Selos Ako

As obviously not the swimmer among us, nagstay lang ako sa pampang habang sila papalayo na ng papalayo. Pinagmamasdan kong mabuti si Suzy with her yellow two-piece bikini. With her abs and toned body and skin, sinong hindi maaakit sa kanya? Kinawayan nya ko from afar and pinapalapit sa kanila but umiling ako. May trauma ako sa medyo malalim na part ng dagat dahil muntik na akong malunod noong bata pa ako dahil sa malakas na hampas ng alon. Suzy didn't know that and I think ok lang naman na di na nya malaman.

Moments after, nakita ko na may group of guys, mostly foreigners ang papalapit sa kanila. They are gesturing something and I can sense na gusto nilang makisali sa grupo. As a bit introvert, ayoko sana na may ibang makisali sa aming iba but knowing my teammates, they would be so much willing to welcome these gorgeous guys and hindi ako nagkamali as they approach me na kasama na sila. Sa abs, tindig, height, itsura, panalong-panalo na. These 4 guys are hotties. Nandito daw sila sa Philippines to have a vacay and to relax from work. Niyaya nila ako to play beach volley with them and of course, pumayag ako though this is not the typical 2 v 2, we made it 4 v4.

As we are picking kung sino magiging teammates namin, hinawakan si Suzy ng isang guy, Matteo daw name nya, foreigner, mukhang Brazilian. Napakibit-balikat lang sya sakin habang ako hinila ni Cherry sa kabilang team. So it's me, Cherry, John (Half Pinoy, Half Brazilian), and Brent (American). Our opponent? Matteo, James (Australian), Ruth, and Suzy.

Okay lang naman sana na magkalaban kami ni Suzy, hindi na naman kami bata na magtatampo pag hindi naging magkakampi, but seeing that Matteo holding her by chance, and yung titigan nila, pag-appear, and pagtawanan after every scores make my heart shatter into pieces. NAGSESELOS AKO! I want to grab her arms para palipatin sa team namin at sabihin face to face sa Matteo na yon na this girl is mine! ALL MINE! But what can I do? Di kami legal. Di nilang alam lahat na we are in a relationship.

"LINDAAAA ILAAAAAG!! " bigla kong narinig si coach sa tabi na sumisigaw. Paglingon ko sa harap ko, kitang-kita ko, na para bang nasa anime series ako na may tatamang kung ano na dahan-dahan sa mukha ko, and yun! Ayun na nga.

BLAGABAG...

I feel myself lying on the sand. I can barely hear them running towards me. Wait! Wh-what happened?

"Linda, are you okay? "

Nung tumingala ako, nakita ko si Suzy, alalang-alala. Tumango ako and I feel something flowing sa ilong ko. Hinawakan ko and it's blood.

"A-anong nangyari? B-Bakit... Bakit may dugo? "

"Sorry... sorry, it's my fault" Matteo approaches me. "I-I thought nakatingin ka so I-I.... gosh sorry... "

Di ko maintindihan. Yeah, siguro natulala ako kanina while thinking about my selos pero sa tagal ko na naglalaro ng volleyball with men and gays, kahit naman matamaan ako ng bola di naman ganito. I touch my head and it hurts so bad. As I roam my eyes around may nakita akong niyog ng buko.

"D-Did that.... did that just hit me?! "

"Sorry... that's really my fault. I thought you are "on" for jokes, so I thought of---gosh! I-I don't know what to say... let's just go to a clinic near here please. "

Grabe! Niyog talaga ng buko? Pwede namang bola na lang ang ibato but how could this guy think na nakakatuwa yun?

"No! I can handle myself! "

"Linda? "

"No, Suzy, coach... I'm totally fine. Medyo masakit lang ang ulo ko but I'm okay. "

"Pahinga ka na muna, Linda"

"No Suzy. "

Everyone is still looking at me. Yung ginawa ni Matteo boy na 'to makes me more challenged para talunin sya.

"Let's Go! Let's play. Wala to don't worry. "

Pinahiran ko yung natitirang dugo sa ilong ko and everyone looks at me with questioning eyes. But pinakita ko sa kanila that I'm still on for it.

"That's Mah Girl! "

Si coach, proud na proud sa ginawa ko and mas na boost ang confidence ko so we continue playing. I show them my moves. The spikes, the runs, the blocks. It's 23-24, in favor of our team, and the ball is in our service.

"Go Ruth! "

Ruth is on the service line. She serves it for a sure ball. Nareceive naman nila ng maayos, nagset, nagspike. Nareceive namin, nagset and I spike. Tumagal ang palitan ng bola ng matagal-tagal din until James spikes the ball like sobrang lakas. Muntik na matamaan si John sa mukha but tumaas ito though pumaling papuntang tubig dahil medyo malapit lang yung court doon. As I dive for the ball, di ko namalayan na nagdive na din pala ako sa tubig. Paglagpak ko sa tubig, hindi naman malalim but my face diving into the water makes memories come back. The memory when I almost drown. I panick. I swim for my life without thinking na ga-talampakan lang naman ang tubig. And when I feel them na inaangat ako, bigla akong natauhan. I look around and sobra silang nagtataka, I can see it from their eyes but no one dare ask me what's wrong. I bury my face on my palm, di lang dahil sa sobrang nakakahiya kundi pati na rin dahil natakot ako. Akala ko naulit yung masalimuot na pangyayari na yon sa buhay ko kung saan nakita ko na lahat, nagflashback na lahat like oras ko na.