“Seulgi, tama na ‘yung puro chichirya,” sabi ni Irene.

“One more, babe! Kita mo, dalawang Pringles lang binili ko. Kailangan ko lang ng stocks we’ll never know ga’no tatagal ‘yung lockdown na inimpose ng presidente. Bulok pa man din ‘yung taong ‘yun.”

“Seulgi, I know. That’s why we should buy more masks and isopropyl alcohol. Pwede na ‘to. Baka naman magkasakit ka talaga kung kakainin mo ‘to lahat during that time.”

“Eh, of course di ko kakainin ‘yan in one run. Kaya nga stocks eh.”

“Seulgi, h’wag na matigas ulo, lulutuan na lang kita ng masarap na food. We should eat healthy rin para hindi tayo mahahawa ng sakit, teka nga…” sabay lapit ni Irene sa mukha ko kaya nilapit ko rin ‘yung mukha ko dahil akala ko hahalikan niya ako.

“Ayusin mo nga ‘yang mask mo, i-cover mo hanggang ilong nasa public place tayo oh.”

Right.

“Yeah, okay. Thanks.”

“Seulgi, h’wag matigas ulo please.”

“Irene, nagsasalita lang ako kaya bumaba ‘yung mask ko kanina, don’t worry. I’ll keep in my mind next time.”

“Sorry, nagpa-panic lang talaga ako. Bilisan na rin natin please. Kumpleto na ba yung essential supplies?”

I checked the goods na nasa cart namin, kumpleto naman. Alcohol, tissue paper, canned goods, different kind of noodles, and more food.

“I think goods na ‘to babe. Humingi rin ako ng favor kay Yeri na kung pwede bumili din ng masks sa business ng Papa niya tapos kukunin ko na lang sa kanila. Sabi naman niya nakakuha na siya at ihahatid niya raw mamayang tanghali bago tayo abutan lahat ng lockdown. Ayoko na ring bumyahe si Yeri pero nag-insist siya kasi may utang pa raw siyang favor sa atin.”

“Nako, di na dapat nagpumilit ‘yung bata na ‘yun.”

“’Yun nga yung sabi ko sa kanya nung isang araw, pero ayaw niya talaga ibigay ‘yung address ng business ng Papa niya. Basta raw siya na bahala.”

“Baka mamaya fake masks ‘yan ah.”

“Tinanong ko siya, hindi naman daw.”

“Okay, okay. So tick off ko na siya sa check-list ko.”

So this is our life now preparing for a two-week lockdown.

Pero bago pa man ito, Irene wrote a two-woman play and joined a small theater production. She started working on that after ng render period niya. Nung una, may mga oras na nakakapag-part time pa si Irene. But then, she has to give up the time she allocated for that part-time at nag-full time writer siya for three months para tapusin ‘yung play.

 It was a delight watching her do the work that she truly loves.

When she finished her work, it was so so so rewarding. Nung nasa last stage na siya sa first draft ng play, I was there watching her. She didn’t mind na nakatingin lang ako sa kanya almost the whole day, maliban sa kapag kailangan ko na gawin ‘yung chore duties ko.

--

“Seulgi! Seulgi!”

“Tapos na?”

Tapos na!”

At sabay kaming napatili sa saya.

“Save mo muna dali. Double save. I-save mo sa hard drive, babe. I-save mo sa isa pang flash drive just to be sure,” sabi ko sa kanya habang tinutulak siya paharap sa laptop niya.

“Oo ito na, save ko muna sas hard drive at drive. Okay na ‘yan Seulgi.”

Nung humarap siya sa akin, parang nag-slow mo lahat bigla. Tapos naramdaman ko na lang na niyakap niya ako.

Umiyak si Irene habang yakap-yakap namin ang isa’t isa.

“I’m proud of you. To more literature pieces, Irene.”

--

That two-woman play had a small run that started two weeks ago and ended last week. Na-cut ‘yung run because it was announced that there is a planned lockdown in the country. Which is a total bummer but the theater company told Irene that they will have a re-run for sure once matapos na ‘yung lockdown because the show really appealed to the audiences.

Although some audience reviews from different social media sites described na ang creepy daw na na-anticipate nung play ‘yung mangyayari sa mundo.

Hindi rin makapaniwala si Irene na ‘yung two-woman play na isinulat niya patungkol sa couple na na-stuck sa isa’t isa dahil sa pandemic eh mukhang magkakatotoo.

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