Tagged by Ericzon Santos

Excerpt:

It took years bago ako maka-move on from Jean’s death. Mahal na mahal ko ang girlfriend ko for five years. Umiyak ako all throughout the pasiyam, the forty days and the babang-luksa.

But now I’m okay. And there’s this interesting girl—well, no, hindi siya babae, he’s gay—from work na nakakuha ng atensiyon ko. Madalas kaming mag-chat at napapasaya niya ako. Don’t ask kung ano na ako, straight pa ba o bading na, kasi hindi ko naman iyon iniisip. I think I could never love a woman as much as I loved Jean. The next best thing I could have is to fall for this sensible guy. His name is Brook, by the way.

Well, when I told Brook that I thought I was beginning to fall for him, that was when weird shit started to happen.

Ka-chat ko lang talaga noon si Brook, I was smiling foolishly when I got a notification.

Jean Tobias tagged herself in your photo.

Hindi ko alam kung paano magre-react. Siyempre, nang mamatay si Jean ay hindi na naging active ang Facebook niya. Ako lang at siya ang nakakaalam ng password ng account niya. So how could this happen?

I clicked the notification. Nakita ko ang picture na in-upload ko kahapon. Si Brook ang kumuha ng litrato. Nasa bahay niya ako, nakaupo sa sofa, smiling at the camera. The account tagged “itself” on the space beside me. Na para bang… para bang katabi ko siya.

“What the fuck?”

Tiningnan ko ang listahan ng online friends ko. There was a green dot beside Jean’s name. Online siya.

At narinig ko ang pagtunog ng Facebook messenger ko.

Nag-message si Jean sa akin.

Parang may malamig na hangin na umihip sa batok ko, causing my skin to prickle. Suddenly my heart was hammering inside my chest and my senses were heightened.

Aware na aware ako sa mga tunog na nasa paligid. Lalo na sa tunog ng tibok ng puso ko.

Mahal na mahal kita, baby ko!

That was the message…

Librong Itim Volume 4 is now available at Precious Pages Bookstores or you can order it at www.preciousshop.com.ph