Art of Serendipity

59

Lutang ako nang makauwi sa room ko. Mqy pupuntahan pa sana ako ngayon pero naisio kong huwag na lang tumuloy dahil sa pagod na nararamdaman ko. Nang sinabi niya iyon ay parang tinamaan ako ng sobrang pagkagusto na magpahinga. Right. I should rest today. Ngayon na lang naman ito. Sa susunod na mga bukas pa ay hectic na naman ang schedules ko.

But it is always in my mind. Our little interactions, those little conversations…. Nakakakaba. Ni hindi ko maintindihan kung bakit may mga sinasabi pa siya sa akin na out of our must have topic. He is showig that he still caresfor me and I hate the chills it gives me. I have always hated it, kaya nfayon ay gulong-gulo ako ng sobra.

Sa sobrang pagiisip ay dinala rin nito ako sa mahimbing na tulog. I am glad I had plenty of sleep, energetic tuloy ako sa trabaho kinabukasan. My another busy days started.

"Wait, what? Are you serious? Levi gave you an ointment and bandaid for your blisters?" Ate Noreen annoyed me in my office again after the call a while ago. Just to bug me.

I told her about what happened the night before last two nights, and she suddenly become interested. Ngayon ko na nga lang ulit 'to nakita kasi hinayaan ko talaga siya na mag-bakasyon for one week. Sa week na 'yon ay hindi ko siya ginulo tungkol sa trabaho. Kawawa naman din siya at palaging nagrereklamo dahil napapagod na raw siya sa ginagawa niya sa Hotel ko at sa Acosta. I'm just hoping that I can have my vacation, too. Kung dati ay ang bakasyon ko ang pagta-travel, ngayon naman ay halos sa mga ulap na ako tumira kakalipad sa kung saan-saang bansa. Well, good enough because my office place there has a spectacular view. Iyon lang talaga ang nagpapagaan ng loob ko.

"Yeah, ewan ko ba ro'n," I answered boredly.

"Isn't ironic?" her voice suddenly became pitchy. "Naalala niya pa 'yong mga small things about you. Naaalala niya pa na hindi ka sanay sa heels kaya binigyan ka ng ointment. And wow, he has those things wih him? Saan ka pa?"

My brows rose as a sarcastic remark. "Okay? Anong ironic do'n? It is just normal for me. Ano naman kung may dala siya? Nagkataon lang 'yon. Ma-issue ka lang talaga."

"Then, that means hindi pa siya nakaka-move on sa 'yo, duh?" sambit pa niya na para bang dapat alam ko 'yon.

"You know what, Ate Noreen? Naiwan pa yata sa bakasyon 'yang utak mo," I said as a matter of slightly fact. "Balikan mo kaya?"

Hindi pa siya nakaka-move on? If that is true, then poor him. Hirap na hirap siya kalimutan ako? Ganda ko lang talaga.

But my whole organism knows that it is impossible. Hello! Almost six or seven years already? Going seven, I think? Hay, ewan! But based on his personality, madali na lang sa kaniya ang maka-move on. See? He is being asshole to me again, pa-iba-iba ng timpla. If he still loves me, then he should not act like that towards me. Hindi niya dapat ako ginugulo! I'm the one that should be mad at him, but it turns out that I am the one adjusting.

"Pero paano kung hindi pa nga siya nakakamove-on sa 'yo? What will you do?" subok niya pa.

"Wala. Anong gagawin ko? Is it my fault na hindi pa siya maka-move on?" Irap ko. I am just checking some files for the clients. Hindi ako maka-concentrate dahil sa pinagtata-tanong nitong si Ate Noreen.

"E, ikaw? I'm sure you're not yet moving on. Isipin mo, ah? Si Levi ang naging first kiss mo, siya rin ang naging first boyfriend mo. I know that every first matters especially for us. Levi was the first man who makes you feel special and to make the story short, a man like him will never be forgotten," she said in a very serious tone. 'Di nga? Si Ate Noreen ba 'to?

May sinabi ba akong kinalimutan ko si Levi? Of course, not! Magkaibang bagayn naman ang pagmu-move on sa pagkalimot. When moving on, it means you are no longer thinking about the feelings you once had for him. While in forgetting, kakalimutan mo na lang 'yong pinagsamahan niyo, kakalimutan mo na lang 'yung tao mismo, kakalimutan mo na lang lahat... Ano 'yon? Sa lahat ng pinagsamahan niyo, magkakalimutan na lang ba? I am bitter to forget it, tsaka it also means that I have to forget, so, no. I won't do that.

