HE WANTS ME (Hendrickson Sy)

I scratched my forehead, irritated as I woke up when I heard a noise coming from my neighbor's house. Sumilip ako sa bintana at nakita ang isang grupo ng tao na nagkakasiyahan. I frowned at my watch. It's still 8:45 pm. Maaga pa pala? Now that I remember, maaga pala akong umuwi galing sa trabaho at sobrang pagod. I immediately drifted off to sleep. Nakasuot pa ako ng office clothes ko, so I decided na mqg-shower na muna. Pagkatapos kong magbihis ng jammies ko, dumiretso akong pumunta sa study table ko para i-open ang laptop ko. I feel like I didn't get enough sleep but I lost my drowsiness. So, I checked my emails for pending works. I let out a small sigh. Time to be productive. Naka-recieved ako ng email galing sa isa sa teammates ko. So, I kept myself busy for a while hanggang ang tanging naririnig ko na lamang ay ang pagtipa ng mga daliri ko. That's when I noticed that I couldn't no longer hear any noise from the other side. After all, it's dawn. Nag-unat unat muna ako at napagdesisyunan na manood na muna ng TV. I was ecstatic. I couldn't believe myself for staying up late too long. Ishu-shut down ko na sana ang laptop ko nang makarinig muli ako ng ingay. This time, masasabi ko na dalawang tao ang nagsisigawan sa isa't isa. Huminga ako ng malalim. I know I'm being nosy right now, but I can't help it. Wala akong choice kundi ang makinig since ang katahimikan ay sobrang nakakabingi. I want to thank them for cracking the silence in the middle of the dawn. "Really? You were just in the company all day?" a familiar voice exclaimed. I frowned. "You heard me right," sagot nang baritonong boses. Sa tingin ko asawa iyon ni Emrys. "My goodness! It was just for an hour..." her voice broke. "Hinihintay ka ng pamilya ko, tapos ano? You prioritize your woman!" First and foremost, I hate dramas. Kaya kinuha ko na lamang ang headphones ko ar sinubukan na makakuha ng good sleep. Iyon ang inaakala ko. I just woke up when Bad Romance by Lady Gaga suddenly played. I suddenly felt the urge to laugh because I seem to be going crazy. Hindi ko na lang din namamalayan na nakikinig na ulit ako sa ingay ng dalawa. Suddenly, the talking ceased. "Oh, right. This is just for the company. You never really cared... y-you never cared for anything at all!" Emrys shouted. "Jesus, just... you should calm down first, okay? We're both tired and it's not good for us to fight like this," sabi ng asawa niya sa kalmadong boses. Unbelievable... "You're unbelievable." Emrys and I answered at the same time. Nanlaki ang nga mata ko at sabay takip sa bibig ko. I wrapped myself in a blanket and found myself listening to the movie I mean — to my neighbors. "Lower your voice—" sambit ng asawa ni Emrys. "At bakit? Nahihiya ka?" She just laughed. "I didn't know that you were still ashamed... Why? You don't want them to know how much of a jerk you are? For Pete's sake! I can endure everything, I can endure my pain but not this one. I've already had enough of your b*lls**t! " Emrys exclaimed. That was the last I heard before the couple’s voice gradually faded. Siguro napagdesisyunan na nilang pumasok sa loob. Nakalipas na ang ilang minuto pero nananatili pa rin akong nakatulala dahil sa nangyari. Today wasn't like every other day. Whatever. I figured— the whole situation made me feel too riled up to sleep peacefully anyway. Holy cat! I'm late. Nagmadali na akong pumunta sa bathroom at ginagawa ang morning routines ko. Usually, wala naman talaga akong pakialam about my surroundings pero hindi ko alam kung bakit nakatingin ako ngayon sa bahay ng mag-asawa. It looked so peaceful compared to the owners. I gave it one last look before I got up from my car and sped off. "Good morning, Ms. Brielle!" masiglang bati sa akin ng mga ilang co-workers ko pagpasok ko ng kompanya. "Good morning," I replied. "Ma'am Brielle, the sketch I asked you to check last night, I forgot to mention that we will present it later to the CEO," Kiana said, isa sa mga team members ko. "Uh, really? Is your presentation to him now?" I asked. Their attention was focused on