LOVE-NAT, isang makulit na lovestory!

Eleonor Malicsi Dimaculangan

Bakit ganito? Tamad na tamad na tamad na tamad ako sa buhay ko… haaaaiiiii… I sat down on one of the many benches sa MUP – the one under the shade of the huge tree na hanggang ngayon ee hindi ko pa din alam kung anong uri ng puno. Likas na magubat talaga itong unibersidad namin, maraming puno, halaman at damo. Kaya naman gustong-gusto kong naka-upo dito sa labas kesa sa loob ng classroom. Presko ang hangin at di mo mararamdaman ang mainit na sikat ng araw. Sabi ko sa inyo ee, environmentalist ako. Haha. I enjoy the company of trees, of green grasses… lalo na’t walang SEF na bumabagabag sa kin… walang mga pasaway na kaibi --

“Uyy, Ellie.” It was Kenneth Paolo Fernandez. Ahy, sheet… wala na… SIRA NA YUNG MOMENT. Tsk. I turned to look at him, sobrang dami niyang dala-dalang bag. Kala mo naglayas siya sa bahay nila… then I realized bag nila Meg, Sara, Jill, Borge yung mga dala-dala niya. “Oh, ayan. Ooof.” He placed the bags beside me as he took a deep breath. “Pabantay nga muna niyan, Ellie.” He took out his handkerchief and patted it across his forehead. Mas lalo tuloy siyang nagmukang chinito. Pawis na pawis na kasi siya, parang pinasan na niya ang buong mundo ee. Haha. “Sabi ni Japo, lalo na daw ‘toh.” Lastly, he carefully placed a black Jansport bag on my lap.

“Bakit? Asan ba sila Japo?” I asked habang pinagmamasadan yung bag ni itim ni Japo.

“Andun sa gym, nanunuod ng basketball. Accountancy vs. Engineering.” He explained. “Andaming tao ee…” He waved his hand, fanning himself for a bit of cool air. “Di ka naman manunuod diba? Pabantay muna aa?” He asked already walking away.

“Sige, sige.” I nodded. May choice pa ba ko ee nilagay na niya yung mga bag dito. Haha. “Sinong nananalo?”Pahabol ko.

“Eng!” He said as he broke into a run pabalik sa gym.

Sheet. Parang gusto ko na tuloy manuod… But on second thought… mas okay na dito… peaceful… Atchaka, tinatamad talaga ako. Hahaha. I looked up the sky as I heaved a sigh, blowing air up my bangs. Hmmm… actually, kagabi ko pa tinangka gumawa nung love letter na sinasabi ni AJ… pero dios ko, ni isang letra wala man lang akong maisulat… siguro… kasi… takot akong malaman kung anong maisusulat ko dun… o kaya naman sa simpleng kadahilanang HINDI KO ALAM KUNG PANO GUMAWA NG LOVE LETTER!! Anakshuta yan.

Pero ito na lang ang last chance ko… kung hindi... mauuwi na lang talaga ako sa unang-unang plano ni AJ. WWAAAAHHH!! Di pwede yun. NO WAY HU SAY!!

Sandali, bakit hindi na lang natin simulan ngayon? Tumingin ako sa kanan ko, sa kaliwa, sa likod, sa harap at sa itaas… WALA namang tao… halos karamihan ng estudyante ng MUP nasa gym, nakiki usisa sa laro ng basketball. I smirked despite of myself. Hmmm… napatingin ako sa bag ni Jill… tama, sa yellow pad ko na lang isusulat. At talagang alam kong sa bag lang ni Jill ako makakakuha nun. Hahahaha. Syempre, sya lang naman talaga ang huwarang estudyante saming lahat. Hehe. “Jill penge aa?” I muttered. Well kahit papano nakuha ko namang magdala ng sarili kong ballpen.

I sighed, at ginawa kong patungan yung bag ni Japo. Okay… isipin mo na lang Ellie… pagka gawa nitong sulat… MATATAPOS NA YANG MALAKING PRUBLEMA MO!!!

