Tryst

01

UNHINGED #4: TRYST

Slowly cleaning this one. :)

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WARNING:

EXPLICIT CONTENT. READ RESPONSIBLY.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the writer, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

TRYST © 2018 SELINA MATIAS

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Leila Presley

Hindi ko napigilang mapasimangot habang naglalakad sa walang katapusang underpass ng Makati. Naalala ko kasi 'yung nabungaran kong children's book kanina sa Booksale, and being the melodramatic that I was...I cannot help but let that book get inside my head. Okay, oa lang siguro ako para magpaapekto sa isang children's book at binili ko pa talaga.

'The one in the middle is the green kangaroo' was its title and it kind of hit home. Nang una ko itong napasadahan ng tinginnsa bookshelf ay nakaramdam ako ng matinding nostalgia for it was one of those short stories that came with the silent reading activities back in elementary.

It was a story about a child named Freddy Diesel. He was in the second grade and he felt emotionally squashed between his siblings. The excerpt went like, 'He doesn't seem to get much attention, until he lands a role in a school play as a green kangaroo.'

Well, okay I must admit, nakarelate ako kay Freddy dahil isa rin akong middle child and I never realized it then when I first read it, this incessant feeling about being in the middle. Siguro ay dahil bata pa lang ako noon at hindi pa ako inuugatan ng kadramahan sa buhay katulad ngayon.

I sighed dramatically then paused while walking. Tiningnan ko ang unahan ko kung saan ay parang laging nakikipag-unahan ang mga tao palabas sa EDSA para pumila at makasakay. Laging rush hour dito, which made me miss Bohol, especially riding my horse and inhaling the unlimited fresh air. Mga luxury na libre pero hindi ko madadala dito sa syudad. Looking back, I cannot help but emphatize more with Freddy's life and predicament.

Hindi madali maging middle child, and every now and then, I still have my struggles about it. Think of it like,'yung lugar kung saan nagtatagpo ang traffic intersection: walang mabigat na rason para tumigil doon. Sino ba ang gustong mabangga?

'Yung birole sa pantalon: pwedeng gamitin, pwede 'ring hindi kapag busog tapos nakaupo ka lang naman, hindi naman mahuhubad ang suot mo ng basta-basta eh.

'Yung lay over flight bago ka makarating sa destinasyon mo: what a hassle. 'Yung hindi bunso at hindi rin panganay sa tatlong magkakapatid: hindi masayadong pansinin. 'Yung hindi naman talaga pero parang pwede ng maging paborito, pero hindi talaga.

I guess I was starting to get invested thinking like a masochist...pero...ako iyon. Ako ito.

Ako iyong anak na sakto lang sa paningin ng pamilya ko. Not that it was a bad thing, but then, was it even a good thing? I had all the liberty and caution growing up but I don't think that they expected that much from me lalo pa at babae ako.