Otep went down to the ground after taking Keil's punch straight to his face. His mouth bled, and a tooth fell off. Nakita siya nila Drei, Sebb, and Uno habang tumatakbo papalayo si Keil. They rushed towards him, helping him stand up. Pero as soon as he recovered, hinabol niya agad si Keil. His face wasn't mad or pissed off.
It was sad. Worried.
Otep ran after Keil para pilitin ito na magsalita tungkol sa mga problema niya. He followed in the footsteps of Keil through the forest and the trail until he reached the roadside. Meanwhile, Uno asked Sebb to follow Otep, just to make sure that another fight wouldn't start again when the two met.
Sebb grinned and then said,
"Akong bahala, Uno. I'll be back with those two in an hour."
Pagkasabi nito ay tumakbo na din si Sebb upang sundan nga ang mga kaibigan.
Meanwhile, Otep has already caught up to Keil. But he didn't dare approach him. Not when a girl is in front of his friend, who has never shown interest in girls. Napatunganga si Otep matapos niyang makita ang mukha ni Keil. Tila sanggol itong umiiyak, bagay na hindi pa nasilayan ni Otep kahit kailan. A few more minutes later, Sebb also caught up with Otep. Sebb was about to shout at Otep, but Otep ran to cover his mouth.
"Shhh! Wag kang maingay, baka natin maabala si Keil."
Pinakita ni Otep kay Sebba ang pangyayari, at maging si Sebb ay natahimik. Tumulo ang luha nito.
"S-si... Si Keil? Umiiyak si Keil?"
Tanong ni Sebb, sabay tingin kay Otep. Ngumiti sa kanya si Otep at tumango. Muling tumago ang dalawa sa likod ng puno ng acacia, at huminga ng malalim ng sabay.
Meanwhile...
"Ayos ka na ba?" tanong ng babae kay Keil habang nakahawak sa kanyang buhok. Keil realized how embarrassing it was, so he immediately wiped his tears and replied.
"Uhh, sorry, miss! Okay, na'ko. Pasensya na talaga."
The girl laughed at him, saying, Sabay hinimas-himas ang buhok niya.
"That's the spirit! Well, may lakad pa ako eh. See you later, maybe?"
Tumango si Keil, at tumayo upang samahan sa sakayan ang babae. Sinubukan nitong ibalik ang panyo ng babae, ngunit tumanggi na ito.
"You can use it if ever na maiiyak ka ulit, since I know na imposibleng di ka na ulit umiyak.. hahaha", pabirong tugon nito sa kanya.
Itinago ni Keil ang panyo sa kanyang bulsa, at tiningnan ang dalaga bago ito umalis. He waved his hand goodbye to the girl and thanked her once again. The girl smiled, then took off in a bus.
Just when the girl took off, saka lang naalala ni Keil itanong ang pangalan nito. But he was already too late for that. He tried to shout it out, but he can't be heard anymore. He sighed, then looked down. Then he remembered the handkerchief. He pulled it out and immediately searched for a name.
He smiled, then put it back in the pocket of his jacket.
"Mary, huh. Such a befitting name for an angel."
Nakita ito ni Otep at Sebb, at ngumiti sa isa't-isa. Ngunit ng ngumiti ng dalawa, di nila namalayang nakita sila ni Keil. Nagkatinginan ang tatlo ng ilang segundo.
"Uhh... Hehe... What's up, bro?"
Otep awkwardly asked.
Keil was shocked and embarrassed. He shouted at the two, running towards both of them.
"Nakita nyo diba!? NAKITA NYO DIBA?? YOU SAW ME CRY, DIDN'T YOU!!??"
Sebb panicked and ran away, but Otep stood firm and put out his fist.
"Oo, nakita ko lahat."
Otep smiled wholesomely, and Keil smiled back at him, his face red from crying. Sebb then patted the two on the back with another smile of relief.
"Akala ko mag-aaway nanaman kayo; good thing you didn't!".
Tumawa ang tatlo, pagkatapos ay nagpasyang bumalik na sa kanilang campsite upang ipagpatuloy ang kanilang outing.
Habang naglalakad ang tatlo, tumingin si Otep kay Keil, at nagsalita.
