Unintentionally Yours

PROLOGUE

Do spells work?

I click the search button after typing the question that has been occupying my mind after seeing Sett eat the cookies that I made for Haunth.

Gosh. Bakit ba kasi ang hilig makialam ng lalaking iyon? Hindi naman para sa kan’ya ‘yon eh! Pagkalaki-laki na nga ng nilagay kong name ni Haunth sa box, kinain parin.

Sabi na nga ba, dapat hindi na ako nakinig kay Ruth! Paano na kapag effective iyong love spell? I gag at the thought of me being in a relationship with Sett.

Sorry, you’re not connected. Please connect to the Internet.

Great. Naubusan pa ako ng mobile data kung kailan kailangang-kailangan ko. Dapat kasi ‘di ko na pinagamit ng phone ko kanina si Ruth, naubos tuloy. So, kailangan ko pa mag-tiis para lang masagot itong tanong ko?

I repeatedly glide my fingers downwards as I am trying to refresh the search engine. Baka sakaling nagloloko lang ang phone ko. Ni-recheck ko pa kung insufficient na ba talaga ang balance ng load ko and talagang insufficient na nga. Kung siniswerte ka pa nga naman. I hate the feeling of wanting to know something but then I can’t because of whatever reason. It makes me anxious.

Napatingin ako sa harapan at nakita ang halos kumikinang na anit at paubos nang buhok ni Mang Eduardo. Diretso siyang nakatingin sa harapan at seryosong nagmamaneho. Siya ang family driver namin. Madalas ‘tong seryoso at bihirang makipag-usap sa akin maliban kay Daddy. Palagi siyang nakakatakot dahil mukha itong palaging galit. Ni isang beses ko nga lang ata nakita ‘tong ngumiti. Eh iyon pa iyong time na ginawa na siyang driver ni daddy. Dati kasi ay s’ya pa ang hardinero namin. Ngayon, nag-level-up na s’ya.

Tanungin ko kaya s’ya? Kaso baka isumbong pa ‘ko nito kay Daddy. Sumbungero pa naman ‘tong panot nato! Baka mamaya sabihin pa nito na desperada ako. Eh, hindi naman. Slight lang.

I once again turn back my attention to my phone. It still says that I have no internet.

Oh god, I’m dying to know if it’s true.

“What do you want?” napatalon ako sa gulat dahil sa biglaang pagsasalita ni Manong Eduardo.

“Po? Ano pong what do you want?”

“Nakatitig ka kanina sa ‘kin. Anong gusto mo?” tanong niya habang nakatingin sakin mula sa rear-view mirror ng sasakyan at agarang ibinalik ang tingin sa kalsada.

“Ay, ‘di ko po kayo type. Sorry” pabiro kong sabi rito na sinuklian naman niya ng pagkunot niya ng noo habang hindi inilalayo ang tingin sa kalsada. Napawi naman ang ngiti ko dahil sa reaksyon nito.

Kahit kalian, napakasungit talaga nitong matandang ‘to. Dinaig pa ang isang babaeng may edad na mag-menopause eh. ‘di man lang suportahan iyong biro ko.

“Kanina ka pa nakasimangot at nakakunot ang noo riyan. Mukha kang galit na pato” seryosong sabi ni panot na siya namang ikinaawang ng bibig ko.

Napakasama talaga ng ugali ng panot na ‘to. Kaya wala siguro ‘tong asawa dahil mas masungit pa sa tinotoyong kalabaw.

Tumikhim muna ako bago muling nagsalita.

“Naniniwala po ba kayo sa spell?” I asked shyly as I turn my gaze outside the car.

“Anong sabi mo, hija?”

“Tinatanong ko lang po kayo kung naniniwala po ba kayo sa spell?”

Muli akong tinignan ni Mang Euardo sa rear-view mirror na tila ba tinatanong kung seryoso ba ako. Agad naman akong nag-iwas ng tingin. Mas mabuti siguro kung ‘di ko nalang tinanong.

Inaasahan ko ang pagtawa o ‘di kaya’y pagalitan ako ni Mang Eduardo pero wala na akong narinig pa na ibang salita mula sa kan’ya buong byahe pauwi.

Wala lang siguro talaga siyang pakialam.

Agad akong dumiretso sa kwarto ko nang makarating ng bahay at kinuha ang laptop na nasa study table ko. Dali-dali ko itong binuksan at siniguradong may internet connection ang laptop ko.

Dapat siguro ako lumapit sa router para sure na kapag ni-search ko iyong tanong ko ay masasagot agad?

Napatayo ako at kumaripas nang takbo na may kasamang pag-iingat pababa sa living room kung saan nakalagay iyong router katabi ng telepono.

