---

"Putang ina mong bata ka!" ang sigaw ni Mom nang sabunutan niya ako't hilahin palabas ng kwarto. "Pinapaaral ka namin sa magandang school tapos makakakuha ka ng 79% na ratings sa exam?"

Iwinasiwas ni Mom ang mga exam papers ko sa mukha ko at itinapon sa harap ko.

"M-Mom, talagang mababa lang magbigay ng rating ang—"

"Anong mababa?!" she shouted. "Wala akong paki! Mag-aaral ka na nga lang, e!"

"Mom, hindi po madali!"

Isang malakas na sampal ang inabot ko. Napakahapdi ng pisngi ko nang maramdaman ko ang palad ng ina ko.

"Ayusin mo buhay mo, Stephanie," ang sabi ni Mom at saka umalis. "Hindi ko gusto 'yang ginagawa mo."

Nang hindi ko na nakita si Mom, tumulo lahat ng luha kong pinipigilan kong lumabas. Ang sakit lang na hindi nila nakikita ang mga oras na sinusubukan mong labanan ang failure. I would try every time, and they would judge every time they see the fruits but never the roots. She would never be there for me when I would review or do my schoolworks, and she would never show support. But when it comes to my final grades, she would always come and scold me for having something low.

But then an idea rung my head like an alarm. All at once, I knew what I should be doing.

I ran to my shelves then to my desk where I pulled my case of charcoal pencils, and I was ready to jump with all my frustrations into the paper of art. I sat and stared at the charcoal paper, still not aware of what I was about to do. Within minutes, I had already made a raw picture of the men in black that followed me the afternoon I first went to Town in a Building. And as more minutes passed by, I stumbled upon more details to add that frightened me at the end of my craft-making.

"What the heck did I do?"

I stood up and took a step back, digesting the frightening picture I just drew in black and white.

"Damn," I mumbled as my hands quickly made their way to hide the picture of the men in black before I hid my materials.

Nang matapos ko nang ligpitin ang pinag-drawing-an ko, alam ko na kung saan dapat ako pumunta. And this time, I knew it was scarier.

---

Malapit na ako sa Town in a Building. Kaunti na lang at mawawala na sa pananaw ko noon ang mga taong nakaitim na nakatitig sa akin. Hindi sila tumatakbo. Hindi pa.

"Please po, 'wag!" ang sigaw ko nang makita kong tumatakbo na sila palapit sa akin.

Doon na ako nagdesisyong tumakbo papunta sa lugar na alam kong magliligtas sa akin. Hindi na ako lumingon pa habang tumatakbo ako dahil mas lalo lamang akong kinakabahan. Naramdaman ko na ang lakas ng tibok ng puso ko nang ilang metro na lang ang layo ko sa Town in a Building. Mas kinabahan pa ako nang mapagtanto kong wala pa akong suot na mask. So I rummaged my sling bag to search for my mask as I was running, looking back on the people in black.

Pagkalingon ko ay bigla kong napansin na wala na sila. Damn, that was close. Thank goodness.

Hinawakan ko ang mask ko nang maigi dahil nanginginig pa rin ako. Malakas pa rin ang tibok ng puso ko dahil sa mga taong humahabol sa akin, pero bigla naman silang nawala. Kaya salamat na lang talaga at nagkagano'n, I thought as I leaned against the cold wall of Town in a Building.

Tumayo na ako nang maayos nang makahinga na ako nang mas maluwag. Hindi pa rin ako dapat magpakakampante. They can be here, still.

Then, I entered Town in a Building, my feet against the three-step staircase to get to the glass doors. The bluish walls of the lobby greeted me the way they did when I was being chased by those people for the first time. This time, however, it felt nostalgic and already familiar. Soon enough, I entered the door aligned to the walls of the lobby and wrote the mask code on the same black screen.

Doon ko na-realize na I was missing Chris. Hindi naman sa hindi kami nagkita nang matagal. In fact, halos araw-araw ay siya ang kasama ko, at kabisadong-kabisado ko na ang hugis ng mukha niya, ang details ng mask niya, kung gaano kakapal ang buhok niya, at ang kulay ng mga mata niya. I was just missing him in a sense that I needed him at that moment. Yes, I needed him especially because Mom and I had a fight, and ang unang pumasok sa utak ko when I thought of someone to talk to was Chris.

