Gani dialed her number for the fifth time. If she still did not pick up the phone this time, he decided that he would just call her tomorrow first thing in the morning.
He had been waiting for her update since this afternoon but the ruthless girl seemed to forget to update when she was let out alone in an unfamiliar place.
He tried to wait and wait, but when the sun was down and he still did not hear anything from her, he became anxious and agitated.
He could not even answer Grandma Cruz's questions about her when he checked on the elderly this afternoon.
Gani shut down his computer. Anyway, he was too occupied with Yumi, who was far away from him and currently unresponsive to his calls.
His pointing finger rhythmically tapped on the top of his study table and his eyes were glued to the screen of his phone.
When it was on its third ringing, a soft and quiet voice finally penetrated his ears.
"Hello? What's up?"
What's up?! This heartless woman! Hmmp!
Isagani retorted in his heart. He collected his accumulated anxiety and irritation and spoke,
"Switch to video call. Do you know how to do it?"
He heard the girl humming in agreement.
After a while, his screen reflected a face that was half drowned with darkness and half bathed in a gentle halo of screenlight.
The girl's black and long hair was now damp and her face looked extra supple and reddish from her late-night bath.
This picture... ehem!
He gulped and his Adam's apple rolled up and down. He wanted to reprimand this unkind girl earlier but those thoughts magically evaporated. It is now replaced by a core memory that happened on Puti Island.
Of course, when a certain chest box of memory is opened, a lot of exciting threaded pictures will follow and corrode the mind.
A certain soldier was slowly standing on alert. His hot blood was now rushing to his lower region. He could not stop those past rendezvous of him and her now tainting his, first, clean-intentioned checking out of the unsuspecting girl.
The lady who unknowingly evoked the green region of the lad's brain was now waving her hand in front of the screen to wake him from his trance.
She failed to notice the dangerous light in the boy's eyes because she was busy finding the right angle of the device in her hand. She was afraid that the screen light would disturb her slumbering roommate.
His usual low voice was now an octave lower.
"Are you good now? How's your accommodation?"
"Yes, I'm good. I had just finished playing a practice game with John. The room was fine, too. I got a roommate." She happily reported, but the boy's attention was caught on another thing.
"You were with John?" His face cooled down. It was a shame that the girl still failed to catch the cooling atmosphere.
"Yeah. We did drills and played two practice games after we had dinner." She finally gave up finding a good angle and just covered her whole body with a blanket to imprison the leaking light from the phone.
"You two had dinner together. Good. Very good"
"Yes, it was really good. We discussed each other's strengths and weaknesses and tried to come up with different strategies," Yumi enthusiastically recalled.
Gani responded with uninterested grunts and occasionally spoke a word or two while the girl chattered nonstop. If you did not look closely at his expressionless countenance, you would easily miss the sulking and grievance in his eyes.
If she knew that she failed to make things clear and unintentionally let the other misunderstand their whole conversation, she would cry without tears from regret. For now, she was happy to share all the novelties that she had seen, tasted and experienced when she went out for dinner.
The two talked for an hour. To make it more accurate, Yumi talked alone for an hour. Noticing that the night was getting late, they decided to end the call and let her have a good rest.
When the girl was about to tap on the end button, she heard him say, "Yumi, I told Grandma Cruz that I would pursue you."
"What?!"
It was like a thunderclap. Her mind blanked for a second. She was not angry but more afraid.
Afraid of what?
She did not know either.
She gave him an unbelievable and accusing look.
Is this the famous manipulation tactic?
"Don't worry. I did not tell Grandma to help me coerce you. You know grandma, she's always for you. I just want to come clean and let you know that I'm serious." He slowly explained.
Her head was in chaos right now. She tried to say something but when she opened her mouth she realized that she didn't know what to say, "I..."
"Yumi. She's not angry. She just told me that it's up to my abilities. She won't help or speak up for me in front of you. She also let me know that if anything bad happens, she would side with you 100 percent."
