The Story Behind My Pseudonym

Chapter 2

"M-mommy, no! No mommy, please... Daddy! M-momm-"

"Aali, wake up!" Isang sampal ang nagpagising sa akin mula sa bangungot na iyon. I hurriedly sat down in bed while catching my breath. Para ako malalagutan ng hininga sa panaginip kong iyon. "Are you okay?" Tanong sa akin ni Aurora habang nakaupo na rin sa aking harapan.

"Auri...I'm tired..." Kasabay ng pagbanggit ko sa katagang iyon ay ang pagbuhos ng aking mga luha.

Gabi-gabi nalang. Bumabalik-balik parin talaga sa panaginip ko ang araw na iyon. Ang araw na ikinasira ng buhay ko. The pain is always following me everywhere I go. I want to breath from this fear. Gusto kong mabuhay ng normal pero paano?

Pilit akong binabalikan ng kahapon ko. Ayaw ko mang isipin iyon, ngunit hindi ko maiwasan. Kusa itong bumabalik sa isip ko.

I felt Auri hugged me tightly. "Aali, please...calm down... Ikukuha na muna kita ng tubig."

She left me to get some water. My sobs are getting slower and my heart had already adjusted. Pinahid ko ang mga luhang bumabasa sa mukha ko gamit iyong kumot ko. Auri came back and gave me a glass of water. Dahan-dahan ko iyong ininom hanggang sa maubos.

Auri tapped my shoulder, "You okay now?"

I slowly nodded my head. "Anong oras na?"

"It's still 2 in the morning. Matulog ka nalang ulit, kapag nahimasmasan ka na, okay?"

Mapait akong ngumiti sa kanya, "I don't want to sleep anymore. Baka bumalik na naman ang panaginip kong iyon..."

"Okay, ano nang gagawin mo ngayon?"

I sighed and looked at my desk. Right. "Magsusulat nalang ako." Auri just nodded her hair and mouthed that she'll sleep again. "I'm sorry, I woke you up, Auri." I apologized.

"Nah. It's okay. As long as you're okay."

We both smiled at each other. Dahan-dahan akong tumayo sa kama at naglakad papunta sa desk ko. I opened my laptop and entered w*****d again. I clicked 'Add new part' and typed Chapter 8.

Itong pagsusulat ko nalang na ito ang naging libangan ko sa tuwing nagkakaroon ako ng problema. As in. Always. Ito iyong takbuhan ko. This is my way of escaping my painful reality.

"Our Forested Love by secret_belle"

Napaisip ako habang nakatingin sa screen ng laptop ko. What will I write down? Pauuwiin ko ba si Talia? Should I let Nash free Talia up and give them the happy ending? Nah. Masyado pang maaga para riyan. But I can let that happen. Pero magsisimula ulit iyong interaction nila sa city.

Do you wanna know their story? Well, Nash had been simping over Talia 8 long years. And Talia didn't even know that he exists back then. Kaya gumawa si Nash ng paraan para mapansin siya ng dalaga. He gave her flowers, chocolates, stuffed toys, etc.. You know? The typical romantic gifts that boys thought girls would love?

But Talia is not one of those girls. She thought of it as just an embellishment. Ayaw niya ng ganoon. She wants something more challenging than that.

And Nash thought about this k********g thing. He abducted Talia and brought her to a forest that only him, knows.

But what's the funny thing here?

Talia didn't cry or begged for being liberated. Iyon nga ang gusto niya! Challenge! Dagdag pang may angkin ding kagwapuhan itong si Nash. Talia would admit it. She likes Nash. So much. Iyong love at first sight, kumbaga.

And for their seven days in the forest, naging malapit sila sa isa't isa. Nagkakasundo sila sa ilang bagay, ngunit minsan din nama'y hindi. But one thing is for sure. Both of them are madly in-love with each other. But Talia can't admit it for the reason that she also doesn't know. Hindi niya alam kung ano nga ba ang dapat niyang gawin. Aamin ba siya o hindi?

Until Nash had came up into a realization. Walang mangyayari sa kanila. Kung hindi siya gusto ni Talia, then so be it. As long as she's happy, doon nalang din siya papabor.

"Okay..." Nabanggit ko nang mafinalize ko na ang mangyayari sa istorya nilang dalawa. I wrote the 8th chapter. Papakawalan ko na si Talia. Nash will ignore her and Talia will be the one to tail Nash. Babaliktarin ko na ang sitwasyon nilang dalawa. Para naman maramdaman ni Talia ang nararamdaman ni Nash.

Ganito akong magsulat. Hindi base sa totoong buhay iyong mga isinusulat ko. I write something that only comes up in my mind. I'll write the first chapter, and my imagination will decide for the rest. Depende na rin iyon sa mood ko. Baka nga dumating iyong araw na papatay na kaagad ako ng character kapag wala ako sa mood.

I was busy typing on my laptop. Mabilis iyong paggalaw ng kamay ko at umabot na nga sa dalawang libo iyong mga salita. I stopped and ended the chapter.

"Nash... kung akala mo'y ganoon na lamang kadaling iwan ako, nagkakamali ka." Talia stated.

"You tailed and loved me from behind back then, right? Then I'll do the same, from now on. Hindi ako titigil hangga't hindi mo maibabalik sa akin ang mga ngiting binitawan mo noong nasa kagubatan pa tayo." Bulong pa niya, na parang nandiyan parin si Nash sa kanyang harapan.

***

~secret_belle (Have a good day ahead, Bellas!)

After that, I clicked enter on the keyboard and successfully published the 8th chapter of OFL.

After a minute of publishing it, as usual, puno na naman ang notifications ko. Lots of comments and votes. Questions. Clarifications.

'Isang magandang bungad ng umaga! Thank you for the update ate:)'

'Wahhhh bumaliktad na!'

'Tapos na pala iyong harutan sa kagubatan! HAHA.'

'Happy tailing, Talia!'

Natawa ako sa mga nabasa ko. Ang daming haka-haka ng mga bellas ko. Umaga palang. 2:25 AM. And yet they're still awake?

I was scrolling down the notifications when I accidentally tapped the messages and there, I got a lot of messages too! But only one username caught my attention.

@retaw_yug21 has a message for you!

Anong ba namang klaseng username 'to? Parang hindi pinag-isipan. I decided to read his message for me and I was shocked when I saw how many messages he/she had for me. Marami na pala! Simula pa noong ipinublish ko iyong OFL. And that was last week. Mahigit sampung messages niya na ito!

'Hi Secret_belle!'

'Sana kumain ka na.'

'I am a big fan of yours, Belle, sana mapansin mo ako!'

'mapapansin mo kaya ako?'

Ilan lamang iyan sa messages niya. Natulala ako saglit. A fan?

I typed 'hello' as a reply to him. Him? Is it a him, or a her? I don't know. I'll just call him 'him' kasi bihira lang na magkaroon ako ng lalaking reader.

I was shocked when he immediately replied.

'Oh God, secret_belle! I'm so happy that you noticed me!'

I replied, 'Thank you for supporting me:3'

'You're always welcome! Oh God hindi parin talaga ako makapaniwala!'

'Well, you better believe it!'

That's the start of my conversation with @retaw_yug21. Hindi iyon yung huling araw na nakausap ko siya. Araw araw. At habang tumatagal, mas gumagaan na ang loob ko sa kanya.

I'm happy when I talk to him/her.

Iyan lang ang alam ko. At hindi ko alam kung hanggang kailan 'to.

***

~pinkylats25