One Bed, No Boundaries

Kabanata 6

“Himala ata at walang trabaho??” Tumatawa kong sambit.

“Wala, talagang wala kasi mag gagala tayo.” Sambit ni Saraiah habang nag tataas baba ang kaniyang kilay.

“Huh?” Takang tanong ko.

“Let’s go window shopping Ryen.” Sambit ni Annaya at agad akong hinitak patayo sa aking kama.

“Hoy! Rest day kasi.” Reklamo ko habang umiiling. I am too lazy to go out.

“Inaantok pa ko.” Dagdag ko pero wala na rin naman nagawa dahil nahitak na ako ng dalawa.

Nang matapos kaming gumayak ay agad na hinagis ni Annaya kay Saraiah ang susi ng sasakyan namin.

“Ako na mag dadrive.” Pag aalok ko ngunit sabay silang umiling.

“Nope, nope, nope.” Tumatawang sambit ni Saraiah kaya napa taas ang kanang kilay ko.

“At bakit nanaman?” Reklamo ko.

“Prinsesa ka ngayon.” Naka ngising sambit ni Annaya.

“Prinsesa your áss.” Naka taas kilay na sambit ko. For sure ay ako ang pagagastusin ng dalawa na ‘to sa mall kaya ginagawa akong prinsesa ngayon.

“Minsan lang naman ito, pag bigyan mo na kami.” Naka ngusong sambit ni Annaya.

“Yung minsan niyo, every week.” Reklamo ko habang napapa iling. Wala na rin naman akong magagawa pa.

“Tara na nga. Hindi niyo rin naman ako pakakawalan.” Reklamo ko na ikinatawa ng dalawa.

Our first stop was clothing stores, H&M, Stradivarius, Bershka, Forever 21. We weren’t planning to shop heavy, but grabe, the temptation was real. We entered H&M, and almost instantly, nagsimula na ang “Uy bagay ‘to sa’yo!” moments, budol pa naman ang mga ‘to at talagang magaling mang uto. Annaya held up a long blazer, and said, “Pang tita outfit‘to, bagay sayo Ryen.” saka ipinasukat sa akin at pinaikot pa talaga ako na parang nag momodel ng damit. While Saraiah grabbed a cute green top and headed to the fitting room, and Annaya was taking pictures of us while hyping.

“Hoy gagá wag kang maingay.” Tumatawa kong saway dahil sa pag lakas ng boses ni Annaya.

“Opps. Sorry.” Sambit niya at napa takip sa kaniyang bibig na mas ikina tawa namin ni Saraiah.

Wala naman kaming binili agad, pero the experience of trying on clothes and laughing in front of mirrors? Dun palang alam kong mabubudol nila ako.

We visited a few more shops, hanggang sa napagod na ang paang naka-heels ni Saraiah. “Awat muna uy, sakit na ng paa ko,” Naka nguso niyang sambit kaya nag hanap agad kmi ng malapit na pwedeng pag upua.

After resting, we entered Typo and Miniso. These shops are our weakness. We ended up fangirling over scented candles, cute mugs, fluffy pens, pastel notebooks, cat-shaped pillows, and teddy bears.

“Hoy hala, gusto ko nun.” Sambit ko saka tinuro ang isang cute teddy bear na avocado at pig.

“Kung ako sayo, bibilhin ko.” Pag paparinig ni Saraiah.

“Nope.” Taas kilay kong sambit. In terms of buying, ako ang pinaka responsible samin tatlo dahil nakakapag pigil pa rin ako kahit anong hikayat nila sa akin o pang bubudol, unlike them na isang sige lang pupush na agad nila.

We each bought something small. Ako, a Teddy bear, hindi na nakatiis e.. Si Saraiah, pastel sticky notes and journals. Habang si Annaya naman ay, a mini desk lamp. Puro pang productivity yung kanila tapos akin for display lang.

“Bibili bili ng ganiyan, display lang naman sainyo yan.” Tumatawa kong sambit habang pinupuna ang pinag bibibili nilang gamit.

“Syempre, sa umpisa sipag sipagan. Tapos kapag tumagal ang mahalaga sinipag nung una.” Biro ni Annaya kaya bahagya akong napa ngiti at napa iling.

Sinasabi ko na nga ba e, gastos lang talaga.

By noon, gutom na kami lahat. The food court was packed, so we decided to try one of the restaurants. We walked past so many, but we ended up at Seoulgyupsal, because Korean BBQ was calling our names. Cravings.