Grandma Cruz also told him to think about it carefully because if they progressed on this path, there would be no turning back at all. She told him that if he messed up he would not only lose a potential romantic partner, but also a lifelong friend.
Grandma has her reservations about this sudden change between the children.
Yumi had a hard time making friends as she grew up because of the shadow of her mother's death and her father's abandonment. The old Cruz couple may have given all the love that they could muster to their lovely granddaughter, but the absence of her parents was a gap that they could never fill.
Isagani was her only friend. If someday they realized that they were just not meant to be; Yumi would be alone again.
He remembered her saying this afternoon, "Gani, grandma knows that you are a good boy. But, you know, grandma has only this one grandchild. Please don't break her."
Isagani did not know what the future would bring for them. But he was sure that whatever happened he would not want to hurt her.
He wanted Yumi by his side in the past, now and in the future.
Yumi did not remember how they ended their call. She was distraught and afraid. This fear was not actually from the fact that her grandma would be angry.
What she was afraid of was the fact that Gani seemed to be really serious this time. She did not know how to react and what to do.
She was a novice in this field and she was scared that all of this was just an impulse. They were not of legal age yet. How could they both persist in this age of indecisiveness?
What if the feelings faded?
What if he was not really sure and was just at the stage of trying and experimenting?
At this moment, Yumi failed to notice that her worries did not lie anymore simply in 'her and Gani being together' but in 'how they could both make this relationship last.'
This is something that she could not afford to gamble on.
The only comfort that she got from this shocking evening was at least she got her grandma and her guidance. She knew that she would not let her be alone in this new phase of her life. Her grandma has been like that since she was a kid. She never caged her and sheltered her from all the hurts and pain. She let her experience what she needed to experience, hugged her and was with her in down times. Then, she would encourage her to try again.
Her grandparents were her pillars.
They were her shore after sailing in a stormy ocean.
After sorting out her head, she finally fell asleep at midnight.
Gani dialed her number for the fifth time. If she still did not pick up the phone this time, he decided that he would just call her tomorrow first thing in the morning.
He had been waiting for her update since this afternoon but the ruthless girl seemed to forget to update when she was let out alone in an unfamiliar place.
He tried to wait and wait, but when the sun was down and he still did not hear anything from her, he became anxious and agitated.
He could not even answer Grandma Cruz's questions about her when he checked on the elderly this afternoon.
Gani shut down his computer. Anyway, he was too occupied with Yumi, who was far away from him and currently unresponsive to his calls.
His pointing finger rhythmically tapped on the top of his study table and his eyes were glued to the screen of his phone.
When it was on its third ringing, a soft and quiet voice finally penetrated his ears.
"Hello? What's up?"
What's up?! This heartless woman! Hmmp!
Isagani retorted in his heart. He collected his accumulated anxiety and irritation and spoke,
"Switch to video call. Do you know how to do it?"
He heard the girl humming in agreement.
After a while, his screen reflected a face that was half drowned with darkness and half bathed in a gentle halo of screenlight.
The girl's black and long hair was now damp and her face looked extra supple and reddish from her late-night bath.
This picture... ehem!
He gulped and his Adam's apple rolled up and down. He wanted to reprimand this unkind girl earlier but those thoughts magically evaporated. It is now replaced by a core memory that happened on Puti Island.
Of course, when a certain chest box of memory is opened, a lot of exciting threaded pictures will follow and corrode the mind.
A certain soldier was slowly standing on alert. His hot blood was now rushing to his lower region. He could not stop those past rendezvous of him and her now tainting his, first, clean-intentioned checking out of the unsuspecting girl.
The lady who unknowingly evoked the green region of the lad's brain was now waving her hand in front of the screen to wake him from his trance.
She failed to notice the dangerous light in the boy's eyes because she was busy finding the right angle of the device in her hand. She was afraid that the screen light would disturb her slumbering roommate.
