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This is the day that I’ve been dreading.
I did not think it would come to this, but boy it sure did. And it came quicker than I expected.
I thought that in the whole duration of our relationship, her attention would solely focus on me. But I was wrong.
It all started last weekend. We were supposed to spend time together as it is the only day that works for us—her busy with her duty, and me busy with SSG stuff—but weren’t able to because it’s the 3rd week of the month.
Meaning, she has to do her general cleaning. It’s really not a problem for the both of us because she’s been doing that ever since she got her own condo and even before we got together.
However, this time though, is a little bit different. She’s usually done by the afternoon and would message me as a go signal to go there.
But I received nothing. No heads up. No message. Nada.
Worry now evident on me. I messaged her but no answer. Started calling her phone but it went straight to voicemail.
Now it’s making me frustrated. Where the hell are you, babi?
Don’t get me wrong, had she not had a general cleaning I would go straight to her condo just about now.
Okay, if she won’t make paramdam by 4pm I’d go straight there.
It’s 1pm, she has an ample amount of time to do some important things, but those important things can wait, right?
She doesn’t know if her girlfriend’s okay, if she’s asleep, or if she’s sick (oa). Complete radio-silence.
She sat on her couch and decided to wait for the latter to at least message or call her.
Why is the time so slow?!
Aiah slowly woke up. Eyes blinking, mind still in a daze. A minute passed and she’s still staring at the ceiling, completely zoned out. And then realization hit her.
SHIT NAKATULOG AKO!
She quickly snapped her head back to check the time. Wall clock says “6:18 PM .”
6pm na pala, I didn’t even notice na I slept.
Tick
Tock
Tick
Tock
Tick
Tock
Her face started to frown. “6pm na…?” She whispered. She then checks her phone for any signs of her girlfriend.
Okay now she’s pissed.
Still no message from her loving girlfriend. Great.
She makes her way to her closet and wears whatever clothes her hands could grab. She then beelines to her big-ass mirror and applies a bit of powder.
She settled with a simple, plain, beige cargo pant paired with a black tank top.
To: Babi
Babi, I’m going there ah. You’re not answering me, nakatulog nako’t lahat. Please be okay.
She puts her phone inside her purse and hurriedly went outside her condo. Muntik pa matisod kakamadali.
She’s already inside the elevator of Gwen’s condo.
That fast? Hell no. It took her approximately 30 minutes to get there. A 10-minute wait for her grab, and a 20-minute ride from and to Gwen’s condo.
She has her arms crossed while waiting for the elevator to go up to the 10th floor. She may appear calm on the outside, but she killed Gwen multiple times in her head already. Pun intended.
Ding
Finally. That was a long elevator ride.
She immediately steps out and wasted no time to go for Gwen’s door. Before knocking, she grabs her phone first, checking if the owner of this condo has replied to her. Still none.
She sighs, “Alright, that’s it. What is she doing ba? Did she fall asleep? Ang tagal naman?!”
Raising up her knuckles to knock, “Knock knock, Babi? It’s me, are you inside ba?”
Kroo kroo kroo
She knocks again, this time with a bit of force. “Gweneth Apuli, isa. Pag ‘to hindi nabukas gigibain ko ‘to.”
Kroo kroo kroo
“Ay talaga naman, sinasagad talaga pasensya ko oh. Grabe naman ka heavy sleeper if ever nakatulog ‘to?” She said to no one. “Babi, I warned you kanina ha.”
She opened her purse and grabbed her spare key Gwen gave to her right after they got official.
Hindi ko naman ‘to magigiba beh
Once unlocked, she checked every corner of her girlfriend’s condo, only to find her sprawled on the living room couch, earphones on, coke on the side, and her girlfriend—in all her glory—humming to a song, holding a… Is that a PSP?
She scanned the area looking for Gwen’s phone and to no surprise, it’s on the kitchen table… charging.
Why is she charging her phone sa kitchen table? She scanned the area her girlfriend is in; there’s an outlet naman near her ah.
She took her time scanning the whole condo. There are a lot of things she noticed. She made a list of them. Here’s the following:
- Trash bags are still nasa door
- Cutlery’s still nasa countertop
- Changed beddings aren’t in the laundry basket
- Some shoes are not on the shoe rack
- Vacuum is still in the living room
Okay, what the hell is happening? Akala ko ba general cleaning?
She made her way to Gwen, crouching. She nudged her to get her attention.
“Babi, why is your place looking like someone ransacked it?
Gwen—finally—looked at her, startled and a little bit confused.
“Babe? Why are you here? Hindi pa ako tapos mag-clean, mahal.” Gwen said, voice laced with confusion.
