A few minutes passed before he came back. He took a sip of his drink before sitting on the high stool again. May uupo sana sa pwesto niya kanina kaso sinabi kong babalik siya.
"Aren't you going to dance like you usually do?" he asked.
I shook my head, still watching the crowd. "Later pa,"
Hindi ko alam pero wala talaga ako sa mood kahit gusto ko naman. Maybe this was part of my usual pre-menstrual mood. Even yesterday, I felt the same way. My mind wants to do something, but my body just doesn’t cooperate.
"Are you…okay?" he asked, sounding genuinely worried.
I gave him a small, reassuring smile. "Yes. Maybe malapit na ako magkaroon kaya ganito,"
At tama nga, hindi ako nakihalubilo at naiirita ako sa mga taong gustong makipagkilala saakin pag napapadaan sila dito sa bartender's area. Though, I still tried to brush them off politely—didn’t want to be rude.
It’s just that this time of the month is when people really need to stay out of my way…or I might just explode!
—
The next morning, the two of us were quietly eating breakfast. Even though we left the club early last night to get some rest, I still felt completely drained.
Tinusok ko ang isang blueberry gamit ang tinidor na nasa ibabaw ng pancake bago tumingin sa paligid. It was already bright even though it was still pretty early.
"Hey, chill..." he said, making me look at him.
Bumagal ang pagnguya ko habang nakatingin pa rin sa kaniya, nagtataka kung ano ang sinasabi niya ngayon. "What do you mean? I'm calm,"
"You're glaring at everyone," he said, pointing to his right eyebrow.
I felt my own brows relax. I hadn’t even realized they were furrowed the whole time. Agad akong napahawak sa pagitan ng dalawa kong kilay.
"Do I have wrinkles now?" I asked worriedly.
Ilang segundo siyang tumingin doon bago umiling. "Wala naman,"
That made me sigh in relief. "I thought meron na ako. I'm too young to get wrinkles,"
"20 is not that young anymore," he chuckled.
"Still too young to have wrinkle formation on the face," I rebutted.
Then he cleared his throat, which made me anticipate something. "Anyway, I forgot to tell you something...uh, important"
I nodded while cutting a piece of my pancake. "What is it about?"
"About the incident that you have witnessed before," he said.
Napatigil ako sa pagnguya ng kinakain habang tinatantya ang hitsura niya. He was wearing a serious look while continuing to eat his breakfast.
"Say more," I said.
"I got the update since last week but I just forgot to tell you. And...they said that the woman you saw was...dead,"
My lips parted in shock, staring at him like I had turned to stone. Dead? That woman? Which one?
"You mean the murderer? Or the girl who was with them in the car? A-and how about the driver? There were three of them!" I said when I finally recovered.
He let out a long sigh. "Actually, the report said that the woman suffered from a stab in the stomach that affected a vital organ. Hindi ko nga lang alam kung sino ang tinutukoy mo dahil ayon lang naman ang nasabi saakin,"
A chill ran down my spine.
"H-huh? Hindi ka man lang nagtanong nang maayos?" I asked.
"What matters is that the suspects have been located and are now behind bars," he said clearly.
"I don't know, Yus. Something feels off," I said as I glanced around at everyone near us.
Goosebumps still spread all over my body as I recalled that day. The image of the old woman kept flashing in my mind–her face, and the way she smiled at me.
"Pwede naman tayong bumisita sa prisinto para kumpirmahin—"
"Ayoko," I cut him off, shaking my head.
"Hayaan na. Kung nasa prinsito naman pala then that's good to know. Huwag na nating alamin pa," I added, trying to convince both myself and him.
Pilit kong inubos ang kinakain kahit gusto kong maduwal dahil hindi na mabura sa isip ko ngayon ang nangyari. Until he made me go back to my suite so I could rest.
Hindi na muna raw kami lalabas kung pakiramdam ko ay hindi ako panatag sa balita niya. I just nodded at him, letting him decide how he wanted to spend the day.
