destined to be mine 5

"Nasaan ka na naman kaya ngayon, Kenneth?" I asked myself habang nangalumbaba sa mesa ng aking favorite coffeeshop at tinititigan ang unti-unting pagkatunaw ng vanilla ice cream toppings ng frappe ko. Special request ko iyon sa barista when I ordered my drink. Na instead of whipped cream, I would rather have vanilla ice cream on my frappe. At dahil mabait siya pinagbigyan niya ang request ko for free.

Nandito ako ngayon dahil sobrang nabu-bore na ako sa apartment habang naghihintay kung kailan magpaparamdam ang pinakaimportanteng lalaki sa buhay ko. Si Kenneth.

The last time we saw each other was last month when we celebrated our third monthsary. After that, wala na naman. Busy na naman siya. Lately, napapansin kong unti-unti na siyang nawawalan ng oras para sa akin. Busy at work daw. Madami daw ginagawa at hinahabol na deadlines blah blah. Pero at the back of my mind, I couldn't help but wonder if he is really working or…

Stop. Erase. Napag-usapan na namin iyon. Ilang beses na nga actually.

"All I ask of you is for you to trust me," sabi niya sa akin noon. So I stopped asking for his whereabouts. But times like this, hindi ko maiwasang mag-alala kung nasaan na siya at kung bakit kanina pa niya hindi sinasagot ang texts at tawag ko. Work na naman ba? Kailan naman kaya siya magkakaroon ng time for me?

Minsan naisip ko nang itanong kung magkano ang daily rate niya sa opisina nila so I could offer to pay him for a day just to have time enough for me. Yeah, I am that desperate for his attention. Maybe--

"Yhonna?"

It was a man's voice behind me calling my name. Upon instinct ay lumingon ako. I was greeted with a pair of capuccino eyes and a handsome face. He was smiling and looked friendly. There was something about this man that is very familiar. Too bad I can't remember his name.

"H-hi. D-do I know you?" I asked. Was that even a polite question? I don’t know.

"You don't remember me anymore," sabi niya na nakangiti pa rin. But there was an underlying tone on that statement. Parang sure na talaga siya na hindi ko nga siya
natatandaan.

"I-I'm really sorry. Mabilis talaga ako makalimot ng faces and names eh. Pasensiya na. But why don't you sit down and refresh my memory?" alok ko sa kanya. Hindi naman siguro masama na kausapin ko siya. We are in a public place afterall. At kesa naman tumunganga lang ako at maghintay kung kailan ako maalala ni Kenneth, might as well talk to someone. Para hindi ko naman laging naiisip si Kenneth and be frustrated kapag hindi naman niya pinapansin.

"Thanks," sabi niya at naupo sa tapat ko. Inilapag niya ang drink niya at noon ko lang napansin na pareho kami ng in-order. Vanilla ice cream din ang toppings ng drink niya. Nagulat ako. There was only one person I knew na ganon.

Don't tell me…

"I'm Alex. Your childhood friend if you can still recall," nakangiting pahayag niya. His smile was so contagious that it took me a few seconds to fully absorb his words.

I put at hand on my mouth to contain my gasp. Then I looked at him again and studied him closely. Now I know why he looked so familiar. No wonder he loves vanilla ice cream on his frappe too. He is Alex. My Alex. Ang boy na lagi kong kasama noon. Parang biglang may rewind button ang utak ko at bumalik ang isip ko sa nakaraan namin. We grew up together. There was one time na ayoko nang maglakad pauwi galing school and I just wanted to rest on the side walk. He offered to carry me on his back. Pumayag ako and fell asleep habang nasa likod niya. He was so sweet.

"What happened to you?" I asked when I finally found the courage. Bigla kasi siyang nawala after our high school graduation. Hindi ko alam kung saan siya pumunta. I tried to look for him but I never found any trace of him again.

"My parents had a fight back then. Naghiwalay sila at isinama kami ni mommy sa America. Sorry kung hindi ako nakapagpaalam sa'yo noon. I guess... I'm always a coward where you are concerned," sagot niya.

"Coward? What do you mean?"

Instead of answering my question, he smiled at me. "Ano nga pala ang ginagawa mo dito? May hinihintay ka?" tanong niya. His question reminded me of Kenneth again.

