Umuwi rin kami right after namin kumain ng dinner sa McGee’s Pub since napagod rin talaga kami sa tour today. Bukas daw ay pupunta kami sa Empire State Building ng gabi tapos maglalakad lakad kami sa Central Park and Times Square ng hapon. Hinayaan ko nalang siya sa gusto niyang gawin dahil mukhang wala naman akong choice kundi sundin siya.

Nakipagkwentuhan pa kami saglit sa parents ni Karina and told them what we did the whole day. Inggit na inggit nga si Ate Krystal kasi hindi raw siya sinama. She even teased us na baka nagdate daw kami kaya hindi siya sinama. 

“Does Winter swing that way?”

Jusko, yung hiya ko nang tanungin ni Tita yun sa amin. 

“Ay, no po Tita.”

“Don’t you find my daughter attractive?”

Ito na naman sila sa mala-Tonight With Boy Abunda nilang mga tanong!

Shempre nahihiya akong napatingin kay Karina na nakaupo sa tabi ko habang nakatingin lang sa akin, waiting for my answer.

“Well… uhm, of course I find her attractive po. She’s so b-beautiful naman po inside and out.”

Wala na silang tinanong after that saka nag-iwas naman ng tingin si Karina matapos kong sagutin iyon. Feeling ko talaga pinagtitripan ako ng pamilya ni Karina eh. Nahahalata ko na kaya! 

Tita would ask me what I think about her daughter each time we had our cooking sessions. Sinasabi ko naman yung mga great qualities niya  like how thoughtful, caring, and occasionally silly she can be while being such a wonderful woman. Shempre sinabi ko yung mga ‘yon based on my own experience. Naalala ko lang yung mga bagay na ginagawa niya for me and my niece. Mukhang natuwa naman si Tita sa sagot ko and she’s happy daw na kaibigan ako ni Karina. 

“She can be demanding and confusing at times, but please be patient with her.”

Tita, bakit naman parang jowa ko si Karina sa sinasabi mo? Parehas sila ni Ate Krystal. Hindi naman ako manhid para hindi mapansin yung mga tingin at pang-aasar ni Ate Krystal sa aming dalawa. Alam niya ba crush ako ng kapatid niya?

Wait, natatawa talaga ako everytime na sinasabi ko yung word na ‘crush’ kasi parang highschool talaga.

Hindi ko parin talaga matantsa si Ate Krystal eh. I mean, inaasar-asar na niya kami pero hindi naman kami close. Hindi ko alam kung saan niya nakukuha 'yon since Karina seems to be flustered din whenever she teases us. Hindi ko pa nga siya nakakausap ulit other than small talks kapag nakakasalubong ko siya sa bahay. Mas nagkaroon pa kami ng moment ni Ate Irene. 

Ewan ko ba sa magkakapatid na 'to! Parang ginawa nang personality ang pagiging masungit. Buti pa si Karina, maharot lang minsan pero ayos naman siya kausap. Siya talaga yung favorite kong Yu. Sure na.

Pagtapos ng chikahan sa baba, umakyat na kami ni Karina sa kwarto niya saka nag half bath. Nauna ulit siya as usual habang ako naman ay nagchecheck pa rin ng performance ng restaurant ko. Ilang araw na rin kasing nagtetext sa akin si Wonyoung kung nasaan daw ba ako. Irereport na raw niya ako sa pulis dahil ilang araw na niya akong hindi nakikita sa restaurant. Baliw talaga.

Lumabas si Karina sa bathroom ng naka white tank top and grey pajama shorts na medyo basa pa yung buhok. Grabe talaga yung katawan ni Ate Girl, sobrang y lang. Kapansin-pansin rin yung hinaharap niya na wala ng br— oh my God.

“Like what you’re seeing?” Karina teased while smirking kaya I had to look away. Parang naging interesting bigla yung mga posters sa kwarto niya. Ramdam na ramdam ko yung pag-init ng tenga ko. Kasi naman! 

“I... uh, ligo na ako.”

