#AWriterFairyTale

"A writer can do magic: write harsh realities into fairy tales."

-x-

It's all in her mind. Plus, that guy's medyo-chinito eyes, tall and lean built with a boy-next door type aura and goofy face? Very common. As in.

Malamang sa malamang, kahawig lang.

Yep.

Sure na.

But that imagination of hers became the reason for the uneasy feeling. A day after that imagination occurrence, natapunan niya ng kape, thank goodness it was cold coffee, ang co-worker na nakasalubong sa hallway.

She was jumpy! And conscious.

Hawig kasi ng buhok!

The other night, kung hindi niya nahawakan ang street lamp, first kiss niya ang semento for being klutzy. Turns out, the guy whom she thought was going to talk to her, just has the same built. And that peck on the lips with the other guy walking behind told her one thing:

Maraming tatandang dalaga sa katotohanang mas nagmamahalan na ang mga lalaki. Literal.

Sa isang linggong nakalipas, pinapatay siya ng kaba sa bawat bukas ng elevator. Her eyes would scan the unfamiliar faces, and her breathing will only return to normal when the 'coast is clear.'

"Masyado ka na atang nagkakape," said July. Nangangarag kasi si Jhing, hindi mapakali at patingin-tingin sa paligid. "Tapos na ba novella mo?"

Thoughts aside, Jhing tried to smile. "Hindi pa, eh."

"Four days na lang deadline na."

Thinking about the deadline made her want to hurl. Sumasakit ang ulo niya, sa dami ba namang iniisip at sa imagination pa niyang abot ceiling kung gumana – kailangan niya ng pahinga.

"I know. Baka mag-leave ako after deadline."

"Ha? Bakit?"

Bago pumasok sa elevator, Jhing scanned the faces again before she entered. Nakasimangot pa ang isa nang magkatitigan sila.

"Magkakasakit ata ako."

July laughed as she pushed their floor's button. "Wow, ano 'to, scheduled 'yung sakit mo?"

When they went out of the elevator, akala nila nagkamali sila ng floor. Ang dami kasing tao sa lobby, mukhang nag-aabang.

July, being the nosy girl, asked the receptionist. "Anong mayroon?"

"Interview kay V.L. Tine," was the answer.

Kahit wala pang isang taon sa kumpanya, alam na ni Jhing that the Best-selling Romance Author V. L. Tine, is signed in their publishing company. Alam din niyang tanging sa big bosses lang ito nagpapakita, dahil kapag meetings, tanging skype call, without the video, ang nangyayari.

"Magpapakita na ba siya?" July's giddiness was all over her voice.

"Sabi nila. Kaya maraming nagpunta—"

"Kayong dalawa." Miss Zue walked towards Jhing and July as the receptionist smiled. "Anong ginagawa niyo d'yan? Tapos na ang break time, ah?"

"Miss Zue! Darating daw si V. L. Tine?"

Umiling si Zue. "Nako, ayan na naman mga nasasagap mong chismis, July. Hala sige, magtrabaho na at maraming unedited manuscripts."

Ilang protesta pa ang naganap mula kay July bago kinalabit ang receptionist at pabulong, ngunit malakas pa rin ang, "tawagan mo ako kapag dumating si V. L. Tine, ha!"

"Huwag mong tatawagan," natatawang banta ni Miss Zue.

July talking about V. L. Tine was Jhing's background noise the whole day of working. The first romance novel July read was V. L. Tine's, and because of it; her love for prose became prominent, thus her want to get in the industry.

"Pangarap ko talaga siyang makita," July said dreamily, hands clasped as her eyelashes batted. "Ito kasing si Miss Zue, kontrabida, eh."

"Narinig ko 'yun!" sigaw ni Miss Mary Zue.

"Opo, pinaparinig ko talaga!"

The people who heard the small banter laughed then went back to work. The receptionist didn't call, making July gloomy.

As for Jhing, after depositing money for her brother's tuition fee, she went home. Nag-order siya ng fried rice for her three day meal. Pagkatapos mag-ayos, she continued writing.

