THE OTHER WOMAN: A Short Story (7 of 7)

continuation...

“Why did you tell me she’s your cousin? Did you really think I wasn't going to find out?” He looked straight into her eyes.

“Do you love me?” she asked him.

“You know I do from the very start. How long have you been together?”

“We’re not together anymore. We’re just good friends now.”

“So do you feel the same way like I do for you? Do you love me?” He held her tightly and brought her closer to him so he could hear her words clearly. She pushed him back a little and she tried to look at the direction of the other woman who wasn't her cousin after all.

“Yes, I do.” But her eyes rolled to the left when she said that and Bong understood. He didn't want any more lies. He thought he had enough of it. He kissed her in the cheek. It should have been placed on her pouty red lips but thought against it. Truth hurts but the lies that cloak the truth hurt even more.

Leo (July 23 to Aug.22) – You will finally have a chance to come clean and unleash the flame that’s burning up inside you. Be careful, though. It might burn you in the end.

***

- END -

THE OTHER WOMAN: A Short Story (6 of 7)

continuation...

She left Bong in a state of wanting to deny what he had just heard and confront Ellen about it at the same time. Is this a confirmation of what he had feared of knowing before? Was he really blind or did he see it coming and just ignored it? He thought of the many times they were together and something or someone – phone calls here and there which she had to take out of his earshot, tons of text messages, a car waiting for her outside the school and lots of alibis for all occasions - would suddenly come and mess up his plans for the day. He began to connect the pieces of the puzzle he’d been trying build up before but never had the will to finish. He just nodded after every piece fitted. He knew the moment he saw the picture. He knew but hoped he was wrong, that he was just imagining things. 

Ellen saw him in a pensive mood while holding his bottle of beer so she approached him. “What’s wrong? Is the beer cold? It’s supposed to be cold, right?” She knew something was disturbing him. Her attempt at humor didn’t make him laugh or smile. Bong finished his beer hoping it would knock him out of this situation and wishing maybe, just maybe, it was all a dream and that he would wake up in the library staring at the picture without the other woman in it. But everything was real. How stupid of me to think of this as a dream! Besides, he needed a dozen bottles of beer or even more to overcome his tolerance level. Then Toto’s I Won’t Hold You Back played in the background after a series of upbeat tempos filled the airwaves after dinner so he asked her to dance with him without saying anything more. Eyes were on them as they headed toward the center of the dance floor, right under the rotating ball of glass. The chitchat around grew louder and Bong didn’t care nor did Ellen. She always didn’t. She was the kind of woman who could take any word said against her. Is this the reason she doesn’t care if I find out she wasn’t telling the truth about herself and the other woman? Why is she very confident that I wouldn’t mind? He decided he would finally ask her.

(to be continued...)

THE OTHER WOMAN: A Short Story (5 of 7)

continuation...

The other woman continued to bother him after that. Something was wrong in that picture but he couldn't downright prove it. Then he thought she wasn't important. She shouldn't be. He knew what his goal was and he shouldn't be distracted by anything or anyone so he brushed her off his mind. He continued to woo Ellen’s heart by spending more time with her in and outside school. They ate out and watched movies together whenever time and money permit them. They felt something special for each other. Their friends thought they looked perfect together and they just smiled about it. Everything started to fall into place as he hoped it would – or so he thought.

“Happy birthday to you…” Everybody prolonged the last line of the song pretending they didn't want to finish it right away so dinner would be served. It was the birthday party of their common friend Teresa. Bong knew a lot of people present in the party – classmates, friends and some teachers. Then he noticed someone he had not wanted to see in person – the other woman in the picture. He didn’t know she was Teresa’s friend, too. Small world.

Ellen sat beside her cousin and looked uneasy. She didn’t look happy nor did she have that party spirit in her that night.  Bong just stared at her and the other woman, who had a masculine built, and was taller and bigger than the rest of the female species around. He didn’t notice that almost everybody in the party was talking about Ellen and her cousin. Then they would look at Bong right after they glanced at the two women sitting in the opposite table.

“So how is it Bong?” Janna, one his classmates, approached him and asked.

With a quizzical look, Bong asked her back, “How is what?”

“C’mon, you can’t be that naïve. I mean, what does it feel when you see her?” her eyes pointed to the direction of the other woman.

