Tahimik lang kaming dalawa ni Jeremy habang nasa loob kami ng sasakyan. Ayaw ko man siyang lingunin pero ramdam na ramdam ko ang pagtitig niya sa akin. Dahil feeling ko ay matutunaw na ako sa ginagawa niya, I finally decided to break the ice.

"Staring is rude, you know., sabi ko sabay lingon sa kanya. Wrong move nga lang yung ginawa ko dahil mas lalo lang siyang ngumiti dahil sa ginawa at sinabi ko.

"Kung ganyan naman kaganda yung tititigan ko, okay lang na matawag na rude," sagot niya naman with a smirk plastered on his face. Kung hindi lang talaga ako nagtitimpi, baka pinagkukurot ko na siya. Buti na lang talaga at mahaba-haba pa ang pasensya ko ngayon.

Hindi ko na lang sinagot yung banat ni Jeremy. Instead of throwing cringey lines with each other, I chose to look at where we were passing through. Sa saglit na panahon lang, nag-iba agad yung ambiance ng lugar. From a very lively and techie place, para kaming nag-time travel bigla. Napaka-old school ng dating dahil sa mga temple and other structures na nakikita ko. But what really left me in awe was the fact that I could finally see some cherry blossoms.

Paghinto na paghinto ng sinakyan namin ni Jeremy sa Ueno Park, binuksan ko agad yung pinto at lumabas na ako. Mamaya ko na lang babayaran si Jeremy sa pamasahe. Gusto ko na agad lapitan yung mga cherry blossom. It was my lifelong dream to see and hold some simula nung natuto akong manood ng anime at Japanese dramas. I have always hoped that I could actually see them in person and now that I'm really here, para bang ang laki ng achievement na nagawa ko ito sa buhay ko.

"Oh my god." Hindi ko na napigilan pa ang sarili ko na mapanganga while taking everything in. It was too surreal. I mean, who would have thought that I would finally have a chance to touch these cherry blossoms?

"Kaunti pa lang yung cherry blossoms ngayon pero mas maganda dito kapag full bloom na," biglang singit ni Jeremy which brought me back to reality na may kasama nga pala akong iba ngayon. I looked at his direction and he was looking at the sakura lane ahead of us. Now that I think about it, it was actually a good decision to take on his offer to tour me around Tokyo. I was actually appreciating touring around because of him.

"By when ba usually yung full bloom?" I couldn't help but ask. Siguro, sa susunod na punta ko rito, I would make sure that it's that season na. Yes, pagpaplanuhan ko na agad yung next visit ko rito! Sobrang ganda kasi talaga that I don't think I would ever get enough of it.

"Around April. If you noticed when you booked your flight, doon tumataas ang presyo." Napatango ako when I remembered that one. Halos mapamura ako sa mahal ng flights kaya napilitan akong middle of March magpunta rito kasi nga mas mura. Siyempre, dapat magtipid pa rin naman ako kahit papaano. I didn't want to splurge nang sobra sa biyahe ko na 'to.

"Gusto mo bang mag-ikot muna tayo dito bago tayo pumunta sa ibang areas dito sa Shitamachi? It would take us a few minutes lang naman. We can roam around then take some pictures. I'll be more than willing to take your pictures. I can even make an album for it, you know?" Hindi ko napigilan ang sarili ko at himpas ko na si Jeremy sa braso. Patindi na nang patindi ang mga sinasabi niya at hindi pa ako sanay na makarinig ng mga ganoong bagay nang madalas. Sir Mark didn't really shower me with compliments whenever we were together before. Ni hindi ko na nga maalala yung mga pinag-uusapan namin, e. It was a weird set up, that's for sure.

"Ow. What was that for?" reklamo niya pagkahampas ko sa kanya.

"Tigilan mo nga ako. Isang album ka diyan!" hysterical kong sabi sa kanya. Parang ewan naman kasi. 'Di nga kami magkaano-ano tapos gagawan niya pa ako ng isang album? Baka mapagkamalan pa akong jowa nito ng ibang taong makakakita sa gallery niya, jusko!

"You have around a hundred photos in my phone now. More than one album na 'yon, 'di ba?" Jeremy said na parang wala lang. I literally had to stop myself from making a scene here dahil hindi ako makapaniwalang gano'n karami yung pictures ko with him. Like how? Ano 'yon? Puro stolen shots? I was so sure that I was giving him my phone to take my pictures naman. So paano?

"Hay nako. Ewan ko na talaga sa 'yo!" sagot ko sa kanya tapos naglakad na ako papalapit sa sakura lane. Before I could walk even further, bigla niya akong pinahinto sa paglalakad ko. He grabbed all the paper and plastic bags that I was carrying then he asked me to walk again. Ako naman si tanga, sunod nang sunod sa sinasabi niya. When I looked back at him, he was taking my pictures. Again.

"Ano ba 'yan? Puro stolen shots ka talaga!"

"Maganda 'to 'pag in-upload mo. Trust me!" sigaw niya pabalik sa akin. Then he asked me to do some random movements and poses. When I checked his phone, true enough, maganda nga yung kinalabasan nung pictures.

"Tell me the truth. FA ka ba talaga o photographer?" Imbis na sagutin ang tanong ko, pinagtawanan lang ako ni Jeremy. Dinala niya rin ako malapit sa mismong cherry blossoms then picked some up from the ground and placed them on my palm.

