Match made in Libido

I never imagined that I would be in a church, praying desperately for a God I don't even know if he truly existed. I'm not religious, despite the fact that I grew up in a Catholic household and very devotional at that. Yet here I am, on my knees, crying, hands clasp together as I mutter my desperate prayer as if it was a chant. 'Whoever could hear this desperate plea of mine, please, please, please, save him. Save him. I'll do whatever, I'll be a different person. God, if you do exist, please hear this prayer, my selfish plea...please.' "Well? An' say mo, 'te? Very emotional ba?" A man, hands akimbo, told me proudly as he sat by my side. I re-read the panel he sent me again in my laptop to make sure, before I give my comments. "Hmm... medjo impactful naman yung dialogue, but the panels aren't giving, you know?" I commented, the flow, the bubble, the text? Kirot sa puso, "though, maybe a little dialogue refinement, pwede mo sigurong dagdagan pa yung dialogue ni girl dito, like very desperate pa siya, tagos sa puso kumbaga." "What do you mean about my panels aren't giving?" Rumolyo ang mga mata nito sa comment ko sa gawa niya. For sure hindi niya pa napupunta ito sa editor niya, rough storyboard pa eh. I leaned at the backrest of the couch. "Bes, ang dialogue heavy niya kaya, um, what if show mo yung guy as she says 'save him'?" Suhestiyon ko. I kept it vague since hindi naman ako ang editor niya. "I'll talk to Francis, about it." Daig niya at tumango. He's Nathan Abalos, a full-time Webtoon author-s***h-artist. A friend of mine since freshman year during college days. Kaka graduate lang namin actually last year. And well, I work part-time as his colorist and proofreader from time to time. 'Yan ang bagong proyekto niya ngayon, and my first work sakanya. If I remember, he started working on long strip comics when we were juniors. Busy at may be, talagang dedikado siya, he entered his comic to a contest and well, natanggap ang unang work, it wa quite successful. I'm actually an avid reader of his. Syempre kaibigan niya ako, dapat lang na number 1 supporter niya din ako, noh! "Ah right, my team and I are going to celebrate, it's its two year anniversary this Friday, sama ka? Sama ka." Sabi niya, demanding talaga ito. Also, almost two years na pala yung unang comic niya? How time flies. "Hmmm...pag-isipan ko." "Anong pag-isipan? Hihilata ka lang buong mag-araw sa bahay niyo eh, sumama kana kasi, 'te!" Pa-tawang sabi nito. "Wow, excuse me, ha? Malay mo may date pala ako sa Friday." Sumbat ko. And there it is, his iconic eyebrow raise, looking at me in disbelief, scoffing as if he's mocking me. Grabe ha! May social life din naman ako, judger talaga itong baklitang 'to! "Bes, wag ako, kilala kita, you'd rather be isolated in an island alone than go on a date with a man. Like, bes, remember when someone asked you out? Ano yung ginawa mong rason? Ina-alboroto ang tiyan mo? Nag tatae ka?" "Pero natatae naman talaga ako—" "Shush! Sumama ka nalang. No, walang alak na involve, all of my team drives, unless sila mismo ang mag-dadala." Ani niya. Napa-kunot ako nang noo. Alam kong hindi ako titigilan nito hanggang hindi ako umu-oo. Mapilit talaga ito kahit anong gawin ko, for sure tatadtarin ako ng text niyan if hindi ako pumayag ngayon. I sigh in defeat. "Fine, basta ba may pag-kain." "Patay gutom." "Tse!" *** Feeling ko mabubulok na ako dito sa sofa. Call me lazy and all, but ano pa bang gagawin ko? I'm still waiting for calls nang mga company na pinag-apply-an ko. Kaya nga ako nag part-time as baklita's colorist eh. Dalawang araw na ang nakakalipas nang huli kong makita si Nathan. Noong Lunes, when he called me to read the latest chapter draft. Kaya ngayon, dalawang araw na akong nabubulok dito sa bahay. Napatingin ako sa phone ko at napag tantong bukas na pala yung party sa apartment ni bakla. Parang tinatamad tuloy akong tumuloy. Well, it'll be just maybe around seven or ten of us. Yung editor niya, the two who's in-charge sa backgrounds, the line artists, the other colorists, si Nathan at ako. And mostly I know all of them, especially yung colorist ni bakla. Yung story kasi ni Nathan ngayon medyo mas detailed kaysa sa previous niyang work, as there's supernatural elements that were included. Nathan works on the chapter outline, the story itself obviously, and the storyboard of the panels. Isa pa, is a weekly serialization, kaya ang hassle. Suddenly I felt my phone vibrating in my hand. Speaking of the devil, nag message siya. -Nathangorg💅🏻✨- Nathan: Kaeyena, don't forget about tomorrow, I'll see you at my apartment 6pm sharp. Nathan: luv u I shook my head in disbelief. Grabe, bakit parang na-feel niya na nakaramdam ako nang katamaran para bukas? Best friended too hard we actually unlocked telepathy, ganern? Me: K, boss 🫡 I replied and pressed send. Also we're just gonna ignore the luv u part, yes. Ganiyan talaga yan, ewan ko ba, if I were to read our previous messages, there's always 'luv u' after his message, that's his indication that it's his last text. And as expected, hindi man lang ako ni-seen nang hayop.