To overwrite that horrifying scene playing on repeat in my mind, I binge-watched three romantic comedy movies. But even in the middle of laughing, that image would pop back in, making me groan and shake my head in frustration.
Eventually, I didn’t even realize I had fallen asleep again. When I opened my dry, heavy-lidded eyes, I saw my laptop screen had gone black—set to turn off automatically after 30 seconds of no movement.
I lay on my back, staring at the ceiling, trying to keep my mind from drifting back to their disturbing faces. Hanggang sa sumulpot naman sa isip ko ang mukha ni Don.
What the heck? Of all people?
Hind ko siya napansin kanina. Maybe he was still asleep? Or maybe…he checked out last night? There were only a few guests around earlier, and I didn’t see the service van parked out front when I glanced that way.
—
It was already noon when I finally got out of bed to take a shower. Ayokong magkulong sa kwarto dahil kung ano ano ang naiisip ko lalo.
Hindi naman ako mapapano dito dahil malayo kami sa syudad. There’s no way they can track my location. And maybe…maybe that old woman seeing me was just a figment of my imagination.
It’s impossible to see someone through a tinted car window, right?
That's right, Azalea. You're safe now. You’re back to your normal curfew. The suspects are already behind bars.
Pagkatapos kong maligo at magbihis ay lumabas ako at kinatok ang pinto ni Yus. His brows were furrowed in confusion when he opened it.
"Ano?" he asked.
"I have to try the water activities now. Last day na natin bukas and I just want to get their traditional massage and such, so we have to do those today" I said.
He scratched the back of his neck as he opened the door wide, motioning for me to come in. "Teka, mag aasikaso lang ako"
I stepped inside and glanced around his room. It looked exactly the same as mine, layout and all, but for some reason it felt…smaller?
Binuksan niya ang itim na maleta para kumuha ng susuotin bago nagsalita. "You look stupid just standing there, so sit somewhere”
I didn’t take that remark personally. That’s just how he talks. Nahanap ng mata ko ang pahabang sofa at dumekwatrong sumandal bago inayos ang hawak na magazine na kinuha sa lamesa.
The sound of the shower echoed through the suite as water hit the bathroom tiled. It filled the quiet room like a background track.
Nang matapos sa pagbabasa at hindi pa rin siya tapos sa pagligo ay napatingin ako sa kama niya. His phone was lying in the middle of the white, springy sheets.
I stood up and walked to the glass window, pulling the beige curtain aside since barely any light had made it in. The brightness instantly hit me, making me shield my eyes with my right hand.
A few more minutes passed before he finally came out, all ready. We left the premises right after and started doing the water activities.
We first tried the snorkeling. I was a little scared of getting separated from him because he kept diving down so quickly, so I kept tugging on his foot to make him slow down.
I wasn’t a good swimmer, so being in the water made me feel a bit uneasy. But whenever I saw the tiny fishes swimming around, my nerves would ease up—at least a little.
Agad kong tinanggal ang snorkeling mask pagkabalik namin sa ibabaw. "The fishes are so cute!”
He let out a chuckle. "Yeah," then he swam to the right direction; approaching our little boat. Lumangoy din ako at agad na naglahad ng palad ang isang kasama namin para maiangat ako.
"Thanks," I said, accepting his hand.
I sat at the edge of the boat and took off my snorkeling fins, handing them over to Yus since he was the one returning them to the rental staff.
After snorkeling, the boat brought us to a nearby island so we could tour around and take pictures. I quickly raised my digicam and snapped a photo of the tress and plants in the distance.
Ang mga kasama namin ay ganoon din ang ginawa. I turned to the sea and took a photo of the horizon, then shifted my focus back to the boat.
I took a close up photo of the right side of the boat. Ang kalahati nito ay kita ang dagat. Then I turned the camera on myself and took a back-camera selfie—smiling with my eyes closed.
