"Nasa kanto ako."
I looked at the text message again and grinned.
Tingnan mo 'tong tangang 'to.
Ang sarap tumawa kaso nasa loob ako ng MRT. Baka mapagkamalan pa 'kong may saltik o baka may ma-offend.
Habang pinipigil ang pagtawa, ni reply-an ko ang chat sa 'kin.
"Lumuwas na 'ko, baliw."
Ilang sandali lang ay tumunog agad ang cellphone ko.
"????"
I smiled as I can actually imagine his face.
"Bakit 'di ka nagsabi?!? D'yaan ka na ba titira? O 'pag graduate mo lang ng college? Kailan balik?!"
I grinned.
"Oo dito lang ako mag co-college. Kila tita ako makikituloy. 'Wag kang iiyak d'yan 'pag na-miss mo 'ko ha."
Ilang segundo lang ay nag-reply agad ito. Halos matawa ako nang makitang like emoji ang ni-reply n'ya at maya-maya pa'y lumabas na ang katagang hinihintay ko.
"You can't reply to this conversation."
Haaaay, buhay.
Here's Casper Harrington again with his mood swing.
I slid my phone back inside the pocket of my jacket and was smiling from ear to ear.
Casper is my neighbor friend. Sa totoo lang, marami kami noon. Mga batang laman ng kalye na uuwing gabi na pero nanunuot pa rin sa balat ang amoy ng araw.
Pero sa paglaki namin, unti-unti kaming naubos.
Hindi kami nagsi-patayan, ha. Tama na pag-Wattpad ninyo.
Nagsimula kaming malagas nang ang ilan ay lumipat na ng tirahan at ang ilan ay nasa Maynila na. Nang mag high school, dalawa nalang kaming natira. At ngayong papasok na kami sa college, heto ako't lumuwas at s'ya nalang ang natira.
Sa katunayan, sinadya kong hindi magsabi. Nakakahiya kasi. Pero wala naman akong duda na maraming magiging kaibigan 'yon sa college. Isa ring may kaltok 'yun sa utak. Not to mention he's tall, moreno, at cute.
'Pag sinabing cute, hindi iyon compliment, ha. It's like 'di gwapo/maganda pero 'di rin pangit. Pwede na, ganun.
I looked around.
Sobrang crowded ng lugar na akala mo kami mga damit ko sa cabinet; siksikan at magulo.
Will I really finish my degree here in Manila or Manila and my degree will finish me?
O baka naman mapapasok ako sa top university at makakabangga ang campus crushes at ma-bu-bully ng campus queen with dalawa n'yang alagad?
Tapos gagawin nilang living hell ang aking life? Tapos dalawang members ng campus crushes ang magkakagusto sa 'kin; isang bad boy na cold at isang good boy na maganda ngumiti.
Tapos ma to-torn ako kung sino ang pipiliin pero ang totoo type ko 'yung bad boy pero nasasayangan ako sa good boy kasi mabait at lagi akong pinagtatanggol.
Then, makikilala ako sa buong campus dahil dalawang tagapagmana ng malaking kumpanya ang nag-aagawan sa 'kin.
Halos humagikgik ako ng tawa sa loob ng train.
Bwisit ka, self!
Wait.
Pero pa'no kung totoo?
Tapos mag co-confess sila sa 'kin nang sabay sa foundation day?
Tapos during 'yun ng performance namin sa stage?
I bit my lower lip as I suppressed myself from laughing.
AAAAAAAAA, AYOKO NAAAAAAAA!
I grinned as I fixed my last school year's I.D. There, I saw my name engraved on it.
'Neska Ellinor Harriett.'
Naks, pang Oscar!
Iba talaga itong tatay ko.
Kada nga may magtatanong anong history ng pangalan ko, nagsisinungaling nalang ako. Eh, paano, nakuha lang naman iyon ng tatay ko sa paborito n'yang pornstar.
The grin on my lips widened.
AAAAA AYOKO NA TALAGAAAA!
The smile on my face faded when there was a flash report on the screen.