“Halata nga babi.” Aiah replied with a chuckle. “I think you were so caught up playing with your PSP that you didn’t notice the time. It’s almost 7 na babe.” She added.
Gwen quickly looked at the time and indeed it’s 6:53 PM already. She then faced her girlfriend in front of her with a sheepish smile.
She immediately hugged her to avoid trouble. “Hehe, I’m sorry mahal.”
Aiah breaks the hug then pinched her on the side, “Hehe ka dyan. Did you know how worried I was ha? Tapos ikaw naglalaro ka lang pala?”
“Ihh sorry na po, it won’t happen again.” Gwen pouted, “Promise, Babi.” She added, holding her hand up and then changing it to a pinky promise.
She can’t stay upset at her for too long. She knows that, and Gwen knows that. That is why this goofball right here is making faces and going extra just so she can forgive her.
Aiah’s Heightened Emotions Pyramid
Disappointed Aiah is a scary one. You have to walk on eggshells around her and it takes 4-5 business days for you to approach her without apprehension. That includes no cuddles and kisses.
Angry Aiah is a scary one, decrease one level on the Disappointed Aiah category and you basically get the same results. Though, it takes 2-3 business days for you to approach her with caution. No kisses, but she’ll approach you for cuddles.
Upset Aiah is less scary compared to the two above mentioned, however, you still have to be cautious around her and it takes no less than a day for you to approach her. Will approach you for cuddles and kisses.
Frustrated Aiah, however, is very different from the three. Yes, it’s in the second level, but you have to approach her in a different way. It takes a few hours for you to approach her, but you have to be very careful with your actions, words, tone of voice, and your body language. It comes rarely but very scary.
Moody Aiah is at the base of the Aiah’s Heightened Emotions Pyramid(Negative Side). You can approach her anytime, but you have to have an ice cream with you just in case if things go south and she goes straight to the top level.
Judging by the situation she’s in, Gwen guessed that her lover is upset—upset about what happened. Being the receiver of Aiah’s heightened emotions, she had become an expert at being on the latter’s good side.
Well, except for this one.
“Make sure that it won’t happen again, ha. Not hearing anything from you for 11 hours is pure torture, mahal.” Aiah stated, pouting.
“Ay ang baby ko, halika nga dito.” Gwen said, grabbing Aiah’s arms, completely hugging her.
“I’m really, really sorry, babi. I promise it won’t happen ever again. I’ll make sure to message you from time to time whenever I clean my condo.” She said genuinely, swaying the both of them unconsciously.
Aiah pulls out from the hug, slightly looking up. “Promise mo ‘yan ha?” She said, her face a combination of pouting and glaring.
Gwen chuckled at this. “Yes, po mahal. Nakadalawang promise na ako sa’yo, awa nalang kay Lord pag hindi ko ‘yan tinupad.”
“Okay, you’re forgiven.” Aiah quickly said. “I won’t ask you if kumain ka na ba kasi I’m 100% sure you haven’t pa. Judging by how I entered kanina. And how you are when you’re focused on one thing, you tend to tune out everything else.” She started berating her. Walking past the living room.
“I didn’t know you have a PSP, babe. What were you playing ba that you were too engrossed with it?” She half shouted, making sure Gwen hears her.
Following her girlfriend, she stood beside her, face beaming with excitement.
“I found it kanina sa storage room, babi, sa old boxes ko. I tried turning it on, but hindi gumana. I started looking for its charger; luckily, nasa isang box lang yung charger.” She happily said, skipping as they started cleaning (right) her mess this time.
“And I’m guessing the charger still works?” She asks even though the answer is obvious. She just wants to see something.
“Yup, yup, yup.” Gwen said, popping the P’s.
She smiled at that. Her girlfriend’s way too cute.
“And you were playing what exactly?” She inquired. Gwen looks up, meeting her gaze. “Harvest Moon: Hero of Leaf Valley po bebe.” She said smiling, cheeks full.
“Oh, I’ve heard of that game, diba marami versions niyan? Yung boy and girl lang yung nalaro ko eh. And that was ages ago.”
“Yes, mahal. And I’ve played that version before as well! Hayssst I miss.”
“Why don’t you download it? You know naman how to download PSP games sa pc, right? May cable naman to transfer it.” She suggested.
Gwen looked at her with wide eyes, like she saw a Goddess in front of her—literally and figuratively—
“OH MY GOD BABY YOU’RE A GENIUS!”
And that was the worst suggestion she ever suggested.
