Igniting a Heartbeat
 

These feeling I'm sensing right now
They make me want to burst inside
Is this love I'm feeling for you?
I'm so confused
Don't know what to do
When I'm around you
I feel my mind go blank

Puppy Love Gani ft. Nathania and Harms
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"Oh, ano? Okay ka na?"

 

 

 

Tumatawa paring tanong ni Ningning habang inaabutan niya'ko ng tubig. Mga ilang minuto din ang lumipas simula nung mag-panic ako kanina.

 

 

 

I just wrinkled my nose and heaved a sighed as I leaned my body towards the balcony railing sa kwarto ni Yuna with both my arms supporting me. Lumipat kasi kami dito after I told them na kailangan ko muna mag-pahangin.

 

 

 

Nasa loob ng kwarto sila Ryujin, Yuna, Chaeryoung and Lia habang kami lang ni Ningning 'yung nandito sa labas ng balcony.

 

 

 

Actually, mag-isa lang talaga ako dito kanina pero I'm guessing na pinasuyo nila si Ningning sakin.

 

 

 

"I legit thought na kung ano nang nangyaring masama sayo, pero nag bading-panic ka lang pala," She continued, snickering, kaya lumukot ang noo ko.

 

 

 

Hindi parin ako nagsasalita, instead, I just took the glass of water and chugged it down to calm myself even further.

 

 

 

Nang maramdaman kong kumalma na ang buong pagkatao ko, I replied, "Normal lang to diba?" I asked, concerned. Natatakot na'ko na baka meron talaga akong undefined disease.

 

 

 

I heard her chuckled as she raised her hand para abutin ang cheeks ko to pinch it. I tried to move away as quickly pero naabot niya parin ako. Tsk.

 

 

 

"Talagang napaka-cute at inosente ng Leafy na yan oh," She replied, teasing me kaya I swatted her hand away while glaring at her. Ginawa pa'kong bata. "No wonder down bad 'yung isa," She continued, murmuring.

 

 

 

"Ano yun?" I asked but she just shook her head, giving me a wide smile na alam kong may kahulugan. I just shrugged it off. Ayaw ko nang mas mag-overthink pa.

 

 

 

"But, to answer your question, Leafy. Normal lang 'yan. Ano ka ba." She patted my back, laughing. "To be fair, naging ganyan din ako when I first met Giselle," She continued with a soft smile on her face as if she's reminiscing something. "I thought I was going crazy too. But turns out, I was just having a crush on her... until I fell in love."

 

 

 

Nanlaki naman ang mga mata ko at gulat na tumingin sakanya. Teka, ba't napunta na sa crush-crush, in love-in love na yan ang usapan namin! Napansin naman niya ang ekspresyon ko kaya mas lalo pa siyang natawa.

 

 

 

"Hays, Leafy." She sighed, shaking her head in amusement.

 

 

 

"A-Am I having a c-crush on Karina?" I asked with my eyes still wide open as I felt my heart burst with indescribable feelings again.

 

 

 

Tangina, naguguluhan na talaga ako.

 

 

 

"In our eyes, yes. Sa sarili mo, hindi namin alam." She shrugged and I frown. Ano bang klaseng sagot 'yan? "What I'm trying to say is, alamin mo muna sa sarili mo kung ano talaga 'yang nararamdaman mo para kay ate Karina. It could be a crush, or it could be you're just overwhelm with whatever's happening between the two of you right now," She continued.

 

 

 

Patuloy lang ako'ng nakikinig sakanya. But this time, I pointed my attention towards the night sky, towards the millions of little twinkling stars.

 

 

 

Suddenly, a picture of Karina's eyes with the same twinkle in them entered my mind... and strangely enough, I didn't want to shook it away.

 

 

 

"I understand that you're confused right now. Trust me, I've been there," She ended, while also looking at the sky, mimicking my action.

 

 

 

"Ano bang ginawa mo to figure this all out?" I asked with my tone filled with so much curiosity. At this point, kailangan ko ang lahat ng advice na maibibigay sakin.

 

 

 

She chuckled then replied, "Wala. Wala akong ginawa, Leafy."

 

 

 

Napatingin naman ako sakanya kasabay non ang pag-lukot ng noo ko.

 

 

 

"Huh?" I asked, cleary bewildered about her answer. Nako, mas dumagdag lang yata 'yung sagot niya sa lista ng mga palaisipin ko amp.

