❝It was as if the world knew that her being friends with him would be far too captivating.❞

— ❃ —

        MALIE'S EYES widened as Dandan breezed through the newly-opened mall's entrance. It was the first one built nearby. Karamihan kasi ng mga itinatayong mall ay nasa siyudad na ilang oras pa ang layo mula sa barangay nila.

        Nang mapansing nagtuturuan na ang mga guwardya kung sino ang hahabol kay Dandan, nagmamadaling binuksan ni Malie ang backpack. She rummaged through it, desperate to find the letter she prepared. Dahil pareho pa silang minor ng kapatid, minabuti niyang magdala ng sulat mula sa nanay nila. May kasama pa nga iyong pirma.

        Trembling, Malie held the paper up. The guards only looked at her, confused.

        Malie's forehead crumpled. Wala naman palang balak iyong mga guwardya na habulin at sitahin ang kapatid niya. Imposible namang hindi nito alam na menor de edad si Dandan at hindi pa ito puwedeng pumasok nang mag-isa sa mall. Hanggang siko lang niya ito, e.

        Malie marched through the glass doors. She immediately scanned the place for her little brother. Napakalawak ng mall. Medyo nakasisilaw pa iyong mga ilaw na mas pinatingkad ng mga sinag ng araw na lumulusot sa babasaging entrance doors.

        Panic began bubbling in Malie's chest. Kahit anong lingon kasi niya ay hindi niya maaninag ang uniform ng kapatid. Nevertheless, she kept walking. She peeked through the glass windows of every stall she passed by.

        Upon catching a glimpse of a cooking toy set, Malie stopped. May oven iyong kasama na idine-demonstrate ng isang matangkad na babae. Hindi lang ata basta laruan iyong oven. P'wede yata talagang paglutuan.

        Nakagat ni Malie ang pang-ibabang labi.

        Si Dandan muna.

        Mahigpit siyang humawak sa strap ng backpack sa magkabilang balikat, at saka niya tinalikuran iyong cooking toy set. She scrunched her nose as the aroma of freshly baked cookies filled the air. She even used her hair to mask the smell. Ipinangtakip niya ang kanang braid sa ilong.

        Nang mapagtantong wala siyang mapapala sa pag-iikot, nagdesisyon siyang magtanong sa mga nakasasalubong.

        However, asking around didn't do much help. Sa halip na makita ang kapatid ay parang nakapang-inis lang siya ng mga tao.

        Malie was about to give up when she noticed a boy around her age, sitting on one of the white benches. The second the boy noticed her looking, he avoided her gaze. Ibinaling nito ang buong katawan sa katabing mga halaman.

        "Napansin niya 'ko, 'di ba?" bulong ni Malie sa sarili.

        Inayos niya ang magkabilang kuwelyo ng suot na uniporme. Pababa rin niyang hinigit ang laylayan niyon bago siya magsimulang humakbang papunta roon sa batang lalaki.

        "Uhm, hello?" panimula niya habang kumakaway. "Nakikita mo naman ako, 'di ba?"

        Malie bit the inside of her cheek. She knew of ghosts haunting dark houses. Tahimik siyang nagtaka kung posible bang gumala ang mga multo sa loob ng maliwanag na mall.

—

        THE BOY named Theodore kept his steady gaze on the Pokémon figurines he neatly placed on the bench. He held onto his red headphones. Wala namang tumutugtog doon. Sinadya lang niyang hawakan. Baka-sakaling mapaniwala niya iyong batang babae na hindi niya ito naririnig.

        Baka-sakaling umalis din ito kalaunan.

        But of course, that didn't happen, much to Theo's dread. His teachers warned him about strangers but there was no mention of girls his age approaching him. He fiddled with his Charizard figure. Ramdam niya ang pagbilis ng tibok ng puso niya. Hindi kasi siya sigurado kung anong dapat gawin.

        Theo gulped. He wouldn't be homeschooled next year anymore. Kailangan niyang masanay na hindi lang sina Laurie at Stefan ang kinakausap niya. Sinalubong niya ang mga mata ng babae.

