KANINA pa panay ang pagparoo't parito ni Vince sa labas ng bahay. Kumakagat na kasi ang dilim pero wala pa rin si Aya. Nag-text ito sa kanya para sabihing nasa bayan pa ito. It was an hour ago. Ano bang nagpapatagal dito sa bayan?
Napatingin siyang muli sa screen ng cellphone niya. He wanted to call Aya and ask her exactly where she is. He would pick her up and bring her home.
He shook his head. This was stupid. Why was he acting like a worried husband? Matanda na si Aya at kaya na nitong alagaan ang sarili.
May natanaw siyang paparating na kotse. Sakay niyon si Aya pero hindi niya masyadong maaninag ang driver.
Naunang bumaba ng sasakyan ang babae. Nagulat ito nang makita siya. "O Vince, bakit nandito ka sa labas?"
Mabilis siyang nag-isip ng alibi. "Kahahatid ko lang kay Leny sa bahay nila. Sinong kasama mo?"
Before Aya could respond, his worst nightmare just got out of the car.
'What the fuck?'
"Si Steve Avelino. You remember him right?" Aya gave her a sick sugary smile. 'Oh man, she knows what I did.'
"Hey, bro!" Lumapit sa kanila si Steve.
He looked to his right and pretended to be scratching the side of his neck. "Not your bro," he mumbled. Isinuksok niya ang mga kamay sa bulsa ng pantalon at binigyan ng pilit na ngiti ang lalaki. "Crazy coincidence to see you again, man. Dito pa talaga."
"Binibisita ni Steve ang lolo't lola niya dito. Nagkita kami sa bayan kanina. I'd say it's a nice coincidence. Dinala niya 'ko sa bahay ng grandparents niya kaya late na 'kong nakauwi," si Aya ang sumagot pero hindi niya pinansin ang sinabi nito.
"Salamat sa paghatid kay Aya." He gave Twilight Boy a you-can-leave-now look.
"No problem," sabi nitong naintindihan ang gusto niyang ipahiwatig. "I'll go ahead, Aya. See you in Manila."
"Wait, what?" His brows were pulled together.
Hindi siya pinansin ng dalawa. Nakuha pang ngumiti nang malagkit ni Aya kay Steve. "Looking forward to it."
What the hell was going on?
Bago pa siya makapagtanong ay naglalakad na pabalik sa kotse nito si Steve. Hinintay niya itong makalayo nang tuluyan bago kinuha ang atensyon ni Aya.
"See you in Manila? What was that about?" he tried to sound casual while crossing his arms over his chest.
"Ibig sabihin n'on, magkikita ulit kami sa Manila," pilosopong sagot nito.
"He asked you on a date?" he didn't like the sound of his own question.
Hindi ito sumagot.
"Bakit ka pumayag?"
Aya gave him a sly smile. "Bakit, Zarona, may problema ba kung makipag-date ako sa kanya?"
"You don't know him that well."
"I've known him in college. He used to be our classmate, remember?"
"Tsk. That was four years ago and he's been out of the country since then. Who knows what he has become?"
"Ang OA mo, Vince. Mukha bang psychopath si Steve? Leave him alone. Ang bait-bait n'ung tao eh." May kaunting iritasyon na sa himig nito.
Sinundan niya si Aya sa loob nang bigla siya nitong tinalikuran.
"You always say you hate girls who do things that every other girl does, but you're drooling over that guy like everyone else." He scoffed. "You're a hypocrite, Aya!"
Nasa hagdanan na si Aya nang lingunin siya nito. Dumilim ang anyo nito. "How dare you call me a hypocrite! Tingin mo nagustuhan ko siya nang dahil lang sa sikat siya sa mga babae? And why do I even bother arguing with someone who knows nothing but to pester people and hook up with bimbos left and right?!"
All right, that was some nasty comeback.
Bubuweltahan sana niya si Aya nang matigilan sa narinig na baritonong boses mula sa pintuan.
"This house used to be peaceful. Nasa labas pa lang ako, dinig ko na ang ingay ninyong dalawa."
Napapihit siya paharap sa bagong dating. Nakasampay sa likod ng balikat nito ang isang lumang satchel bag at ang isang kamay ay nasa ulo, bagot na ginugusot ang gulo-gulong buhok. Mukha itong bagong gising na ermitanyo sa sobrang kapal ng balbas at bigote.
Sa pagkakatanda niya, isang taon pa lang ang lumipas mula nang huli niya itong makita, pero kung titignan ito ngayon ay para bang isang dekada na ang nagdaan. What the hell happened to his uncle? Nag-soul-searching ba ito sa kabundukan?
His mouth popped open but Aya beat him to it. "Oh my Gosh! Mr. Hum?"
Nagpalipat-lipat ang tingin nito sa kanilang dalawa. "So you two are dating now?"
***
NAPAPAISIP si Vince kung ano bang mayroon sa araw na iyon at bigla na lamang nagsipagsulputan ang mga lalaking gusto niyang ilayo kay Aya. He wasn't being a possessive jerk, all right? Ayaw lang niyang ma-distract si Aya. He planned that trip for her to get an inspiration for her writing—not to help her reunite with her crushes.
