The Comeback

This morning, my friends came along with me to help check out my new place. I needed to take measurements kasi to find out if all of my furniture would fit in the relatively smaller space I have found in the heart of the city. Lilipat na kasi ako next week.

My new apartment is the topmost corner unit of a brick building in the heart of the most gay community in city. Tapos, may matching balcony pa where I can let my hair down pag sunset. Haha. The club that I often go to is also just beside the building - very convenient if and when the time comes that I would need to make landi. Best of all, the place is very near the office - tatlong kandirit lang at isang smile away.

Sa totoo lang, iniisip ko pa if I'm gonna make landi muli in the city paglipat ko. Ang wholesome ko na kasi. Sabi nga ng mga kaibigan ko, wag na daw akong lumandi ng todo todo at magfocus na lang daw ako sa paghihintay for my one great love. Tiningnan ko lang sila ng masama. Muntikan ko na nga silang tuhugin ng chop sticks. Mga adik yata kasi mga kaibigan ko. Haha. But I do understand what they were trying to say - concerned lang sila because they know what I am capable of - kaya ko kasing magputa if I want to, ako pa! Sabi ko na lang, I'll think about it sabay tawa.

We then decided to have lunch afterwards - Malaysian daw. Dahil feel ko naman mag-curry, go kami sa pinakamalapit na restaurant. It was there where I met him...

Ang pogi ng batang ito. He was around 5'8, medyo kulot, maputi, at matangos ang ilong. Mukha syang mabango. His eyes were brown and they pierced my soul whenever he looked at me. He reminded me of someone from the not-so-distant past, SLN (sumalangit nawa). Suot nya ang uniform ng restaurant, shempre - batik para mukhang authentic na Malaysian lang. Mukhang maganda naman ang katawan nya sa ilalim ng maluwag na batik.

"Welcome to ______.", ang bati ng pogi.

Napangiti talaga ko when I first saw him. Kunyari unaffected ako.

"Are we the first customers today?", tanong ko, sabay pa-cute.

He confirmed that we were. He was smiling tapos ramdam ko na may kakaiba. Napansin din ng mga kasama ko na may kakaibang nangyayari.

"Tristan, bading ba yung waiter?"

Napangiti ako. Alam ko ang sagot pero ayoko sabihin. The boy came back with our menu. Smile ulit sya. Sumulyap ako sa kanya at nanlambot ang tuhod ko nang nakita kong nakatingin sya sa kin.

"So what's your bestseller here?", I asked casually.

"This one sir...", sabay turo nya sa menu.

I looked at him again and smiled. He was still smiling. Nagbilang ako ng tatlo. Sustained ang eye contact ng gago. Panalo na to. Tapos na ang usapan. Gaya ng nakasanayan, kinindatan ko ang gwapo sabay baling sa mga kasama ko. Kita ko sa corner ng eyes ko, lalong napangiti ang mokong. Ilang minuto ang lumipas, pagkatapos makuha ang order, dumating ang kropek - yes, chicharon na appetizer- at kahit miss na miss ko na ang chicharon, nagpakabusy ako sa ibang bagay. Nakita ko kasi na ang pogi eh nagsuot ng jacket at naglakad palabas ng restaurant. Dumating ang manager at sya mismo ang nag-asikaso sa drink orders namin. I quickly placed my order and requested to be excused.

I needed my Frost so I had to step out for a while. Style! Haha. Sa totoo lang, stressed pa din kasi ako at yun ang hindi alam ng mga kaibigan ko. Tumatawa pa din kasi ko na parang wala lang. Mahirap pala talaga pag sinasarili lang ang moment. Sa pagkakataon kasi na ito, I chose not to share anything with them. Akin na lang muna. I am sure that my friends know that something bad must have happened last week, hindi lang nila alam ang details. At kahit ayaw nila na nagyoyosi na ulit ako, iniintindi na lang nila ko. Mahirap na kasing magkwento. Inilabas ko ang yosi at nagsindi. Ang hindi ko napansin, the pogi was just outside the restaurant - may kinuha lang pala. Our eyes met again and, at that time, I knew that it was now or never.

"Hey, where you from?", my very usual conversation starter.

He nodded before he smiled. Mas lalo kong napansin ang kanyang mga mata - ang ganda, brown na brown. At kung makatingin si Mokong, feeling ko nahubaran ako. Ang ganda din nyang mag-smile, amputi ng ipin.

"Honduras. You?", he asked.

Lumipad pa ang utak ko. Honduras daw. Wala pa yun sa checklist ko.

"Philippines..", I quickly replied back.

"Correction, candidate number 29, Ms. Philippines!!! ", bulong kong pasigaw sa sarili ko.

Lalo akong napangiti. And then he started asking me questions. I replied and asked him other innocent questions like where he lived, how long he's been working in the restaurant, how old he was, and if he was studying still. Nagpaka-casual ako. The boy was kind enough to answer all of my questions. He then asked for my name.

"Tristan.", I said.

Bumilis ang tibok ng puso ko.

"And yourself?", I continued.

He peeked inside the restaurant. Ewan ko, siguro sinisilip kung nakatingin ang boss nya before he replied.

"Minor.", ang dinig ko.

Ano daw? Naguluhan ako. Was he trying to tell me that he was a minor? Sumakit ang ulo ko. He then said it again.

"My name's Minor...", ang dinig ko.

I was even more confused.

"How do you spell your name?"

And then he proceeded spelling the name.

"M-I-N-N-E-R."

"Ohh...", I gasped.

He laughed. He must have gotten the same reaction before too. He picked up the bag that he got from the second floor storage area, looked at me and smiled. Just before he went in, I asked him one more question.

"So Minner... do you wanna grab a drink with me some time soon?"