Untitled Episode
1540 Words
IT WAS LATE AFTERNOON. Hindi pa man tapos ang working hours, umalis na si Zayden sa restaurant. Dadaan pa kasi siya sa bahay ng kakambal niya para ibigay ang pasalubong ng anak nito na binili nila ni Luna bago sila umuwi ng syudad.
“Zyaire!” Zayden called as soon as the maid opened the door. “Tito Z is here!”
The toddler came running with his arms flailing. “Pasalubong ko?!”
Nataw ana lamang si Zayden. He crouched down, handing his nephew a small paper bag with dinosaur-shaped cookies. “Ayan. Special from the hilltop.”
“Yey! Thank you po, Tito Z!” The little boy ran off again, cradling the cookies like treasure.
Zane walked in from the kitchen, smirking. “So, ako? Walang pasalubong?”
Zayden raised a brow. “Ikaw ba si Zyaire?”
“Ang sama talaga ng ugali mo minsan.” Sabi ni Zane. He threw a soda can to his twin, whom the latter caught easily with one hand. “So, kumusta? You look like a man na may tinatago.”
Zayden sat on the sofa and leaned back, exhaling. “Lovelife ko? Half-happy… and half-sad.”
Zane popped a potato chip into his mouth. “Oh no. That sounds like a telenovela. Why, oh why?” he asked as he was curious about Zayden’s love life. Curious siya kasi hindi ito nakikipag-date.
“She’s engaged,” Zayden said simply.
Napatigil si Zane sa pagnguya. “Oh.” He blinked. “And?”
“And we like each other.” Though Zayden assumed that part, Luna won’t let him touch her, kung hindi naman siya nito gusto, right?
“Pero…” Zane prompted, narrowing his eyes.
“But she’s getting married.”
Zane made a face. “Dude.”
“At gusto ko siyang…” Zayden trailed off, then said it anyway, eyes dead serious. “buntisin.”
Kamuntikang nahulog ni Zane ang hawak na soda dahil sa sinabi ng kakambal. “You will what?!”
Ngakibit ng balikat si Zayden na parang wala lang. “I said what I said.”
“Bro, that escalated so fast that I got whiplash.” Zane stared at his twin with his mouth slightly parted. “You’re in love with a taken woman, and your first instinct is… that?”
“It’s not instinct, Zane. It’s desire. Mixed with emotions. Mixed with future hallucinations.”
“Hallucinations?” Tumaas ang isang kilay ni Zane.
“I imagine her carrying my child, okay?” Zayden muttered. “I imagine it so vividly and it hurts.”
Noong nasa parke sila ni Luna sa probinsiya at nakita niya ang mga batang naglalaro, naisip na niya ang tungkol sa anak. Gusto niyang sabihin ‘yon kay Luna pero paano siya sasabihin kung ganito naman ang sitwasyon nilang dalawa.
Zane shook his head in disbelief, but his voice softened. “So… what are you gonna do?”
Napatingin na lamang si Zayden sa sariling mga kama. “Nothing. I respect her. I’d never force anything. But if she ever chose me…” he paused. “I’d choose her. Every time.”
Zane studied his brother for a moment. “You’re serious?”
“Dead serious.”
And there was silence between them.
Then Zane groaned. “Damn it. I can’t even joke about this. You’re really in deep, huh?”
Zayden smiled bitterly. “I’m already drowning, Zane.”
Zane sighed. Ito ang unang beses na nakita niyang ganito ang kakambal niya. When they were younger, Zayden dated, but he never had a girlfriend. Ang dali nitong ma-turn off pero ngayon… this was the first time that love shone in Zayden’s eyes.
Then, after a moment, Zane spoke. “Zayden,” he said, rubbing his temple after the gusto-ko-siyang-buntisin bomb had finally settled. “I love you, pero minsan gusto kitang sampalin ng matigas na tilapia.”
Tumawa ng mahina si Zayden. “I love you too.”
Zane leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. “Listen. You said she’s engaged. That’s not just ‘complicated’. That’s full of landmine territory.”
“Alam ko.”
“But you’re in love.”
“I am.”
“And she loves you too?” tanong ni Zane.
Napatigil si Zayden. “Hindi pa naman niya sinasabi. But she looks at me like she likes me. And when she’s with me, I can feel that she’s not pretending.”