“Oh, you mean Ellen’s cousin? Yeah, what about her?”

“Cousin, huh? That’s funny ‘cause everybody thought you knew she’s no cousin of Ellen at all. Wake up, man!”, then she left to chat with her friends in her table, probably spreading the latest tittle-tattle she had about Bong. 

(to be continued...)

THE OTHER WOMAN: A Short Story (4 of 7)

...continuation

Bong actually planned on telling her about his feelings for her on that very day and the horoscope just reinforced his plan so he did tell her. She was surprised, indeed. She didn’t know what else to say except that she feels comfortable and happy being with him.  From then on, Bong couldn’t stop thinking about her day and night. In fact, he made sure he greeted her every morning and wished her a good night's sleep through late night calls and text messages. He missed her presence though he would see her in school five or six times a week. Ellen was beginning to play a major role in Bong’s life of drama and comedy where Cupid has gone MIA. This was it, he thought. If things fall in their right places at the right time, maybe Cupid could finally pay him a visit.

“You look sexy in that picture.” he commented as he browsed Ellen’s Facebook account and saw her in spaghetti top and skimpy shorts. She quickly put her hands on the monitor to cover the primary picture.

“Skip that, will you? That’s so embarrassing!”

“Then you shouldn’t have displayed that picture there in the first place,” Bong answered.

           

The library was packed with students and the noise was close to that of a market. The student assistant in-charge of controlling silence seemed to have conceded defeat after she realized that her constant banging of the little bell in her table would only add up to the deafening noise around. Everybody has his or her own business apart from studying and observing silence. While some were living up to their nerdy habits, others reading magazines and newspapers, Bong was glued on to his laptop surfing the net with her at his side. A picture of her with another woman appeared on the screen. It was taken at a white sand beach but Bong wasn’t interested of the place. He got curious of the other woman.

“Who is she?” he asked

“Oh, that’s my cousin. We went to this sand bar near Tree Bird Island and we spent the night there. It was amazing. The water was so clear and the sand powder white. The place is perfect!” she described the place with utter excitement. “We should go there some time.” Her use of the word “we” was something new to him and it was music to his ears. But he couldn’t stop staring at the other woman in the picture.

“Yeah, we’ll think about it. It looks really tempting”.

(to be continued...)

THE OTHER WOMAN: A Short Story (3 of 7)

...continuation

One time he got tired of studying his Anatomy book in the library. He was reading the same lines in the first page of the chapter on cardiovascular system over and over again and nothing was penetrating his head. He glanced at her who was sitting across him. She was reading a newspaper, concentrating on the horoscope section. The world suddenly fell into silence, his gaze fixed upon her. He wanted to tell her right there and then. He wanted to rush things as if he’s running out of time like a starving lion out to devour its gentle prey one hungry night.

“You will receive a news today that will surprise you…,” she was reading her horoscope aloud. “Hmmm…What could that news be?” she added right after finishing the last sentence.

Bong came out of his trance. He heard what she said but he had to grab the newspaper from her to read it himself. He just smiled and was almost speechless. “I never believe in horoscopes but you know what, I might have to reconsider that starting today.”

“Really? Why today? Wait a minute, let me read yours!” She grabbed the paper back. Bong was now staring at her full lips as she started reading the entry before Virgo. She went on and on and Bong carefully listened to the reading of his own fate of the day. “You heard that?” she asked.

“Loud and clear! I wonder what it means though,” he said although the message was very clear to him. The last line she read troubled him. He thought if he had to believe in horoscopes then he should remember that line.

“Well, I think it means you have to get past that same page you have been reading for the last two hours and move on to the next”, she said as she went on browsing the rest of the entertainment section.

“I think you are right!”

(to be continued...)

THE OTHER WOMAN: A Short Story (2 of 7)

...continuation

Ellen concentrated as she listened to his heartbeat, “lub dub…lub dub…lub dub…” Bong was caught off guarded when she suddenly shoved her hand into his uniform. “Where can we hear the heart beat clearly and distinctly?” he asked her for the lack of anything to say as they sat on the bench waiting for their next class. He didn’t expect what had happened next but he didn’t want to complain either. He enjoyed it. He knew he did. He felt his temperature rose, ears got redder and hotter as her soft fingers made their way down his chest.