He wasn't just a partner in Town in a Building. To me, he was a friend. A good friend that would love to help me in times of happiness and sadness. Lalo na no'ng namatay ang Lolo niya a few days ago. Yes, sadly and unfortunately, he already passed away. We are each other's rock, I realized as I headed to the area where elevators were. But maybe, I wasn't his. After all, this is all about lies.

"Hello, my lady."

Napalingon ako nang marinig ko 'yon. And I was surprised. My heart was beating fast and all, so—maybe—I didn't know how to act and hugged him tightly.

"Why?" he whispered, his warm breath against my ear. "Something happened?"

"I just missed you," I said, and all on a sudden, I could feel warm tears streaming down my face. Lahat ng nangyari sa bahay at sa labas ng Town in a Building ay naalala ko na parang nangyayari sila sa kasalukuyan. And I just missed him so much, and I needed him so bad. Because he was the one who could make me the happiest.

"Araw-araw naman tayo magkasama, ah," he chuckled, stroking my back and playing with my hair. "Oh, fuck, are you crying?"

"H-ha?"

I pulled away and wiped my tears away as quickly as I could, looking away before Chris could pull my eyes towards his presence.

"What happened?" he said, holding my hands and then squeezing them. "Tell me, please."

"Wala lang," I said. "I just missed you." And I smiled.

"Okay, sabi mo, e," he said, smiling and pulling me in a hug, right there, as we looked like idiots in need of affection in front of the elevators.

"Halika na nga," ang sabi ni Chris at saka niya ako ni-lead papasok sa elevator.

"Saan tayo pupunta?"

"Edi sa balcony," he smiled. "I know what'll brighten you up, and it's a sky where your name is."

I rolled my eyes and mumbled, "E, ikaw lang naman kailangan ko."

"You need me, huh?" he chuckled.

"H-ha? Ano namang nakakatawa roon?"

"Nothing," he said, pressing the button for the third floor.

"Ano nga kasi?" I said, frowning and staring out into the city the glass walls of the elevator offered us.

"Wala, 'di mo gets 'yon, and it's bad," he said, chuckling, still.

"Ano nga kasi 'yon?"

"Wala nga."

I glared at him and rolled my eyes, but it turned out, I felt guilty for rolling my eyes. He didn't deserve my pagsusungit. Never. After him saving me from all these shits in the world.

"Don't roll your eyes," he said, laughing this time. "Patirikin—" And I didn't hear the rest because he only mumbled those.

"Ano?!"

"Wala nga," he said, face-palming. "Sorry, my lady. My mind is so green. I am so sorry."

"Baliw ka!" I exclaimed, hitting him in the shoulder, but I went too far, and napalakas ata ako ng suntok.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry," I said as I hugged him. "Sorry. Masakit ba?"

"D-don't come close," he said, pushing me lightly. "And don't look down."

"Bakit naman?"

"Basta, don't," he said firmly yet shyly before I could look down.

"Okay," I said. "Sabi mo, e."

"Good," he said. "Phew. Sorry talaga."

"It's okay," I laughed as I realized what he was talking about. I knew what he meant. And I just couldn't help but laugh at it.

Soon, Chris held my hand as the elevators opened and led our way to the same balcony we always spend our time together on. But then, a thought hit me like bullet on my chest. As much as we were happy, I couldn't help but think about things like. . . .

"Chris, choose: present or past?" I asked, facing him.

"Present."

"But what if I become your past?" What if dumating 'yong oras na isa na lang ako sa mga exes niya at may bago na siya? Hindi ko kakayanin.

"What do you mean?"

"Never mind."

"Hey," he said, lifting my chin up, "I won't leave you."

"Y-yeah, thanks," I said. "Ako rin."

"Promise?"

"Yeah," I smiled and initiated a hug.

"Oops, oops, please, not now," he giggled shyly as I laughed.

"Okay, okay."

"Saka 'wag kang masyadong nag-iisip about past and present," he said, smiling. "What's important is we're going strong."

"That's true," I smiled.

"Happy 1st month to us!" we said in unison, leaving us both surprised.

"I have something for you," Chris said, opening his Scrapbook of Moments to get an envelope.