---

Darren Max Sanchez

Hinding-hindi ko makakalimutan yung unang beses kong nakita si Ellie. Believe me, mahaba pa buhok niya nun. Haha. Kahit nun pa, she already possessed those pair of round, expressive black eyes. At kapag ngumiti yan, contagious. You’ll feel obliged to smile back at her.

She was five years old and I was seven back then. She was inches smaller than me at kahit nung bata pa siya, sooobra na sa kakulitan yan. She was my schoolmate back in kinder garden… at kahit na masakit man aminin, lagi akong binubully ng mga classmates ko. Haha. Yeah, promise!! Since only child ako, my mom was over protective… ayun, lagi tuloy akong sentro ng asaran. Kulang na nga lang pag-suotin ako ng mom ko ng protective gear lagi sa school, yung tipong naka helmet ako habang nasa loob ng classroom. I wasn’t exaggerating… totoo sinasabi ko. Really, it was plain torture. But of course, I couldn’t blame my mom for it.

Naalala ko nun, habang hinihintay ko ang mom ko sa pagsundo sakin… I was sitting by a bench, beside my yaya. Obviously, I wasn’t allowed to play. Then as I was watching my classmates na naglalaro sa may swing at slide… I noticed this small little girl who has that wide mischievous grin on her face as she went running after a ball. She tripped over and lost her balance kaya nadapa siya and landed straight on the mud. Nag-splash yung putik sa muka at buhok niya and it was all over her uniform but none of it mattered. Tumayo siya na parang walang nangyari, she smiled at kinuha yung bola and went back to play with her friends pero pinagtawanan siya ng mga ito. At first I thought iiyak na siya nun, but to my own surprise the little girl went back to the mud at nagtampisaw pa lalo.

She laughed, obviously enjoying herself. Parang napatigil ang lahat ng bata sa playground as they eyed her with full curiosity. She made playing with MUD looked fun. Parang naging baduy ang paglalaro sa swing, slide at monkey bar… at lalong naging korni ang pag-upo ko sa tabi ng yaya ko.

The first thing that came across my mind was that… This girl is crazy. But then… Nagsunuran yung iba pang mga bata, nagtalunan din sila sa putik, until majority of the students were bathing with mud at kelangan ng lumabas ng mga teacher para sawayin sila.

All those time, my eyes were only focused on her… and as I was watching her parang nakaramdam ako ng inggit. If only I had that courage…

At hindi ko alam, I was already swept away by her.

“Ellie.” I said as I took a seat beside her sa bench ng MUP. Kanina ko pa siya hinahanap sa gymnasium ee, napansin ko kasi walang pumapadyak ng malakas sa bleachers.

Namutla si Ellie as though her heart flew out her chest. Napansin kong kabado niyang tinupi yung yellow paper na halos mapupuno na niya at inipit ito sa unang notebook na nahablot niya and as quickly as possible placed it in sa black na Jansport bag. “M-max!”She almost screamed nervously.

“Anong ginagawa mo?” What is she up to this time? Now, I’m dying to know kung ano yung sinusulat niya.

“Aah.” Ellie forced a weak smile. “Si Eddy… ano… nagpapagawa ng assignment.” Obvious, Haha. I just know her too well para masabing it was a downright lie, pero di ko pinahalata sakanya as I simply nodded.

“Kelan ka pa naging mabuting ate?” I teased and she pouted her lips at me.

“Che, matagal na kong mabuting ate nuh!!”

“Nga pala, nakalimutan kong sabihin sayo, tumawag sakin si Pepita.”

Ellie’s eyes widened in excitement and her black eyes bore on me. And every time na magkakatinginan kami, it seemed to me like it was always the first time. Just like always, I quickly looked away. “Pepita? Waaaahhh, talaga? Anong sabi niya?”

“Ako lang daw namimiss niya.” Ellie playfully punched me by the arm. Gumanti naman ako as I reached her nose and pinched it, tulad ng lagi kong ginagawa. Kung baga, lambing ko na sakanya toh. Haha. She laughed as she struggled to remove my hand off her precious little nose. “Sabi niya,”Gigil kong sinabi. “Malapit na daw siyang bumisita dito. Kaya maghanda ka na.”