        She had brown eyes. Her hair was properly curly, too.

        Frantically, she gestured with her hands. Although her voice was muffled because of his headphones, he could tell that she was in a panic. Namumugto kasi ang bilugan nitong mga mata. Nakakunot din ang noo nito sa kanya.

        Maya-maya, huminto sa pagsasalita ang babae. Ipinagkrus nito ang mga braso sa ibabaw ng dibdib. She had this frustrated look on her face. She kept blinking and sniffling as if about to cry real, actual tears.

        Theo bit the inside of his cheek. He remembered how his dad and mom lectured him when he accidentally made his sister, Liv, cry.

        Prinsesa raw dapat ang trato sa mga babae. Hindi dapat pinaiiyak. Magagalit daw kasi ang langit. Theo never understood the logic behind that but somehow, seeing this girl hold back her sobs made his insides flip.

        Theo inserted the Charizard figurine into the chest pocket of his red SpongeBob shirt. Pagkatapos niyon, ibinaba niya ang headphones. "Sorry, I can't hear you because of my. . ." Tumuro siya sa headphones.

        The girl narrowed her eyes at him. "Ha?"

        "Ba–bakit ka umiiyak?" diretsong tanong ni Theo.

        "Si Dandan ka–kasi," humihikbing sabi ng babae. "Nakita mo ba siya? Hanggang dito ko siya, o. Ganito siya katangkad." Itinuro nito ang siko. "Naka-uniform din siya. Pareho kami ng uniform na kulay blue, e. May nakita ka bang ganito 'yong uniform?"

        Tumango si Theo.

        Ipinagdikit ng batang babae ang mga palad. "Hala, thank you so much po, Lord!" deklara nito bago muling bumaling kay Theo. "Saan mo siya banda nakita?"

        "Escalator."

        "Escalator? Saan?"

        Muli siyang tumango. "The escalator—" Nagpalinga-linga siya, at saka tumuro. "—there."

        "Ha?"

        "Uhm, I can go with you if you wa–want," he suggested.

        Before the girl could answer, Theo gently held her right wrist and pulled her towards him. They ran around the mall, treating everything and everyone like an obstacle course or a 2-dimensional creature they must defeat to reach Dandan – or whatever his name was.

        From time to time, Theo glanced at the girl. Not once did he loosen his grip on her despite his sweaty palms. Kinakabahan siya pero mukhang first time kasi sa mall ng batang babae.

        With the whole world as their playground, the two ran for minutes. Theo has been visiting the mall every week. Kaibigan kasi ng lolo niya ang isa sa mga engineer niyon.

        With this girl, however, Theo felt like witnessing everything for the first time.

—

        FOR THE first time in a while, Malie felt out of breath. Pinanatili niya ang mga mata sa kamay ng batang lalaking nakahawak sa kanya. Malamig kasi iyon. His ice cold hand was probably because of the cool air inside the mall but Malie preferred to believe something else.

        Mas gusto niyang paniwalaang ninenerbyos din ito tulad niya. That was just more comforting.

        Malie had puppy crushes before but this was different. Ni hindi nga niya alam kung crush ba ang dapat na itawag sa tumutubong kiliti sa tiyan niya habang nakatitig siya sa mukhang mamahaling relo ng bata.

        Hindi rin niya alam kung tama bang hinayaan niyang mawaglit sa isip ang nawawalang kapatid dahil sa kasama.

        Napakurap si Malie nang bigla silang huminto. Napalabi rin siya nang pakawalan ng lalaki ang palapulsuhan niya.

        "Is that him?" tanong nito sa kanya.

        Sinundan ng mga mata niya ang itinuturo nito.

        Sa dulo ng escalator ay ang kapatid niyang si Dandan. Nakasalampak ito sa gilid ng escalator, ngumangawa sa kaba.

        Napabuga ng hangin si Malie. Nilingon niya iyong batang naghatid sa kanya. "Grabe, hu-hu, salamat talaga!"