"Next time, bro, wag mo sarilihin yung mga problema mo. Kaya nga kami andito diba? That's what bros are for! Although wala kaming laban kapag ganun na kaganda yung sumuyo sayo," sabay ngisi nito sa kanya.
Bumuntong-hininga si Keil, at tumingin sa kalangitan.
"Mary... Mary. Mary? I think I know her name."
The two wondered about what Keil said.
"Ano sinabi mo, bro? Mary? Tama ba narinig namin, o nabibingi na kami? Mary, as in Campus Goddess Mary!?"
Walang kaalam-alam na nagtanong si Keil, "Who's Campus Goddess Mary?".
Nagtinginan si Sebb at Otep, at napailing sa isa't-isa.
"Yan kase, masyado ka nang nakatuon sa pagsusulat at acads mo kaya di mo na alam mga nangyayari sa campus natin. Campus Goddess Mary, sya yung 3rd year senior natin na running for SSC president. Naturingan siyang goddess because of her extremely mature yet beautiful looks, simple style and fashion, overwhelming intelligence at natural kindness. She's the whole package of an ideal girl, bro! At kung si "Mary" na nakilala mo at si Campus Goddess Mary ay iisa, then you have just hit the jackpot button, TWICE!"
Natulala si Keil. Inisip niyang mabuti ang mga description ng kanyang mga kaibigan tungkol kay Mary. "Yes, she's definitely gorgeous. Her dress was flashy, but she looked simple, kahit na ganon. And her kindness—she even gave me her handkerchief. Maybe, just maybe, Mary must be the same person as that campus goddess."
Bumalik ang tatlo sa campsite na nakangiti, at agad na nagkwento ang dalawang kaibigan ni Keil tungkol sa mga nangyari. Natuwa sina Uno at Drei dahil, kahit papaano ay naayos ang di pagkakaunawaan nina Otep at Keil.
Sa loob ng Sabado at Linggo, nagpatuloy ang outing ng magkakaibigan ng masaya at puno ng masasayang alaala.
Dumating ang Lunes, at habang papasok na si Keil ay muli niyang naalala ang babaeng nakilala niya ng gabing iyon.
Or rather, he cannot forget about her. He still remembers every detail of those moments, at ginagawa niyang lahat upang manatili ito sa isip niya. Sa sobrang kakaisip nga ng binatilyo ay nakabangga pa siya ng babae sa daanan. Nalaglag ang salamin ng babae, at nagulat dito si Keil.
Agad na tumungo ang babae upang hanapin ang kanyang salamin, but her eyes cannot see anything clearly. Keil rushed to help, apologizing all the way.
Pinulot niya ang salamin ng babae, at iniabot ng maingat.
"Sorry, miss, my bad. Ayos ka lang?"
The girl took the glasses from his hand gently and wore them. Then she looked at Keil, smiling.
"Mmhmm. Be careful next time."
Keil smiled back and apologized one more time before walking towards the gate. But just before he was about to enter, the girl stopped her.
"Hey, Mister... Umm... Kung sino ka man na tumulong sakin! May naiwan ka!!!"
Humihingal itong tumakbo patungo kay Keil na may dalang panyo.
Nakilala ni Keil ang panyo, at agad na tumakbo upang salubungin ang babaeng mukhang pagod na pagod na sa pagtakbo.
Inabot nito ang panyo kay Keil, at naghabol muna ng hininga bago magsalita.
"Huhhhh... Sorryy... Mahina ako... Sa tak...buhan... Anyways... That handkerchief is yours, right? Nalaglag yan kanina nung tinulungan mo ako."
Nagpasalamat si Keil sa dalaga, at nagpakilala na din.
"Salamat talaga! Mahalaga sakin itong panyo na to, buti nalang napulot mo. By the way, my name is Keil. What's yours?"
The girl calmed herself and replied.
"Rie. Call me Rie. Nice to meet you."
The girl then looked at her watch and took off running.
Keil would question why, but he remembered that he was running late, so he also ran.
He made it just in time for class, but for some reason he saw the same girl enter the same room as his.
He took his seat, but then the girl also sat in front of her, not noticing him.
The girl was later introduced by the teacher as a transferee, and the teacher asked the girl to introduce herself.
"Umm, good morning. My name is Clarisse Rie Vanne Dez. You can call me Rie. Nice to meet you, and I'm looking forward to working with you!".