I See You

Flowers

Sino kaya ang nasa labas? She asked herself.

The last time she cheked ay wala siyang lakad. Wala rin siyang appointment or anything except that damn dinner with the Martins.

Pinakiramdaman niya ang nasa labas. She held her breath for a second trying to listen to any noise coming from the outside. Hindi naman sa natatakot siya. She is confident that the guards won't let someone inside the condominium without passes or permission from the unit owner. Her condo is one of the most popular condominiums in the city. Iilang mga artista rin ang nakatira dito.

The doorbell rang again. This time she decided to stand up and went to the door. She did not do anything but to stare at the screen just beside the door.

She saw a guy wearing gray t-shirt and khaki pants. He looked handsome, she was sure of that. But what caught her attention was the flowers the guy was carrying. It was a huge and beautifully arranged bouquet.

She frowned. Who in the world would send her flowers? Ni wala siyang manliligaw.

The guy looked so frustrated so she decided to push the talk button on the screen.

"Who are you?" She asked on her usual sweet voice. Medyo nagulat pa ang lalaki sa labas and looked somewhere. Maybe he was looking where the voice was actually coming. He then smiled when he realized It came from the small speaker installed beside the door.

"Hi." He smiled.

"I said who are you?" This time may diin na sa boses niya.

"I want sent here by a stupid guy. He doesn't have the guts to face you so he blackmailed me to tell my girlfriend things about my past if I won't agree with him."

She was silent for a moment. Hindi niya alam kung ano ang sasabihin. They guy looked completely foreign to her. Hindi niya ito nakita ni kailanman.

"He? Sino siya?" She inquired.

"Damn." It was low but she heard him.

"I heard that." Pero tinawanan lang siya nito.

"Alright missy. Can you just open the damn door so I can personally hand this to you? He told me to hand this to you directly and not to leave on your doorstep." Tumawa pa ito.

"I don't know you."

"Ofcourse you don't. You don't have to know me anyway, just accept this once and for all." Unti-unting nawala ang ngiti nito. She knew nauubos na ang pasensya nito.

She opened the door.. just enough for her to see the guy.

"Don't worry I am harmless." He defended. Wala pa siyang sinasabi but it seems the guy knew what she was thinking.

"I can't be so sure." She took the flowers and slowly closed the door.

She was halfway when the guy spoke.

"You got an admirer. Pero malala lang ang topak, torpe pa. Simpleng bulaklak hindi pa maiabot." He laughed.

"Sino baa ng nagbigay nito?" Nakalimutan na niyang isarado ang pinto. She was curious who the mystery guy is.

"I can't tell you. I think he left a note." He winked and then walked away.

Tinitigan niya ang bulaklak. Indeed the mystery guy left a note.

Tuluyan na sana niyang isasarado ang pinto when the guy spoke again not very distant from her.

"By the way, he was right. You are beautiful." Then he vanished.

She was stunned alright. Ilang taon na rin ang nakalipas nung huli siyang nakatanggap ng mga bulaklak. She did not know who was the guy who kept on sending her flowers. She can't recognize the sender dahil na rin encoded ang bawat mensahe nito sa card. She sighed.

"Hindi naman siguro siya ang nagpadala nito. Imposible."

She then started to read the note.

"It's been years since I sent you flowers." Parang nag-uunahan ang mga paru-paro sa tiyang niya sa nabasa. Confirmed! It came from the same guy –the mystery guy who kept on sending her flowers every week for years.

"This is ridiculous." She can't believe it. Gusto man niyang isipin na si Theo ito ay parang imposible. He does not know her address. Even if he does, bakit naman siya magpapadala ng mga bulaklak? Besides, nasa note na ang pruweba kung sino ang nagpadala. It was her mystery guy.

She woke up with a heavy heart. Hindi niya namalayan kagabi na nakatulog na pala siya sa sobrang pagod. Yes, she's been crying herself to sleep every night. She's been torturing herself for years now with the same heartbreak. He's always been her heartbreak ever since.

Mabuti na lang at lingo. She can stay all night at her place, watch Netflix and chill.

She immediately took a bath and prepare her breakfast. She is a pro at that. Namuhay siya ng mag-isa kaya alam niya kung paano magluto, maglaba at maglinis. Even if she is now a lawyer ay hindi pa rin siya kumukuha ng maid. What for? Kaya naman niya.

Agad niyang tinapos ang kanyang pagkain at naglinis. She was about to settle on her couch, with popcorn on her hands. Ganito siya tuwing lingo. She always makes sure that she spends her Sunday as normal as possible. And normal means, no work, no appointment, no cases to study, no complaints to make, no witnesses to brief and a lot more. Beside, tuwing linggo lang siya nakakapagpahinga. Although she has staffs working with her, she wants to be hands-on on her cases. Nagpapatulong lang siya sa ibang aspeto because she can't do all the work without collapsing. That happened to her before and she learned her lesson the hard way.

"Finally!" She exclaimed. She chose he favorite series, How to Get Away With Murder.

She can't help but giggle. Ofcourse what do you expect from a lawyer?

She was already very comfortable on her position when the doorbell rang.

"Ahh." She screamed in annoyance. "Sino na naman to? Why can't they just text me." She was so frustrated so didn't bother check the screen anymore. She immediately opened the door. She was about to shout to the intruder's face when she recognized the face.

"What now?" She asked. Kanina pa niya gustong paalisin ang nasa harap. Never in her entire life she imagined na mangyayari to.

She thought she can spend her Sunday well with her favorite series and popcorn while comfortable lying on the sofa but she was all wrong. Her ideal Sunday turned, with just a wink to a nightmare.

He did not spoke.

"May kailangan ka?" She asked again. Pero hindi siya sumagot. He just stared at her face, face remained serious. "I let you in because you said you wanna tell me something very important about your Mom. I don't wanna let you in in here but it will be unprofessional and rude of me if I will shoo you out." She felt like every word was a needle pricking her heart. She really tried hard to remain calm. Hindi siya pwedeng magwala, not infront of him.

"Olivia." That word used to be the most beautiful word pero bakit hindi na ito kasing gandang pakinggan ngayon? But she knows why.

"Call me Atty. Al-Ani. I am your family's lawyer now." She replied calmly. She was silently applauding herself for a role well-played.

"Sorry." Mukha naman itong napahiya pero nakabawi rin agad. "Sorry for interrupting. I had a breakfast meeting just nearby and I decided to drop by to discuss few things about my Mom." He said calmly.

"You mean your mom's will?" She inquired kahit alam na niya kung ano talaga ang pinupunto nito.

"Yes, about that."

Both of them remained serious. The kind of serious na sa unang tingin mo palang, alam mo na na may nabubuong tension sa kanila.

"We already discussed this last night." Mas diniinan pa niya ang boses. She admit, her heart is beating wildly not in happiness but in pain.

Sitting in front of her was the same guy who left and broke her years ago. The guy she used to be her everything. Parang tinutusok bawat himaymay ng katawan niya but she remembered all those nights when she can't fall asleep because she's been haunted by the memories of him.

"I wanna talk to you." He added.

"We are already talked about it."

"No."

"Anong no?"

"I wanna talk to you."

She laughed mockingly.

"We are already talking Mr. Martins."

Good job, Liv, you're way to go. She cheered.

"I wanna talk to you." Ulit pa nito.

"Mas mabuti pang umalis ka na. You're disturbing me." She stood up. Tumayo na rin ang lalaki. Pero imbes na umalis ito ay nagsalita pa ito ulit.

"Did that bastard brought you the flowers?"

It was a short sentence. Pero alam niya na sumabog ang puso niya.