TWO: The Secret
1208 Words
"THIS IS DRIVING ME CRAZY!" ani Alain habang nakatutok ang mga mata sa hawak na cellphone.
Nakaupo ito sa may couch na nasa isang sulok ng hospital room na kinaroroonan nila sa kasalukuyan. Mayo's lying on the bed, sprained ankle on cast.
Actually she was okay. No broken bone or anything. Just a sprained ankle na pwede namang tapalan na lang ng ice pack sa bahay. Si Alain lang ang nag-insist na magpa-admit siya for at least 24 hours para daw ma-obserbahan.
For his peace of mind, he insisted.
Alain is sixty-five years old, pero hindi iyon halata sa hitsura nito. Vain kasi ito sa sarili, though, hindi naman ito baklang-bakla kung umakto. Sakto lang.
"I'm so sorry, Al," aniya.
"You just gave me a mini-heart attack last night," anito.
"I'm so sorry for making you worry. But I'm all good now. You don't have to worry about me. It was just an accident. Accidents do happen," aniya.
She was still very much worried about her daughter pero kahit papano'y kontrolado na niya ang sariling damdamin. Nagkausap na din kasi sila ni Tita Coki. Nikka's awake and stable now. Thank God!
"Merde! I have every right to be worried. If you only see yourself last night, you look like a zombie on the catwalk!" anito.
She faked a laugh. "You didn't see me, Al. You were backstage."
"Yes, you're right but your video is all over YouTube, like you didn't know. I watched it for like twenty times already!" he said as he raised his phone.
Isang mapaklang tawa lang ang isinagot niya dito. As expected, she'll go viral on YouTube. Mahulog ba naman siya sa runway in the middle of a huge fashion event.
Arghhhh! Sobrang nakakahiya.
"Your video garnered more than a million views overnight. Imagine? A million views! Ohmygod! You had just successfully made a star out of yourself, dahling," ang sarkastiko nitong wika.
She shrugged. "Bad publicity is still publicity, so they say," aniya.
"Too bad, that's not what Levi's think. They are so disappointed on what happened, Mayo. Not that there's anything surprising about that."
Napabuntong-hininga siya. Nanghihinayang din naman kasi kahit na papano. Malaking opportunity ang mapasama sa isa sa mga proyekto ng Levi's ngunit sa nangyari ay malabo nang kunin pa ulit siya ng mga ito. So far, isa ang Levi's sa pinakamalaking proyektong nakuha niya, though she has modelled for a few top labels and designers already. But still...
She heaved a deep sigh.
"I wanna go home, Al," aniya pagkuwan.
"No, you still can't. The doctors still need to do a few tests just to make sure that you didn't get more than that sprained leg of yours."
"No, Al. I wanna go home to the Philippines," ang pagbibigay-linaw niya sa ibig na sabihin.
Pinandilatan siya nito ng mga mata.
"Putain! Don't tell me you're running back home? For Pete's sake, that was just some minor incident. Bad publicity, yes, but still publicity as you've said," anito. Iniisip siguro nito na kaya niya gustong umuwi ng Pilipinas ay dahil sa nangyaring insidente.
"No, Al. This is not about the incident. I... I just need to go back to the Philippines," aniya.
Mataman siya nitong tinitigan. "This is about that phone call, right?" anito.
"So, tell me," he continued. "What happened? Your aunt's crying or something so I knew something's not right. That's why I don't want to give the phone to you right away. You could've talked to them after the show," anito.
Nagbawi siya ng tingin. She fixed her gaze at the wide ceiling.
"It's about my daughter," aniya habang nakatitig sa kisame.
Nakausap na kasi niya kagabi ang Tita Coki niya, naipaalam na nito sa kanya ang tunay na kalagayan ng anak.
"My five-year-old daughter has a heart problem, Al," she continued. "I need to see her." Naramdaman niya ang pagaralgal ng sariling boses.
She fought the urge to cry. Ayaw na ayaw ni Alain ang makitang umiiyak siya. It was, actually, him who taught her to be tough. Ang sabi nito sa kanya, walang puwang sa mundo ang mga taong mahihina ang loob.
Narinig niya ang malakas nitong pagbuntong-hininga kaya ibinaling niyang muli ang mga mata dito. May hinala siyang hindi ito papayag na umuwi siya ng Pilipinas, kahit ano pa man ang rason. He's one of the most practical persons she knew. He has no time for nonsense, iyon ang lagi nitong sinasabi sa kanya. "Business is business" ang motto nito sa buhay.
Pero nagbabakasakali pa rin siyang pumayag ito. He had always appeared tough and intimidating but she knew him. Alam niyang kahit na papano, eh, lumalambot din naman ang matigas nitong puso.
She had been acquainted with his soft spot several times already. The first time was when he approached her in a dark alley somewhere in Malaysia. She was tired, hungry, and scared and he appeared like some good samaritan.
"This is not the right time to be out of the scene, Mayo, and you know that," anito sa matigas na tono. Though, something in his eyes was telling her that his mind was not as fixed as he was trying to sound.
"You are still starting in this business," ang dagdag pa nito. "The past three years of building your career is no piece of cake. The competition is harsh. Fresh and younger faces appear every season. One false move and you're gonna lose everything that we've worked so hard for."
"I know that, Al. I know that," aniya. "I... I just wanna see my daughter. I just wanna know her real situation. I won't take long, swear. Nobody will even notice my absence. I just wanted to check things myself. I just have to," she desperately said. Kailangan niya talaga itong mapapayag. She needed to go back to the Philippines. ASAP.
Muli itong napabuntong-hininga. "You still have a couple of engagements, may I remind you."
It's her turn to sigh. Isa din iyon sa mga pinuproblema niya, ang mga natanguang proyekto. Pero hindi katulad noong huling project niya with Levi's, hindi ganoon kalaki ang mga kliyente nila sa nakabinbing proyekto.
Still, para sa katulad niyang hindi pa ganoon ka-established, importante ang bawat proyektong nakukuha niya, malaki man o maliit. Ganunpaman, wala nang mas mahalaga pa kaysa anak niya. Mas importante pa ring makauwi siya ng Pilipinas sa lalong madaling panahon.
"Alright," narinig niyang wika nito. "I'll see what I can do. You are damn lucky we haven't signed the contract yet."
Para siyang nabunutan ng pagkalaki-laking tinik sa lalamunan sa narinig. Sa sobrang tuwa niya'y napabangon siya bigla. She sat down on her bed and acted like giving him one bear hug.
"Thank you so much, Al! I owe you big time!" Walang pagsidlan ang tuwang kanyang nararamdaman.
"Hmm. Looks like you're perfectly fine now," anito na ang tinutukoy ay ang ginawa niyang biglang pagbangon.
"Of course, I am. It was just you who insisted that I'm not okay. I'm as tough as a carabo, remember?"
Malakas itong natawa. It was her who introduced him to that Filipino cliché.
- Writer