I smiled and decided to free her anyway. “Nakuuu.” She whined, massaging her nose yet again. “Pakyu ka! Pag ito talaga napango… Papa-nose lift mo toh!” I almost laugh. And suddenly… “ WAAAAHH!! Excited na talaga ko Max!” I just love every reaction I get out from her. Every frown, every pout… it was priceless. That’s Ellie, kahit mga simpleng bagay lang… Masaya na siya.

Hindi ko namalayan, I was staring at her with expressionless eyes. Ellie then smiled at me, clueless as to how strong her effect was on me and then she rested her head on my shoulder. “Makikita na ulit natin si Pepita.”She said sounding like an excited little girl back in kinder garden. Ganyan yan, she’s just too comfortable around me... after all, I am just her best friend… and as much as I tried not to… I still ended up placing my arm around her shoulder. We stayed like that for a while. I’m sure she was already imagining Pepita. Ako naman… I was just staring down on her.

Ilang beses ko na bang pinalagpas ang mga ganitong klase ng pagkakataon? Yung tipong nasa dulo na lang ng dila ko… I just needed to summon all the courage I have… and all I have to do was to say what I should have said a thousand times before… words that go along with the lines of: I love you.

But no… I couldn’t… I shouldn’t… Si Ellie na nga din ang nagsabi sakin dati… Tayo lang din mismo ang nagpapa-komplikado ng sarili nating buhay… and telling her how I really feel… would just make things complicated…

Ellie is just too important for me… and I couldn’t risk it…

I don’t want anything to change between us… it mustn’t!!

Hindi lang si Ellie ang duwag sa storyang ito…

I remembered that time… back in elementary… kilala na naming dalawa ni Ellie nun si Pepita… Recess nun, and there was this huge boy na inagaw yung laruan na ballpen ni Pepita and intentionally broke it into half. Back then, uso pa yung mga ballpen na umiilaw-ilaw ee. Kung si Ellie pala ngiti, Pepita, on the other hand, was the cry baby. Hindi nag-dalawang isip si Ellie as she stood up against that bully. Parang David and Goliath yung scene sa canteen nun. Ellie was too small but her face was terribly dangerous that time.

Hindi ko alam kung anong hangin ang nagtulak sakin nun, ako na mama’s boy, ako na lumaking alagang-alaga… jumped between that giant and Ellie… Of course, I ended up getting my first black-eye. Haha. After that, dun ko napagdesisyunan mag-TAEKWONDO para prepared na ko sa mga susunod na Goliath na aaway kay Ellie. Syempre, my mom got berserk with the idea baka daw kasi mabalian ako ng buto. She just wouldn’t let me… but after weeks of dispute with my ever-supportive dad… pinayagan na din niya ko.

Everyone has a choice. Kaya hindi ko na rin naman siguro kasalanan kung pipiliin kong to just keep my mouth shut at huwag na lang gawing komplikado ang lahat.

And that’s were Sara came in to picture…

“Ready ka na Ms. Dela Rama?” Tanong ni Max when he saw Sara making few more re-touches of make-up sa harapan ng locker niya. Meron kasing salamin na nakasabit sa likod ng pinto nito.

Iba talaga nagagawa ng in love…

Sara slightly jumped off at his voice but quick to greet him a soft smile. “You scared me Mr. Sanchez.” Gusto pa sana niya mag-spray ng pabango kahit kakalagay lang niya a few minutes ago, instead she shut the door and locked it. “Well, I’m ready.”

He didn’t return her smile as he was gazing into her dark, brown eyes. Lately, parang routine na ni Max ang ihatid si Sara sa bahay. He approached her. Sara was beautiful in every sense of the word. She is everything Ellie was not.

Max took her hand and clutched it tightly than he intended to. Kung wala lang blush-on si Sara, mahahalatang namumula ang dalaga. The contact was all so sudden.

And Max told himself… over and over again… It’ll be easier this way…

To be continued.