Hello, Stranger (COMPLETED)

02

Hindi talaga ako makapaniwalang aabot ako sa punto ng buhay ko na makikipag-usap ako sa isang stranger.

Matapos ang ilang segundong pananahimik ay nagsalita na rin si Elias.

"You're pressured. You're sad because you don't know how to live life. You're thinking too much about the other people's opinion about you. Let yourself fail. Let yourself do mistakes. Prove to them that you're just a human who can do mistakes. For once, you want to feel pure love... but you don't know how to love yourself. You know what the greatest love of all is?" he asked pero sa malayo pa rin siya nakatingin. Para nga siyang nagsasalita mag-isa at parang wala ako sa tabi niya, e.

"What is it?" I asked.

Ngumiti siya nang bahagya at mabagal na lumingon sa 'kin. Diretso sa mga mata ko ang tingin niya. "Self-love, Aly. Once you loved and accepted yourself, and all your bad and good traits, once you're contented to what you are and what you have, you will find the true and real happiness. You will learn how to live and also... to love," he smiled at me eventually, trying to say that it's okay to not be okay.

His words... His voice... I can't resist but to listen, wholeheartedly. I can't help myself but to smile and cry in silence.

"I don't want to see a girl, crying," walang emosyong sabi niya at agad na umiwas ng tingin sa'kin.

Mabilis naman akong nagpunas ng luha at natawa. "You have a point. That's what I am missing--self-love. But... how to love myself ba?" wala sa sariling tanong ko. I wanna heard him talking. He's making my feelings good.

He's my counselor.

"You know what's the answer; self-acceptance. You failed in some point of your life and you can't accept that because you were thinking too much about other people's opinion. Let this sink in to your mind. You're great, but great people also fail."

Bahagya akong natawa sa sinabi niya. "How can you say that I'm great? I almost killed myself. Is that what great means?"

"That's one of your mistakes. But you learned from your mistake. And that made you great."

Hindi ko maalis sa kanya ang mga tingin ko. There's this something in him that making me feel alright.

"Ba't parang ang simple lang ng mga sinasabi ko para sa 'yo?" I asked.

He looked at me and breath deeply. "It's not that simple. The greatest enemy that we have is ourselves. But I have to make it look simple so you can carry your problem, easily. You're having a hard chapter of your life and I'm here just to be your blank slate for a while. You just need someone to switch-with so you can face those problems next time we switch again. If I'll say that you have a heavy problem, I'll just make you worse. You might kill yourself once we part our ways, don't you? And I helped you in the first place not for you to commit suicide again once I left," paliwanag niya at wala na akong nagawa kun'di manahimik at mapatango kasi tama siya.

Ang gaan-gaan na nga ng pakiramdam ko. Pakiramdam ko, kaya ko na ulit mabuhay.

Pakiramdam ko, magbabago ang lahat pagkatapos nito...

After a minute, muli akong nagsalita. "Baka nakakaabala na ako, ha. You can leave me anytime," sabi ko.

"It's my choice to be with you for a while. So don't think na abala ka," nakangiting sabi niya.

"Pero seryoso, okay na ako. Salamat sa 'yo," nakangiting sabi ko. "Baka hinahanap ka na ng parents mo," dagdag ko pa. Almost 10PM na rin kasi.

"My Mom is in the States. My Dad is with his other family. I'm not living with them."