Inside, we were given a grill table, and the moment the meat started sizzling, lahat kami biglang tahimik. “Daig pa may dumaang bagyo ah.” Biro ni Saraiah na ikinatawa ko ng bahagya.

“Basta pag kain tumatahimik ang lahat.” Hirit ko naman na ikinangiti nila.

“Kagutom naman kasi.” Biro pa ni Annaya.

We grilled pork belly, wrapped it in lettuce, dipped in sauce, sabay sabay kinain. “Ang sarap!” Masayang sambit ni Saraiah na halatang enjoy na enjoy sa pag kain.

We kept feeding each other, trying different dips, and doing that "cheers" using lettuce wraps. After the meal, super busog kami, but I still ordered bingsu for dessert, mango flavor, of course.

“Aaaaa omg! Kamiss bingsu.” Sambit ni Annaya kaya napangiti ako. Ngayon nalang din kasi kami nakapag bingsu dahil hindi naman na kami halos lumalabas at nakakabili ng mga dati naming hilig kainin.

While eating, we talked about everything, work, life, at love. Saraiah opened up about her burnout at work, and we listened without interrupting. Annaya offered advice in her usual calm and funny way. “Kung ayaw mo na, lipat ka na business. Tayo na lang magbenta ng milk tea!”Biro niya dahilan para mapatawa kaming lahat.

“Stress na nga sa company, dadagdagan mo pa ng foodtech.” Naka nguso niyang sambit kaya bahagya akong napa ngiti.

After that hearty meal, we went to Timezone. The noise, the neon lights, the tickets flying everywhere, para kaming bumalik sa pag kabata. We loaded our game cards and challenged each other. Basketball shootout muna, Annaya lost, as usual kaya sinagot niya ang gastos namin ni Saraiah sa buong pag stay namin sa timesone. Then after a while, Saraiah killed it in the dance machine, grabe, parang may sariling concert. “Parang it’s time, si Ryen naman ang sasayaw.” Tumatawang sambit ni Annaya.

“Hoy tumigil kayong dalawa! Sasakalin ko kayo.” Reklamo ko habang umiiling.

“Hindi ka kumakanta, baka talent mo pag sayaw.” Sambit ni Saraiah na pinipilit pa rin ako.

“Hoy! Seryoso hindi ako marunong.” Pag tanggi ko ngunit sa huli ay wala na rin akong nagawa kung hindi ang sumunod nalang sakanila.

“See? Marunong kang sumayaw.” Gulat na sambit ni Annaya matapos akong paanorin.

“Anong marunong e mukha nga akong tuod.” Reklamo ko ngunit umiling sila.

“Kung makikita mo lang ang sarili mo ay mabibigla ka rin. Marunong kang sumayaw.” Sambit ni Saraiah habang tumatango tango.

“Huwag niyo nga akong bolahin.” Taas kilay kong sambit at hindi pa rin naniniwala.

After that, Annaya and I went head-to-head sa racing game and ended up screaming at the last lap. Tapos si Saraiah again sa claw machine, trying to win a plushie.

She was so close every time. “Feeling ko hindi destiny, pero sige try ko pa rin, ipipilit,” she said dramatically. We just laughed and watched her fail over and over, then screamed when she finally won a baby dinosaur plush. “Success!” Sigaw niya na mas ikinatawa namin ni Annaya.

“Nilapitan ka rin ng swerte.” Biro ko na ikinangiti niya.

We passed by a photo booth. Without second thoughts, we jumped in and posed, wacky, cute, heart hands, eyes closed, tongues out, lahat. We got three photo strips each. New collection of pictures.

“Next time ayain natin boys.” Sambit ni Saraiah.

“Oo, next time kasama sila Achilles. Para kumpleto.” Naka ngisi kong sambit dahilan para mapa nguso siya.

Then, we stopped at a café. We ordered iced lattes and shared a slice of chocolate cake. No phones. Just soft music, laughter, and real talk.

Saraiah opened up about her recent thoughts. Tahimik lang kami ni Saraiah, then we gave her a group hug. “Pag bumalik kasi, kausapin mo na. Huwag mo na takasan.” I told her. She smiled with teary eyes. “Nag sabi yung tinatakasan si Davian kada aamin.”

“Talaga namang humirit ka pa gagá.” Tumatawa kong sambit.

Before heading home, we walked to the Bay Area, where we sat on one of the benches facing the ocean. May konting lamig, may kaunting hangin, and the city lights were starting to shimmer on the water.

Sobrang peaceful. We took off our shoes, stretched our legs, and just sat quietly for a while. No more words needed. Talagang nag papahinga lang kami at pinapanood ang papalubog na araw.