We went back to the shore for the next activities. Snorkeling ang sunod na ginawa namin. Nasa mababaw na parte lang kami ng dagat, sapat na para makalangoy ulit kami at makita ang ilalim. Sobrang worth it ng lahat ng takot. Ang ganda sa ilalim at ang daming isda kahit wala pa kami sa malalim na parte ng katubigan.
Dylan still stayed close to me during snorkeling.
Nagtaka pa ako nang lumangoy siya papalapit sa sahig ng dagat at may pinulot mula roon. He showed me the 1,000 peso-bill he got before acting like he just won a lottery, nag back flip pa siya sa tubig habang tuwang-tuwa sa kanyang napulot. Nagtatawanan kaming dalawa na parang wala kaming kasama.
Umahon na kami matapos ang mahigit kumulang isang oras, ayoko pa nga sana pero syempre hindi naman ako ang masusunod. Pagkaahon, nagpahinga muna kaming lahat saglit bago naghanda para sa susunod na sport.
"Are you ready, ma'am?" The woman was preparing me for the wakeboarding. Ako ang mauuna bago si Dylan kaya kinakabahan ako dahil ito ang first time ko. Hindi ako nakasagot kaagad dahil sa sobrang kaba. Dylan probably noticed that so he approached me with a smile, the woman left us for a moment when he nodded to her.
"Still nervous?" He's now standing in front of me.
"Kind of." I gave him an awkward smile.
"Ganito na lang, mamaya pag nandun ka na at kinakabahan ka pa rin, think of the happiest memory you have ever had. In that case, you can forget the nervous feeling, okay?" He showed me his thumbs up.
Happiest memory?
My Daddy..
Lolo and Lola dancing in the living room..
Me while looking at the pictures of my mom..
I remember a lot of them, but it all comes with a bolt of pain.
I tried so hard to contain my feelings and forced myself not to cry. I didn't want to ruin his day, though, so I turned to him and gave a determined smile, not sure if it was fake or real.
Dylan gestured me a 'fighting' fist when the woman called me once again. Bumaba na ako sa dagat at tumapak sa board saka kumapit sa handle ng lubid na nakatali sa water motor.
The man started the engine so the motor accelerated, pulling me with it. Nang sinenyasan ako ng guide ko sa motor, yung angkas, tumayo na ako saka tumagilid kasama ng board.
Ang hirap lalo na't first time ko. I did it successfully on my third attempt. Nakalayo kami sa pampang at sobrang nag-eenjoy ako habang hinihila ako ng motor. Nakakangalay nga lang, lalo na't napagod ang katawan ko kanina sa paglangoy.
Dylan did it right after me. Nagawa niya agad sa unang try niya palang, sumisigaw pa siya habang patuloy siyang hinihila ng motor. He did it three successful times and he seemed to enjoy it very much.
After wakeboarding, we decided to have lunch first before heading to the next activities. Dylan told everyone that lunch is on him. We went to The Seashore, it's a buffet style restaurant right in front of the sea na pag-aari rin nila Dylan. Dito raw usually nagda-dine in ang mga tourists na sa huts nagi-stay at hindi sa hotel. Bukod kasi sa hotel, meron din silang mga kubo na para sa mga nag che-check in sa beach resort nila.
"What do you want to eat?" I looked at Dylan who was now holding two big plates with his two hands while roaming his eyes around the buffet in front of us.
Halos puro seafood ang narito at mayroon ding mga Bicolano dishes. Naglakad-lakad kami ni Dylan para maghanap ng makakain, hawak niya 'yung dalawang plato. Kinukuha ko nga pero sabi niya ako na lang daw mag sandok at siya ang maghahawak.
I ended up having vegetable salad with prawns, and a fresh buko juice served with its shell for a drink. Dylan got himself some crab sticks surrounded with fresh vegetables and a pineapple juice.
"The table is full." I told him as I look at the long table for us. Nandoon na lahat ng mga staffs na kasama namin at kumakain na sila.
