The Radiance of Mystique

II.

"Sandali lang!" I rubbed my sleepy eyes and stand up, I yawned a lot. Gusto kong magreklamo sa kung sino man ang kumakatok sa pinto ng apartment ko ng ganitong oras!

Time check, 12:00am. Taragis talaga.

My eyes went open wide when the two idiots appeared in front of my apartment, nagpasabog pa sila ng confetti habang may dalang cake at ilang bote ng alak.

"Happy Birthday, Mirasol!" Alice greeted with the full amount of energy.

Alas dose ng madaling araw?! Sisigaw siya ng ganyan?!

Ron and Alice are wearing party hats, they are even wearing pajamas. Ron has two liquors in both of his hands while Alice is holding a small cake on her one hand and grabs paper bags in her another hand. They are singing the Happy Birthday song while swaying their hips.

Napa-awang lang ang labi ko ng makita ang petsa. July 27. Birthday ko nga ngayon. I frozed as my sight falls down on the cake.

"Bakla, hindi ka ba gagalaw? Hindi 'to stop dance ha." Sinamaan ako ni Alice ng tingin pagkatapos nila akong kantahan,

"Baka na shock lang siya 'te, alam mong lagi niyang nakakalimutan birthday niya." Ron whispered to Alice's ears.

"T-thankyou? Nawala na kasi sa isip ko-"

"Ay wala kaming pake kung nakalimutan mo, palagi ka naman naming naaalala." Diretsong pumasok si Alice sa maliit kong apartment at inilapag ang cake sa maliit kong table.

"Happy Birthday sa co-worker kong antukin at ulyanin." Bati sa akin ni Ron at ibinigay ang regalo niya.

"Ay by the way, may nagpapabigay sa'yo." Alice's lips was plastered with a playful grin as she hands me a bouquet of Sunflowers.

My eyes grew bigger when I saw who it came from.

"Happy Birthday daw sabi ni Zachary. Ikaw umamin ka nga. Naglalandian ba kayo?" Tumaas ang kilay ni Alice.

"W-what? No! He just dropped me here, umuulan kasi noong punta ko sa agency niyo and I bumped into him, we had a small talk and he offered me na ihatid niya ako tapos after no'n, he had been in our Cafe once but he--"

"Ay defensive masyado, grabe mag explain si Ate. Yes or no lang eh." Pinutol niya ang sinasabi ko, I hit her arms and rolled my eyes after.

"Namumula ka, dalaga ka na talaga." Gatong ni Ron.

"Umayos nga kayo! Out of my league ko 'yon! Paano kami maglalandian no'n? Eh kagagandang aktres ang nakaka-pair. Puro mukha niya pa ang bawat billboards sa QC!"

"When Ms. Mysterious meets Mr. Famous. Ganda ah, pang wattpad story." Wika ni Ron habang ngumunguya ng donut.

"Tanga ka, hindi na uso mga ganyang title ng kwento sa wattpad. Na-stucked ka ba sa 2012?" Pagtataray ni Alice.

"Pait mo kabiruang artista ka, pakainin nalang ang leading lady ni Zachary Torres, baka magutuman." Ron started to open every Tupperwares containing different dishes. Nakakaloko lang talaga ang ngiti niya kaya napairap ako ulit.

"Pero bago ang lahat, mag blow the candle muna. Make a wish ha, 'yung para sa sarili mo naman." She lighted the candle and I closed my eyes thinking for a wish.

Ano ba? Malinis na gobyerno? Maayos na career? Rason para mabuhay? Sana magbaba na ng singil ang landlord ko? Safety nina Ron and Alice? More projects for Zachary Torres? o Bahay para kay Nanay Rosa?

"Teh, dami mo yatang wish. Ubos na 'yung kandila eh. Kandilang pang cake 'to ha, hindi 'to kandilang pang-undas." Alice uttered sarcastically.

"Sandali lang, OA. May isa pa." I sighed.