It was scented and pretty, so with so much excitement, I opened it.

"Oh, 'wag mong basahin sa harap ko!" Chris said, laughing, so I did exactly what he didn't want me to do.

"Okay, I will read it here," I said, teasing him.

-

Greetings, my lady! I hope you're doing well when you read this, either you're in your bedroom, in Town in a Building, at school, or anywhere. Happy 1st month to our love story!

First of all, thank you for being with me always. Thank you for being so understanding and for never leaving me. Thank you for knowing my heart more than anyone else does. It's such a pleasure.

Sorry, too, for being hard-headed sometimes, for being late the time that boy took my lady and wanted to drink with her.

I promise to keep you forever and always. I will become a better version of me for you (and for me, too).

Please never leave me, my lady. Happy 1st month to us again!

I love you. Mahal kita. Se agapo. Je t'aime. Te quiero. Ich liebe dich. Ti amo. Aishiteru. Saranghae.

-

"See? Ang corny ko!" ang sabi ni Chris.

"Anong corny roon?" I asked, keeping the scented paper inside the envelope. Then, I mumbled, "Nakakakilig kaya."

"Nakakakilig?" he asked. "Yes!"

"Duh," I rolled my eyes.

"Hey!" he said. "Don't roll your eyes!"

"Okay, okay po," I said, laughing because I understood what he previously meant. Baliw talaga 'to.

"Pero sorry kung wala akong naibigay sa'yo today. Today's a tough one," I said, looking for something in my Scrapbook of Moments. "Ay, mayroon pala."

I said as I pulled out a charcoal paper from between the pages of it.

"This is titled, 'Skies'," I said, handing him the drawing. "It's yours."

"My lady, this art was so lonely," Chris said, moving closer to me.

"It only seemed lonely because it's black-and-white, but when you know the line attached to that, you'll know it's not," I said. "It goes like, 'She barely trusts anybody, but when the skies are pink, she trusted you.' "

"You barely trust anybody?"

"Yeah. I don't even trust Mom."

---

Guess what. I didn't go to school on this day. Guess what. It was Monday. Guess what. I skipped school because maraming gagawin. And guess what. Maybe, I didn't deserve to overthink about school anymore. Hindi naman ako na-o-honor, e.

And guess what. I was with Chris because he had no classes on that day, and kinikilig naman ako because he decided to spend his time with me.

And now, as the sun sets, we hold hands and decide to talk about somewhere to spend our time in.

"I wanna take you somewhere," he said, smiling. "Kung saan tayong dalawa lang. So we can dance together."

"Saan?" I asked, smiling because I was getting excited as well.

"Do you trust me?"

"Yes."

"Let's just keep this a secret, okay?"

"Okay."

Exiting Town in a Building through another door apart from the one where we usually enter, we snuck out. We made our way to the back of Town in a Building, and all I could see was a seemingly empty lot blocked by tall and wide fences that never lets you see what's inside.

"Shh," Chris said, smiling.

"Ano ba kasi 'tong lugar na 'to?"

"Secret," he said as he opened a wooden door and led us inside a garden full of naturally grown flowers. The place had a single tree, and the whole place was covered in bermuda grass.

"Woah," I uttered, holding onto his hand.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" he said, smiling at me then closing the door behind me as we walked on the stone stairs.

"It's so beautiful," I said.

"Let's leave our shoes in here," Chris said, removing his shoes and placing them on one of the steps of the cobblestone stairs.

So I followed him and removed my ankle boots, leaving them beside Chris's. And suddenly, I was excited by the fact that we were going to be barefoot.

"My lady," he called, making me look at him from the distance, "can I have this dance?"

"S-sure," I said, smiling.

And so, I ran to him, feeling the grass through my toes. Chris took my waist after placing both my hands on his shoulders, and for the first time, I was danced with without hesitation, unlike during dance activities in school. For minutes, we danced there, in the unknown garden, alone.

Then, he said to me as our feet touched the grass, "You're so perfect."

---

➡️ Please listen to the attached song above, "You Will Always Be The One" by Loving Caliber. I just wanted you to hear it because the line "heading out to see you and leave the rest behind" really screams chapter sixteen of Sincere Lies—this chapter. LOL, bye. Thanks for reading!