Veracity (TagLish)

Pinunasan ni Demi ang estante ng mga cake bago nagtungo ng stockroom at doon ay dali-daling nagpalit ng damit. She slided off the screen of her phone that was ringing ever since her shift has ended. Humarap siya sa salamin upang kahit papaano ay maiayos ang nagulong buhok. Her hair is quite shorter than the other women. Mas gusto niya iyon, mas madaling suklayin at iayos lalo na kapag ginamitan lang ng spray net. Bahagya niya lang na nilagyan ang mga labi ng lip balm dahil na rin sa pagmamadali. She has a mole under her lip, just like her mother. Looking for her mom, she found her taking orders, she smiled and waved to her mom to inform her that she's about to leave. Ngumiti lang ito bilang tugon sa kaniya. "Hey, did you see my last game last night? Damn it, I lose!" A group of men thoughtlessly entered the café and already creating an unwanted noise. Hindi na sana niya papansinin ang mga ito, however, when she's about to use the door, someone mindlessly entered and bumped to her. Tumapon tuloy sa suot niyang damit ang iniinom nitong coke. "Sorry..." Although it's this guy fault, she felt a bit offended nang makitang nakangiti pa ito kahit humihingi ng paumanhin. She can't lose her temper right now. Lalo't nasa loob pa siya ng cafè na pagmamay-ari ng ina. She will let this slide. "Bro! Where have you been? Kanina ka pa namin hinihintay sa labas kaya nauna na kami sa 'yo." The last guy is being greeted by the group of men who were making a big ruckus earlier. "Yeah, something came up. I'm sorry," the last guy apologized. "Good thing, you're now here. Nag-aya si Gino na manlilibre siya ngayon, mind if you join us?" Tumango ang huli. She is left with a huge mess on her shirt. Napabuntong hininga siya and decided to go back to the stockroom. Nagmamadaling nilapitan siya ng ina nang makita siya nitong pabalik ng stockroom. "Is there something wrong hija?" her worried mom asked. Umiling siya. "Nothing, magpapalit lang po ako ng damit–" hindi na niya natapos ang sasabihin sa ina nang may tumawag na ritong customer. "Miss," someone also called her. It's somehow nostalgic when she heard that kind of soothing voice. Kahit siguro sinong babae mapapalingon sa ganoong kagandang boses ng isang lalaki. However, she was rather disappointed to see that it was the man earlier. Pilit na ngumiti siya. Hindi niya dapat ipakita na naiirita siya, customer pa rin kasi ito kahit baligtarin man ang mundo. "Yes sir, how can I help you?" she asked politely. He is way taller than her, might be a foot. Bumagay ang suot na simpleng black t-shirt at cargo pants nito sa theme ng café ngayong buwan. Lalong pumukaw ng pansin niya ang nangingislap na mga mata nito sa ilalim ng ilaw. He has a pale skin. Matangos din ang ilong nito na halatang hindi purong Pilipino, hindi rin nakatakas sa mga mata niya ang mapupula nitong mga labi at pantay-pantay na ngipin. His looks are perfect. Unfortunately, not for her. "I'm Zain, I'm really sorry." May kung ano'ng kinuha ito sa dalang bag. "Here, take this." Wala sa sariling tinanggap niya iyon. It's a t-shirt. "Thank you?" Hindi niya alam ang sagot na dapat ibigay, she received something, so it's normal to say thank you? "You're welcome." Umalis na ito na halatang kontento na sa naging tugon niya. She did not bothered herself to glance when the guy named Zain returns to his table with his friends. *** "Where have you been?" bungad na tanong ni Gino kay Zain. Tulad niya ay nakasuot lang din ito ng casual clothes. Hindi alintana kahit may makakita ritong sariling empleyado sa isang company na malapit lang doon. "May kinausap lang ako sandali," sagot ni Zain. "Aren't you all yet ordering anything?" kalauna'y tanong niya. "Dalawang beses ka na naming hinihintay, anyways, ano ba gusto niyong drinks?" Si Cloud ang nagbuklat ng menu na nasa mesa. "Hey, Miles, don't sleep yet!" Sinaway nito ang kasamang nakahanda ng matulog. "Anything is fine as long as I can drink it..." inaantok na sagot ni Miles. "Yeah, right." Iritableng iniabot ni Cloud sa kaniya ang hawak. "Two americanos and one strawberry latte." Nagpunta siya nang counter then ordered the drinks. The woman in her late fifties smiled and prepared his orders. Pabalik na siya nang mahagip ng paningin niya ang babae kanina. He just shrugged and get back to his friends. "So, bago ang lahat. We're not here to talk about our shits in life," simula ni Cloud. Binuksan nito ang sobreng hawak kanina pa. Ito ang marahil unang pagkakataon na nagseryoso ang kaibigan. Of