Why is she doing this in front of my classmates like it’s no big deal?, Bong wondered. Still he didn’t verbally complain. Suddenly, she giggled as she watched her own hand buried inside Bong’s undershirt. “I hope it's okay,” she said with a sheepish smile. “You’re already doing it. What can I do?” Bong responded.

Days, weeks have passed and they seemed to have known each other for a long time already. They could talk about anything they want.

“I feel like my entrails are about to come out and I don’t think I can hold it anymore,” she complained as she pushed her stomach as if it would kill the pain. 

“What did you eat? You shouldn't attempt to fart if you don’t want it to come out wet and wild.”

“Wow, that’s very helpful and comforting, Bong!”

Bong realized he’s feeling something different, different than how he feels for his friends or any other woman for that matter. He hasn’t felt like this in a long time, maybe five, six years or so. He knew he was falling for her.

For him, it wasn't just her silky long hair and her lovely face or her soft white skin wrapping her well-sculpted body that attracted him. There was something in her. Something he couldn't quite figure out. Was it the way she talks? The way she sashays her hips as she walks? Or the way she stares at Bong when words are nowhere to be found from her pouty red lips? He wasn’t sure.

(to be continued...)

THE OTHER WOMAN: A Short Story (1 of 7)

Virgo (Aug.23 to Sept.22) – You will receive a news today that will surprise you. Something you will consider as a challenge to your current way of life. This will cause a dilemma in your life but if you’re willing to sacrifice and go with the truth, then the truth will set you free.

Her hand carefully moved along Bong’s left midclavicular line, slowly caressing down the length of his ribs, palpating each intercostal space and slightly stopping at his nipple, probably to mark that she was about to reach the fifth space, which is directly below it. She was locating his apical pulse and she did it, from putting her hand into his uniform to slipping it under his undershirt, without any permission or malice at all.

Bong didn’t know her until recently when she approached him during one of their return demonstrations in the skills laboratory. It was their third day of knowing each other. On their first acquaintance, she came out of nowhere, asking Bong about the procedure of their demo and from then on, they became fast friends.

“We’re going to be friends from now on, okay? I’m Ellen. What’s your name?” she asked before Bong could utter a single word.

(to be continued...)

The ABC and D of Adventure! (Part 4)

(continuation)

D - DETOXIFICATION, DIFFERENTIATION & DEPARTURE

We all woke up earlier than expected but the sun was already up and shining in all its glory. While contemplating about where to eat, we suddenly got a text message informing us to go back to Sam & Von's place for our breakfast. "Yes!" We were thankful the Maglentes' hospitality did not stop after our overstay status at their place the night before. The thought of another mouthwatering meal jump-started our day as we rushed to take a shower and don fresh clothes for the day. 

True to our stomach's desire, our eyes and taste buds feasted on an appetizing breakfast of rice and homemade lumpia-like dish (I don't know what it was but it was surely tasteful) with an array of fresh fruits and fruit shakes that made our Sunday morning a truly detoxifying moment. We thanked the Maglentes again and again then headed for the butterfly sanctuary, which was only a few meters away from their beautiful home.

Sam and Von took us inside where we met Tarsie, the gregarious tarsier mascot of the butterfly center, and the bubbly and energetic tour guide, Jobert. "How do you differentiate a butterfly from a moth?", was Jobert's first question. We just smiled and mumbled a bit but weren't really sure of the answer so he continued, "Well, a moth's antenna is hairy while that of a butterfly isn't." Then we all nodded in agreement and continued to marvel at the sight of various kinds of butterflies and learned about their amazing transformation through their life cycle. It was like going back to our elementary science. It was also interesting to know that those with noticeable and colorful pupae do not necessarily produce beautiful and equally colorful butterflies. In fact, the opposite thing happens because the prettier the pupa is, the uglier the butterfly gets - something like that. 

Before Sam and Von or Noralre and her dad Melchor could invite us over again for another meal (not that we were really expecting), we had to bid farewell to them and to the place where we had spent one of our best times while waiting for something good to happen in our lives. We only bid farewell, not goodbye,  because we will return to this place for sure. Maybe not in the near future but in God's perfect time.