        Nanatiling blangko ang mukha ng bata. His tongue seemed to be caught on something invisible. He looked at Malie who had a relieved smile on her face.

        Ilang beses na kumurap si Malie. Nakatitig lang kasi sa kanya ang batang lalaki.

        "Uhm. . ." panimula nito.

        Pinalawak pang lalo ni Malie ang ngiti para mabawasan ang kaba ng bata. "Sobrang thank you talaga, Bata. First time kasi namin dito kaya—"

        "Ate, hu-hu!"

        Napamaang si Malie sa pagtawag sa kanya ng kapatid. Bumaling siya sa batang sumama sa kanya. "Ano. . . thank you ulit sa tulong." Ilang segundo ang hinintay niya. The boy just nodded. She responded with a small smile "Uh. . . okay, ba-bye." She waved her right hand childishly before running toward Dandan. "Thank you ulit~"

—

        SECONDS PASSED. Theo still couldn't croak out a "you're welcome."

        All he could do was stare at the few strands of hair sticking on the girl's cheeks and forehead – as if glued elegantly.

        Before Theo could respond to her fourth "thank you", the girl was already walking towards her brother. Kaagad nitong pinunasan ng towel ang noo at leeg ng kapatid. Kitang-kita niya kung paano nito nilunok ang nagbabadyang mga hikbi.

        Theo's forehead crumpled while watching the two.

        He got lost so many times when he was younger but Liv never panicked like that. Kung minsan pa nga, ito mismo ang nagtatago para isipin niyang nawawala siya.

        Sighing, Theo wore his headphones again. Baka nababaliw na kahahanap sa kanya iyong bantay niyang si Ate Cherry. Sinubukan niyang ayusin ang nagusot na t-shirt. He, then, took one last glance at the girl's relieved face.

        "You're welcome, Weird Girl," Theo mumbled before finally turning his back.

—

        MALIE GENTLY patted Dandan's back, calming him down. When he finally stopped crying, she looked around. Mabilis na hinanap ng mga mata niya iyong batang tumulong sa kanya. Balak niya sanang ipakilala rito si Dandan kaso nakalayo na ito.

        From where she stood, all she could see was his bright red shirt slowly being engulfed by the sea of people.

        Everything seemed to slow down as she watched the boy get farther and farther from her and Dandan. Dahan-dahan ding humina sa pandinig niya iyong samu't saring ingay sa mall. Kumalma iyong tugtugan sa kalapit nilang bentahan ng CD at DVD. Humupa iyong boses ng nagde-demonstrate ng laruang oven. 

        It was as if the world knew that her being friends with Charizard Boy would be far too captivating. Hindi tuloy sila nito binigyan ng pagkakataong alamin ang pangalan ng isa't isa.

        Pero mabuti na rin siguro iyon.

        At her young age, Malie was already well-versed with the universe's schemes. Alam na niyang sadyang may mga bagay o taong panandalian lang na dadapo sa buhay niya.

        Parang papa niya noon. At ngayon, parang 'yong bata lang.

        With a bright smile, Malie combed Dandan's hair with her fingers. Nanggigigil niyang pinisil ang kanang pisngi ng nakababatang kapatid. "Mukhang anghel, 'no, Dandan?"

        Dandan blinked, his eyes innocent and clueless. "Sino, Ate?"

        "Wala~" Nangingiti siyang umiling. "Sa'n mo unang gustong pumunta?"

        "Hmm. . . may nakita akong cloud-cloud do'n, Ate!"

        "Okay, e 'di, do'n muna tayo!"

        Mahigpit na hinawakan ni Malie ang kamay ng kapatid. Palukso-lukso nilang inikot ang mall. In the corner of her eye, Malie glanced at the toy kitchen set. She made a mental reminder to come back for it.

        Pag-iipunan na lang niya muna, saka na lang niya babalikan. Mukhang may next time pa naman, e.

        For now, however, that kitchen set is just another addition to Malie's list of pretty, temporary things in her life.#