Aurelia Winter

"What were you doing?" I crossed my arms in front of my chest and stared at him. Nang dahil sa kaniya ay baka babaan ako ni Veles ng tawag.

Nagpakawala ako ng isang malalim na hininga. Naiirita ako!

"I w-was just... What I m-mean is... it was an a-accident!" Keiran was stammering.

Narito kami ngayon sa kwarto niya matapos ko siyang akayin dahil hindi siya makalakad. He was so freaking heavy!

"Natapilok ako tapos... ganoon ang nangyari. I'm s-sorry, okay? It won't happen again. I promise," he said and apologized.

Umirap ako. "Bakit ba english ka nang english?!"

He tilted his head and his brows furrowed like what I said was out of our topic. "What?"

Namaywang ako. Akala niya siguro hindi ko napapansin? Huwag niya akong gawing tanga. Duh! Don't me, Keiran!

Tumitig siya sa akin ng ilang sandali. Malalim ang kaniyang paghinga at parang kamatis ang mukha niya dahil pulang-pula. He tried to break our contact by grabbing his phone from the corner of the side table.

Nakita ko ang pagliwanag ng mata niya nang may mabasa sa kaniyang cellphone.

"May trabaho pa pala ako," he declared.

I was shocked when he suddenly switched his language to Filipino. It was a bit off, actually. I just bit my lower lip and tried not to think about it anymore.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Are you sure na magta-trabaho ka? Nahihirapan ka pang maglakad, oh!" I said with concern while pointing his foot.

"Huwag ka nang magalala sa akin. Kaya ko naman... at h-hinihintay na nila ako roon sa convenient store."

Nabanggit nga pala niya sa akin na natanggap siya bilang isang cashier sa convenient store. Tuwing gabi siya nagta-trabaho roon dahil siya ang pang night shift.

"Sigurado ka? Huwag ka na kaya muna pumasok?" I insisted. Baka mas lalong lumala ang kondisyon ng kaniyang paa kung pipilitin niya.

Bumuntong hininga siya at tumingin sa mata ko. "You are not in the position to tell me what to do in my life."

Nagulat ako sa sinabi niyang iyon. He said it in a monotone voice so I don't have any idea if he's mad or something. Bakit parang bigla-bigla namang nagbago ang mood niya?

I remained silent. Fine! Bahala siya sa buhay niya. Concerned lang naman ako sa kalagayan niya. As a nurse, I just wanted to help him by giving him advice. If he won't take it, then I will let him be. Ganoon ako kadaling kausap.

Parang ako pa tuloy ang nagmukhang masama. I felt so little.

Tumango ako at pinag-krus ang braso sa harap ng aking dibdib. "Okay!"

Nakita ko siyang bihis na paglabas niya ng kaniyang kwarto. Suot niya ang uniform ng pang cashier. Hindi siya nagsalita habang inaayos ang gamit na dadalhin. I just looked at him while he's busy doing things. When he was already finished, he didn't even bother to say goodbye to me. Umalis na siya agad nang hindi man lang tumingin sa akin.

Tsk! Attitude talaga.

Kahit paika-ika sa paglalakad ay tumuloy pa rin siya.

I turned my back and went back to my room as I suddenly remembered that I was talking to Veles over the phone! Nagmadali akong pumasok sa loob at tiningnan ang phone para i-check.

"Uh!" I groaned silently. Due to frustration, I pulled my hair like a crazy woman.

Wala na! Binabaan niya na ako ng tawag!

It's already 11:25 pm and I left the call earlier at 10:18 pm. He must have been bored and thought that I won't take the call again. I wanna blame Keiran for this but judging his situation right now stopped me from getting mad at him.

Umaasa akong tatawagan ako ulit ni Veles pero nagkamali ako. Sobra pa naman akong na-excite pero hindi lang din pala natuloy ang pag-uusap namin. 'Di bale... marami pa naman kaming pagkakataon na dalawa.

Nagdadalawang isip ako kung dapat ko ba siyang i-text ng goodnight pero sa huli, hindi ko na itinuloy. I stayed until 1 am in the morning, still expecting his call, but I just fell asleep while holding my phone.

Nang magising ako ng umaga, saka ko lang siyang binalak padalhan ng mensahe. I immediately hit the send button after thinking of what I'll say. Okay na siguro ito?

Me:

Good morning! I'm sorry about last night.

I typed the message while I was riding a taxi on my way to work. Hinintay ko ang reply niya pero nakarating na ako sa building, wala pa rin akong natatanggap.

