
Binitawan niya ako at kinuha niya ang malaking bag na nasa kama.
"C'mon, let's go on a date." He says cheekily and winks.
V holds my hand and leads me away like the prince he is.
At the same time, I ignore the strange feeling that is starting to grow inside me.
With every step, I say to myself:
Myrah, you have V.
You have V.
He'll always be there for you.
And you will never betray him.
_______________
After a lot of trials and errors, I managed to finish it on time!
You guys don't know how much time I've spent brainstorming this particular episode.
Well, at least it's done!
Oh and there may be errors here, so I do apologize for that. I'll edit it later on.
Did you enjoy the song? Should I do this more often? Tell me, I'll make it happen ;)
Next Episode will be out on Friday or Saturday.
Thank you for reading!
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~Ms. Author~