CHAPTER TWO – The First Time I Saw Him
490 Words
Minsan, ang mga taong mamahalin mo habang-buhay — hindi naman dumadating na may fireworks o music sa background.
Minsan, tahimik lang silang dumadaan… pero hindi na umaalis sa isip mo.
~~~
Three years ago.
Mainit na hapon sa university café.
I was sitting at the far corner, reading notes while sipping iced coffee — when the door opened, and he walked in.
Alen Valera.
Third-year business major. Anak ng may-ari ng Valera Group.
The kind of man people noticed even when he said nothing.
Tall. Serious and Handsome. Always in black.
Hindi maingay, pero ramdam mo ang presence.
That day, he wasn’t smiling — he rarely did.
Pero nang nagkamali ako ng turn at natapon ‘yung kape ko sa lapel ng coat niya… the world just stopped.
“Oh my God! I’m so sorry!”
He looked down, then up — diretso sa mga mata ko.
“It’s fine.”
Simple. Walang galit. Pero may kung anong lamig sa boses niya na nagpatigil ng t***k ng puso ko.
Habang pinupunasan ko ang damit niya, napansin ko ‘yung maliit na peklat sa gilid ng kamay niya — at ang relo niyang mas mahal pa sa tuition ko.
“Let me pay for the dry cleaning,” I offered, voice shaking.
He shook his head. “Don’t bother.”
Then he walked away.
Pero simula noon…
Hindi ko na siya nakalimutan.
~~~
The next weeks, I kept seeing him around campus — at the library, sa corridor, minsan sa café ulit.
Lagi siyang mag-isa. Laging may hawak na libro o laptop. Walang barkada, walang girlfriend, walang smile.
Hanggang isang araw, nagkulang kami ng presentation partner sa subject namin — and the professor paired me with him.
“Hi,” I said, trying to sound normal. “I guess we’re partners?”
“Looks like it,” he said, eyes still on his laptop.
“I’m Elara.”
“Alen.”
Ganun lang. Walang spark. Walang special moment. Pero sa mga susunod na araw, habang ginagawa namin ‘yung project, I started seeing more.
How he always double-checked everything. How he never raised his voice, pero lahat ng tao, nakikinig kapag nagsalita siya. And how sometimes, sa gitna ng katahimikan, may lungkot sa mga mata niya na parang may pinipilit itago.
One night, habang nagta-type siya ng final report, napatingin siya sa akin at mahina niyang sabi:
“You always smile when things go wrong.”
“Coping mechanism,” sagot ko. “Ikaw?”
“I don’t smile. I just fix things.”
“What if you can’t fix them?”
“Then I leave.”
He looked away after that. Pero sa sandaling iyon, I knew — he was someone who didn’t believe in staying. And yet… I wanted to be the reason he might.
~~~
That was the first time I saw him. The first time I fell for the man who didn’t know how to be loved.
- Writer