I just shrugged my shoulders and thought that he might be doing something else. Ewan ko pero parang inspired akong pumasok sa trabaho ngayon at feeling ko dahil 'yon sa kaniya.

"Magandang umaga po!" bati ko sa guard habang papasok ng office. Tumitig ako sa aking relo at nagmadaling pumunta sa elevator.

Ilang minutes na lang, late na ako! Bakit pa kasi ako nagpuyat? Ayan tuloy.

"Lia! Hmm... you're almost late," Frenna stated. Her lips formed a thin line as I lifted my eyes on her.

"Pasensya na po," pagpapaumanhin ko.

Yumuko ako habang hawak ang bag.

She chuckled. "It's fine! Ano ka ba. At least hindi ka talaga na-late. You are just on time, actually. I hope you did not misinterpret what I said."

I just nodded and marched on the way to my desk. My day was just okay, actually. Nagkaroon kami ng 30 minutes break para kumain at nakasundo ko rin naman agad ang mga ka-trabaho ko.

While we were talking as I'm getting to know them, nabanggit nila ang nangyari kahapon. Nagsimula sila sa pang-aasar sa akin na ikinagulat ko talaga. I was a bit awkward but I was able to handle it.

"Maniniwala ba kayo sa akin kung sasabihin kong siya ang dahilan kung bakit ako pumasok sa trabahong ito?" I asked.

"Care to tell us why?" tanong ni Bea.

Sasabihin ko kaya sa kanila? At first, I was a little hesitant because I don't know them fully. I am really bothered since I, myself, don't even know what happened between the two of us.

"We we're childhood friends..." pagsisimula ko.

"Alam namin! Sinabi niya iyon kahapon kaya!" ani ng isa kong co-worker, sabay ngisi.

I smiled nervously, not knowing what to say afterwards. Kahapon lang kami nagkita ulit at bukod doon wala na akong alam sa nangyari dati kung hindi dahil sa mga panaginip ko. My dreams were the only way for me to remember him and I am always wondering why it happens because it's so weird. Minsan nga ay nae-excite ako sa tuwing matutulog. The only reason to that is I'm looking forward to my dreams about us.

Hindi na ako nagsalita at uminom na lang ng bubble tea. After a few sips, I felt my phone vibrated inside my bag. Ibinaba ko ang inumin para tingnan iyon.

My heart flabbergasted as I saw his name on the screen. I gulped as my co-workers went near me just to see what made me stilled like that. Nakaramdam ako ng mahinang hampas sa likod ko.

"You have his number?!" parang hindi sila makapaniwala.

I nodded as I read his message. Akala ko talaga ay hindi na siya magre-reply. Dulot na rin siguro ng kabusy-han at naiintindihan ko naman iyon.

Veles:

It's fine. How are you?

A smile crept into my lips. A very short message coming from him made me so happy, like tons of dopamine eloped my whole system.

Me:

Okay lang naman, ikaw?

Hanggang ngayon ay nakakaramdam pa rin ako ng kaba. Is it because it's been too long since I met him? Pagtingin ko sa relo ko, napansin kong malapit ng matapos ang break namin. Nang tiningnan ko naman ang mga kasama ko rito sa office, halos lahat sila'y nang-aasar kasabay ng pag-cheer sa akin. Umiling na lang ako.

Veles:

I'm also good. Do you wanna catch up? I'm sure you have a lot of questions.

Nanlaki ang mga mata ko sa nabasa. Niyayaya niya ba ako?!

"Shocks! Nagbibiro ba siya?" bulong ko sa sarili, still awed by his words. I don't know what to say!

Sa sobrang saya ko, hindi ko namalayan na kailangan ko na palang bumalik sa trabaho. I replied to his last message saying that I am agreeing.

Sa wakas! Masasagot na lahat ng mga tanong ko tungkol sa kaniya. I just hope it turns out well. Sobrang tagal naming hindi nagkita at hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala na agaran itong mangyayari.

It feels so unreal but it's finally happening. I may not deny it, but something inside my heart misses him. However, is he still the same Veles I knew back then? Time changes people and I'm sure he is not an exception for that matter. Tatanggapin ko pa rin naman siya kahit ano pang pinagbago niya.

I remember him saying this to me back in the days from my dreams.

"I wanted you to know that I will always be here whatever happens. I may not have the power to fix your problems, but I promise you won't face them alone. Palagi mo sanang tatandaan iyan..."

The image of the young and smart Veles appeared on my mind. After realizing what he meant by that, I was hoping to find an answer to this question. What went wrong?

❄️