HIGH SCHOOL pa lamang si Aya ay nangarap na siyang maging manunulat ng Triskelion, ang isa sa mga pinakasikat at pinaka-sopistikadong imprint ng Valoria Publishing House. Triskelion publishes komiks, graphic novels and anthologies under triple speculative fiction genre—tri-gen for short. Their stories contain elements of Horror, Thriller, and one from either Sci-fi or Fantasy.
It wasn't easy because their standards were so high. She had tried to submit three novels so far, and all of them were rejected. Masyado raw simple ang kuwento ng kanyang mga nobela. But she never gave up.
She sighed as she stared at the screen of her phone. Naka-flash doon ang contact number ni Freddy Krueger. Kung siya ang tatanungin, ito ang pinakahuling taong gugustuhin niyang makitang muli. But she needed to get a professional feedback. Hindi niya kayang ma-reject ulit ang pang-apat na manuscript na kanyang isinulat.
Pinindot niya ang call button.
"Hello, Aya? Tumawag ka ba para mag-apologize sa ginawa mong paglaslas sa mga gulong ng kotse ko a week ago?" The moment she heard his condescending voice, she thought about hanging up.
"You provoked me, Vince!" she lashed out. "Tinapunan mo pa ng honey ang blouse ko."
"Nang hindi sinasadya."
"You formed a letter V with it!"
"Like my name, right?" She could imagine him grinning like a fool.
Kailan ba magma-mature si Vince? Parehong nasa beinte-kuwatro na ang mga edad nila, pero parang teenager pa rin ito kung umasta paminsan-minsan. Okay, to be fair, her actions in the party were a bit juvenile too. But she only did it because she was totally pissed at that time.
Aya and Vince weren't exactly friends. Frenemies might be the right label for them. Naging magkapitbahay at magkaklase sila mula high school. Vince was a bully and she was his favorite prey. Kung bakit siya ay wala siyang ideya.
"So why did you call?" untag ni Vince.
"I need you."
***
AYA wondered if it's possible to hate and need a person at the same time. If she wasn't that desperate, she wouldn't call the biggest jerk in the world and ask him to meet her in a coffee shop.
"I'm confused," komento ni Vince habang pinapasadahan ng basa ang unedited manuscript sa iPad niya.
"About what?"
"Kelan pa nagkaro'n ng spaceship ang Tikbalang?"
"It's not—"
"Oh wait, na-gets ko na!" A mocking grin stretched over his smug-looking face. "This is Horror-Sci-fi-Comedy, right?"
Kamuntikan na niyang tusukin ng straw ang mga mata nito—neverminding him having the loveliest pair of male eyes she had ever seen in her whole life. For all of his fifty shades of silliness, she wondered how James Vincent Zarona could still be attractive. Mukha itong long lost baby brother ni Chris Evans—minus the big, hot muscle pies.
Vince was athletic-built, not too muscular, but he carried himself better than any actor she knew. Noong nasa kolehiyo pa sila ay madalas itong lapitan ng mga scouts para aluking maging modelo. He would always refuse, pero hindi dahil sa ayaw nitong sumikat.
"I'm too much for everyone, Aya. Ayoko namang maging unfair sa iba kaya't ibabahagi ko na lang ang sarili ko sa smaller crowd."
Narcisstic bastard, right?
"Do you want me to slice your skin next?" pagbabanta niya.
The corner of his seductive mouth curved up. "Your nerdy psycho personality never really ceased to scare me, Poodle."
Aya had a fluffy hair when she was a teenager and it obviously inspired Vince to compare her to a dog. Permanente na ang pagkakatuwid ng kanyang buhok ngayon, salamat sa regular niyang pagpunta sa salon. She wouldn't let it grow past her shoulders though.
"Once a jerk, always a jerk," she mumbled and speared her Apple Pie with her fork. "Can you take this seriously, Zarona? Ilang buwan kong pinaghirapan ang manuscript na 'yan. All I'm asking is for you to give me a decent, no-BS feedback."
Freelance multimedia artist si Vince pero minsan itong nagtrabaho bilang creative designer at illustrator ng Triskelion. She thought he could give her some helpful pointers.
"If you can do that, bayad ka na sa ginawa mo sa 'kin sa party."
Vince grimaced in confusion. "Didn't you slash my tires already?"
Ipinalo niya ang kamay sa mesa. "That's for embarrassing me in front of everyone. This one is for the blouse you ruined. Hindi na natanggal 'yong honey stain." She tried to remove it with lemon juice but the color of the fabric got messed up.
