Your Universe

#YU32

•RICHARD•

"Meng, ano bang bibilhin mo?" I asked her. "Kanina pa tayo paikot-ikot dito sa mall eh."

Kasama namin sina Paolo and Kevin sa mall para bumili ng regalo namin for Gio and Karla's 17th birthday. Sabay na kasing gagawin yun this saturday, saktong after our midterms, our last exam for the year. Yung dalawang mokong na kasama namin, hindi rin makapagdecide sa kung anong bibilhin.

"Alam ko na!" Maine's face lit up as she turned and saw one of the boutiques we passed by earlier. She held my hand and pulled me inside the store. Nilapitan namin yung display of shoes na nasa may bandang dulong kaliwa. "Gio likes this one, Kev," sabi ni Maine pagkakuha niya sa slip ons na nakadisplay. "We were talking about this one last week, bibili na dapat siya kaso na-out of stock naman nung pumunta kami. Yan na lang bilhin mo."

"Size 7 diba?" Kevin asked Maine. "Baka kasi magkamali ako eh."

Maine flicked his forehead which made him wince a bit. "Aray naman, Nicomaine! Inaano ka ba?" Natatawa kami ni Paolo habang si Kevin, hinihimas-himas yung noo niya.

"Grabe ka, shoe size ng girlfriend mo hindi mo alam."

"Kaya nga sinisigurado ko sa'yo eh!"

Iniwan namin sila ni Paolo habang nagtatalo, kami naman yung nag-ikot sa store, looking for something to buy. May nakita akong bag that I know Maine would really like. Black siya na backpack with floral patches on it. Medyo nahihilig kasi si Maine sa mga patches kaya alam kong magugustuhan niya yung bag. I'd give it to her as my gift this Christmas, itatago ko na lang mabuti kasi baka makita niya sa bahay pag pumunta siya. But I wanted to be sure kay—

"Oh, wow ang ganda!"

Nagulat ako nung marinig ko si Meng sa tabi ko, her eyes fixed on the bag I was looking at. She grabbed it from the display and inspected the insides. I was mentally praying inside my head na sana gusto niya pero hindi niya muna bilhin, na sana kulang pa yung pera niya. She did look at her wallet to check if she has enough money to buy the bag for her own, at nakita ko kung pano bumagsak yung mga balikat niya. Napa-'yes!' ako ng mahinang-mahina, I can buy it tomorrow pagbalik ko. She put the bag back on the display rack.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked her as I wrapped my arm around her shoulders. "May problema ba?"

Binalik niya sa bag niya yung wallet niya saka lumingon sa akin, then half-heartedly smiled at me. "Wala naman. May napili ka na ba for the girls?"

"Wala pa eh," I told her as we started walking around again. "Ikaw na lang pumili then I'll pay for it."

"Hala, seryoso ka ba?"

"Ikaw ba?"

"Ikaw nga tinatanong ko eh," she chuckled.

"Sige na, ako na magbabayad," nilingon ko si Paolo na may kinukuhang sapatos sa kabilang rack, a pair of heels ata? Basta may takong. "May napili na rin naman ata si Paolo for Karla."

Maine picked up two different bags from the display. A black handbag and a brown sling bag. "The brown one's for Gio since she likes sling bags better, the black one's for Karla since she likes this one."

"Sure na? Yan na bibilhin natin?"

She nodded. "Yup, ito na."