Chapter 30
"Good morning po," nakangiting bati ko sa guard. Ngumiti naman siya sa akin pabalik.
"Good morning din po, Ma'am," sabi niya. I smiled again and entered the building.
It's been a month since I started working here in AD. So far, it's going okay naman. I get kind of busy sometimes pero kaya lang naman.
Nakakahinga rin ako nang maluwag because I haven't seen Andrei around. Although I still get paranoid sometimes. Pero okay lang, at least I'm being careful. Because right now, I still can't afford to face him. Hindi pa ata sapat ang anim na taon.
"Hala, elevator!!!" Parang tangang sigaw ko. Pasara na kasi ang elevator nang ilang metro na lang ang layo ko. I don't want to wait for another few minutes for it.
Mabilis akong tumakbo nang makitang bumukas ulit ang elevator.
Thank God!
"Thank you po," I said to the woman who stopped it from closing. Bahagya pa akong nag-bow and smiled. Saka pumasok at sumiksik sa gilid.
I inhaled-exhaled nang magsimula na iyong umakyat. Hiningal kasi ako sa pagtakbo.
I just stood there, holding my bag when I noticed the woman staring at me. I could see our reflection on the door. I felt kind of uneasy kaya nilingon ko siya.
And my mouth hanged open when I realized who she is.
"Lei. Is that you, right?" She asked. Nakakunot ang noo niyang nakatingin sa akin, probably trying to remember my face.
"Tita Aira..." I uttered.
"Oh my, it's really you!" Ngayon ay masayang sabi niya.
Pakshet. Of course I'll see her around!Best friend/business partner nga pala siya ni Madam Almonte! How could I forget about what Ate Mika told me?!
Agad akong napalunok and tried to smile. Lumapit siya sa akin to give me a hug. I have no choice but to return it.
Fudge. Hindi ko nga nakita si Andrei, but I met his Mom!
"It's so good to see you here," she mumbled matapos akong yakapin. "So you work here, huh?"
Minsan talaga nakakapagsisi kapag napakilala ka na ng ex mo sa parents. When you break up, you don't know how to react around them. Para ka rin kasing nakipaghiwalay sa kanila. It feels so awkward.
Alam niya kaya ang ginawa ng anak niya sa akin?
"Opo. Last month lang," I replied with a smile. She still looks so pretty kahit may edad na. Ganda ng genes. Shet.
She smiled again. But it slowly faded.
Uh-oh.
"I feel so bad about what Andrei did to you," she suddenly said. I could see the sadness in her eyes. "It was too late when I actually knew about it. Isang taon rin ata after you two broke up. I felt bad kasi hindi niya nakwento sa akin 'yon. If he just told me what he was going through, natulungan ko sana siya."
"Okay lang po 'yon, Tita," I mumbled, feeling sad for myself again.
Ako pala talaga ang kawawa.
Poor Lei.
"No, it's not. We kind of went through the same thing so I know how it feels," she said. "It's just that... it was for a different reason. And... he did it because-"
Bumukas na iyong elevator sa floor ng office namin kaya agad akong napatingin sa labas. Tita Aira probably realized we're on my floor now kaya ngumiti na lang siya and said I should go ahead, while she remained standing there. Papunta ata kay Madam na nasa floor above us.
