Kamukha mo si Paraluman,
No'ng tayo ay bata pa.
At ang galing-galing mong sumayaw,
Mapa-boogie man o cha-cha.

Ngunit ang paborito,
Ay pagsayaw mo ng El Bimbo.
Nakakaindak, nakakaaliw
Nakakatindig-balahibo.

     Gal said that I look like Paraluman. As if either of us know how she actually looks like.

     But then binawi niya yung sinabi niya.

     She said I’m a hundred times more beautiful than Paraluman.

     I just know the word paraluman like, yung tagalog ng muse so…. I can be her paraluman. If she wants me to, because I want her to, then I’ll always be up to be her paraluman.

     Anyways, Ang Huling El Bimbo by Eraserheads. Sabi niya sa akin this song is all about love daw pala, more on the tragic side of it. It talks about someone’s first love, unrequited love and their forfeited love. More like the epitome of forbidden love.

     Yung kahit gaano mo mahalin yung isang tao, never kang makakakuha ng anything sa kaniya just because, you’re not made for each other.

     Question is, how are we sure that someone’s made for us?

     Sige nga, do I know na Winter’s the one made for me? Diba hindi. But I do want her to be the one for me.

     Is it bad to want something in that way?

     No one’s telling me so…. kung hindi nga siya para sa akin. Edi kawawa ako.

     Joke.

     I’ll be sad of course.

     Who will want to lose this dumb smiling, dorky, petty fighter of a girl that I love. Sabi nga ni Taylor Swift. ‘Don’t blame me, love made me crazy. If it doesn’t, you ain’t doing right.’

     Ako, si Catherine Monique Bloom Yugala, ay handang mabaliw sa ngalan ng pag-ibig, at sa ngalan ng isang Winter Madrid Santos-Kim.

     ‘Anong iniisip moooooo?’ pa sing-song niyang tanong before she glanced at me. Siya yung nagddrive right now. I think na sa may pa-junction na kami near Cainta or something. Not really sure. I have full faith with Waze naman. Saka she’s familiar with Taytay daw at dun pala nakatira sina Ate Iya.

     ‘Yung song’ I lightly answered. ‘Ano meron? Lipat natin? Pwede mo naman ilipat Wako’ sunod sunod niyang sabi. She must’ve thought na ayoko nung kanta. I know some OPM classics naman.

     ‘Hindi yung ano lang,’ I side-eyed her. She’s focused sa daan while I’m here focused on her. Kanina kasi tingin ng tingin sa akin, nasita ko tuloy. Pag kami nabangga, siya pagbabayarin ko ng hospital bills. Knock on wood na din. ‘Yung meaning ng song. It’s about love diba?’ I continued before tearing my eyes from her.

     ‘Yup, di ko sure if true to life or not. Basta about love siya.’

     ‘Malayo pa ba tayo?’ I asked to change the topic.

     ‘Lapit na, traffic lang’

     We’ve both been pumped about going on a date and lalo na today. It’s our 3rd motmot. Ning said to use motmot nalang instead of monthsary kaya since bet ko naman yung word na motmot for some reason, we’re having a date in celebration of our 3rd motmot.

     ‘Aren’t you tired?’ I cautiously asked her.

     ‘Mukha lang Wako pero hindi naman, nakaidlip ako bago kita sunduin.’

     Her right hand held mine on top of my lap, she does this when we’re caught on traffic, it helps her stay calm daw. May pagka-warfreak din kasi tong girlfriend ko pagdating sa kalsada minsan. ‘I’ll drive pauwi ha’ ‘Opo’ humagikgik siya bigla. Aasarin nanaman ako nito. ‘May insurance naman si-‘ see, she loves annoying the out of me.

     ‘Inaaway mo nanaman ako’ I cut her off before I rolled my eyes at her. Malay ko ba, ang saya saya niya lang pag-inaasar ako…. Baka magkakaron nanaman ako at ang dali ko nanaman mairita.

     Lumingon ulit siya sa akin bago ako ngitian. Alam ko na to, ‘manunuyo’ to.

     ‘I love you’

     ‘I hate you’ irita kong sagot bago humarap sa bintana. Bahala siya mag-isa dyan. Magdrive siya magdamag wag niya akong kakausapin.

     ‘Okay~’

     The road’s cleared of traffic again. Ang bilis nga ng takbo namin but I think we’re not anywhere the limit naman. Winter’s a smart driver, she doesn’t go fast unless it’s really needed. Ang tagal na nga siguro since I last drove this fast.

     ‘Wako’

     ‘Hm’ I straightened sa seat ko. Hindi ko pa rin siya tinitignan. I think I’m starting to feel sleepy.

     ‘Ang ganda mo’ she lowly said, enough for me to hear.

