Chapter 21

Esther's POV

"Ngayon mo na lang ako ulit tinawag, ah. Pakiramdam ko tuloy ayaw mo na sa 'kin," Sinimangutan ako ni Alessandra. "I feel so neglected."

Napakamot naman ako sa ulo ko. "Pasensya ka na talaga, Alessandra. Busy lang ako nitong mga nakaraan."

Umirap s'ya at umupo sa tabi ko. "Tell me now what you need. We only have thirty minutes to talk.

"Kumusta kayo ni Jordan? I mean may iba ka bang nararamdaman?"

Ngumuso s'ya. "I like Jordan, but not the romantic type of like. I like him because we fall into the same of faction. In the story we're both searching for truth, venturing the unknown, and seeking for something that you haven't said in the story. Just that type of like."

Napatango naman ako. "Baka naman may iba kang nagugustuhan sa story, ha?"

Natawa naman s'ya. "Paano naman magiging posible 'yon? Si Jordan lang ang nag-iisang character na linagay mo sa story bilang love interest ko or something. Kapag nga sinabi mo sa story na in love na ko sa kaniya, magiging in love talaga ko sa kaniya sa story pero mukhang hindi na gano'n kapag tinawag mo na ako. Parang si Perry din, 'di ba?"

"What about Perry?" taka kong tanong.

"I mean tuwing tinatawag mo kami ni Jordan tapos kasama s'ya, nakikita kong may sakit sa mga mata n'ya kahit masaya naman s'ya sa latest chapter na gawa mo," Tiningnan n'ya ako. "She seems different in a way, you know."

Before I can even agree with Alessandra, she already vanished. I just sighed due to confusion that I can't wrap around my head. Maybe I should know Jordan's side now. Sila lang talaga ni Perry ang parang may problema. Is that even possible? A fictional character falling in love with another fictional character even if they're not inside the story?

I immediately wrote Jordan's name on my notebook. Saka ko lang napansin na sobrang daming beses ko na pala silang tinawag. Ilang pages din ng notebook ang napuno kaya hesitant akong magdagdag ng bago na namang character na p'wedeng makausap o makita. I'm still not sure about this notebook. It has some sort of powers as far as I know, but why me? I'm sure that this notebook was bought by my mother in the mall. It was brand new and still has plastic cover when I got it. It's not a heirloom and how did it possess that kind of powers?

I never really dig deeper about this. I should research more.

"Earth to Esther. Can you hear or see me?" Napatitig ako sa harapan ko at nandoon na pala si Jordan. "Goodness, I thought you can't see nor hear me.

"May iniisip lang ako," nginitian ko s'ya. "Kumusta ka, Jordan?"

"I'm fine, I must say," he sighed. "But I feel uncomfortable."

My forehead creased. "Bakit naman? May nangyari bang kakaiba? May nararamdaman ka bang iba?"

Nagbuga s'ya ng malalim na buntong-hininga bago tumitig sa mga mata ko. "What do you call on that certain feeling when you feel a sting inside you every time you see someone special with someone special to that someone?"

Naguluhan naman ako sa sinasabi n'ya pero isang sagot lang din ang naisip ko. "Jealousy? You're probably jealous."

Nagulat ako nang mapuno ng takot ang mga mata n'ya. "You never told me to feel that way in the story, but I can feel it inside of me since the last time we talked. Even if I'm doing what I'm supposed to do in the story, I can feel it. Especially when I'm talking to you and I'm out of the story for the meantime."

Napaisip ako lalo. Sila lang talaag ni Perry ang may ganitong kaso. I don't know what to do. Being able to talk with my own fictional characters is already the peak of my sanity and now we have this kind of problem. This is tedious and confusing.

Am I going crazy? Probably not. I can hope.

"Jordan, huwag kang matakot. Malalaman din natin kung bakit ka nakakaramdam ng ganiyan pero sino bang pinagseselosan mo?"

Napalunok pa s'ya bago sumagot. "Rusty and Perry. In the last chapter they look so happy together. I don't know why I'm feeling this. I'm not even on their scenes!"

"Kumalma ka muna," Kahit ako ay natataranta na dahil sa kaniya. Buti na lang at unti-unti na s'yang kumalma matapos ang ilang minuto. "There, kalma lang. We'll figure this out, okay?"

Tumango naman s'ya. "I trust you, Esther. You're our author. I know that we'll eventually know what's happening."

I felt agitated because of what he said. I don't know how long it will take for me to know the answers. It's near to impossible.

Kinausap ko lang si Jordan hanggang sa matapos ang tatlumpung minuto. Kinuha ko ang laptop ko at sinubukang mag-search sa iba't-ibang search engines. Nagbasa rin ako ng iba't-ibang articles pero walang lumalabas na sagot. Paano nga ba magkakaroon ng sagot sa ganitong mga katanungan? I know how powerful the internet is, but this is inhuman.