course, he may be serious most of the time, but Cloud's way of expressing things may not be the right thing. Pero walang magkakaila sa kanilang magkakaibigan na, he possessed all of the good physical qualities of a man, specially his face. He has deep blue eyes, a pointed nose and even those kissable lips. No one can ignore that. Umayos ng upo si Miles, fighting the urge to sleep dahil kanina pa ito hawak sa kwelyo ni Gino. "We have a huge problem right now, we're lacking of members, a coach and a manager." Gino seriously said. Sandaling natahimik ang lahat. All of them are professional gamers specifically in MOBA or Multiplayer Online Battle Arena, an esport wherein two of the opposing teams of characters compete head-to-head with the goals of protecting their home base and destroying the towers or turrets. At malapit na ang tournament na unang beses nilang sasalihan dahil nagfocus sila ngayon sa iisang game, they practice a lot in States before they decided to go back here in Philippines not because they want to but their families are eager to see them to graduate and manage their own businesses. Si Miles ay third year college pa lang, while Zain is in his fourth year both taking up the same course na four years. On the other hand, Gino and Cloud are both busy managing their families company. Kung tutuusin madali lang para sa kanila makahanap ng coach and manager, however, considering that they are only first timers at wala silang gaanong kilala sa Pilipinas dahil matagal silang nag-stay sa States, batid pa rin nila ang kahalagahan na magkaroon sila ng bagong mga tao considering the rules. "What about a coach? Can we just find anyone, who will act as a coach." Miles broke the silence, he knows how important is the upcoming tournament but considering the time they would consume while finding those two, masyadong risky. "Actually, we need a real and authentic one. We played already before in NA, yeah, we managed to win, thanks to our captain Jim, but we cannot play if we don't have a coach and a manager who will do all the work while we're busy practicing." Cloud added. "What do you mean?" Miles took things lightly. "Here in the Philippines, your team should have at least eight members and at most ten members including the coach and manager to qualify. The management is quite strict, it is mandatory, that's why we're in dire need of people." "Are you kidding me?" "Miles, some of us were aiming to become professional gamers, you should know that. You've been busy sleeping all day in NA that's why you're not familiar with these things. Before we have James who acted as our manager and Ash as our coach although Jim is the one doing all the instructions at once when we're at the middle of the match." Cloud explained. "The four of us including Jim as our captain are all here in the Philippines to participate in the National Tournament to get a ticket to represent the country in the International Tournament, however with the lacking of members we'll surely have a problem now that we're only five in our team. James and Ash couldn't go here in the PH due to their works, we cannot burden them again this time." Dumating na rin sa wakas ang order nila. Zain did not ordered anything for himself, he's actually avoiding drinking any hot or cold drinks, the soda he had earlier is just to quench his thirst, he was about to throw the drink but it happened that he bumped to someone. Nagpasalamat siya sa nagdala ng order nila. Saka naman dumating ang kanilang team captain na si Jim. Kahit ang nagserve ng order nila ay napadako rin ang tingin sa entrance nang pumasok ang kaibigan dahil na rin siguro sa kakaibang suot nito noong araw na iyon. Jim is wearing his somewhat weird suit that doesn't comply with the pants and the coat, and even that weird shoes he's also wearing! Everything doesn't match at all! Ngiting-ngiti pa ito nang makita sila. Kumaway ito at nagtungo na sa pwesto nilang magkakaibigan. "Yo, Jim, what's that outfit for?" Cloud who's amused, he greeted Jim while it's heading to their table. "Well, I need to. I met this morning an important person." Naupo ito katabi niya. "He's the uncle of late Divo Miguel Moore," Jim started. Walang pag-aalinlangang kinuha nito ang order ni Gino at agad iyon ininom. Hindi umimik ang kasama. Upon hearing that name, they all became serious and attentive. Alam nilang lahat kung sino iyon. Divo is the most well known person among all MOBA players existed in esports. Sino ba naman ang hindi nakakakilala sa taong