Nang tinignan ko ang litratong kinuha ko ay agad kong sinamaan ng tingin si Yus na medyo nasa malayo. He was seen in the right part of the photo and he was showing his middle finger while proudly smiling.
He really knows how to spoil my mood!
Balak ko pa naman sana ito gawing bagong lockscreen wallpaper.
I bent down slightly, grabbed a handful of white sand, and then started running toward him.
He looked at my right hand, which was holding the sand, and immediately started running away—scared I’d throw it straight at his face.
"How dare you!" I shouted.
But he just laughed at me teasingly.
Sa kalagitnaan ng paghabol sa kaniya ay hiningal na agad ako kaya huminto na. He looked back over his shoulder and slowed down as he saw I had stopped running.
"We...we should get back na sa boat. I want to try the kayak," I said, still catching my breath as I slowly unclenched my right hand, letting the sand slip through my fingers.
"Oo, sige...basta huwag ka lang mang aano ng buhangin saakin," he said, watching my hand cautiously as if it still posed a threat.
—
We were now approaching the kayak rental booth to return our things. We had just finished, and I was already asking him why he even joined a speed race with the other group.
I kpet lightly massaging my arms, now sore from all that exertion. "You shouldn't have accepted their challenge!"
"I thought you wanted extreme water activities? E extreme naman yon ah?" then laughed.
I rolled my eyes and shook my head in disbelief. I probably shouldn’t have said that earlier—he takes things way too literally.
Nang makapasok sa rental booth ay sinabi namin na naibalik na namin sa daungan ang bangka na ginamit at inasikaso kami ng isa sa tauhan nila.
The tanned older man holding what looked like a logbook peeked outside to very our claim. The same boatman who helped us earlier came in and confirmed. “Ayos na sila,”
Nagpahinga lang kami saglit dahil wala pa sa kalahati ang gusto kong gawin ay pagod na agad ako. I stretched my arms forward and gave them a little shake, trying to loosen the tension in my muscles.
I was now sitting on a wooden outdoor chair near the kayak rental booth. The sun was setting now, painting the clouds with a mix of purple, pink, and yellow hues.
I glanced at Yus just as he handed me a plastic water bottle before sitting beside me. I took it and drank right away.
"We should try the jetski after," I suggested, turning to look at him.
Nagkibit balikat siya. "Ikaw bahala. I've already tried that yesterday,"
"Really? Hindi ko alam," I said.
"Yup. I've tried that first before surfing,"
"Edi...ako lang ang mag je-jetski since na try mo na?" I asked with my left eyebrow arched.
"Pwede naman. Panoorin nalang kita," he said with a chuckle.
I inhaled through my nose, let out a deep sigh, and stood up. "I won't be that long since anong oras na rin. You can watch my things while you're looking for foods since I'm tired and hungry na rin,"
Tinignan ko pa siya para malaman kung nakikinig ba siya. He nodded with a sarcastic smile. "Aye-aye, commander"
I just gave him a wide smile. "Pupuntahan ko na,"
He nodded again, and I finally walked over to the rental station to get a jetski. On the way, I passed by someone who had just
An American girl, with distinct tan lines from her swimsuit, gave me a faint smile when our eyes met. Ngumiti lang din ako pabalik bago kinausap ang matandang lalaki na inaayos ang pagkakahilera ng jetskis.
I probably stayed out for about half an hour. I was slowly driving toward the setting sun, wanting to get a closer look.
Pinanood ko ito hanggang sa tuluyan lumubog na ang araw. The rough crashing waves started to make me uneasy, so I headed back right away.
"Ang bilis mo, ineng, ah? Ni hindi man lang nagtagal ng isang oras," then chuckled.
I let out an awkward chuckle. "Pinanood ko lang po 'yung paglubog ng sun,"
It reminded me of that Greek story about Icarus and Daedalus—how Icarus got too drawn to the sun and ended up falling. I guess I just found the view so mesmerizing, I lost track of time. But I didn’t go too far.
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