Not a Coincidence | Juan GDL

Chapter 1: Katipunan to España

"Sh*t, I'm so sorry!" pagpapaumanhin ko sa taong nabangga dahil sa pagmamadaling maglakad.

Nahulog sa sementong daan ng Sunken garden ang mga papel na aking buhat at ang iba'y maaaring naapakan na ng ibang mga naglalakad. Crouching on the floor, I managed to scoop all my papers in one arm. Agad kong sinuri kung may posibleng mantsa ang mga ito, but thank God they are as squeaky clean as they were before.

I had been running late for my afternoon class, and was still shoved upon this minor inconvenience – bumping into a stranger and dropping my papers! Hindi rin nakatulong ang maalinsangang panahon ngayon, kaya naman ay tagak tuloy ang pagtulo ng pawis mula sa aking noo. Today's temperature struck at 39°C, that was what at least my weather update showed me.

Ngayon ay buwan ng Agosto at hindi na dapat ganito kainit. Ngayon pa talagang bumisita ako sa ibang university na uminit ang panahon nang husto. Pawis na pawis na ako at marahil ay pinagtitinginan na rin ng ibang mga estudyante!

I do not actually study in UP Diliman but I know this is not good for a Metro Manila-newbie who has been trying hard to muster her way to the campus for an hour now. Meron akong kaibigan na dito nag-aaral at humingi siya ng pabor na kung maaari ay ako muna ang mag-prepare ng kaniyang papel para sa kaniyang dorm. Heavy-loaded kasi ang schedule niya para sa araw na ito at ngayon din ang deadline, kaya naman pumayag na ako. At dahil pareho kaming baguhan sa Maynila at wala pang gaanong kaibigan, isa't isa muna talaga ang maaasahan naming dalawa.

Since our morning classes were canceled at UST, I agreed to help her. Dinala ko rin ang iba kong readings para sa ibang subjects, in case I would be having waiting time that I can use to read them. I didn't expect the process to take this long – long enough that I had to rush back to España badly.

I heard some people around, mouthing their disapproval and dismay over the ruckus I made. Hindi ko naman sila masisisi dahil baka na-istorbo ko sila sa paglalakad dahil mukhang rush hour pa naman. I sighed. I was basically half-running and I admit, I was mindless of the people around me.

"Miss," a voice said. I was too preoccupied to notice the person I bumped into. He handed me some of my papers and extended his hand to help me regain my balance. Nahihiya akong ngumiti at tumayo nang mabilisan. "Are you okay?" tanong niya.

I nodded, not wanting to lock eyes with him as I clumsily tucked the papers inside my bag.

Good thing I was wearing pants and a white shirt. Mabuti nang ganito ang suot ko kaysa ang uniform sa UST. Pero kung alam ko lang na matatagalan ako rito ay dapat iyon na nga ang isinuot ko! Mukhang kakailanganin ko pang sa dorm dumeretso kung ganoon.

Tikom-bibig kong pinunasan ang pawis sa gilid ng aking noo bago humarap sa lalaking nabangga. I had to look up because he was. . . tall. He has curly hair, intense eyes looking with concern at that moment, and an athletic body. Alam kong sobrang tangkad ng karamihan ng mga lalaki rito sa Maynila pero minsan ay nagugulat pa rin talaga ako.

Napansin ko ring siya'y nakasuot ng jersey shorts at t-shirt na may tatak na UP FIGHT! Meron ding nakasabit na itim na Nike duffel bag sa kanyang balikat.

"Maraming salamat, and I'm sorry," I mumbled. "I would still want to apologize more for the inconvenience I caused...pero late na kasi ako."

I saw him smile disarmingly, making me relieved that the accident didn't offend him that much. Muli na naman sana akong maglalakad nang bigla niya akong pigilan sa pamamagitan ng paghigit sa aking kamay. Namilog ang aking mata sa kaniyang ginawa, ngunit parang wala lang ito sa kaniya.