Because it’s been 3 days since that happened, since she suggested it to her girlfriend, and now she’s facing the consequences of her actions.
Gwen’s attention is now on her PSP.
At first, it was okay, no weird occurrences.
It started during the afternoon; they were having lunch at her place.
Both of them are done with their classes, so they have plenty of time to spend it together. To Aiah’s dismay, Gwen’s focus is on her game console.
“You brought that thing sa classroom niyo?” She asked, yet she was met with a “Yes po.”
And then followed by another one, and then another one.
Aiah was having none of it.
Yes, they’re spending their time together physically, but her girlfriend’s attention is not on her but rather on that thing.
“Alice marry meeee, ahhhhh.” Gwen unconsciously said, still playing that “stupid” game.
As soon as she heard what Gwen said, she immediately raised her eyebrow.
The audacity of this woman to ask an NPC to marry her when in fact I am beside her?
Her thoughts made her scoff out loud. Which she’s thankful for because Gwen finally has her attention on her.
“Babi, are you okay? Bakit ka nakabusangot?”
Gwen carefully asked her.
Aiah’s eyebrows are now raised. “Ako pa talaga tinatanong mo nyan Apuli? Aba talaga naman.” She said, standing up and preparing to leave.
Gwen, albeit confused and close to panicking, tugs on her shirt, “Mahal, where are you going? Is something wrong?” She asks as she unconsciously pouts.
Lord ang hirap naman magtampo kapag ganito girlfriend mo.
She quickly turns around to face her, with an unreadable expression.
“Harvest Moon o bebe time?”
“Babe?”
“Ako o si Alice?”
“What?”
“PUMILI KA!”
Right after saying those, she immediately left her place. To say she was embarrassed is an understatement; she didn’t know why she said it like that.
Heneral Luna, I hope you’re proud of me.
Kung dili ka mupili Gwen, lagubo nang agi nimo ron.
On the other hand, Gwen was a bit puzzled. She had no idea what happened and why her girlfriend was acting like that. “The way she said it, though, was so familiar.” She whispered to herself.
As soon as she realized it, Aiah had already left her own condo. Hala umalis talaga. Akala ko joke time lang. She immediately sprang outside to look for her.
Once outside, she started looking from left to right but saw no sight of her. She decided to go down in hopes that Aiah had just gone down the lobby when she bumped into someone.
“Aray naman teh, tumingin ka nga sa dinadaanan mo Apuli!” A wild Colet appeared.
Gwen, the one who bumped her, was the one who stumbled backwards. Massaging her right shoulder, she sheepishly looked at her Ate Colet.
“Lakas mo naman Ate, ako pa talaga yung naatras.” She said, closing in on Colet for a side hug.
“Ay! Nga pala, have you seen Aiah? Umalis eh.”
She asks, hoping the girl knew where her girlfriend had gone.
“Oo beh, yung jowa mo nandun kay Staks. Panira ng bebe time, pinaalis ba naman ako. Sabi niya puntahan daw kita tsaka batukan.”
As soon as she said that, she then smacked Gwen’s head.
“Aray Ate! Para saan yun?” She asks, nursing her head.
“Kung di ka ba naman isa’t kalahating tanga.” Colet started.
“Huh?” She was confused.
“Sa weekends and lunches nalang nga kayo magkakasama kasi busy siya sa SSG tapos ikaw sa duty naman, pero ikaw inuuna mo naman ‘yang letseng laruan mo tuwing magkakasama kayo. Talaga namang magtatampo ako niyan kung sa akin ‘yan ginawa. Buti nga kinaya ni Aiah ng ilang araw. Kung di mo aayusin ‘yan Apuli itatapon ko talaga ‘yang laruan mo na ‘yan.” She berated her.
She was supposed to say something, but something caught in her throat. She thought hard about it, contemplated her past actions. Once realizations hit her, a tear suddenly escaped her eye.
“Oh ba’t ka naiyak dyan? Ang iyakin mo naman! Puntahan mo na kaya si Aiah para naman hindi na kayo istorbo sa time namin ni Staks.” She jokingly said.
“Thank you Ate Col…” she was sniffing. “Puntahan ko na po.” She continued.
“Ewan ko sa’yo Apuli, puntahan mo na!” She said, pushing her to go while laughing.
While inside the elevator on the way to Stacey’s, she’s thinking of what to say to her girlfriend.
She’s already outside, but she’s hesitant to knock. Her mind is full of thoughts. She flinched when she heard the door click open.
Stacey appeared in front of her, smirking annoyingly at her. “Gweneth ang tagal mo.” She stepped aside, gesturing for the girl to come inside. “ATE AIAH NANDITO NA ANG IYAKIN MONG GIRLFRIEND!” She yelled, making Gwen panic a little bit.
