Chapter 32:

Our first semester had just ended, and now we were finally relaxing a bit since they gave us a short break. At sa susunod na linggo ay registration week na para sa susunod na semester.

I sniffled as I wiped the tears streaming down my cheeks with a tissue. Nandito ako ngayon sa kwarto at nanonood ng isang palabas. It was about a woman who fell in love with a man who suffered from quadriplegic paralysis.

It was heartbreaking—just thinking about how everything can change in the blink of an eye. That’s why savoring every moment with the people you love is so important. Because we never really know how long they’ll stay in our lives.

Patuloy ako sa paghikbi at kasunod nito ang pagpunas sa ilong. Then, a notification lit up my screen, catching my attention. My phone was beside me on the sofa, so I reached for it.

My eyes were swollen, and I knew I looked terrible right now. Tinignan ko ang mensahe at nanlaki ang mata ko nang makita ang pamilyar na numero.

From: Gail

Hey, Lea!! It's been a freaking long time! I missed you so much. When can we see each other? We're finally breathing the same air lmao

I chuckled as I typed a response. Gail was my second cousin on my mother’s side. We used to be inseparable when we were kids.

Kasama namin siya ni Yus pero dahil parehas na doktor ang magulang nya at naka base sa Canada ay wala siyang magagawa kundi doon rin manirahan.

To: Gail

OMG!!! Is this real? I missed you too, Gail. You can always come over here in the house.

Just after I hit the send, her caller ID popped up on my screen, and I instantly answered it. Parehas tili ang binungad namin sa isa't isa pagkasagot ko ng tawag.

“Oh my gosh, girl! I can’t–” her eyes widened. The excitement disappeared from her face. “Wait, what happened? Did you cry?”

I let out a chuckle and shook my head. "No, no...I just finished watching a movie kasi e,"

Her lips formed an 'O' before nodding. "Alright. So...how's life? Are you free tomorrow?"

"I'm doing fine as per ushe. How about you? At kelan pa kayo nandito? We've heard

nothing about your arrival,"

She chuckled as she ran her fingers through her hair. Sa likod niya ay ang isang painting at halatang nasa sala siya dahil sa sofa na sinasandalan niya.

"Actually, biglaan lang din. And my parents don't even know that I'm here,"

I gasped. "Wait, what?! Please don't tell me that you ran away,"

Nagsimula siyang mag kwento at sabi niya ay matagal na niyang plano na bumalik dito. She just could not find the right timing to tell her parents since they were always busy.

"And...how about texting them? Have you told them through the phone at least?" I asked, concerned.

She slightly nodded. "No. They still don't know how to properly use their phones. But don't worry...I told one of our maids just in case..."

"As you should. Baka magulat at mag alala sila sa'yo kung bigla kana lang hindi mahanap,"

"Yeah," as she rolled her eyes playfully, making me chuckle.

Our conversation went on for a while until I told her I had to go downstairs for dinner. At sabi pa nga niya na ipaalam kay Mommy na nandito siya at ligtas na nakarating kung sakaling tumawag si Auntie Mirasol sa kaniya sa sobrang alala.

At ginawa ko nga ang sinabi niya. I told Mommy that she was here in the Philippines. And as expected, she was surprised too. Tinanong niya pa ako kung kelan pa siya nandito.

I was about to answer, but then realized Gail didn’t actually mention when she got here—she just told me that she was here.

Kinabukasan ng tanghali ay bigla siyang nag text. She wanted to go out to eat and unwind a little because she was bored.

Pumayag naman ako kaya ngayon ay pumipili na ako ng susuotin. Since it was a bit sunny, I went with a sleeveless outfit. After getting ready, I asked our driver to take me to the mall where Gail said she would be waiting. It was at a corner along EDSA.

"So, you still have school, right? How long will you stay here then?" I asked.

Nandito na kami ngayon sa Mall at naglalakad, naghahanap kung saang store ang unang pupuntahan. I didn't know that this Mall had high-end stores too.

“Huh?” she looked slightly distracted, focused on deciding which store to enter. “School? Yes. We’re on break now. I wouldn’t be here otherwise,”

–

Hindi ko alam kung naka ilang stores na ang pinuntahan namin. She bought something at almost every stop, while I only picked up a few things for my bathroom.

Dahil sa dami ng mga pinamili niya ay pumunta muna kami sa ground parking para ilagay sa kotse niya.

"I didn't know that you brought your car with you," I chuckled.

She closed the trunk before looking at me. "Oh, this? This is not mine. Hiniram ko 'to kay Aila,"

My eyes widened upon hearing a familiar name. "How's Aila?"

Nagsimula na kaming maglakad pabalik sa loob habang nag uusap tungkol sa kapatid niya. Aila was her older sister who was taking the same path with their parents. Gail wanted to be a flight attendant after taking a pre-med course so she was still studying.

Even though she was 5 years older than me, we immediately click since we shared the same posse. Kaya magkasundo kami sa bagay bagay.

Pagkabalik namin sa loob ay napagdesisyunan naming kumain na. Both of us were hungry, and I even heard her stomach grumbled which made both of us laugh.

"I haven't eaten anything since this morning," she said.

While we were at a Chinese restaurant, she asked me to catch her up on what had been going on in my life. She even asked if I had a boyfriend. I told her I was dating someone—Jian.

Her lips formed an 'O'. "So...how's your relationship with him? Is he good for your heart?" then chuckled.

My lips parted, hesitating for a moment. At napansin niya 'yon kaya napakurap kurap siya. "I'm sorry. Bad timing ba ang tanong ko?"

