"Bes? May problema?" tanong ni Arlyn. One of my closest friends here.
"Ah, wala 'to. Badtrip lang."
"Ah... oh, bigay ng manliligaw mo?" Tanong niya saka tinuro ang bracelet ko. Nainis namna ako nang maalala si Sam na may kapalit kuno raw.
"Ah, hindi... bigay lang ng isang kaibigan ko."
"Ha? Sure kang kaibigan mo lang ang nagbigay sa'yo niyan? Lalaki 'yan, 'no?Nako, ha. Yang friend mo, masyadong torpe. Dinadaan-daanan sa pagbibigay ng bracelet. Yieee. Kwento ka naman kung sino 'yang 'friend' mo."
"Ano bang meron? It's just a simple bracelet from a simple friend. Nothing special."
"Hoy, brulet! Nothing special ka diyan? 100 languages I love you bracelet 'yan, babaita!"
Napalingon ako sa kanya. Gulat na gulat. "100 languages-a-ano?"
"100 languages I love you bracelet 'yan, 'te. Meaning, sa pagbibigay sayo, parang sinabi niya ang I love you in 100 languages. 'Wag mo sabihing binigay niya lang sayo 'yan nang hindi sinasabi ang meaning? Hay naku! Apaka torpe."
Nanginginig ang mga kamay ko habang nakatitig sa materyal na hawak ko. It can't be... right? Paanong nangyari na meron akong bracelet na ganito, e si Sam lang ang natatanging nagbigay nito sa akin. Besides, sobrang... mahal nito para magkaro'n ako nito.
Pero bukod pa rito, I can sense some familiarity through this. Other than the fact that Sam gave me this and the possibility of his existence is true, I'm strangely familiar I'm attached to it. That the bracelet screams more than just an I love you bracelet.
But to confirm things straight, I headed my way downstairs to ask my Dad about this. And his question made me confused and at the same time, had a hunch about what's happening.
"Didn't you told me before that you bought it yourself? Sabi mo pa nga na naghati kayo ni Arlyn?"
But that was...
"Sensya na, 'Pa. Makakalimutin na kasi Lola niyo." Papa just shook his head as he laugh. After that, umakyat na lang ulit ako para i-examine ang nakitang bracelet. Millions of questions circulated in my head. I'm confused about what's happening.
Kung nangyari ang lahat after ko mag-wish sa birthday ko, at na-coma ako after... paanong lahat ng inihayag nilang alaala ay alaala ko rin? Hindi ba, e, nangyari lang ang lahat sa panaginip?
Ano ba talagang nangyayari?
One thing is for sure: I need to investigate deeper than this.
But... how and where am I going to start?
WHEN I FOUND myself getting stressed out about what to do next, I called for a break and let myself clear my thoughts. Nakita ko kasi sa binabasa na libro ko noon na isang way daw para mawala ang stress at ma-organize mo nang mabuti, unwind first. And that's what I'm going to do.
But then I saw myself standing at the back my old high school, where Sam and I used to go have fun or anything like that. If it were true, asaan na si Sam? But if it wasn't, this whole thing could be a form of masochism within me because I really love hurting myself so much.
I shook my head. I shouldn't be thinking other things now. All I need is to focus, relax, and-
"Laura?" Nalingunan ko ang nagsalita at nakitang si Qen iyon. He looks different though. Parang kakagaling niya sa salon na hindi ko maintindihan.
CZYTASZ
The Man Of My Imagination
Romans"Kung sa ibang babae ay merong, 'the man of my dreams', sa akin naman ay merong, 'the man of my imagination'." Laura was having some typical crush problems when Sam- the one she created on her imagination (that looks like her crush too) when she got...