"Fine." Nakisubo ito sa kanyang Apple Pie. "About the spaceship—"
"It's not a spaceship, dumbass! It's a spherical transporter made from the skin and bones of a dead tikbalang. Palomela is protected and they had to build something to get her out of the sacred ground. Hindi mo ba binasa nang maayos ang story ko?"
He shrugged. "I had to skip the boring parts."
"What do you mean by boring parts?" Napaarko ang kilay niya.
"Gumaganda ka talaga kapag nagagalit ka."
"Vince!"
Sumimsim ito ng frappe saka muling dinampot ang kanyang iPad. He leaned against the back rest of his wooden chair, one leg crossed over his knee.
Inabot din niya ang kanyang milkshake at tahimik na inobserbahan si Vince. Whether he was being goofy or serious, his handsome features would always draw any girl's attention. Matangos ang ilong nito, sakto ang pagkanipis at pagkalapad ng mga labi sa medyo maangulong mukha. Noon pa man ay hindi na mahilig magpatubo ng facial hair si Vince, as if he wanted to maintain his clean, boyish look. Maybe girls were really digging it.
"Why tri-gen? I get that you're a sucker for scary, bizzare stories—God, I hate to imagine what your sexual foreplay's gonna be—but seriously, you want to be a writer, pero kailangan ba talaga na ito ang genre na isulat mo? Valoria has other imprints. Subukan mo kayang magsulat ng Romance, tutal ay hopeless romantic ka naman."
"First, I'm not a hopeless romantic," kastigo niya. Though a part of her just instantly disagreed. "Pangalawa, gusto kong maging katulad ni Humberto Estrella."
"Si Uncle Hum?"
Pinsan ng ina ni Vince si Humberto Estrella. A bachelor in his mid-thirties. Dati itong manunulat na kalauna'y naging Editor-in-Chief ng Triskelion.
"Do you remember Salaming Pilak, Dragana, and Stews and Skins? Those were just some of my favorite stories from him. He became my idol ever since." Aya met Humberto once, sa lamay ng Lolo ni Vince. It was one of the best days of her life despite the circumstances.
"Kaya pala n'ong ipinakilala ni Mommy si Uncle sa family mo noong wake in Lolo, na-starstruck ka." He wrinkled his nose. "Wait, why didn't I now about it? Alam kong may phobia ka sa jellyfish kaya takot kang lumangoy sa dagat. May malaking photo album ka na ang laman ay pictures ng Backstreet Boys—"
"Teka, pa'no mo nalaman ang tungkol d'on?" Nakatago iyon sa ilalim ng kama niya at kahit ang kapatid niyang si Aubrey ay hindi pa iyon nakikita.
"You have the weirdest shape of feet I've ever seen—"
"What do you mean, weird? Have you been looking at my—"
"You have a boring taste in men, yet I didn't know you idolize my uncle?" Para itong estudyante na kinabisado ang buong libro pero nagkaroon pa rin ng maling sagot sa pagsusulit.
Napadukwang siya sa mesa. "Did you steal my slam book? Bakit ang dami mong alam sa 'kin?"
Isinulong din nito ang mukha palapit sa kanya at ngumisi. "Nagsusulat ako ng biography na ang title, 'The Weirdest and Most Boring Girl in the Planet.' May journal ako na naglalaman ng one hundred plus facts about Ayana Savalle. You wanna see it?"
She shook her head and sighed frustratingly. "Minsan, nagtataka ako kung bakit hinayaan ng universe na magkrus ang mga landas natin."
"Because we're soulmates, Aya."
"Can I die now?"
Napahalakhak si Vince sabay taas ng isang kamay sa ere. "All right, seryoso na. Well-written naman ang novel mo, expected from a writer. The problem is, you're killing the element of horror by introducing fancy stuff and giving the reader a Wikipedia-description. Writing a Triskelion story is tricky. It's a good thing that you tried to use local myth pero masyadong cluttered and exhaustive ang pagkaka-execute mo sa concept ng story mo."
"Cluttered and exhaustive?"
Ibinalik sa kanya ni Vince ang iPad para ipabasa ang isang eksenang isinulat niya. Bumagsak ang kanyang mga balikat nang ma-realize na tama ang sinabi ni Vince. She desperately wanted to give her story a spin of complexity that she ignored the red flags for gun-to-my-head-this-is-getting-boring moments.
"I guess I'm pushing myself too hard," malungkot niyang sabi.