binanggit ng leader nila?! They were all speechless. No one dared to speak. They let Jim tell them all the details. "He is my friend and a relative, when I was in college we used to hang around when we're free..." So, their leader knows Divo back in college? "Bakit hindi namin alam?" Cloud suddenly asked. Jim faces them with a puzzled look. "Hindi ba? I thought I did." Tinunggang muli nito ang inumin ni Gino hanggang sa mangalahati na ang laman niyon. "I did, might be at that time hindi pa siya ganoon kakilala. I remember, when I told you about that story of mine, we're not yet into MOBA." Sumimsim si Gino ng kaniyang inumin saka lang niya napagtanto na wala na 'yong laman at naubos na ni Jim. He just shook his head. "So, what's about Divo's uncle? As far as we all know, one year ng patay ang pamangkin niya because of an accident, am I right?" Lalo silang natahimik, particularly Miles who admires Divo and the reason why he always chose an assassin as his role from all their matches. Bagamat bumakas sa mukha ni Jim ang lungkot at dismaya nang maalalang matagal ng pumanaw ang matalik na kaibigan nanatili siyang kalmado, at muling dumampot ng isa pang inumin, kay Cloud iyon, hindi rin ito umimik. "I spoke with Divo's uncle about our new coach, but before anything else, I wanted you to see this last game of SpaiDer. SpaiDer is the former squad of Divo, last year they dominated the International Tournament, and managed to win without Divo on it." Ang buong akala nila dati, Divo is the reason why SpaiDer became a very dominant squad, and the reason of winning the grand champion award. Naging usap-usapan sa buong mundo ang pagkapanalo ng SpaiDer kahit apat lang ang players na sumalang... hindi inilabas ang tunay na dahilan kung bakit apat na lang ang players na lumaban kahit anim naman talaga ang players ng squad. They've heard a news na habang nasa daan pa lang ang minamaneho ni Divo ay nadamay ito sa isang traffic accident, noong araw din na iyon ang grand finals ng laro na sinalihan ng squad na kabilang ito. Ayon din sa balita, malubha ang natamong sugat ni Divo at kinakailangan na madala agad sa ospital, doon kinumpirma siyang dead on arrival. Naging makasaysayan ang larong iyon sa MOBA sa buong mundo kaya't lalo itong sumikat. Pero ang pinakanagbigay spotlight sa larong iyon ay ang apat laban sa lima, despite the pressure of losing the team's captain na si Divo, paanong ang squad na iyon ay nakayanan ang ganoong kabigat na pressure! Binuksan ni Jim ang dala niyang laptop at iniharap iyon sa apat na kasama. "This is their final match," Jim played the video clip. Lahat sila ay ilang beses na marahil napanood ang video na 'yon. "Even though they managed to win, they did not all attend the awarding ceremony. Lahat sila ay dumeretso agad sa ospital kung saan dinala si Divo. But, my point here... I know ilang beses niyo na itong napanood but I still wanted to show you this match that mark the history of MOBA." They were all watching the match that they have watched already before a couple of times. Suddenly, Jim paused the video. Saka may tila sila napansin sa unang pagkakataon. "Did you all see that?" Kapwa tumango silang apat. There's a woman behind the players... might be the squad manager? coach? "Who is she?" Wala silang matandaang kasa-kasama ng SpaiDer na babaeng coach at manager, or they are only busy looking up to the squad members. "That's the younger sister of Divo and her name is Demi." Jim quicky stated. Ipinagpatuloy ulit ni Jim ang video. Ilang beses lang nahagip ng camera ang babae sa likod mapapansin ding kinakausap nito ang apat na players and were all listening to her all throughout the game. Is she the coach?! "Siya ang coach ng SpaiDer. Divo is the one who gave her the permission to become the voice of the squad. She stayed calm all throughout the game and maintain the professionalism atmosphere among her team members. She's the main reason why SpaiDer... manages to win." They felt goosebumps. Hindi kasi ipinakita sa orihinal na video na pinanood nila ang ibang nangyari behind the match. "I took this video clip from Divo's uncle dahil nandoon siya ng time na 'to habang nilalampaso nila ang wala pang talo na Hollow squad. Ipinalasap nila sa squad na 'yon ang kauna-unahang talo ng mga ito sa loob ng anim na taon na paghahari sa MOBA partcularly in the game of Night Lost." That girl's named is Demi. "What do you want to say?" Cloud started. "That we need that woman in our team?" "Exactly!" Jim smiled. "Isn't it unfair