Naupo na ako sa sahig at muling tinype ang tanong ko.

Do spells work?

Hindi na ako nagpatumpik-tumpik pa at agad na pinindot ang search button na mabilis na sinundan ng paglabas ng mga sagot sa aking tanong.

Agad kong napansin ang isang artikulo na may titulong ‘Are spells real?’ at pinindot ito.

Spells are usually seen in fictional books or movies but there are real witches who cast spells. These spells are either good or bad spells...

Oh no, ‘di ko naitanong sa matandang lalaki kung iyong spell ba ay para lang ba magustuhan ako ni Haunth o masama to the point na ma-obssess sa akin si Haunth - well, I mean, si Sett. Argh. ‘di sana ako mamomroblema ngayon kung si Haunth ang nakakain ng cookie!

If a spell is “successful”, the witch or the one who used the spell’s desire is most likely coincidental or may be, granted by a demon which needs to be paid by the soul of the one who cast the spell.

Agaran kong isinara ang laptop bunga ng aking nabasa. Napapikit na lamang ako nang mariin at tumayo na para bumalik sa kwarto. Niloloko ko lang sarili ko. Fictional lang iyon. Wala nang iba.

“Shannel”

Once again, napapitlag ako sa biglang pagtawag sa akin. Seriously, gusto ba nila akong atakihin sa puso? Sino na naman ba ang tumatawag sa akin?

My eyes met ferociously dark brown eyes as I turn to see where did the voice come from. It was my dad.

I run towards him to greet him hello and followed it with a hug.

“I miss you, Dad” I said smiling widely at him.

He smiled lightly as he caressed my cheeks and lightly pinching them. He bends a little over to kiss my forehead. That’s just him. My dad doesn’t let sweet words come out of his mouth but he shows his love in his actions. That’s what I adore about him. He looks so tough but when he loved you, you wouldn’t expect that he would do things you wouldn’t expect him to do. He’s a big guy. He is tall, tan-colored skin and a muscular body. He looks like a giant bear with a sweetheart.

“I miss you too, sweety” he said as he breaks his hug.

“Oh yeah, Mang Eduardo said that you were asking him if spells are true”

Napasimangot naman ako sa narinig. Sabi ko na nga ba, sumbungero talaga ang panot na iyon. Sarap pakintabin ng bunbunan!

“Why do you ask though? Don’t tell me you are planning on casting a spell on someone?” tanong ni Daddy na kasabay ng pagkunot ng kaniyang noo.

“What? Of course not!” I defensively said as I shook my head no.

“You sure?” sabi niya habang pinanliliitan ako ng mata.

“Sure sure, Dad”

“Anyway, Ruth is waiting for you” he calmly said as he sat on the couch and loosen up his tie.

“What? She never said she’s coming”

“Honey!” we were interrupted by an exclamation coming out from my mother’s mouth. She’s wearing a navy blue squared-neck linen cutwork dress paired with a small couple of diamond earrings and a white crochet home slipper. My mom has dark brown wavy hair, a heart-shaped face, bow-shaped lips, a pointed narrow nose, and impeccable ivory-black eyes.

“Well, she is here. Go look, she’s in the veranda” he said while hugging and kissing my mom on her cheeks na siya namang ikinatili ni mommy.

I laughed silently seeing my parents act like a young couple. I mean, they're definitely still young but they act like teenagers. It is just so cute. They always make sure to fill in the void they make whenever one of them came back from business trips. I am happy to have a loving parent like them. I wish I was the same with Haunth.

“Alright. Puntahan ko na si Ruth. Kawawa naman pero please lang ‘wag kayo maglampungan d’yan” I said jokingly.

“What did you just say?!”

Agad akong kumaripas ng takbo palabas ng bahay nang marinig ko ang sigaw ni mommy. Alam naman nilang nagbibiro lang ako.

Agad kong nakita si Ruth na nakaupo sa isa sa mga upuang nakapalibot sa mesang bilog sa gitna ng veranda. Umiinom s’ya ng tsaa habang nakasandal sa upuan at nakapatong ang mga paa sa isa pang upuan. Para bang napakalalim ng iniisp niya o ‘di kaya ay nagrerelax. Feel na feel ng loka ang tsaa. May pagpikit pa ngang ginagawa pagkatapos humigop at parang dinadama ang hangin.

Dahan-dahan ko siyang nilapitan at pumulot ng isang tuyong dahon. Dinurog ko ito nang tahimik para hindi marinig ng loka. Nang madurog ko ay agad kong ibinuhos sa ulo ni Ruth na agad niya namang ikinagulat at napatalon sa bigla.

Napahalakhak naman ako sa itsura at reaksyon ni Ruth. Feel na feel kasi, akala mo nasa isang commercial.