"Huy. Pwede ba 'to?" kinakabahan kong tanong. Baka kasi mahuli pa ako nang wala sa oras dahil sa kalokohan nito, e.

"Oo naman. Nalaglag naman na sa lapag, e. 'Di naman natin pinitas," kibit-balikat niyang sagot tapos pinatayo niya naman ako sa may magandang view. He even asked me to blow the cherry blossoms on my palm for effects daw. As usual, sumunod lang ulit ako sa trip niya. By now, I know I should trust him when it comes to pictures.

We took longer than usual sa sakura lane. We were busy goofing around and taking some fallen cherry blossoms off the ground when a photographer looking guy, as in a legit one, called our attention. Nung tinanong ni Jeremy kung ano ang kailangan niya, he said that he found us adorable and so he wanted to take our picture. We were hesitant at first pero after talking it out, pumayag na rin kami. We even asked him to take our picture through our phones. After that, we finally decided to get going.

Nag-ikot-ikot na lang kami ni Jeremy sa shrines and temples in the area. Saglit lang kami sa bawat isa. Kaunting pictures lang at explanation from Jeremy tapos lilipat na ulit kami agad. By the time we were done with the whole park, halos magdidilim na.

"Do you want to eat first or deretso na ba tayo sa Asakusa?" Jeremy asked when we stopped to buy some drinks along the way. Napaisip ako sa tanong niya. I have read some time ago na mas okay magpunta sa Asakusa 'pag gabi pero marami rin naman yatang kainan do'n. We needed to save as much time as we have kung gusto pa naming pumunta ng Shibuya. And so I told him my decision.

"Let's eat in Asakusa na lang. We still have to go to Shibuya Crossing, right?" I answered him with a smile. He then nodded his head and offered his hand to me. I willingly accepted it and off to Asakusa we go.

***

Pagdating namin sa Asakusa, sobrang na-amaze ako sa itsura ng lugar. It was a mix of old school and modern things. Ang dami ring kainan just like what I have read before. I didn't know what kind of food should we eat though so I trusted Jeremy's decision na lang. I actually thought na kakain na kami agad pero nagulat ako nang dalhin niya ako sa souvenir shops.

"Akala ko ba kakain na tayo?" I couldn't help but ask.

"It would be difficult for you to buy souvenirs in Shibuya or even in Shinjuku. Better to buy them here. They're also closing down soon so we should make the most out of our remaining time here." I followed Jeremy's suggestion without even thinking twice. Bumili na lang ako nang bumili and I always made sure na mauunahan ko siyang magbayad sa mga pinamimili ko. I ended up adding four more plastic bags from what I was carrying already a while ago. 'Di ko na alam kung kakayanin pa naming magpunta sa Shibuya at this state pero bahala na. At least walang maisusumbat yung mga inggitera kong kamag-anak na wala akong iuuwi sa kanila.

By the time we were done shopping, dinala ako ni Jeremy sa food street at hindi ko alam kung ano ba ang dapat unang kainin. Instead of forcing myself to choose one, I just asked Jeremy to lead the way. He happily accepted my decision naman din. Para ngang mas gusto niya pa talaga na siya ang mag-guide sa akin sa mga dapat kong kainin dito.

Una naming kinain yung monja-yaki. It's like okonomiyaki of Osaka but it's runnier in texture. Para siyang melted cheese in texture pero masarap. I couldn't really explain it in words pero napamura ako nung natikman ko siya. Pinagtawanan naman agad ako ni Jeremy nung narinig niya akong magmura.

"Have I told you that you're cute?" Sinamaan ko agad siya ng tingin when I heard his question. Excuse me. 'Di kaya ako cute! 

"See! Ang cute mo talaga!" 'Di ko pala namalayan na napa-pout ako sa sinabi niya kaya lalo akong pinagtawanan ni Jeremy. Kinurot niya pa pati yung pisngi ko. I felt my cheeks heat up because of what he did. Nung naka-move on na ako sa ginawa niya, pinagpatuloy ko na lang ang pagkain. 

Once we were done, we moved to the stall selling unagi don. It was grilled eel placed on top of white rice. I wasn't really into the idea of eating rice lalo na kung marami pa kaming kakainan dito but Jeremy insisted. Kanina pa raw kami lakad nang lakad so baka nawala na raw yung kinain namin nung lunch. Kinalahati ko na lang yung rice at ayaw ko mang aminin sa kanya, I still told him that it was my first time to eat eel in my whole life.

"Seryoso ka ba? Have you been living under a rock?" he asked, as if mocking me.

"I'm a picky eater, okay? I won't eat something kapag ayaw ko o hindi ko naman alam kung ano," I told him truthfully. Marami rin naman kasi akong kinakaing klase ng pagkain but I wasn't that adventurous yet. May takot pa rin naman ako when it comes to food.

"Consider yourself lucky then. I will let you taste even better stuff," Jeremy said with a wink. 'Di ko alam kung may problema ba ako sa pag-iisip pero iba ang pumasok sa utak ko. I tried to shrug the feeling off but I don't know... Para akong mababaliw na ewan. Leche 'tong si Jeremy. Bad influence!