me. "Yes ma'am! Thank you also because you gave suggestions about the details of the design," nakangiti niyang saad. Pumunta na ako sa table ko at inayos ang mga gamit ko. "No problem, it's part of my job." I smiled sparingly before turning my attention to the monitor. Hindi na ako nagsayang ng oras, nagsimula na akong magtrabaho. Pagkatapos kong i-re-check ang mga designs nila sa sketch book, tumunog bigla ang cellphone ko. I got a message from Dion. Nag-sent siya sa akin ng picture pero dahil mahina ang connection, naglo-loading pa ito. Nagsisimula na akong mawalan ng pasensya dahil ilang minuto na ang nakalipas at hindi ko pa rin ma-view ang picture. I glanced at my monitor, after tapping my fingers thrice from the table, I slammed the phone and focused on my work. Ugh. Maybe later. "D*mn it!" I just found myself sweating because the sun was so straight. Lumabas ako ng building pero iyong picture ay hindi pa rin ma-view. Kainis! Napagdesisyunan ko na lamang na bumalik na sa loob habang patuloy pa rin ako sa pagpindot. I hadn't been able to get in when the signal is finally okay. I literally jump out of nowhere with my high heels on because of so much excitement. Nilapit ko ang mukha ko sa screen ng cellphone ko habang dahan-dahan na tinitingnan ang picture. When I raised my hand forward, I let go of the phone. "Ouch!" "Sh*t!" We both shout. Parang gusto kong umiyak na hindi dahil sa solid na paghulog sa paa ko. Kitang-kita ko ang crack ng screen ng cellphone na pinakamamahal ko. My three-month salary is wasted for nothing! Pagtingala ko, nakita ko ang mukha ng babae. Mukhang inis na inis siya habang nakatingin sa akin. Huh? Sa akin? "What the hell... Are you blind? Can't you look where you're going?" she asked rudely. I felt sorry for her, because she looked like a tomato with a very red face, her pale skin made her look even prettier— oh my! Stop praising her, Brielle! "I'm sorry, I didn't notice you—" Hindi na niya ako hinayaan na tapusin ang sasabihin ko. Tiningnan niya ako ng masama bago eleganteng umalis sa harap ko without paying attention to me. I heard a faint giggle. That's when I felt my cheeks heating up. She just deliberately humiliated me. The nerve of that tomato girl! Inikot ko ang mga mata ko at ginaya ang pag-walk out ng babae. Binaling ko ang atensyon ko sa basag na cellphone ko. It's good that it's still in good condition. I suddenly felt annoyed. This is all your fault, Dion! Grrr! Nakaramdam ako na dahil sa nangyari kanina parang na-drained ako ng sobra na parang gusto ko nang humiga sa sahig. Bigla ko na rin naalala ang picture at tamad na tamad ko itong tiningnan. I was suddenly deaf when I realized what I saw. The only thing I could clearly tell is, my heart was about to burst. As in now! Ang tanging naririnig ko lang ay ang pagpintig ng puso ko, at doon na naghahabol ang aking paghinga na para bang I had been holding my breath for a while. A ring. He just sent me a picture of a ring. An engagement ring. Hindi ko na makita pa ang picture dahil 'yong vision ko ay biglang nag-blurred. Nagsimula nang tumulo ang luha ko habang nakatayo pa rin ako na gulat na gulat. I couldn't believe it... "W-what..." Ang isip ko ay tila ba na blangko. Ang tanging nasa isip ko ay ang singsing. The only thing on my mind was the ring. I was so full of emotion that I didn’t realize Dion had a missed call. Holy cake! Binuksan ko ang message niya sa akin na sinent 12 minutes ago. From: Dion Hera. Swy restaurant, 7 p.m. See you! Kinakabahan ako at na-e-excite at the same time. I think I had a cold foot for some good reason. I just... can't process what's happening right now. Hindi ako makapag-isip ng diretso. "Yes!" sigaw ko with matching head bang pa sa ulo. Gulat din ako sa sarili kong reaction, kaya no'ng papasok na ako sa building habang hawak-hawak ang cellphone ko na nasa may dibdib ko, muntik pa itong mahulog! The employees had their confused looked on their faces because of my weird behavior. Dahil nga siguro sa ginawa ko, but I didn't even bother to act myself because I look like I'm going crazy dahil sa sobrang saya.