“What the heck, Shannel?! Akala ko may nahulog na gagamba sa ulo ko!” tumatawa at nagpapagpag na sabi ni Ruth.

“Feel na feel mo kasi uminom. Para kang nag-eendorse.” pigil tawa kong sabi.

“’langya ka, muntik na ako atakihin doon ah!” sabi pa niya habang nakahawak sa dibdib na tila ba aatakihin talaga.

“Alam mo, napaka drama mo. Ano bang pinunta mo rito?” sabi ko at naupo.

“Wala, makikimiryenda lang ako” sabi niya sabay higop ulit sa tsaa nya.

“Mukha ka talagang pagkain, ano? Ano nga?”

“Anong ano nga? ‘di mo alam? Malamang nagpunta ako rito para maki-tsismis”

“Tsismosa ka talaga kahit kailan” biro ko sa kaniya.

“Yas, a hundred percent. C’mon spill the tea” sabi niya habang kumekembot at iwinawagayway nang dahan-dahan ang tsaang hawak niya.

“Maupo kana nga” sabi ko habang iniurong ang upuang nasa tabi ko para upuan niya. Agad naman itong naupo at tinignan akong maigi. ‘di ko mapigilan matawa sa kulit nang babaeng ‘to. Iyong itsura niya para bang tuta na nanghihingi ng pagkain.

Lumingon-lingon ako sa paligid para masiguradong walang ibang tao. Nang makasiguro ako, sinenyasan ko si Ruth na lumapit pa siya sa akin nang kaunti. Lumapit din ako sa kanya at bumulong.

“Hindi nakain ni Haunth iyong ginawa kong cookies”

“Huh?! Bakit?!” Singhal ni Ruth at napatayo pa. Napakalikot talaga nang babaeng ‘to.

“Eh saan napunta?”

“Ibang tao ang nakakain” mahinang sabi ko.

“What? When? Where? Why?!” pabulong na sigaw ni Ruth.

“It’s Sett” sabi ko at napabuntong hininga nalang. Napatingin nalang ako sa mga paru-parong lumilipad sa paligid ng mga bulaklak sa bakuran. Hindi parin talaga ako makapaniwala na si Sett ang kumain ng cookies.

Inaasahan kong sisigaw ulit si Ruth ngunit wala akong narinig na kahit na ano mula sa kaniya kaya naman nabaling ang atensyon ko rito. Seryoso lang itong nakatingin sa akin.

“What? Why do you become silent?”

Her emotionless face formed into a worrying one. We both know that Sett is up to no good. He loves teasing me especially when Haunth is near us and aside from that, he’s a womanizer. What could possibly happen to me when the school’s best athlete and womanizer become crazy over a girl like me? I bet his girlfriends wouldn’t want that. The thought of that makes every hair on my arms stand giving me goosebumps.

“I guess spells are not that effective, right?”

“I don’t know. Maybe? Sa mga pantasya lang naman iyon nagkakatotoo diba? Like fictional books and movies”, I honestly answered trying to convince myself that the spell won’t work. I have this hope that spells aren’t real, even if I tried to do it.

“Yeah, it was just a thing that humans created. We just want something too much that we create fictitious things just to satisfy our needs. Alam mo, we sometimes unconsciously manipulate our minds into believing things we want to believe. It did lead us to a euphoric feeling whenever we get what we desire but sometimes we need to be a little sensitive and consider the people we might hurt just for ourselves to be happy.” Sabi niya at kasabay noon ay ang muli niyang paghigop sa tsaa at pagpikit.

“Even if it is real, ano na ang magagawa mo?” pahabol pa niya.

Natigilan ako sa sinabi ni Ruth. Ano na nga ba ang dapat kong gawin? I feel so stupid. I shouldn’t have done that in the first place. What was I thinking? Am I being too insensitive? I guess, I am.

I guess I was just desperate. It’s been three years since nagkagusto ako kay Haunth. I did everything. Ako na nga ang nanliligaw. I grew increasingly despondent as I pursue him for years for the reason that he never showed any affection. He is indeed nice. Too nice that he considered smiling at me uncomfortably instead of just rejecting me. It’s kind of giving me a false sense of reality. Deep down in me, I am hoping that maybe he’ll like me too.

And here I am. An unsophisticated, 18-year-old, Shannel Tate Omieron, would do anything just to get her beloved. Everything, to the point I will consider casting a love spell in a cookie just for the one that I adore to love me back.

But sometimes, when we tend to manipulate things, things were not going to work the way we want them to. Just like what happened to me. Haunth should be the one to eat the cookies I made but unexpectedly, Sett did. He is the one who ate my love-spelled cookies and with that, I slowly became unintentionally his...