Feeling betrayed..
"We can dine here." Dylan pouted at the table beside the long one, katabi din 'yon ng glass wall kung saan kita ang dagat. Umupo na kami doon at nagsimula ng kumain. He shared some crab sticks with me for me to taste. We were having a nice lunch when I realized that the people from the long table became silent. Sabay kaming tumingin doon nang magka senyasan kami.
Everybody else was looking at us with teasing faces. We exchanged gazes until they all cut it off and went back to eating, like nothing happened at all. Dylan and I just shrugged at each other before we went back to eating.
"Pahinga muna tayong lahat bago bumalik sa dagat. You can stroll around guys, just come back after 15 minutes or so." Tatay Greg told everyone.
Nasa tabing dagat na kami ulit at katatapos lang kumain, lahat kami ay busog na busog pa kaya hindi pa kami makabalik kaagad sa water activities.
"Can I invite you for a walk?" Dylan appeared on my right side when everybody did their own business.
"Sure." I smiled.
Naka bralette at shorts na lang ako since ito na lang ang suot ko bago pa mag-wakeboarding. Si Dylan naman, naka shorts pa din at polo pero bukas na ang lahat ng butones. He went topless when he did the wakeboarding, and damn, though, he looked hot with that.
Kumukuha siya ng mga litrato gamit ang Canon niya habang naglalakad kami. He probably noticed me staring so he put it down, hanging on his neck. Bumalik na din ako sa paglalakad after that. Ayos lang naman sakin kung mag-picture siya nang magpicture, I wouldn't mind at all. And besides, it's a treasure that can bring back memories and feelings.
"Hi, miss." I looked at him with questioning eyes when he started acting awkward like we were complete strangers.
"Pwede pong magpa-picture kasama ka?" He asked while scratching on his nape. Natawa naman ako, he looks cute.
"Sure." Ako na mismo ang kumuha ng camera niya na nakasabit sa kanyang leeg at kinuhanan ang mga sarili namin ng mga litrato. Kinuhanan din namin ang isa't-isa ng solo pictures namin.
"Let's go, baka hinihintay na tayo roon." He said as we finished taking pictures.
Bumalik na din kami at halos kami na lang dalawa ang hinihintay. Jet skiing ang next activity namin at magkahiwalay kami ng ski ni Dylan. Nakaangkas muna kami sa ski habang isang babaeng guide ang nasa harap ko, lalaki naman ang sa kanya. Nagkarerahan kami sa tubig habang sumisigaw pa ako sa sobrang tuwa, napaka-aliwalas ng hangin.
Kami na lang dalawa ang nagpaandar ng ski pagkatapos 'non, syempre may angkas pa rin kami. I was competing with him but Dylan was just laughing at me. Natalo tuloy siya dahil ako ang naunang nakabalik sa pampang after a few rounds.
We were the only one left on our skis for the last ride. Ang layo ng inabot namin ni Dylan pero tumigil ako nang makitang papalapit siya sa akin. Magkalapit na ang mga motor na sasakyan namin.
"Enjoying it?" He asked with a smile, brushing his wet hair back with his hand when he looked away for a few seconds.
I couldn't look away when my eyes followed a droplet from his chin down to his abdomen. He was topless, for Pete's sake! His biceps, abs and chest are right in front of my eyes, I felt like a sinner for staring.
"Yes.. enjoying.." I answered, still surveying his body from head to toe.
"Mukha ngang nag-eenjoy ka talaga." His chuckle brought me back to my senses. Saka ko lang na-realize na nakatitig siya sa akin habang nakangisi.
Fuck! He saw me staring at his body!
"Uh-I-I mean.." I panicked when I felt my cheeks burning because of too much shame.
"Let's go? Ang init, baka matunaw ako." He chuckled again before driving his ski back to the seashore.
I slapped my hand on my forehead because of what I just did. Baka isipin niya binobosohan ko siya dahil nakita niya akong nakatitig sa kanyang katawan. No way!