for her? If we let her join our team, she will be reminded of her brother's death." Gino worriedly said. "Nope, probably... she's not." Kinuha naman ni Jim ang kaniyang iPad. Nag-open ito ng Night Lost. "What do you mean?" "I also asked her uncle about whether she's still playing, and yes, my assumption is right. She's still an active player, by the name CodeZ under the squad Hollow." "What?! I don't get it? She's an active player?" Napatayo si Cloud sa kinauupuan. "I don't get it at all. Wala lang ba sa kaniya ang pagkamatay ng kapatid niya dahil sa kompetisyon ng araw na 'yon. Kung hindi nahilig ang kapatid niya sa MOBA, he wouldn't die in a tragic way!" "Don't make that kind of conclusion, Cloud. She still hates e-sports lalo na ang larong nagpapaalala sa kaniya ng pagkamatay ng kapatid niya. George, their uncle told me." Tinype niya ang pangalang CodeZ sa search engine ng Night Lost. Kapwa nagtayuan na ang apat para tingnan ang ginagawa ni Jim. Then, they saw that CodeZ's game history... hindi maiwasan ni Miles na tumawa. "Is that what you call the mind master of that historical match? Pathetic," he retorted. "Well..." Jim looked closely with the history of Demi's matches. Every end of the matches the system will give each player a correponding medal, if the player gives all reason such as kills and push to win the match that player can accumulate a gold medal or an MVP. However, Demi's score board is too bland... she always gets a silver medal, still not bad. Yet, he still expects to see a lot of skills in playing and the data he expects should at least be acceptable but not to the extent of... not bad. "She's playing as a tank role, that's not new. You would always get a lower data accumulation when the match end, the good thing is... she always wins and she has an eighty and above percent win rate for a girl's account that is remarkable already." Zain explained. "That's correct." Gino agreed. "What else we can see to that CodeZ's account?" "Her previous gameplays." They have watched some of her replay gameplays and were all... amaze. She's actually the reason why her team won all the matches... and more importanly she's a solo player! "We need her." Si Gino na ang nagsalita para sa kanilang apat na halatang gulat na gulat pa rin sa napakagandang larong napanood. "We may not know her real reason why she still plays but she can't if she's alone. She needs us and most of all, we badly need her more!" *** Um-order muli si Gino ng panibagong inumin sa kanilang lima dahil kay Jim pa lang ay hindi pa rin sapat ang dalawang baso ng Cafe Americano. Hindi rin siya magtataka kung maya-maya lang ay atakihin ito sa puso dahil sa nerbiyos. Pabalik na siya ng table ng maabutang tulog na si Miles. Nagliligpit naman na ng gamit si Jim. "Aalis ka na?" tanong niya. "Not yet, kukumustahin ko muna si Aunt Paula," sagot nito. "Will you be needing a car?" "Why would I? She owns this coffee shop she might be in her office now." Tumayo ito. "Where? You mean here?" "Yes." Natatawa na lang tuloy siya. "Don't tell me this Aunt Paula of yours is also the mother of Demi?" he jokingly said. Naupo na muli siya sa binakanteng upuan kanina. "Yeah, haven't I told you that Demi's my cousin, it's a long story. Well, now you know, I'm taking my leave for the mean time..." "Seriously?!" gulat na gulat sila ni Cloud sa narinig. "Bakit di mo agad sinabi, you piece of s**t?!" Sabay na rin silang napamura. "So, hindi ko talaga nabanggit?" Tatawa-tawa na lang si Jim na umalis. *** Zain glances outside the glass wall of the coffee shop. Nahagip ng paningin niya ang babaeng papatawid ng kalsada, he let that woman to borrow his shirt yesterday, its the same t-shirt he wore when they won in NA national competition of Night Lost. That's actually his favorite shirt, he always bring it with him wherever he goes. Well everything happens because of his carelessness. He saw the woman helped an old man to cross the busy road dahil halatang nahihirapan ang matandang lalaki na maglakad. He doesn't want to see that kind scene. Ah, he forgot, he badly needed that t-shirt. Its his lucky charm, it came from his Lola Pint. *** "You're a nice girl. Do you want to accompany me all throughout this day?" Demi felt the strong urge to punch the old man's face. Kanina pa kasi nito hawak ang kamay niya ng may malisya. Kung titigan kasi siya nito tila hinuhubaran na siya ulo hanggang paa. Hanggang kailan ba siya titigilan ng mga matang wala pa man ginagawa sa kaniya ramdam na ramdam na ng buong