     I smiled.

     She always says it to me that I don’t even need others to tell me anymore.

     ‘I know’ ‘Oki’

     ‘Gal’ tawag ko. ‘Yess’

     ‘Ang energetic mo today’ I commented.

     Usually when she’s driving, she just settles to listening to songs. Sabi naman niya sa akin, feel na feel daw niya yung letter na bigay ko nung birthday niya. Babawi daw siya kasi matagal pa birthday ko kaya matagal pa daw bago niya ako bigyan ng letter. Baka ito na yung pagbawi niya….?

     ‘Syempre, 3 months na tayo eh’

     ‘Na-reach na ba natin yung expected mo?’

     ‘Hindi sa reason na yan. Genuinely happy lang kasi nakaka 3 months na tayo’ she smiled. Probably imagining things already. ‘Tignan mo bukas, makalawa-’ She paused for anticipation. She’s been fond of doing it these days. ‘3 years na tayo’

     ‘It’s that fast, no?’ sagot ko sa kaniya. It’s already been half a year since I went dun sa museum. To think na such an impulsive decision led me to where I am right now, parang I’ll risk everything just to go back and make sure na I’ll go the the museum on that day. Kasi if not, I wouldn’t have met her that way kahit na pa nga our parents became business partners weeks after.

     Iba pa rin kasi yung pakiramdam when I saw her again dun sa shop. I just remembered her based on her eyes kaya buti nalang talaga. Thank you, God.

     ‘I think bibilis siya kasi graduating ka na next year then kapag ako naman yung graduating nagrready ka na for board’ she replied before signaling to change lanes.

     ‘It’s all coming so fast.’

     ‘Don’t worry my Wako, pwede mo akong gamiting panangga pag ang bilis na ng lahat para sayo’ pagpapaliwanag niya. ‘I’ll be your slow motion.’

     ‘Ano naman meaning nun?’ mabilis kong tanong at hindi ko magets yung sinasabi niya. ‘Wala lang, ako magpapabagal sa buhay mo.’ She took another side glance to me. ‘Kung papayagan mo ko’ careful niyang tanong before turning right.

     I finally looked at her. When did our conversation become so serious. ‘Bakit naman hindi’ masungit pa rin yung tone ng voice ko but I wasn’t meaning to come out like that. ‘Yun pala eh. I’m your slowmo na.’

     I don’t really get the whole ‘slowmo’ thing but if siya na daw yun sa buhay ko, edi okay. Speaking of slowmo, she kind of resembles something.

     ‘Bakit?’ she asked as soon as I giggled on my own.

     ‘Mukha ka palang sloth’

     Sinimangutan niya ko. ‘Compliment ba yan o ano’

     ‘Hulaan mo’ pang-aasar ko. She clicked her tongue in annoyance.

     Ano, akala mo ikaw lang may kayang mang-asar sa’tin? Akala mo lang yun.

     Nag-iwas ako ng tingin from her before opening my phone. Na-miss ko bigla yung cover niya na she gifted to me this Christmas. Secret lang natin to ha but I always listen to it at least once in day and that is either when I wake up or before I sleep.

     When I wake up searching for it, usually it’s just me missing her voice. Our morning classes don’t really sync with each other kaya she sometimes gets up first or I do. I don’t text her anything other than our usual ‘good mornings’ as soon as I wake up kasi baka may ginagawa na siya and that’s where I find myself listening to her singing.

     Then at night, I listen to it when she already told me na she’ll sleep na o kaya she’ll be doing something. We can’t always be on a call naman and it’s not like it is a big deal for either of us. It’s just that I find myself missing her more frequently these days and I don’t know if it’s because we’re still new in this and my ‘missing-her-meter’ fluctuates like crazy,

     Or maybe I just really like hearing her that’s why I find myself listening to her cover more than I should be.

     I mean, sige nga, how can I tell na sobra sobra na yung pakikinig ko sa kaniya? Kung siya ang usapan, I think walang sosobra kahit kailan.

     ‘Wako, mas love mo na ba yung bintana ng kotse kaysa sa’kin?’ she chuckled before I looked at her. I stared at her intently ‘What?’ ‘Sabi ko, sa’kin ka naman tumingin, nakakamiss yung mga tinginan mo eh’ her smile definitely got wider before she briefly glanced sa akin.

     ‘Dali na para mahuhuli mo din ako when I look at you’

     Mga palusot talaga nito. I could never get used to them. In a good way. She always comes up with random reasons and I always seem to be fascinated by it.

     Hindi ba pwedeng magdrive nalang kami hanggang dulo ng Rizal then go back sa bahay? I think mas gusto ko nalang dito sa kotse, kasama ko din naman siya eh….