"My boyfriend. I was waiting for him to call me," sagot ko and smiled at him. Pero alam kong nahalata niya na malungkot pa rin ako kahit nakangiti. He can read me like an open book. He always does. Ilang seconds din siyang walang ginawa kundi nakatitig lang sa akin.

"I'm sure he will call you soon. Give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he is just busy with something," sabi niya after a few seconds of silence. I nodded a few times and smiled.

"Hindi ka pa rin nagbabago. You still know the right words to say to make me feel better," I smiled and took a sip from my frappe. Dahil sa sinabi niya medyo gumaan ang pakiramdam ko.

"Some things never change," nakangiting sagot niya at ginaya din ang ginagawa ko.

Vanilla ice cream on frappe. That was our favorite. Katunayan siya ang nag-introduce sa akin ng combination na iyon. Bland daw kasi ang taste ng whipped cream. Ilang taon na ang lumipas since we last saw each other. Pero tulad nga ng sinabi niya. Some things never change. Siya pa rin si Alex. My best friend.

"Pasensiya na hindi kita namukhaan agad. You changed a lot. You look…better than the last time I saw you," sabi ko. I wanted to say na mas lalo siyang gumuwapo ngayon but I couldn't dare. Lalo lumapad ang smile niya. The same smile he always had before. In fact, maraming girls sa campus ang may crush sa kanya noon. Because he was so friendly and nice. I'm just glad na kaibigan ko siya kahit pa madalas akong inaaway ng mga babaeng nagkakagusto sa kanya. Yet time and again, Alex proved to be a very good friend. He was always there for me and I for him. Too bad umalis sila noon.

"Actually, I was hesitant na lumapit. Lalo ka kasing gumanda ngayon at hindi ako sure kung ikaw nga ba si Yhonna na kaibigan ko way back in high school. But when I saw the vanilla ice cream on your frappe, I took the chance and called your name."

"Blame it on the vanilla ice cream," sabi ko.

"And the frappe too."

Nakakahawa pa rin ang smile niya. I just found myself smiling at him too. Just like that, biglang nawala ang inis ko kay Kenneth. Lahat ng reklamo ko kani-kanina lang ay naglahong parang bula. Until all that was left was the undeniable feeling of missing him so much. Sana nga tama si Alex na baka may importante lang siyang ginagawa. Sana.

*************

Nakailang doorbell na ako sa apartment nila Yhonna with a boquet of Gerbera daisies on my hand. Sinadya kong hindi magparamdam sa kanya so she would miss me like crazy. Masarap sa pakiramdam na nami-miss niya ako and when we finally see each other, she would run to my arms and hug me as if there was no tomorrow.

Ngunit nasaan naman kaya ang babaeng iyon at mukhang walang tao ang apartment nila?

I paced outside their gate habang nag-iisip ng maaari niyang puntahan. She loved to stay inside malls dahil daw maraming tao doon at hindi siya malulungkot. Marami siyang nakikitang something new and she loved the exercise. Pero sa dami ng malls sa city, saang mall ko naman kaya siya hahanapin?

Kanina nagtext siya na nasa apartment lang daw siya at naghihintay kung kailan ko siya maalala. Looks like umandar na naman ang pagiging impatient niya that's why she left. Should I call her? Hindi na magiging surprise iyon kung sasabihin kong nasa labas ako ng apartment nila. Iti-text ko na lang kaya?

No. I need to think of a better way to surprise her. Makapagkape na nga lang muna. Baka mamaya pagbalik ko nakauwi na siya. Then I can show up and give her my surprise. Yep. I guess iyon ang pinakatamang gagawin.

So I went back to my car at inilapag ko ang flowers sa front seat. Alam ko na may malapit lang na coffeeshop sa labas ng village kaya doon na lang muna ako magpapalipas ng oras.

--to be continued

 [behind the scene]

Nahirapan daw akong dugtungan ang kwentong ito. Hehe. Ang daming challenges sa buhay nina Kenneth at Yhonna. Both of them were tempted to give up at one point. Pero lab daw kasi ee kea ayun...

Disclaimer: hindi po ako si Yhonna. Isa lang po akong piping saksi ng mga pangyayari. At babae lang po ako.

Baka kung saan-saan pa mapunta ang introduction, heto na po ang karugtong. Pasensiya na kung SOBRANG DELAYED .