Uncharted Hearts

Chapter 02

CHAPTER 02

One year later. . .

"BONJOUR!" Iyon ang masiglang bati ni Eloise saka nilapag sa lamesang kinaroroonan nina Leslie at Gabby ang nabili niyang pastries sa isang French bakery. "Ito na ba ang mga natanggap ko na sulat?" Inisa-isa niya iyon at isa sa mga sulat ang nagpabago sa kanyang mood bigla. "I can't believe that he will be sending me an invitation to his wedding."

Eloise waves the invitation in front of Leslie and Gabby, and their faces change from amused to shocked. They know the story between her and Bryce, and it's been a year since she ended things. She had already moved on, but after receiving the actual invitation, it made her feel something.

Something she should've done before. A sense of closure in an open-ended story of hers and Bryce.

Eloise's life in Paris went on after the break-up, and the crazy night she had with Ethan - a night she didn't remember for now. All she did was work her ass off, taking home clients after another, attending social gatherings and interviews - live or pre-recorded. Wala siyang ibang ginawa kung 'di ang magtrabaho at kulang na nga lang ay gawin niyang umaga ang gabi.

Now that she's back in the Philippines, working and catching up with her family are the top of the list she have at hand. Hindi kasama sa mga pririty niya ang laro na gustong simulan ng tadhana ngayon sa pamamagitan ng wedding invitation na pinadala ni Bryce.

"Ang gago naman ng lalaking ito para imbitahan ka," wika ni Leslie saka kinuha sa kanya ang imbitasyon at inusisa ang mga nakasulat doon.

"Huwag ka na magpunta, Elle. Pang-inis niya lang iyan dahil last year, you supposed to be marrying him." Paalala at pangaral naman ni Gabby sa kanya.

"If they didn't broke up, hindi naman makilala iyong naka-one night stand niya, remember?" Malalim siyang bumuntong hininga saka binawi kay Leslie iyong imbitasyon. "Where is that guy again, Elle?"

Hindi siya kumibo at basta na lang iniwan ang mga kaibigan. Diretso lang siyang pumasok sa kanyang opisina. Narinig pa niya ang paalala ng mga ito na huwag na magpunta ngunit may kung anong bumabagabag sa kanyang isipan.

It's not about the guy with whom she had a one-night stand. It's about the wedding invitation she received today.

Gusto ba ipamukha ni Bryce sa kanya na may babaeng pumayag na makasal sa isang lalaking gaya nito na walang pangarap?

Muling siyang malalim na huminga at basta na lang nilapag sa kanyang working table ang imbitasyon.

"That's deep," komento ng tinig na siyang nagpalingon sa kanya. "And uhm by the way, where did you bought these?" Bumuntong-hininga siya uli dahilan para mahinang tumawa si Teresa. "Nagpadala raw ng imbitasyon si Bryce? Ano'ng gusto mo na gawin natin? Should we ruined his wedding, make a scene -"

"Stop it, Tere. You're not helping, okay?"

"And you don't need a help either. Just ignore it and go on with your life."

"And what about the closure?"

Teresa scoffed. "Closure, my ass. Trash it and let's just drink the expensive tequilla I've got earlier. Wala naman tayong gagawin mamaya 'di ba?" Umiling si Eloise na dahilan ng pagsimangot ni Teresa. "You're bailing out again. Why?"

"I need to walk Amelia after work."

"Amelia will understand that her mother needs to unwind once in a while to shakes off the stress feelings you have. Let's go to Solana's, hm?"

"Why Solana's?" Naningkit ang mga mata niya bigla at matamang inabangan ang itutugon ni Teresa. And when her friend did responded, Eloise makes face. "I'll think about!"

"It's an expensive tequilla, Eloise!"

Eloise make a hand gesture of throwing away her best friend. Para rin matahimik na siya't pag-isipang maigi ang tungkol sa imbitasyon na kanyang natanggap.

Pupunta ba siya o hindi?

That's a hell of a question.

PAGPASOK ni Eloise sa kanyang condominium unit, agad siyang sinalubong ni Amelia na binuhat niya rin naman. Amelia is a Russian Blue cat - a stunning feline which instantly captured Eloise's heart.

Noong araw na nagdesisyon siya na mag-alaga ng hayop, nagtatalo ang kanyang puso't isipan kung pusa nga ba o aso ang bibilihin.

And on the verge of planning to adopt both kind of animals, Eloise met Sybil's sister who mothered Amelia's mom. Dahil hindi na kaya ng kapatid ni Sybil na mag-alaga at na-love at first sight na rin siya, agad niya tinanggap ang obligasyon.

Ngayon ay isang taon na silang magkasama ni Amelia at napapagaan nito ang mood niya't damdamin nang gano'ng kabilis.

"How are you? Mom's a bit tired but I can walk you out, hmm?" Pagka-usap niya sa alagang pusa at binaba na ito ulit sa sahig.

Tumungo siya sa sofa at kinuha iyong nagkalat niyang mga damit na pinagpiliian kanina saka pinindot ang mga voice message na pumasok.

Karamihan sa mga narinig na mensahe ay galing sa mga naging kliyente niya. Ngunit may isa roon na nagpahinto ss kanyang ginagawa.

"Hey, Eloise! It's me, Ethan. The guy you met in Paris. Uhm. . . listen, I'm back in town to attend a cousin's wedding. I hope we can meet to catch up. You know, a usual coffee thing and not a date, so don't fret, okay? I hope to hear from you soon. Bye and take care. . . always."

Nahigit niya ang kanyang paghinga matapos marinig ang boses na iyon ni Ethan. It's the first time he contacted her! Nag-iwan siya ng number noon pero ngayon lang ito tumawag sa kanya.

Ang buong akala pa naman ni Eloise ay nabaon na sa limot ang lahat dahil wala siya narinig na mula rito. But Eloise was wrong after all and she's doom now.

That's two invitations in one day.

One was from someone she didn't wish to meet, and the other was from a guy with whom Eloise had a crazy night.

Binalikan niya ang telepono at pinindot iyong sumunod na mensahe. The second voice is from Bryce which she didn't expected.

"Hey, uhm, maybe you received the invitation now or maybe not. But, I called today to say that it's not because I'm mocking you. We were friends before the relationship so I extended the courtesy to invite you. To close the open-ended story we had. Jeanine knows that I invited you and she's cool with it so, we're hoping to see this weekend. That's all, bye. . ."

Nakagat niya ang ibabang labi at dahan-dahan na naupo sa kanyang couch. Inisip niya ang mga sinabi ni Bryce at napagtanto na tama ito. They were friends before the relationship and Eloise already thinking about it really hard now.

Mukhang kailangan niya talaga magpunta sa ngalan ng closure na nais ng kanyang puso. Baka kapag nangyari iyon ay mabuksan na ang daan niya patungo sa tamang tao na nakalaan para sa kanya. Baka closure nga lang talaga ang kailangan niya.

Baka iyon lang nga.