CHAPTER TWO
966 Words
The next morning, hindi na in-expect ni Elara na makikita pa niya si Raven. Akala niya one-time encounter lang yung kagabi. A random stranger na dumating sa buhay niya for five minutes tapos mawawala na ulit.
Pero paglapit niya sa campus entrance, napahinto siya.
Nandoon si Raven.
Naupo siya sa isang bench, elbows resting on his knees, motorcycle key spinning between his fingers. Para siyang may hinihintay. Or tinitingnan. Or iniisip nang malalim.
And when he lifted his head, their eyes met.
Elara almost stopped breathing. “Raven…?”
Raven stood up slowly, hands slipping into his pockets. “Hi.”
Hindi niya alam kung bakit, pero parang iba yung “hi” na yun.
Hindi friendly.
Hindi cold.
Parang… may meaning na hindi pa niya maintindihan.
“Anong ginagawa mo dito?” tanong ni Elara, trying not to sound too shocked.
Raven looked away for a moment, like he was choosing his words. “Naalala kita kagabi. Hindi ko alam kung nakauwi ka nang maayos.”
Elara blinked. “Ah… yeah. Safe naman ako.”
“Good.” Raven nodded once.
Tahimik silang dalawa for a moment. The kind of silence that wasn’t awkward — just… full.
Then Raven tilted his head toward the vending machines. “Samahan mo ’ko.”
Elara swallowed. “Saan?”
“Bibili lang ako. ’Wag ka na magtanong.”
She almost rolled her eyes. “Ang bossy mo.”
Raven smirked. “Sanay ka na diyan.”
They walked together. Raven pressed a button sa vending machine, and when a milk tea fell out, hindi niya ito binuksan — inabot niya agad kay Elara.
Para siyang na-freeze. “Para sa’kin?”
“Yeah.” Raven leaned against the machine, arms crossed casually. “You like that, right?”
“Paano mo naman nalaman?”
“You had one yesterday. Kasama ng noodles mo.”
Elara stared at him.
This guy… notices everything.
They walked to a quiet table sa courtyard. Elara opened the milk tea, trying not to look too flattered, habang si Raven naman ay naglalaro ng susi sa kamay niya.
Finally, he spoke. “Alam mo… hindi ako madaling mag-alala para sa ibang tao.”
Elara looked at him. “So bakit ka nag-alala kagabi?”
Raven hesitated. Parang bihira siyang mag-open up, and saying this was already a big deal. “Ewan. May something sa’yo.”
“Something?” she whispered.
Raven nodded slightly. “Parang ang dali mong masaktan.”
Elara’s eyes softened. “Hindi naman ako gano’n.”
“Yeah,” Raven said quietly, “pero gano’n yung tingin mo sa mundo.”
She didn’t know how to answer that.
She didn’t even know Raven knew enough to say something like that.
After a moment, she smiled a little. “Alam mo… mysterious ka pala.”
Raven huffed a soft laugh. “Bad thing ba ’yon?”
“Hindi naman,” sagot ni Elara.
“Pero nakakatakot.”
“Good,” Raven replied, leaning back.
“Mas safe kapag natatakot ka nang konti sa’kin.”
Elara raised her brows. “Bakit naman?”
Raven shrugged lightly.
“Para hindi ka masyadong magtiwala.”
She stared at him, confused. “Pero ako yung binilhan mo ng milk tea.”
Raven finally met her eyes again, calm and unreadable.
“Trust me,” he said, voice low.
“But just a little.”
And for the first time, Elara wondered if this boy—
this quiet, complicated boy—
was going to change something in her life.
Elara rested the milk tea on her lap, eyes fixed on Raven. Kanina pa siya naka-lean back, relaxed, parang wala lang sa kanya ang mundo. Pero sa sinabi niya… may something doon na hindi niya mabitawan.
“Raven,” she began slowly, studying his expression, “bakit parang ang dami mong alam sa… emotions ng tao?”
Nag-angat si Raven ng tingin, pero hindi agad sumagot.
Parang nagulat siya na tinanong ko ’yon.
Parang hindi niya in-expect na mapapansin ko.
Elara bit her lip. “I mean… lagi kang may comment na parang ang lalim. Na parang… nakikita mo agad kung ano yung totoo sa tao.”
Raven looked away, staring at the pavement. His fingers tightened around the motorcycle key.
And for a moment…
he didn’t look cold.
He didn’t look confident.
He looked… human.
“Hindi naman sa ang dami kong alam,” he said quietly. “Marami lang akong napagdaanan.”
Elara blinked.
Napagdaanan?
Raven tapped the key against his palm, as if choosing his words carefully.
“Kapag sanay ka nang masaktan,” he continued, voice low but steady, “madali mong makita kung sino yung… madaling masaktan din.”
Elara’s chest tightened.
“Nasaktan ka?” she whispered.
Raven’s jaw clenched ever so slightly.
Not anger.
Not annoyance.
More like… he didn’t expect the question to hit him there.
“Minsan,” he replied simply.
“Pero hindi naman importante ’yon.”
Elara frowned softly. “Important sa’kin. Kasi… hindi ko maintindihan kung bakit ang dali mong magbasa ng tao.”
Raven met her eyes again — this time, walang walls.
Just a quiet, tired kind of honesty.
“Maybe,” he said, “kasi ayaw kong may maulit na… pagkakamali.”
Elara’s breath hitched. “What do you mean?”
Raven held her gaze for a moment.
Then he shook his head lightly.
“Hindi pa ngayon, Elara.”
There was something final in the way he said it.
Not dismissive.
Not rude.
Just… a boundary he wasn’t ready to let her cross.
At habang tinitingnan niya si Raven — the boy who notices too much, the boy who hides too much — may naramdaman siyang kakaiba.
Not fear.
Not confusion.
But a pull.
A dangerous, quiet pull toward someone she barely knew.
- Writer
