20000 Milliseconds (BoyxBoy)

Chapter 9: Fate

Chapter 9: Fate

If only I can disappear right now, wala na 'ko sa mundong 'to. I can feel my hands sweating too much. Nanunuyo na rin ang lalamunan ko kakalunok sa sarili kong laway. I tried to avoid the piercing gaze this woman is throwing at me. At hindi nakaligtas sa akin ang pasimple niyang tingin mula sa ulo ko hanggang sa paa. Eros' Mom is such a fine lady. I'm sure she's around my Mama's age too but she looks younger. Parehas silang may abong mata ni Eros. I guess that's one thing Eros inherited from his mother.

But her shoulder-length hair is silky black. Siguro ay sa asawa nito nagmana sa buhok si Eros. Uh, I'm focusing on him, again. Nakakalimutan kong may kaharap pa pala ako rito na malaking bagyo. 

I tried to compose myself by sighing. Tahimik ang loob ng apartment ni Eros at tanging tunog lang na galing sa ugong ng air-conditioner ang maririnig. Kanina pa nanlalamig ang mga kamay ko na dinagdagan pa ng malalalim na titig ng nanay ni Eros. Kung pwede lang matanggal ang ulo ko ay kanina pa 'to pagulong-gulong sa sahig dahil sa labis kong pagyuko. I can feel her stares at me kahit hindi ko pa siya tinitingnan ng diretso. It's terrifying.

The fact that Eros was fixing something outside making everything scarier. Kami lang dalawa ng nanay niya ang nandito at hindi ko alam kung ilang buntong-hininga pa ba ang magagawa ko bago siya makabalik.

"So, you're Eros's friend?" 

Napataas ang ulo ko nang marinig ko ang boses ng nanay niya. Her honeyed voice creeps me out. She's like hiding something from me and letting me fall to her sweetness before she can kill me right away. No, I'm exaggerating, but it's like that. Hindi gaano kalalim ang boses nito at mahahalata mo talaga sa kanya kung gaano siya karespetado. Damn. 

I swallowed the invisible lump in my throat and answered her. 

"O-opo." I tried not to stutter. But her presence was enough to make my knees tremble. She looked at me right in the eye.

"How?" she asked. Napatingin ako sa kanya habang nagtataka.

"I mean, paano kayo nagkakilala?" I gulped.

"We were in the same university po. Tony introduced me to him with Elise, a close friend of mine."

"So you know Tony too? Surprising," panunuyang sabi niya. Napakagat ako sa ibabang labi. Gusto ko na talaga maging hangin, now na.

"But you look familiar," she said, staring intently at me.

Muli akong napatingin sa kanya. We are staring at each other while she's busy holding her chin, thinking where did she meet me or why my face is familiar to her. Hindi ko rin mapigilan ang magtaka. I'm sure na ngayon ko lang siya nakita.

"By any chance, is your surname, Tsugeyama?"

Nanlaki ang mga mata ko sa sinabi niya. H-how??

"Bakit niyo po nalaman ang surname ko?" kinakabahan kong tanong. Seriously, naguguluhan na ako sa kanya. She's so weird. Now I know the other thing Eros inherited from her. 

I was surprised when she lunged forward to me and hugged me tightly. Nabigla ako sa ginawa niya at hindi ko alam kung ano ang gagawin. Anong nangyayari? Nasa sofa lang ang mga kamay ko dahil masyado akong nini-niyerbyos na humawak sa kanya pabalik. Watashi wa ittai nani o shimashita ka? (What the hell did I do?)

After a minute of hugging me, kumalas na siya sa akin. Saka pa lang ako nakahinga ng maluwag. She almost killed me! Okay. That was an overstatement. The hug was nice, and warm. It seems like she really does know me and I know her. Pero hindi ko alam kung saan o kailan. Wala akong naaalala.