Hindi rin naman sa ayaw niyang makita si Uncle Hum. It was just not the good time.
Tinapunan niya ng sulyap ang kupasing sweatshirt at tattered jeans na suot ng kanyang tiyo. Humberto never dressed nicely, but this get up seemed to be a bit off even for his crazy uncle's standards.
"Saan ka ba talaga nanggaling, Uncle? Have you been missing this past year and Mom just forgot to tell me?"
Pagkalapag nito ng mga gamit sa loob ng bahay kanina ay bumalik ito sa labas para puntahan ang mga punong nakatanim sa bakuran. He thought his uncle might have hidden something interesting there, so he followed.
"Ooh, were you kidnapped and you pulled off some kind of MacGyver-esque escape?"
"You have a very active imagination, James. Bakit hindi mo sinubukang magsulat ng nobela?"
"Ilang beses ko bang sasabihin na ayokong tinatawag akong James?" Napasimangot siya. "And writing doesn't appeal to me."
Humberto started touching all the trees and… breathing onto them?
Napangiwi siya. "What the hell are you doing? Dinadasalan mo ba ang mga puno?"
"Sshh! You're disturbing them."
Napailing na lamang siya at tinigilan ang pagsunod sa lalaki. Humberto had been doing all sorts of craziness since the beginning of time so nothing should surprise him anymore.
"Nasa US ako nitong nakaraang taon. I trained and finished the Appalachian Trail," wika nito maya-maya na sa mga puno pa rin nakaharap.
"That was a four, six-month trek right?"
"Uh-huh."
"So that explains the hermit look. Pero teka, ginawa mo 'yon nang hindi ka man lang nagpaalam sa 'min? Paano kung may nangyari sa'yo doon?"
"You're worried about me?"
"Of course not."
Tumawa ang kanyang tiyo. Napangiti rin siya.
Lumipad ang tingin niya sa bintana ng dining room. Mukhang tapos nang magluto ng hapunan si Aling Nila. Sobrang saya ng matanda kanina nang makita ulit ang tiyuhin niya kaya't sinabi nitong ipagluluto sila nito ng mga paboritong pagkain ni Uncle Hum.
And as expected, the ultimate fangirl went crazy and volunteered to help.
Pinanood niya si Aya habang inilalapag nito ang mga plato sa mesa. What's with his uncle and Steve that they could make her smile like this?
"You always brag about how easy it is for you to pick up girls. Pero pagdating kay Aya, sobrang torpe mo naman." Napapitlag siya nang biglang nagsalita sa tabi niya si Humberto.
"That's the funniest joke I've ever heard from you, Uncle."
Humberto eyed him suspiciously.
"Wala akong gusto kay Aya, okay?" pangungumbinsi niya rito. "I just love making fun of her. She's my stress-reliever."
Tinanaw nito ang sasakyan niya sa malayo. "Bago?"
"'Bought it almost a year ago."
Sumunod siya sa kanyang tiyo nang lapitan nito ang kotse niya.
"I like the old one," komento nito.
"Ang akala ko ba, wala kang hilig sa mga kotse?" Kahit minsan ay hindi bumili ng sariling sasakyan ang Uncle Hum niya. He said private vehicles are overrated and boring. Mas gusto nitong mag-commute at maglakad.
"I just said I like it." Kumunot ang noo nito sa kanya na para bang ang tanga ng tanong niya. "So why this one?"
He patted the hood of his car. "Because it's cool."
"Marco Ignacio drove the same car."
"Marco-who-what-now?"
"This was where he made love to his wife for the last time. This was where her spirit lived after she was killed."
Parang alam na niya kung saan papunta ang usapan nilang iyon.
"The Red Light. That was Aya's third manuscript. Binasa ko iyon bago ako umalis ng bansa. Maganda ang kuwento pero kinailangan naming i-reject. You read it, right?"
"What? That's ridiculous, Uncle!" He snorted. "Iniisip mo bang binili ko ang kotse na ito nang dahil lang sa ginamit itong main subject ni Aya sa kuwento niya? Please." Napabalik ang tingin niya sa bintana ng dining room. Aya would always ask their common friend to read her manuscripts. Then he would ask that friend to send him a copy without Aya knowing.
Kung hindi pa dahil sa pagiging desperado ay hindi nito ipapabasa sa kanya nang direkta ang pang-apat nitong nobela.
"Marco was scared of this car but he couldn't let it go. He felt connected to it through ways he was unable to comprehend," his uncle described a scene from Aya's story.
Sa totoo lang ay hindi rin niya maintindihan kung bakit pinili niyang bilhin ang pulang Accent na iyon. It just so happened that while he was shopping for a new car, he remembered her novel.
"Why are you afraid to fall for her, James?"
Napabuntung-hininga siya at matagal na pinagmasdan si Aya. He was caught off guard by Uncle Hum's question—but it turned out—he didn't mind it anymore. "Aya is an amazing woman. I can't like her because… I'm afraid that I might hurt her."
Wala siyang narinig na komento mula sa kanyang tiyo. Nang lingunin niya si Humberto ay nakita niya itong nakasalampak ng upo sa semento at nakasandal sa gulong ng kotse niya.
"Jesus Christ, Uncle! Natutulog ka ba?"