"KASO NG ISANG LALAKING NAPAGBINTANGAN PINATAY UMANO ANG SARILING AMA NA NIYANIG ANG BUONG BANSA ILANG TAON NA ANG NAKARARAAN," the news anchor said. "MABUBUKSAN MULI MATAPOS APRUBAHAN NG KORTE ANG ISINUMITE NA MOTION FOR NEW TRIAL DAHIL UMANO SA MGA BAGONG EBIDENSYANG NAKALAP NG ABOGADO NITO."
My eyes widened.
Ayan ba 'yung kaso ng lalaking pinatay daw ang sariling ama?
Nakalimutan ko na 'yung pangalan n'ung lalaki pero ang alam ko, crush na crush ko noon 'yung prosecutor na tumanggap ng kaso.
Grabe. 18 na 'ko ngayon, mahigit 10 years old palang ako nang mangyari iyon. Ang aga ko lumandi.
"BILANG TUGON NG PROSEKYUSYON, ANG KASO AY SISINTENSYAHAN NG MGA HURADO O TINATAWAG NA JURY NA BINUBUO NG IBA'T IBANG ABOGADO MULA SA KORTE SUPREMA MISMO. ILANG KABABAYAN NATIN ANG NAALARMA AT ANG ILAN PA NGA'Y ISINISIGAW NA BIGYAN DAW ANG AKUSADO NG SINTENSYANG BITAY."
Napangiwi ako. For sure, magiging national topic nanaman ito. Naaalala ko noon kung gaano kagulo ang bansa dahil doon.
Daily topic kaya 'yun dati ng mga chismosa sa 'min at ginawang political and law experts ang mga lasinggero sa kanto.
I sighed.
"Ano ba naman 'to, kailan ba 'to aandar," rinig kong angal ng katabi ko.
At doon ko lang napansin na ilang minuto na palang hindi umaandar ang tren.
"Naku naman, bakit dito pa sa Shaw station huminto? Ito 'yung may pinakamalayong agwat sa next station. Putragis naman..." bulong ng isa.
Okay.
Siguro nga, ito na ang proof na nasa Maynila ka na talaga.
Perwisyo.
Naaalala ko tuloy 'yung isang public figure na ang sabi wala raw transportation crisis sa bansa. Pero nang i-try n'ya mag-,commute, nag-tricycle at angkas na s'ya't lahat at 4 hours pa time allowance for travel, na-late pa rin s'ya in the end.
Awit.
I bit my lower lip again.
Kaya minsan 'di ko rin kailangan ng kaibigan, eh. Utak ko palang ang dami ng kwento.
"TULONG! TULONG!"
Natigil ang pagkahibang ko sa sarili nang tingnan ko ang sumisigaw.
I felt my heart took a leap.
Hindi pa pala sapat na stranded kami sa kalagitnaan ng byahe. To add more fuel, a guy was currently having seizures while lying on the floor that made everyone panic more.
We didn't know what to do. I wanted to help but the only thing I can do was CPR and I didn't know whether or not it was needed.
"WALA BANG MEDIC?!?"
"JUSKO PO, ANO BA NAMAN ITO?!"
"ANONG GAGAWIN NATIN?!"
Everyone was as tensed as I was. Should we just wait for the MRT's medic to come but the man having seizures may be in danger or should we take actions?
BUT WHAT SHOULD WE DO IN THE FIRST PLACE?!
I even felt my hands trembling. Ni-hindi ko na na-kain 'yung pandesal na dala-dala ko.
"Excuse me! Excuse me!"
While I was torn to whether act or not, a man squeezed himself through the overly crowded train. And finally, he reached the man having seizures.
"MOVE! GIVE US SPACE!" he commanded but none moved, as if everyone just got frozen in their places.
"I'M A TRAINED MEMBER OF RED CROSS YOUTH. NOW, MOVE!"
Just like that, everyone moved.
Kung titingnan, halos magkasing edad lang kami. Not to mention may katangkaran s'ya.
While everyone was taking videos and gossiping, I can't take my eyes off him in a sudden.