“Inamo naman Staks, ‘wag ka sumigaw! Kinakabahan nga yung tao eh!” She shushed her.
Stacey just turned to her and laughed. “Ayaw mo nun? Mas madali kayong magkabati kesa naman hahayaan kita dito tapos hindi mo naman pala lalapitan kasi kinakabahan ka.” She told her off.
Sighing, she slowly approaches Aiah, who’s situated near the balcony. She looked back at Stacey with a bit of hesitation, but Stacey gave her an encouraging smile and a thumbs up, mouthing “good luck.”
Stacey gave them space, so she left. Now it’s just the two of them. It was silent, only the sound of the living room’s AC and the honking of the cars outside could be heard. She’s staring at her girlfriend’s back for a good minute, not until Aiah decided to break the silence.
“Why are you here?” She asks, feigning nonchalance. She’s still a bit embarrassed from earlier, but Gwen doesn’t have to know that.
“Mahal..?” Gwen started, fidgeting with her fingers. “I would like to apologize… kasi I took our time together for granted. Akala ko na it’s okay for you na I play when we’re together, I didn’t think that you’re already feeling that way had I not bumped into Ate Colet kanina I wouldn’t realize it. I was being insensitive to your feelings and only thought of my own. I’m really sorry po. I’ll be a better partner so that I can be deserving of your love, babi.” She put into words her thoughts earlier.
Aiah faced her, looking at her adorable girlfriend fiddling with her hands while looking down. She let out a relieved sigh. Reaching out for the latter’s hand, she squeezed it.
“And oa naman sa ‘you can be deserving of my love’ Babi.” She began to say, chuckling. “Even before I said yes to you, I already knew that you’re deserving of my love. You don’t have to doubt yourself if you’re deserving of it because you do, mahal.” Her hand reached for Gwen’s cheek, gently cupping it.
“But and daming kong lapses po.” Gwen mumbled.
“Ako rin naman ah?” She assured the younger. “And so what if you have your lapses naman? That doesn’t make me love you less. In fact, it even made me love you more eh.” She offered a teasing smile to lighten up the mood.
“Knowing that you learned from those mistakes and working on trying to be better? I couldn’t ask for anyone other than you.” She added, giving her pouty girlfriend a peck on the lips.
“And about your game.” She stated. “You’ll only get to play with it when you’re at home. Not when you’re in class, and certainly not when we’re together. Am I clear?” She spoke with conviction.
“Yes po, ma’am.” Gwen saluted.
“Oh, and you have to let me know that you’ll play para hindi maulit yung nangyari before ha?” She added.
“Okay po.” Gwen replied sheepishly. “Soooo… bati na tayo babi? She asked cautiously.
Aiah chortled with the way Gwen’s acting. “Ang cute-cute mo! Papisil ako ng cheeks please.” She’s already pinching the younger’s cheek even beforehand.
“Babiiiiiii.” Gwen whined. Aiah giggled. “Yes, yes babi we’re bati na.” Gwen then lifted her and spun her in circles.
“HOY BABI—STOP… GWENETH PUT ME DOWN… AAHH!” Aiah squealed while Gwen is enjoying it.
After a while, they settled on the couch, just feeling each other’s presence. Aiah leaning her head against Gwen’s chest. Hands on the younger’s waist. Gwen stroking the older’s hair, reeling her in into dreamland.
“Nga pala, did Alice say yes to your proposal?” She muttered, starting to doze off. Gwen chuckled at the question.
“Rejected ako mahal, orange pa kasi yung heart. They’ll only say yes if red na yung heart.” She uttered.
“Oh, that sucks.” She said but you can hear her giggles. “Tinawanan lang ako oh.” Gwen said, pretending to sulk.
“Don’t worry, Babi. If you’ll ask me to marry you, I’d definitely say yes. Ikaw na ‘yan eh.” Aiah uttered it, yawning. Gwen stopped caressing her hair.
She glanced at Aiah, shocked evident on her face. “Babi seryoso ka ba?” She couldn’t believe what she had heard. “Hmmm.” Aiah could only let out a hum right before she drifted off to sleep.
Gwen could only shake her head. Aiah tends to speak her mind when she’s sleepy or tired. Hearing her cute snores, she gazed at her lovingly. Memorizing every feature of Aiah’s face, burning it at the back of her mind.
I’d buy the blue feather from Louis so that I can ask you to marry me. But of course, only when I am ready and when you are ready.
Mahal na mahal kita.