WHEELS AND BLADES

CHAPTER 1: Collision

"Asar naman," pagreklamo ko, pang-pabulong. I get back inside the house and find Manang Bet.

"MANANG BET!" I shouted, yelling around the house. After a lot of yelling and calling, Manang Bet finally answered,

"Ma'am, bakit po?" she asked as if I would bite her.

I walked towards the door, changing my shoes from heels to sneakers.

"Where is the nearest bus stop here?" I said in quite an annoyed tone. Manang Bet looked at me as if she had just seen a ghost.

"Ma'am, okay lang po ba? Ikaw ba 'yan? Nako, ma'am, wag mo kong tinatakot ng ganyan," sabi pa nito na parang takot at nagtataka.

"I'm fine, Manang Bet; just answer my damn question," I said in an irritated tone.After a few minutes, she gave me a paper with step-by-step instructions on how to get to the bus stop. Ano ba naman 'to... quest? Ayos ah, may tutorial.

After some minutes of thinking, I left our house following Manang Bet's instructions. After walking for about 10 minutes, I arrived at the bus stop just in time as a bus stopped in front of me.

"Miss, sakay na, aalis na tayo," sabi nito, kaya agad naman akong sumakay. Makalipas ng thirty minutes, napansin kong parang mali ata ang dinadaanan ko. Nag-antay pa ako ng ilang minuto bago ako nagkaroon ng lakas ng loob upang magtanong sa conductor.

"Umm, kuya, asan na po tayo?" tanong ko pa, medyo kinakabahan at palingon lingon sa paligid

"Ay, ma'am, nasa Valenzuela na po tayo," sabi pa nung conductor sa akin.

Nanlaki ang aking mga mata nung napagtanto ko na mali ata ako ng nasakyan dahil imbes na patungong Intramuros ay napunta ako sa Valenzuela. Sa sobrang panic ko, bumaba agad ako sa susunod na terminal. Bago pa ako makakababa ng bus ay nadulas ako sa hagdan pababa ng bus.

"Ouch!" I yelped as I fell down the steps and bumped into something hard. A man chest, luckily he managed to catch me holding me tight

"Miss, okay ka lang ba?" A soft male voice spoke to me, and as I looked up, I saw a face that I wished never existed.

Desmond Reet.