Tumayo na ako sa kama saka kinuha ang mga nakatupi kong damit. Umiwas pa rin ako ng tingin sakanya and excused myself noong nilagpasan ko siya. Narinig ko pa siyang natawa ulit pero hinayaan niya nalang ako lagpasan siya. Isinara ko na ang pinto saka doon ko lang nailabas yung hininga na pinigilan ko sa may kwarto.

“Winter, bilisan mo dyan. We’re gonna watch a movie!” sigaw ni Karina outside of the bathroom. 

Hindi pa ba siya pagod?

“Sige!”

“Don’t do anything funny sa loob!”

Anong funny? Jusko, Karina!

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Hindi ko pa siya napapanood ever since pero naririnig ko na siya dati kay Ning. Hindi niya raw nagets yung buong movie kaya feeling niya daw nagsayang lang siya ng oras sa panonood. Gusto ko na talaga sana siyang simulan pero wala rin talaga akong time kaya mas okay na rin na mapanood ko siya with Karina. It tells the story of a couple who fall madly in love but their relationship fails. They broke up but later realized that the pain of living without each other was just as unbearable as living with each other, so they decided to erase all memories of their relationship.

Parehas kami ni Karina na nakasandal sa headboard ng kama habang may yakap-yakap na tig-isang unan. Noong unang part ng movie, I was confused din talaga pero may mga scenes that foreshadows the plot naman noong medyo gitna na ng movie.

“Would you do the same thing?” tanong ni Karina bigla, eyes still fixated on her TV. I took a glance at her and raised my eyebrow.

“Alin?”

“Delete your memories to stop hurting?” tanong niya ulit. This time, she looked me straight in the eye. I smiled at her and chose not to answer her question. Binaling na naming dalawa ang atensyon namin sa movie.

Hindi ko na kinakaya yung mga lines nila Joel and Clementine. Parang it hits me right thru my bones. It made me think of that one person. 

Would he do the same thing?

“I thought I knew her so well but I don’t know her at all. What a loss to spend that much time with someone, only to find out she’s a stranger.”

“We met at the wrong time. That’s what I keep telling myself anyway. Maybe one day years from now, we’ll meet in a coffee shop in a far away city somewhere and we could give it another shot.”

“I wish you had stayed.”

“I wish I had stayed too.”

“This is it, Joel. It’s going to be gone soon.”

“I know”

“What do we do?”

“Enjoy it.”

Natapos ang movie nang tahimik lang namin dinigest ang plot ng movie. Ang ganda ng pagkakasulat. Yung cinematoraphy. Yung storyline, it was so well-written. Gets ko na kung bakit sinabi ni Ning na nalito lang siya sa movie. Bigla tuloy akong nakaramdam ng lungkot. As much as possible kasi, ayokong manood ng mga movies na maaalala ko si Jaemin. Ayoko lang malungkot.

“So? What’s your answer?” tanong ni Karina, breaking the silence habang nagroroll ang credits ng movie. 

“Sagot saan?”

“Sa tanong ko kanina. Would you do the same thing?”

“Ah…” napaisip pa ako saglit bago tumingin sakanya at ngumit ng bahagya. “No. Hindi ko buburahin yung memories ng taong once kong minahal,” panimula ko. Umupo ako ng maayos at hinarap siya. She’s still leaning sa headboard, eyes staring into mine.

“Kasi minsan, the pain of the breakup is too much, you want to erase all memories of that person from your mind in order to stop hurting. Pero for me, even if masaktan ako, I wouldn't want to erase memories of someone I once loved just because I'm hurting because deleting them would also mean deleting all the happy memories. Ayaw ko non. Kahit masakit, kahit mamatay pa ako sa sakit, ayokong makalimutan yung tao. I want to look at that person and think na we were once happy, sapat na sakin ‘yon.”

Central Park

Nagtaxi lang kami papunta sa West Side ng Central Park around 6:30 a.m. because Karina wanted to jog daw. Pumayag naman ako kasi nga diba, wala naman akong choice. She's dressed in a black and white Nike sports bra and black Nike tights, with her hair in a high ponytail that reveals her long neck and sharp collarbone. Ako naman ay nagsuot lang ng white dri fit shirt and black Nike shorts. 

Pagpunta palang namin sa Central Pa