kalamnan niya ang takot. "No sir, I still need to work." She instantly rejected the invitation. Hinaplos na ng matanda ang braso niya. "I'll pay for your wage for today, and I'll triple it if you also accompany me tonight." What a piece of s**t?! Napakunot na ang noo niya. Akmang sasampalin na niya ang matanda nang may biglang umagaw ng braso niya na hawak-hawak ng matanda kanina. Nanuot ang sakit niyon at batid niyang magkakapasa. "Sir, kanina pa kayo pinagtitinginan ng mga tao dahil hinaharass niyo ang isang babae. Ayaw niyang sumama sa inyo, mahirap ba 'yong maintindihan? Mahina na po ba ang pandinig niyo?" Lumapit ang lalaking may hawak ngayon ng braso niya sa matanda. At tila may kung anong binulong sa matanda. ‘Why not f**k yourself and go to hell on your own?’ bulong nito sa matanda na hindi niya maiwasang marinig. Kinilabutan siya sa mga salitang iyon na narinig. Hindi na nagawang magsalita ng matanda dahil sa dami na ring mga taong nakatingin. Tuloy-tuloy na naglakad ito papalayo. Hinarap siya ng lalaking tumulong sa kaniya. She somehow recognizes this guy. Saan nga ba niya ito nakita? "I came here to get my t-shirt," bungad agad nito sa kaniya. Suddenly, she realizes who he is. He's the same guy yesterday... She was about to say thank you to this gentleman pero nagbago ang timpla ng mood niya. Kaya lang pala siya nito tinulungan ay dahil sa t-shirt nito na naiwan niya sa stockroom dahil hindi rin niya nagamit kahapon dahil may spare clothes pa naman siya sa kaniyang locker room. Ngumiti na lang siya na hindi man lang umabot sa mga mata niya. She's tired already interacting with these kind of men, shallow men to be exact. *** Zain was caught off guard a while ago. Hindi rin kasi niya in-expect na halos lundagin na niya ang sampung metrong distansiya palabas ng coffee shop para lapitan ang babae na kanina lang ay pinagmamasdan niya, nang mapansing hindi na komportable ang mukha nito ay dali-dali na siyang nagtungo dito. Hinihingal pa siya, mabilis ang pintig ng puso, kinakabahan kasi hindi niya alam ang gagawin. What do players do in this kind of situation? "Demi! Oh my god, what happened?" Isang babae ang patakbong lumapit sa direksyon nila, nanggaling ito sa loob ng coffee shop. May mga nakasunod din ditong mga tauhan marahil ng lugar na 'yon. "Anak, okay ka lang ba?" What? Hindi niya namamalayang hawak pa rin niya ang braso nito. Kaya naman agad-agad niyang binitawan iyon. "I'm all right. Malamig ngayon. Pumasok na kayo sa loob," nag-aalalang sinalubong nito ang babae. Tahimik lang siya habang nakamasid sa babaeng sinagip, this woman is... Demileigh Moore. Binalingan siya nito. "Thank you, I'll be returning your shirt inside. Please follow me." What? Did she not recognizes him? He silently followed her inside. "Hey, Zain! You're here!" Cloud entered the shop and saw him at the counter. "Well, now that you're there. Could you please get me a capuccino and tell the lady to add more sugar on it!" Hindi pa man nakakaupo nagsimula na agad itong mag-ingay. Hindi siya nagsalita. Hinintay niyang lumabas mula sa stockroom ang babae. Ilang saglit lang ay lumabas na rin ito at may bitbit ng paper bag. "I'm sorry for making you wait. Here." "Demi, did you totally forgot all about me?" he asked suddenly. "What?" Halatang nagulat ito. "No sir, your name is Zain, right?" Nabawi rin agad ang composure. Akmang mapapangiti na siya nang... "I remember you yesterday, you told me your name, didn't you?" Tila gumuho ang mundo niya. How could she forget everything? Pero hindi ba't siya ang unang nakalimot dito? Hindi niya agad ito nakilala dahil napakalaki ng pagbabago nito, mula sa buhok at pananamit. When he met her in States she is a timid and yet lively when you try to speak to her more and gets close to her. They were friends in middle school! Seven years might be a long years for them to stay the same. Might be he's the only one who longed for this reunion of them. "I'm Zain Lauivire, most of my close friends call me Zin," pagpapakilala niyang muli, giving hints, hoping she can recognize him. "Mr. Lauivire, do you still need anything?" pormal na tanong nito. She can't remember him. Ilang saglit siyang natahimik. "One capuccino, please add more sugar on it." Ngumiti lang siya na hindi umabot sa kaniyang mga mata. Inihanda na nito iyon, hindi siya bumalik ng upuan at hinintay ang kaniyang order. It only took a minute. She showed a genuine smile and gave his order. What happened to her to forget about him? Is it because of Divo's death? ***