MINSAN LANG MAG KA-

Chapter 1: Swipe Right, Wrong Time The sound of rain pattered softly against the glass window of Lia’s condo unit. Sa isang one-bedroom condo sa Quezon City, she sat cross-legged on the couch, hair up in a messy bun, habang hawak ang kanyang laptop. Nakabukas ang Excel file ng monthly reports ng kumpanya nila—pero halatang wala na siya sa mood. “Ugh. This is boring,” Lia muttered, leaning her head back. Sa tabi niya, nakapatong ang phone. A notification popped up: “Your friend Trixie tagged you in a post.” She tapped it lazily, only to find a meme about “single at 25 and still waiting for Mr. Right.” “Wow, thanks ha, Trix,” she said sarcastically, kahit wala namang nakakarinig. Nasa punto na siya ng buhay na okay naman lahat—stable na career sa marketing firm, decent income, at may sariling condo. Pero kung love life ang pag-uusapan? Zero. Nada. Walang kahit sino. And honestly, she hated admitting it, pero minsan naiinggit siya sa mga couple posts ng mga kaibigan niya. She grabbed her phone again and opened a dating app. Swipe, swipe, swipe. Most of the guys? Not her type. May isang may hawak na isda sa profile picture. Isa naman may pa-gym selfie na halatang galing pang-2009. “Next… next… nope.” Then came a profile named Marco, 26. Profile picture: isang candid shot ng lalaking naka-black jacket, hawak ang helmet, nakasandal sa motor. Hindi siya artistahin, pero may dating. May sincerity sa ngiti niya. She read the short bio: “Delivery rider. Rider ng buhay, rider ng pangarap. Kung may order ka ng pagmamahal, baka kaya kong i-deliver.” Napatawa si Lia. “Corny pero cute.” She hovered her thumb over the screen. “Should I?” And then—SWIPE RIGHT. --- Meanwhile, across town… Sa isang maliit na apartment sa may Sampaloc, Marco just got home mula sa maghapong biyahe. Pagod. Basa pa ng konti dahil inabutan ng ambon habang nagdedeliver ng last order niya. Tinanggal niya ang jacket, binuksan ang electric fan, at humiga saglit sa kama na manipis lang ang foam. “Grabe. Nakakapagod pero laban lang,” he whispered, staring at the ceiling. He grabbed his phone. May ilang unread messages sa family group chat: ang nanay niya, reminding him na magpadala kahit konti para sa gamot ng tatay niya. Sumakit dibdib niya saglit—gusto niyang tumulong pa, pero hindi naman laging sapat ang kita. Para ma-divert ang isip niya, binuksan niya ang parehong dating app. “Let’s see kung may nag-swipe sa’kin today,” Marco said, half-joking. Usually, hindi siya pinapansin. Delivery boy lang siya, and he knew na karamihan ng mga babae sa app, hanap ay stable guy with fancy car, not someone riding a motor for work. Pero bigla siyang napahinto. Notification: “It’s a match! You and Lia connected.” Napaupo siya agad. “What? Match? Totoo ba ‘to?” He clicked on her profile. Name: Lia, 25. Photo: isang girl na naka-office attire, holding a coffee cup, standing in front of a modern glass building. Very sophisticated. Very… out of his league. “Wow,” Marco murmured. “Sigurado bang hindi siya nagkamali ng swipe?” Nag-isip siya kung dapat ba siyang mag-message agad. --- Back to Lia. “Ding!” Her phone buzzed. She checked it. “It’s a match! You and Marco connected.” “Oh my god,” Lia gasped. “Wait, seryoso? Nag-match kami?” Nagulat siya, pero kinilig din. Usually, she swipes just for fun. Pero this time, iba. May kakaibang vibe sa profile ni Marco. She stared at the chat box. “Should I message first?” she asked herself aloud. “Pero girl, dapat hindi ka masyadong eager. Let him message first.” So she put down the phone. --- Marco, on the other side, stared at the blinking cursor sa chat box. Hindi siya sanay dito. He typed, erased, typed again. “Hi, Lia.” Delete. “Hello po.” Delete. “Good evening.” Delete ulit. Finally, nag-type siya ng: Marco: Hi Lia! Thanks for swiping right. Musta ka? He clicked send before he could chicken out. --- Lia’s phone buzzed again. She almost dropped it sa kilig. She read the message. Simple lang. Walang pretentious na pick-up line. Walang yabang. Just plain, sincere. She smiled. Tapos nag-reply siya agad: Lia: Hi Marco! I’m good. Ikaw, how’s your day? Marco blinked at the screen. “She replied… agad?!” He quickly typed back. Marco: Medyo pagod, galing sa work. Pero okay lang. Ikaw? Busy ka ba? Lia: A little. Nagre-review kasi ako ng reports. But I needed a break, kaya eto, nag-swipe. Haha. Marco chuckled. Ang gaan ng vibe ng usapan. Walang awkward na pause. Marco: Same reason kaya ako nag-open ng app. Pampawala ng stress. Hindi ko in-expect na magmamatch tayo. Lia: Haha, bakit naman? Marco: E kasi… mukha kang sobrang out of my league. Natigilan si Lia. Out of his league? She raised her eyebrow, amused. Lia: Excuse me? Huwag kang ganyan. Baka naman ikaw pa ang hindi ko ka-level. Marco laughed aloud. “Grabe, ang cool pala niya.” --- Hours passed. From quick introductions, their conversation grew deeper. Lia: So, delivery rider ka pala? Gaano ka-busy usually? Marco: Sobrang busy. Minsan 10–12 hours sa kalsada. Pero sanay na. Ikaw? Marketing manager? Sounds stressful. Lia: Super. Sometimes I wish I could just drop everything and escape. Marco: Pwede kang sumama sa biyahe ko minsan. Backride ka sa motor. Libre tour around Manila. Lia giggled while typing her reply. Lia: Libre? Sigurado ka ha, hindi ako magbabayad? Marco: Syempre. Special promo para sayo. Pareho silang natawa. For a moment, both forgot their stress and exhaustion. --- But then, something unexpected happened. While Lia was typing a reply, her internet suddenly lagged. Nag-freeze ang app. Pagbalik niya, nawalan siya ng access sa conversation. “No, no, no! Hindi pwede,” Lia panicked, pressing buttons. “Don’t tell me nawala yung chat namin!” On Marco’s side, the app also glitched. Biglang nag-log out. He tried to sign back in, pero error. “Seriously?” Marco groaned. “First time may interesting kausap, tapos mawawala bigla?” The rain outside grew heavier. Both sat in their separate worlds—Lia in her condo, Marco in his small apartment—staring at their glitching phones, hoping na hindi tuluyang mawala ang connection na nagsisimula pa lang mabuo. Little did they know, this was just the first twist of their story.