He was wearing a white polo tucked inside his black pants. He was wearing a thin round eye glasses at ang mata'y halos natatakpan na rin ng itim n'yang buhok na bumagay sa kanya because dahil may kaputian siyang lalaki.
He rolled up his sleeves and knelt down near the person having seizures.
"GIVE US SPACE, PLEASE! HE NEEDS AIR!" he said. "CLEAR THE SURROUNDINGS! MAKE SURE THERE'LL BE NO OBJECTS. KEEP YOUR THINGS AWAY!"
And without uttering any word, he took off his polo.
Pota.
Wait.
I almost covered my eyes but I was looking at him still.
I heard gasps as well.
I mean...
Who wouldn't?!
Sis???
Wait lang???
He had this not-so-hunk but not-that-petite white body.
I looked at his body.
DAMN.
Holy spirit, I'm so sorry.
He then placed his polo around the guy's head, took off the guy's I.D lace from the guy's neck and unbuttoned some of the buttons of the guy's polo.
"Sir, sir, can you hear me?" he asked. "Sir, can you see my hand?" he added as he waved his hand. But the guy wasn't responding.
"He's unresponsive," he murmured to himself but I heard it.
Baka naman 'di lang nakaka-intindi ng English? Tagalugin mo kasi.
He looked at the woman near him.
"PLEASE RECORD HOW LONG IT HAS BEEN HAPPENING."
Few seconds later, the guy finally stopped from having seizure.
Ini-angat n'ya ang baba ng lalaki paitaas, at inilapat ang tenga n'ya sa ibabaw ng bibig nito.
He was probably trying to feel if the guy's still breathing.
When he made sure the guy's still breathing, he put the guy's left hand sideways the same level as the guy's shoulder. He then put the guy's right hand crossed to the left side of the guy's neck. Lastly, he placed the guy's knees tilted upward and put him sideways.
Hold on...
That's the recovery position!
This man's probably in the field of medicine or he's just genius!
Tumayo ang lalaki at tiningnan ang babaeng inutusan nitong mag-record ng oras.
"How long has it been since he had seizures?"
"About 3 minutes," the woman replied, tensed.
"Thanks," he said and looked at everyone. "He's in recovery position now. His breathing is normal. Just maintain the space and keep any object away from him since he might have seizures again."
"Oh, thank God!" some murmured.
But then, hindi ko talaga mai-alis ang tingin ko sa kanya as if my eyes were glued at him.
How can he look that cool?
How can he look all handsome while doing those things?
"HELP! HINDI MAKAHINGA SI MAMA!!!"
Before the panic even eased, a boy, about 12 years of age, started to panic when his mom couldn't breathe.
"LOOK AFTER HIM," he ordered to the witnesses, pertaining to the guy who had seizure before going to the woman.
"Naririnig po ba ninyo ako?" he asked but the woman was just breathing heavily and she was holding her chest, as if she was chasing her breath.
"H-Hindi ako m-maka...makahinga..." she said, panicking.
"Kumalma lang po muna tayo, okay? No need to panic, I'm here. I will help you."
"O-Okay," the woman said with tears in her eyes but having difficulty in breathing still.
"Inhale...exhale....do it calmly, okay? You have me, I will help you out but you have to help me as well. Now inhale...exhale...do it one more time..."
And the woman did.
"Madalas po ba itong mangyari sa inyo?" he asked.
The woman just nodded.
"Umiinom po ba kayo ng gamot para rito?"
"Y-Yes," the woman said and her voice cracked.
"Do you have it with you now?"
"No," the woman said and tears escaped her eyes.
"Okay, it happens, even I, I tend to forget my meds. Now, count 1 to 10 slowly, come on."
And the woman did.
"Good job, you're doing great," he said, his eyes were encouraging. "You can get through this. I promise."
But the woman started to panic again.
"Stay in the present, hmm? Nothing bad will happen. It's not the place that is bothering you, it's the thought. You have me, ma'am. I will help you."