I shook my head. "Ikaw? When will you introduce to me your new bestfriend?" Pag-iiba ko sa topic dahil masyado na nia akong ginigisa rito.

Palagi kasi 'tong may ibinibida sa akin na nakilala niya raw tapos naging kaibigan niya e. She said that she will introduce her or him to me, but up until now wala pa rin naman siyang maipakilala sa akin. Medyo marami rin kasing kaibigan 'tong si Ate Noreen pero talagang bukambibig niya 'tong newly found bestfriend niya. She is so fond of him or her. Whoever that is.

"Oh, yeah..." She looked up to think. "Sige, next time na lang. Tignan ko kung kailan siya hindi busy. Palagi kasi siyang busy and wala siya masyadong time."

I just shrugged and continued what I am doing. Maya-maya lang ay may naisip ako.

"I wonder if they could also paint my mom? She is the original owner of this hotel and she has a lot of contributions here kaya gusto ko sana na mai-display siya rito. I want people to know that it was my mom who made this hotel to life," I suggested.

"You can ask him naman," iyon ang naaging tugon ni Ate Noreen.

Sumandal ako sa upuan ko. I should ask, pero hindi sa kaniya. Maybe, I can ask his secretary or what. Hindi naman ibig sabihin na may advantage kami ay ganoon na lang kadali na magtanong. I will make a request.

This week is just so peaceful yet tiring for me. Medyo hindi naman ang mga naging marami flight ko so nakakapaghinga naman ako kahit papaano. Hay nako. Sa panahon ngayon, parang sobrang ipagpapasalamat ko talaga na nakakapagpahinga ako.

Now, we have a cargo flight. Sa amin, kapag cargo flight, it means that there are no passenger allowed in the cabin. Nagkakarga lang kami ng gamit mula sa Mactan, Cebu pabalik dito sa Manila. It is more convenient because there's no passenger, less service. Kinabukasan naman ay may flight ako papuntang Korea, layover pa kaya masaya dahil madalas akong natutulog sa layovers.

The benefits of being a flight attendant are we can fly our friends and family for free tsaka libre rin ang hotel booking namin kapag kailangan naming mag-stop or mag-layover sa isang lugar. Another one is that we can have free pass to any tourist spots if we wish it in our company.

"Aya, let's eat lunch," pag-aaya ng isang flight attendant na kasama ko.

I smiled and reached for my jacket because it is cold here. Kapag nag-aya na silang mag-lunch, ibig sabihin ay mamayang gabi na kami uuwi dahil mamamsyal muna kami, tapos pagkauwi ay matutulog. Atleast, kahit nakakapagod ay nagagawa ko pa ring mamasyal tulad ng gusto ko. I smirked for myself. It's a victory!

"Capt, blooming, ah?" I teased our captain or pilot in command as I arrived at the restaurant here. Naka-upo siya sa harap namin katabi ang first officer namin. Apat kaming flight attendant dito, tatlong babae at isang male flight stewardess. That is the usual flight. Sa isang flight din ay mayroong isang lead cabin crew. Naranasan ko na rin maging leas cabin crew and it was way more tiring than the normal crew.

Marunong naman na akong makisama. My communication skills enhanced ever since I became a flight attendant. We also need to socialize a lot of times because of the nature of our work at dahil na rin sa iba't-ibang klase ng tao na nakakasalamuha namin araw-araw.

"Uh..." he hesitated to talk. I'm a bit fascinated by his blue eyes, though. Wala siyang lahing Pilipino, hindi ko lang alam kung anong foreign na lahi pero naging piloto na ata siya sa Finnair, sa Finland. Well, that was what I heard. "I guess so," then he glanced at one of our Flight attendant that seated next to me, si Selene. Selene, on the other hand, tried to avoid the captain's gaze.

Bahagyang nanliit ang mata ko. I can sense something here, but I refused to talk. Hindi ito ang tamang pagkakataon upang makiusyoso. Kumain na lang kami at namasyal ulit. Pagod tuloy kaming umuwi sa Hotel tapos five hours na tulog lang, then back to Manila na naman.

"Una na ako, ha?" paalam ko sa mga kasama nang makapag-report na kami sa headquarters.

"Bye! Take care, Aya!" they bid their byes too.

Nagpasundo lang ulit ako sa driver dahil wala naman akong kotse na iniwan dito. Pagdating naman sa Hotel room ko ay bumagsak agad ako sa kama, but something caught my eyes. I stood up and walked towards it. Naupo ako sa harap nito at pinagmasdan itong mabuti na may familiar na magkahalong sakit at ginhawa na nararamdaman.

It was my painting of him, Levi.

~~~