His usual low voice was now an octave lower.
"Are you good now? How's your accommodation?"
"Yes, I'm good. I had just finished playing a practice game with John. The room was fine, too. I got a roommate." She happily reported, but the boy's attention was caught on another thing.
"You were with John?" His face cooled down. It was a shame that the girl still failed to catch the cooling atmosphere.
"Yeah. We did drills and played two practice games after we had dinner." She finally gave up finding a good angle and just covered her whole body with a blanket to imprison the leaking light from the phone.
"You two had dinner together. Good. Very good"
"Yes, it was really good. We discussed each other's strengths and weaknesses and tried to come up with different strategies," Yumi enthusiastically recalled.
Gani responded with uninterested grunts and occasionally spoke a word or two while the girl chattered nonstop. If you did not look closely at his expressionless countenance, you would easily miss the sulking and grievance in his eyes.
If she knew that she failed to make things clear and unintentionally let the other misunderstand their whole conversation, she would cry without tears from regret. For now, she was happy to share all the novelties that she had seen, tasted and experienced when she went out for dinner.
The two talked for an hour. To make it more accurate, Yumi talked alone for an hour. Noticing that the night was getting late, they decided to end the call and let her have a good rest.
When the girl was about to tap on the end button, she heard him say, "Yumi, I told Grandma Cruz that I would pursue you."
"What?!"
It was like a thunderclap. Her mind blanked for a second. She was not angry but more afraid.
Afraid of what?
She did not know either.
She gave him an unbelievable and accusing look.
Is this the famous manipulation tactic?
"Don't worry. I did not tell Grandma to help me coerce you. You know grandma, she's always for you. I just want to come clean and let you know that I'm serious." He slowly explained.
Her head was in chaos right now. She tried to say something but when she opened her mouth she realized that she didn't know what to say, "I..."
"Yumi. She's not angry. She just told me that it's up to my abilities. She won't help or speak up for me in front of you. She also let me know that if anything bad happens, she would side with you 100 percent."
Grandma Cruz also told him to think about it carefully because if they progressed on this path, there would be no turning back at all. She told him that if he messed up he would not only lose a potential romantic partner, but also a lifelong friend.
Grandma has her reservations about this sudden change between the children.
Yumi had a hard time making friends as she grew up because of the shadow of her mother's death and her father's abandonment. The old Cruz couple may have given all the love that they could muster to their lovely granddaughter, but the absence of her parents was a gap that they could never fill.
Isagani was her only friend. If someday they realized that they were just not meant to be; Yumi would be alone again.
He remembered her saying this afternoon, "Gani, grandma knows that you are a good boy. But, you know, grandma has only this one grandchild. Please don't break her."
Isagani did not know what the future would bring for them. But he was sure that whatever happened he would not want to hurt her.
He wanted Yumi by his side in the past, now and in the future.
Yumi did not remember how they ended their call. She was distraught and afraid. This fear was not actually from the fact that her grandma would be angry.
What she was afraid of was the fact that Gani seemed to be really serious this time. She did not know how to react and what to do.
She was a novice in this field and she was scared that all of this was just an impulse. They were not of legal age yet. How could they both persist in this age of indecisiveness?
What if the feelings faded?
What if he was not really sure and was just at the stage of trying and experimenting?
At this moment, Yumi failed to notice that her worries did not lie anymore simply in 'her and Gani being together' but in 'how they could both make this relationship last.'
This is something that she could not afford to gamble on.
The only comfort that she got from this shocking evening was at least she got her grandma and her guidance. She knew that she would not let her be alone in this new phase of her life. Her grandma has been like that since she was a kid. She never caged her and sheltered her from all the hurts and pain. She let her experience what she needed to experience, hugged her and was with her in down times. Then, she would encourage her to try again.
Her grandparents were her pillars.
They were her shore after sailing in a stormy ocean.
After sorting out her head, she finally fell asleep at midnight.