"Hey, look at me." Pumitik-pitik ito sa harap niya saka inabot ang kanyang kamay. Gumapang ang kakatwang kuryente sa kanyang balat. His touch was so warm and she had to try hard to hide her edgy reaction from him.
Sinserong ngumiti sa kanya si Vince. Madalas niyang makita ang ekspresyong ito ng lalaki sa tuwing mapapansin nitong kabado siya sa isang bagay. It was strange how he could easily appease her.
"Ikaw si Aya at walang imposible sa'yo," seryosong wika nito. "Baka kailangan mo lang ng inspirasyon."
Masyado nang nababagabag ang damdamin niya kaya't madali niyang binawi ang kamay mula kay Vince. Kung hindi siya namalik-mata lang ay parang gumuhit ang sandaling pagkadismaya sa mga mata nito.
Nagtanggal siya ng bara sa lalamunan sabay tanaw sa malayo. "Siguro nga. Should I date someone again?" Isang taon na mula noong huli siyang nakipag-date sa lalaki. Hindi pa rin siya nagkakaroon ng seryosong relasyon. May ilan na rin namang sumubok manligaw sa kanya pero wala sa mga iyon ang nakahuli sa interes niya.
"That's not what I meant," he mumbled.
"Stacy can set me up another blind date."
Pinaikut-ikot ni Vince ang tinidor nito sa mesa.
"Guwapo 'yung huling ipina-date niya sa 'kin, kaya lang wala siyang appreciation sa books. He said they're boring and nonsense. Major turn off pa naman sa 'kin ang mga gano'ng lalaki. O kaya, mag-return call na lang ako kay Jester. Kilala mo 'yon 'di ba? 'Yung client ni Hans?" Dinampot niyang muli ang milkshake para ubusin na ang laman niyon.
"Date me instead."
Napaubo siya. "What?"
Nag-angat ng mukha si Vince, seryoso ang anyo. Umawang ang kanyang mga labi pero wala siyang mahagilap na salita.
"Go out with me, Aya." His deep voice sent shivers down her spine, her head twirled like a cat trying to bite its own tail. Noon pa man ay may hypothetical feelings na siya para kay Vince. She refused to acknowledge it fully in fear of making it real. Who would want to fall for a guy who doesn't seem to have a gene for monogamy?
"I-Is this a joke?" Her laugh was shaky.
Hindi ito sumagot. Was he being serious for real? He better not mess with her. Hindi pa natuturukan ng vaccine ang puso niya. She's vulnerable to his charms—sabihin pang hindi si Vince ang ideal man niya.
"Vince, I—"
Kapwa sila napapitlag sa biglang pag-ring ng cellphone nito. For a brief moment, Vince hesitated to answer the call. "Hello, Megan?"
Humigpit ang pagkakahawak niya sa baso. 'That annoying stewardess!' Nagkunwari siyang sumisipsip muli ng milkshake kahit wala na iyong laman.
Hindi niya maintindihan kung bakit hindi pa rin hinihiwalayan ni Vince si Megan. Wasn't he the one who established a stupid three-month dating rule? Na may expiration date ang pakikipagrelasyon nito sa mga babae? But Vince made an exception for Megan. Sa pagkakaalam niya ay magi-isang taon na ang relasyon ng mga ito.
"Wow, you'll be on leave? That's great," sagot ni Vince sa kausap.
Nang aktong mapapasulyap ito sa kanya ay madali niyang iniwas ang tingin at nagkunwaring nagbabasa ng kung ano sa kanyang iPad.
"Yeah, sure. Uhm…" Vince paused for a while but she didn't look up. "I miss you too. Bye."
Ibinaba na niya ang milkshake. Umay na siya sa pagngatngat ng straw.
"Sorry, I had to answer it."
Kaswal siyang ngumiti. "Okay lang. How is she?" Dalawang beses na niyang nakita nang personal si Megan—sa mga parties ng common college friends nila ni Vince.
"She's fine."
Tumango-tango siya.
"Tungkol sa sinabi ko kanina—"
"Alin, 'yung pagyaya mo sa 'kin na makipag-date?" She faked a sneer. "I've known you for more than a decade now, Zarona. I know you're just messing with me."
Inabangan niya ang magiging reaksyon ni Vince. May litong ngiti sa mga labi nito at ilang sandaling nanimbang ang mga mata nito sa kanya.
Then he rumpled his hair and laughed. "Ah, you got me, Aya! You're right. I'm just messing with you."