Kinuha ko ang cellphone ko at tinawagan si Yael. I will ask him about something. I know I will not get any solid answers from doing this, but I wanna know a normal writer's side tapos si Aless naman ang tatanungin ko mamaya.

When Yael answered, his deep voice welcomed my ears. "Hello? Sorry, I just woke up."

"Nagising pala kita. Sorry, may gusto lang naman kasi akong itanong."

He yawned before answering. "Sure. Spill it."

"What will you do if you can talk to your own fictional characters?"

Ilang segundo ang lumipas bago s'ya sumagot. "That's incredible, but that sounds so impossible. Kung makakausap ko sila, I will ask them if they're enjoying the scenes."

Kumunot ang noo ko dahil sa sagot n'ya hanggang sa naalala ko na lang kung ano ang genre ng mga kuwentong sinusulat n'ya. "Ahmm, ano pa?"

He chuckled a bit. "I'll ask them what they want to happen next. If they have any anticipations and I will try to apply that," he yawned again. "But being able to talk to fictional characters is kinda crazy and scary. I mean they only exist inside my head."

"Gano'n ba," Bumuntong-hininga ako. "Salamat. Pasensya na at naabala pa kita. Wala namang kwenta 'yong tanong ko."

"Okay lang. You wanna hang out tomorrow? You sound so problematic. We can talk that out. Kakain din tayo ng kahit anong gusto mo."

Napakamot na lang ako sa batok ko. "Hindi ako p'wede bukas. Marami akong tatapusin para sa school."

Totoo namang marami talaga akong gagawin dahil hindi pa tapos ang research namin. Malapit na rin ang exam week pero gusto ko rin kasing may mas malaman pa tungkol doon sa notebook na bigay ni Mama. I will look for answers alone.

"Oh, don't exhaust yourself too much, hmm? Kapag kailangan mo ng kasamang gumala, I'm always free."

Bigla naman akong naalala. "Nga pala, Yael, sabi ni Mama gusto ka raw n'yang pumunta ka rito sa bahay sa birthday ko."

"Really?" he giggled. "I will not take down the invitation. Kailan ba 'yan? Para naman makapaghanda ako ng ireregalo sa'yo. I'll buy new clothes as well."

Hindi ko na napansin ang oras. Tinawagan ko lang naman si Yael para may tanungin pero humaba pa lalo ang usapan namin. Mas madaldal s'ya ngayon kaysa dati.

Kahit pa paano nawala ang bigat sa dibdib ko na namuo kanina nang kausapin ko si Jordan. Just talking to Yael made me feel better.

Yael's POV

Nagpaalam na ko kay Esther bago ko binaba ang tawag. I'm half-naked and I'm leaning on the kitchen's sink while talking casually on Esther, but someone knocked on the door.

Fuck, panira naman.

Binuksan ko ang pinto at hindi na ko nagulat nang makita ko ang nakakatanda kong kapatid na babae. Yeshi, she's here again to annoy the shit out of me. She's wearing branded clothes and she has her bodyguards with her.

"Bakit nandito ka na naman?" iritado kong tanong sa kaniya.

"Here," Inabot n'ya sa 'kin ang malaking paper bag. May tatak iyon ng isang sikat na clothing brand. "I hate to see you wearing cheap clothes. You look like a mess."

Maayos naman ang mga damit ko. Galing lahat sa ukay-ukay pero ano naman? I'm living alone and I need to save money. I am not like my older sister who can spend all the money she wants. Kahit pa sagana s'ya sa pera, ayaw kong matulad sa kaniya. Hindi ako magtitiis sa poder ng mga magulang n'ya.

"Just throw that away. Wala akong bagay na tatanggapin mula sa'yo at sa mga magulang mo."

"Mga magulang ko?" she let out a sarcastic laugh. "Thickheaded young man. Magulang mo rin sila and they want you back. They're proud of your achievements. Kaya nga pumunta ako rito. Pinapauwi ka na nila Mama at Papa."

"They're not my parents anymore," Sinamaan ko s'ya ng tingin. "I already disowned them."

"Ang kapal naman ng mukha mo, Yael!"

"Ikaw ang makapal ang mukha para pumunta pa rito kahit tinataboy na kita!" I shouted in too much annoyance. "Binubuhay ko na ang sarili ko. Kaya ko na kahit wala kayo! Kapag bumalik ako sa bahay natin siguradong gagamitin lang ako nila Mama at Papa. They will just keep me because I'm useful to them!"

I saw her gritted her teeth. "Wala kang alam kaya 'yan ang pinagsasasabi mo. You don't know what happened since you left."

"I don't want to know. I don't care."

TinTalim