 

 

 

"Haha, what I meant is wala, Leafy." She shrugged, laughing. "I just went with the flow to see where it would get me. And you know the result naman. It got me happiness and love with Giselle," She continued, flashing me a smile. Talagang in love na in love sa girlfriend niya ah.

 

 

 

"Hindi naman halatang patay na patay ka kay ate Giselle, no?" I asked, laughing.

 

 

 

"Trust me, I am." Proud niyang sabi. "And God knows I would do everything for that woman," Pagpapatuloy niya with so much honesty.

 

 

 

Amp! Ni hindi man lang tinago ang pagka-down bad niya kay ate Giselle!

 

 

 

"Ang baduy naman." I acted like I cringed my nose, teasing her. Ganito ba talaga pag in-love ang isang tao? Nagiging baduy and cheesy?

 

 

 

"Oo, mawawala talaga kaastigan mo kapag tinamaan ka na ng pana ni Kopido," Jusko! Ang lala na nito!

 

 

 

"Sana hindi mangyari sakin 'yan," I replied, seriously. I just hope that whatever I'm feeling right now will passed by quickly. Na kinakabag lang talaga ako and it was nothing serious.

 

 

 

She scoffed then raised her brows with a smirk on her face. "Sinabi ko na rin 'yan dati sa sarili ko. Pero tignan mo ang nangyari ngayon? Kinain ko rin ang mga salita ko, hayst." She sighed, shaking her head. "Anyway, I gotta go na sa loob ha. I hope gumaan ang pakiramdam mo ng kahit konti." She patted my back once again. "Don't think about it too much, okay?"

 

 

 

I nodded. Yeah, yeah. Just go with the flow. 'Yun naman talaga ang gagawin ko.

 

 

 

Well... before that, my initial plan was to actually ignore Karina for a while until ma-figured out ko ang lahat ng ito including my feelings pero I immediately dismissed the idea because... just thinking about not talking nor seeing that weird girl's annoying smirks and playful eyes everyday, parang I can't seem to do it.

 

 

 

Which was weird since these past few days lang ay okay naman ako na hindi siya nakikita. Nag-occur lang talaga kanina habang we're spending our time together at 'nung naging official ang friendship namin.

 

 

 

But, is that even possible? Ang bilis naman ata? Usain bolt yarn?

 

 

 

On the other hand though, thankful ako sakanila ni Ningning. Kung hindi dahil sakanila, wala akong mapapag-buntungan ng damdamin ngayon. Like I said, I've always been alone and opening up about my feelings was always been a hard thing for me to do. Siguro dahil nasanay na'ko mag-isa at sarilihin nalang ang lahat-lahat.

 

 

 

Kaya ngayon, ang saya lang kasi I get to freely let all my frustration out sa barkada ko.

 

 

 

"Oh, and Leafy." She called for me kaya tinignan ko siya. "Don't be afraid to talk to us or ask for our help, okay? Kahit anong problema, we'll help you get through it. Besides, we're your one call away." She gestured a phone call gamit ang kamay niya at nilagay ito sa harap ng tenga before flashing me a soft smile.

 

 

 

I felt my eyes teared up at that.

 

 

 

Ang swerte ko naman yata sa mga kaibigan ko? We've only met and hanged-out for just a short amount of time yet ganito na nila ako kung ituring at pagkatiwalaan.

 

 

 

I chuckled. I guess I found my newfound family then, huh?

 

 

 

"Will do, Yizhou. Salamat." I gave Ningning one last greatful smile na sinuklian naman niya ng isang ngiti before finally going back inside while I stayed behind to continue looking at the stars.

 

 

 

Habang nagmumuni-muni, bigla ko naman naisip 'yung Instagram account ko at 'yung picture ni Karina and a sudden thought ran through my mind.

 

 

 

Oo nga pala, nangako pala ako kanina kay weird girl na ipo-post ko siya sa account ko. Edi sige. Eto lang naman ang tanging purpose nang paggawa ko ng account na'to. Ang i-fullfill ang kagustuhan niya'ng matagged-tagged na 'yan, tsk.

 

 

 

I quickly took the phone out of my pocket, opened it and logged my account in.

 

 

 

But my jaw almost dropped when I saw a series of notifications popping left and right on my phone's notification bar. And it was all because of comments and followers na na-acquire ko sa post ni weird girl.

 

 

 

What the hell? Ganito ba talaga pag naa-associate sakanya?

 

 

 

Dali-dali ko namang clinear ang lahat ng notifications then, I tapped the plus button tas bumungad sakin ang "post" na word. I selected it, at nag-appear sakin ang kaisa-isahang picture ni Karina.