"N-Nahihirapan nanaman ako uli..." the woman said, crying now.
"Try to remain calm first, okay? I will help you, I promise. I will."
He then looked around and in a flash, our eyes met.
I got frozen in a while. I never thought he could be this handsome.
Kahit na pawis na pawis na s'ya ay nagdulot lamang iyon para mas maging attractive s'ya sa mata ng tao.
Nawa'y lahat.
"You," he said. "Give that to me."
Lumingon ako upang tingnan kung sino ang kinakausap n'ya.
"Don't look back, I'm talking to you."
Tiningnan ko s'ya.
I then pointed myself. "M-Me?"
"Yes," he said. "Give me what you're holding."
WAIT.
HE'S ACTUALLY TALKING TO ME!
I looked at the pandesal in my hand.
Para saan naman n'ya 'to gagamitin?
Offering a food to someone who can't properly breathe ain't a good thing, though.
Is he trying to choke her or something?
Is he trying to kill her?
As confused as I, I handed the pandesal to him.
He looked at me with disbelief.
"B-Bakit?" I asked, confused and shy.
Pero bago pa man s'ya makapagsalita, bigla ko nalang na-realize na may hawak pala akong paperbag sa isang kamay.
"O-Oh," I said, embarrassed.
Dali-dali ko iyong ibinigay sa kanya.
Without uttering any word, he cleaned it and handed it to the woman.
"Breathe in here," he said to the woman but the woman was just looking at him, breathing heavily still.
Oh, so 'yun pala. Akala i-cho-choke n'ya si ate ghorl.
"It'll help the flow of the carbon dioxide in your blood. Come on," he calmly said and the woman did. He guided her in her breathing while trying his best to calm her.
Finally, the train moved and when it stopped in Santolan, medics came in the moment the door opened.
"She needs assistance," the man immediately said to the medic team while wearing back his polo. "She's having panic attacks."
"Ano pong nangyari rito?" one of the team asked him when they were rescuing the guy on the ground who had seizures.
"He has rigid body and arched back, I can hear his difficulty in breathing," he said, pertaining to the guy. "His movements were convulsive and he had saliva coming out from his mouth. I assumed it's an epileptic seizure. I'll come with you if you want to tell you what I did."
Just like that, they went out of the train.
While everyone was murmuring on how good he was and how attractive he was, I just had my eyes fixated at him still. I was impressed and actually developed a small crush on him.
How can he be that good?
How was he able to diagnose them properly by just mere observation?
They started to walk out of the train while he was still talking to one of the medics.
Is it the last time that I will see him?
Should I go out and come with him?
Or ask his name, at least?
There was a mixture of unknown emotions that were crawling onto me. The mixture of emotions were pushing me to go outside and talk to him.
Pero ano naman idadahilan ko?
Hingin ko pabalik 'yung paper bag ko?
That's stupid.
Yet, before I can even do anything, he, as magical as it seemed, looked back and our eyes met that made me petrified.
That moment, no one between us avoided each other's eyes.
It felt like everything was in slow motion and I can hear nothing but my heart beating and the song playing inside the train.
I felt my heart fluttering. Geez. "If" By Bread played.
The train's door closed and started moving but no one between us was taking our eyes off from each other still, as if he was the north pole of a magnet and I was the south pole and we were inevitably attracted.
I felt a sudden burst of emotions overlapping inside me.
Why does he have this kind of impact on me?
As the train's pace started to become fast, slowly, we were disappearing in each other's sight.
Will this really be the last?
I put my hand on my chest as the mixed emotions filled me in and now giving me chest pain.
I hope not.
I really hope not.
In a sudden, we completely disappeared from each other's sight.
I sighed.
Knowing his name at least will be a good thing, though.
"I.D ata ito n'ung lalaki? Naiwan ata."
My eyes widened.
Wait lang, Lord. Ang bilis po ata?
I looked at the woman holding the I.D.
From there, I saw his face.
His usual 'masungit' yet attractive face.
And right below it was his name.
"CLIFORD ANDRIUS BLAKE."