I chuckled awkwardly before shaking my head. "No, no...it's just that...uh...his friends probably don't like me,"

"Probably? What do you mean?" she asked, taking a sip of water without taking her eyes off me.

So I explained what happened that day. She nearly scoffed while I told her about Jian’s friend—that mestizo guy.

"What the heck? I would feel the same way if I were there. Gosh!"

"Right?" I asked before I cleared my throat.

She nodded. "And...? Did that Jian guy apologize on behalf of his friend's words?

That's the least thing he can do if he can read between the lines.." she added, rolling her eyes.

Pagkauwi at pagkatapos maligo para makapagpahinga na nang maaga ay tinext ko si Yus tungkol kay Gail. So far, only Mommy and I knew she was back in the Philippines.

Yus would surely be excited to know that our childhood friend was here after so many years. Nagtataka pa nga si Gail kung bakit daw hindi sinasagot ni Yus ang mga mensahe niya.

She felt sad, thinking maybe Yus was angry with her for some reason.

At nang pinakita niya saakin ang usapan nila ay doon ko nalaman na dating numero pala ni Yus ang kinakausap niya. I chuckled at her when I pointed it out so she asked for his new number.

Hindi ko nga lang alam kung nag uusap na ba silang dalawa kaya ngayon ay pinapaalam ko na kay Yus na nandito si Gail.

While I was in the middle of replying to Yus’s messages, a new notification suddenly appeared at the top of my screen. Pinindot ko ito at binasa ang mensahe niya bago sumagot.

From: Taft Guy from Morato

Hey, good evening. How's your day?

To: Taft Guy from Morato

Hello. I'm doing fine as per ushe. How's yours?

He immediately saw the message. I thought he would reply right away, but several minutes passed and I didn’t receive anything. Kaya bumalik ako sa pag uusap namin ni Yus.

I read his replies twice before locking my phone and placing it on the side table with a sigh.

He said 'oo nga, nasabi niya nga kanina' which meant they had already spoken. He also mentioned that Gail invited him to a mini reunion party at their family’s casa.

My eyelids were starting to feel heavy, and I was not in the mood to continue a dry conversation. Hindi ko alam kung ako lang ba pero nakakairita at nakakawalang gana kapag hindi ko ramdam na interesado makipag usap saakin ang isang tao.

–

On the next day, Gail was inviting me again. She wanted us to watch a movie and have lunch. Ngayon ay nasa loob na ako ng sasakyan papunta sa Pasay dahil doon niya raw gusto pumunta dahil malawak at maraming pagpipiliang kakainan.

My fingers were busy typing as I chatted with Macy. Earlier during breakfast, I had some time to reflect on how things had been between us these past few weeks—and that also included Gaia and Gracia.

Sa totoo nga lang, sila talaga ang pinaka puno't dulo kung bakit ko ginagawa ito ngayon.

To: Macy

Hey, sorry that this took me a long time to tell you this but I want to end our friendship completely. Things are not the same anymore ever since I tried to reconnect with you girls.

From: Macy

That's okay. Naging masaya pa rin naman ang bonding natin kahit papaano. s**t really happens all the time lmao

I was about to type a reply, but she added another message.

From: Macy

Kinausap mo na rin ba sila Gracia about this?

To: Macy

Am about to after this

Akala ko ay hahaba pa ang usapan namin pero hindi na. She ended our conversation with 'Alright. Sorry and thank you again.'

Afterward, I messaged the two cousins. I used the same words I told Macy.

Pabalik balik pa ang tingin ko sa usapan namin ni Gaia. The message had already been delivered, but I still had not received any response from her or from Gracia. It left me confused for a few seconds—until it hit me. Maybe they simply did not want to acknowledge my message, which explained the silence.

The first year of being friends with them was really fun—I won't deny it. Pero habang tumatagal ay hindi na sila masaya kasama. Lagi nalang may sumusulpot na problema.

And some of those problems were caused by them. Katulad ng pagpaparinig ni Macy saakin noon sa freedom wall na inagaw ko raw ang crush niya hanggang sa isyu tungkol kay Ivy na kagagawan ng magpinsan.

Our bond might contain a lot of laughs and tears, but the craziness and internal damages that they had created were not good for my mental and emotional health.

Nakakalungkot man na hindi ko na sila makakasama pero para saakin rin naman 'to...para sa ikakatahimik ng isip ko.

–

As I stepped into the mall, I glanced at my phone to check Gail’s sent location. She was already here, waiting on the second floor inside a clothing store.

Nang mahanap siya ay tumigil siya sa pagtitingin ng damit at agad na lumapit saakin. We greeted each other with a cheek-to-cheek gesture before she said we should head out.

"Yus is really not going to hang out with us?" she asked.

I nodded. "Nakausap ko siya kaninang umaga and he said that he has a date with his girlfriend,"

"What's her name? Kilala mo ba?" she asked, referring to Rhiannon.

"Oh, it's Rhiannon. They met last year," I replied.

Tumango siya bago binalik ang tingin sa harap na walang dinugtong na salita. Eventually, we made it into the cinema, and after nearly two hours, the movie ended.

After the movie, we headed to a Chinese restaurant for lunch. While eating, we ended up talking about Yus and his relationship. Sinagot ko lang ang mga tanong niya base sa mga napapansin ko sa relasyon nila.

She couldn’t help but comment on how unnecessary Rhiannon’s competitiveness.

"She's already cuffed to him. Bakit niya pa kailangang maging ganyan? Doesn't Prius reassure her?" she asked, one side of her mouth twitching in disbelief.

I simply shrugged. I was not sure either—mostly because I never really dug too deep into their relationship. What’s theirs is theirs, and I have always minded my own.