 

 

 

I smiled a little while admiring the photo. Takte, ba't ba mas lalo siyang gumanda sa paningin ko?

 

 

 

I let out a sighed.

 

 

 

Picture palang 'yan Leafy ha, ano pa kaya sa personal?

 

 

 

Okay, kalma.

 

 

 

Once that's done, pinindot ko na ang photo. I skipped the effects and now I'm in the caption area.

 

 

 

Hmm, ano kaya ang magandang caption dito?

 

 

 

Caption: Streetfoods w/ her.

                Congrats on the win @K.Elysse_Riego :)

 

 

 

I shrugged. Okay na 'yan. I clicked the check button indicating na ready na ipost.

 

 

 

I waited for a few seconds kasi nag-loading pa and then, ayan na, na-post na. Hindi na'ko nalula kung madami na agad 'yung likes amp. Ang dami ba namang nag-follow sakin.

 

 

 

Nakarinig na naman ako ng tili ulit sa loob kaya pumasok na'ko which I totally regretted dahil ako na naman pala ang topic nila. Goodness.

 

 

 

"Gago, Leafy! Ano 'to? Palitan ng flex?" Ani ni Ryujin. Napailing nalang ako. Naka-follow rin pala sila sakin.
"Taray! Unang post mo, picture agad ni ate Karina! Sabaok nalang talaga!" She continued, exclaiming.

 

 

 

"Online sikat 'yarn? Sana all 3k followers agad," Chaeryoung teased and I smirked a little atsaka nag-kibit balikat.

 

 

 

"Ganon talaga siguro kapag malakas ang dating," I bragged na ikinatawa nila. Nako-nako, nahahawa na'ko sa kahanginan ni weird girl!

 

 

 

"Ang igop-igop pa nang pagkaka-typings mo sa caption ha. Sana all nalang talaga si Winter Leafy Reyes," Ryujin expressed once again.

 

 

 

"Crush mo na ako niyan, Jinjin?" I na ikina-cringed naman ng mukha niya. I smiled, widely. Ang gaan-gaan lang ng pakiramdam ko ngayon.

 

 

 

Morning came and it was the time that weird girl and I will meet for breakfast. Nagpa-alarm ako ng alas singko ng umaga kagabi kaya maaga ako nagising ngayon. 

 

 

 

I immediately went inside the guess room's bathroom para makapag-shower. Nakapag-paalam naman ako sa parents ni Yuna na nadatnan ko sa dining area habang nag-aalmusal.

 

 

 

Maaga rin pala sila nagising dahil nag-walking sa malapit na park sa subdivision nila.

 

 

 

After showering, nag-bihis na din ako at nagpa-bango, making sure that I look presentable enough for Karina– to be seen with Karina– ay ano ba! Basta mag-mukhang presentable ganon!

 

 

 

Tumingin ako sa salamin at pinasadahan muli ang porma. I'm wearing a white shirt na pinatungan ko lang ng black long-sleeve and black knee-ripped pants plus hindi mawawala 'yung trusted lumang converse ko. 

 

 

 

Mabuti nalang talaga at nakadala ako ng damit. Kung makapag-aya naman kasi ang babaeng yon, napaka-sudden.

 

 

 

After I'm satisfied with my look, lumabas na din ako. I was near the door when I saw my friends sitting on the dining table, eating.

 

 

 

Aba, ang aga rin magsigising ng mga 'to ah.

 

 

 

"Good morning, Leafy. Ang aga-aga pero bihis na bihis ka na ah? San punta mo?" Chaeryoung asked while munching on her pandesal.

 

 

 

"Good morning din, Chae. " I greeted back. "At sa tanong mo, diyan lang sa labas," I calmly continued. Sabay namang napataas ang mga kilay nila na para bang hindi sila naniniwala sakin. I haven't told them yet na inaya ako ni Karina mag-breakfast. 

 

 

 

'Yung kagabi, sa breakdown ko, sinabi ko lang sakanila 'yung nararamdaman ko pero inex-clude ko ang mga convos namin ni Karina. Baka kasi mas lalo lang sila mag-wala sa tili.

 

 

 

"Iha, ba't di ka muna mag-almusal? Halika, sumama ka na dito samin." Nakangiting pag-aaya ni Mrs. Arcega.

 

 

 

I scratched my head. "Uhm, okay lang po ako, Tita. Salamat nalang po." Pagtanggi ko. "Si Karina po kasi–" Sabay-sabay na nagsilingunan ang mga kupal at pinukulan ako ng mga nakakal