Napatango si Zane ng mabagal. “Okay. Then here’s your dilemma. Think like you’re Romeo, you either let her go completely—”
“I can’t do that!” Zayden protested.
“—or fight like her for hell. You have me as your backup. Kung pera ang usapan walang problema sa akin ‘yon.”
Zayden blinked. “Those are my only options?”
Zane pointed his soda can at him. “Yup. That ‘what if, maybe someday’ crap? That’ll tear both of you apart.”
Natahimik si Zayden.
“Look, if you’re just gonna wait around hoping she breaks off the engagement, then you’re not loving her, you’re haunting her,” Zane added, his voice was calm but firm.
Zayden looked up, surprised at the weight of those words. But Luna has made up her mind…
“But,” nagpatuloy si Zane, “if she’s really confused, really tone, and you honestly believed she’d be happier with you, then say something. Show her what life could be with you. No pressure. Just the truth.”
Zayden’s jaw clenched. “Paano kung ang fiancé niya pa rin ang pipiliin niya?”
“Then walk away, no regrets. Because at least you gave it a damn shot.”
Muling sumandal si Zane sa kinauupuan. “You don’t want to be that guy who wonders ten years from now, ‘what if I’d said something?’ Magtiwala sa akin. Regret ages like vinegar. At kapag nangyari 'yon huwag ka ng lumapit sa akin dahil baka mabatukan kita.”
Zayden smirked. “You’re starting to sound like Dad.”
Zane smirked back. “Good. That means I’m finally winning at this kuya thing.” Then he raised a brow. “Also, maybe wait a bit before bringing up the baby fantasy. Just saying.”
“Mabilis ba?”
Zane rolled her eyes. “Ang bilis mo masyado.”
WHEN ZAYDEN WENT HOME, he found Luna sleeping in his bed. Instead of entering the room, he closed the door gently. He sat on the couch. He placed the takeout on the table. He doesn’t have the mood to cook because his mind is not at peace. Maraming mga bagay ang pumapasok sa kaniyang isipan.
The lights in Zayden’s condo were low. Just the warm glow from a lamp in the corner, casting long, tired shadows on the floor.
Zayden stared at nothing in particular, his eyes fixed on the balcony door, like the skyline could offer him answers.
“Zayden… ampon ako.”
Luna’s voice echoed in his mind, gentle and small.
“Utang na loob ko ang buong buhay ko sa kanila.”
And that part broke him. Because he knew Luna meant it.
And even though she didn’t say it aloud, he heard the unspoken, “So I can’t choose you.”
Zayden leaned forward, elbows on his knees, rubbing a hand down his face.
His twin’s voice crept in next, clearer, firmer, laced with frustration and love.
“Either let her go completely… or fight like hell for her.”
Zayden exhaled slowly. Malinaw niyang naririnig ang mga boses sa kaniyang isipan pero wala siyang maisip kung ano ba ang susundin niya. He had been decided to make Luna as his but his dream shattered when he knew that truth why Luna will have to marry that guy. At kung sinuman ang lalaking fiancé ni Luna, isinusumpa na niya ito.
What do you do when the girl you love believes she doesn’t deserve to choose her own heart?
Sana AI-generated na lamang ang kaniyang isipan upang malaman niya agad ang sagot sa kaniyang tanong kahit pa walang kasiguruhan ang solusyon.
Zayden picked up his phone, scrolled through her messages, and paused on a photo. It was Luna asleep at the cottage, curled up in his hoodie, and a sketchbook on her chest.
Ngumiti si Zayden. Then he frowned. “Luna,” bulong niya, “I don’t want to take you away from them, but I won’t let you erase yourself just to repay a debt you never asked for.”
Tumayo si Zayde. He paced back and forth.
If love were measured by logic, he’d have let her go by now.
Pero hindi niya kaya. Hindi niya kayang mawala sa kaniya si Luna. Hindi niya kakayanin.
Every version of the future he saw, every quiet morning, every laugh at the dinner table, every ordinary day, they all had her in them. So, he couldn’t let go.
And if she really couldn’t choose him, he would walk.
But not without telling her the truth first.
Not without giving her the choice.
Zayden walked into the kitchen and prepared their dinner.
Bukas.
Sasabihin niya kay Luna ang lahat ng gusto niyang sabihin. And this time, he wouldn’t hold back.
- Writer