Or maybe.. just a little?
Hiyang-hiya ako kay Dylan nang makabalik ako sa tabing dagat. He was carefreely acting like nothing shameful happened out there. He even sat behind me when we were already riding the banana boat. May mga kasama rin kaming staffs at guides, nasa gitnang parte kami nakaupo.
We rode the banana boat and went further from the seashore. Ilang beses pa kaming muntikan tumaob pero mabuti na lang at nababalance naman namin.
"Careful." Pababa na ako mula sa banana boat at inalalayan ako ni Dylan gamit ang kanyang kamay, nauna siyang bumaba sa akin.
It was almost 5 PM when we were down to the last one on his itinerary, which was yachting. I was already covering myself with a towel when I noticed that everyone began to leave little by little. I approached Tatay Greg in an instant.
"Excuse me po. Tatay Greg, he still have yachting on the list, diba po nakapag-pareserve na ako kagabi?" I felt cold so I tightened my grip on the towel.
"Yes but it's already 5 o'clock, hija. Hanggang alas singko lang ang mga staffs at guides ko." He simply said before shaking his head.
"How about yachting?" I sighed in disappointment. Yachting is like the best part of every water activity.
"Pwede naman 'yon bukas, hija. Nagdidilim na." He gestured at the sky.
"Pero iba na po ang itinerary niya bukas." I told him.
"Kausapin mo na lang siya kung ganon." Nagpaalam na siya matapos sabihin 'yon.
I sighed in disbelief when I was left alone in the seashore. Hindi ko din mahanap si Dylan, iniwan din ba niya ako rito?
Palubog na ang araw ilang minuto na lang pero parang nasira pa ang araw ko dahil rito sa nangyari. Naglakad na lang tuloy ako papalapit sa dagat hanggang sa maabot nito ang ibaba ng tuhod ko.
I took a picture of the approaching sunset where the sky was a mixture of colors yellow and orange. I kicked the water out of disappointment. Akala ko pa man din makikita ko ang sunset habang nasa yacht, but I was so wrong.
I heard something weird from the water so I looked at where it was coming from. And there..
I saw him.
"Yachting, miss?" He offered me his hand when he was already in front of me.
"Tayo lang?" I asked when I noticed that no one was on the yacht.
"Yes, tayong dalawa lang." He gave me a sweet smile.
I accepted his hand but regretted it right away when I felt my heart pumping like crazy. Mabuti na lang at nakatalikod siya sa akin habang naglalakad na kami papunta don. Tinulungan niya ako makasakay sa yacht bago siya umakyat.
He started maneuvering it and stopped when we're already far from the seashore, right in front of the approaching sunset. I looked at him, who was now standing beside me, and when he noticed me staring, he gave me a small smile before staring at the sunset.
I dreamt of looking at this kind of sunset with my parents, but it never happened. Dad was always busy with his work and would come home late at night. My mom and I, on the other hand, never had the chance to stare at the sunlight together. She left me in an instant.
All of a sudden, the sunset made me emotional, naalala ko ang parents ko at sina lolo and lola. It still hurts, not even a single amount was lessened from the pain.
I placed my right hand where my heart is located, felt it tearing apart and becoming suffocated.
I saw how Dylan panicked a little when he saw me, and went out to get some water to pass it. I immediately sipped on the bottled water and calmed myself. He plotted gentle pats on my shoulder which calmed me more..
"I'm sorry, sana hindi na kita dinala rito." He said, worried. His gentle hand wiped on my back.
"No, thank you for bringing me here." I looked at him and gave a reassuring smile.
Hindi niya yata naintindihan pero hindi na lang rin siya nagsalita..
I was thankful he no longer did..
We watched the sunset together, took pictures of each other, and together, before we went back to the seashore. Nag-dinner na din kami sa The Seashore bago kami bumalik sa hotel. It was one of the happiest, and a little emotional, days of my life.
And thankfully, I got to spend it with Dylan.