The words flew magically as if it was meant to be written by her. Word after word, sentence after sentence, creating a blissful paragraph with emotions digging so deep, it's hurting her. Yet she continued, not stopping, knowing it won't hurt soon.

Sinayang niya ang oras sa pagsusulat ng ibang kwento, not knowing that this one – this story – can be her winning piece.

A win-win situation, again.

Una, her novella project. Pangalawa, money for her family, at pangatlo; mare-release na niya ang kwentong ito, at hindi na niya babalikan pa.

She didn't stop herself from crying as she was approaching the three-fourths of the story. That's good news , right? Ibig sabihin, puno ng emosyon ang sinusulat niyang ito. Siguradong masa-satisfy niya ang mga readers – at sana ma-satisfy rin niya ang sarili.

The flowing of words stopped when she reached the resolution. Type-bura ang naganap, not feeling the perfect ending, she decided to stop writing for the night.

Before sleeping, a tear fell from her eye. The memory of the white illustrated book flashed – paulit-ulit sa utak niya ang tanong: does the story deserve a happy ending? Or will the girl writer in the story ruin everything just like in the real life?

She doesn't know.

Pagpasok sa office, iniisip pa rin niya kung anong magandang ending sa sinusulat. Medyo naging lutang pa siya sa pag-eedit ng manuscript.

C'mon!!!! Ano bang problema mo sa akin,, ha?!?!?! Sinasaktan mo na naman kasi ako....hindi na ako natutuwa!!! Masakit kaya!! Try mo?!?! Syempre.. hindi mo gets 'yung nararamdaman ko kasi manhid ka! Cassannova! Sana pala hindi na lang tayo na arrange married!!!

Jhing wanted to bang her head on the desk, as she wrote a comment, Casanova* is the correct spelling. Arranged marriage* is the right term. Punctuation marks were lessened, hope you don't mind.

A few minutes after she sent the email, nag-reply ang author. The reply made her cringe; she tried hard not to edit the email, too.

Eh,, Miss Jhing,, marami po sanang punctuation mark para ramdam yung feels? Para intense? Yung readers ko po kasi gusto ng ganun at sinasabi nila 'feel na feel ko po galit ng characters, ang galing!!!' so paano po 'yun????

Thanks po for the edits!! Will read it po pagkauwi hihi.....

Juice colored.

Jhing breathed, and asked help from Miss Vams, one of the executive editors of the book department. "May problema po ako."

"Bakit? Anong nangyari?"

She showed the author's email, original manuscript and corrections. Vams frowned, and decided to ask Stella, the other executive editor.

"Stels, ilang reads nung—ano nga ulit title, Jhing?"

Jhing stopped her eyes from rolling as she said the title, "I'm Nerd Girl to Astig and Arrange Married with the Cassannova Womanizer Gangster?!!! BAD BOY??!"

Nagkatinginan silang tatlo, ngunit mas nagtagal ang tinginan ni Stella at Vammy.

"Yan talaga yung title?" Stella asked Jhing.

"Not sure kung anong nauna sa casanova, womanizer at gangster. Baka nabaliktad ko."

That earned a good laugh from their in-house illustrator Facio, na nakinig sa usapan nila. He stood up from his cubicle, and joined the conversation.

"Matatakpan ng title buong illustration sa cover n'yan," Facio said.

"Paano nangyari 'to, Stels?" Vammy asked.

Kinuha ni Stella ang listahan ng most read by PH readers. Hindi nagtagal ang paghahanap dahil nasa 4th place ito, after the fanfiction trilogy in English Wattpad, was that story with a whopping 89,926,123 reads.

"Wow, siya na." There was amusement in Facio's face and voice.

"Ilagay ba naman lahat ng sikat na trope para sa kabataan," sabi ni Stella. "Ewan ko na lang kung hindi pa sumikat talaga."

"Will try to resolve this issue with Miss Mary Zue," Vammy said. "Stop editing muna. We didn't expect this story will be too much to handle."

"Nananakit ulo ko," reklamo ni Jhing.

Miss Stella's apologetic smile, Miss Vammy's light squeeze on the shoulder and Facio's laugh somewhat ended her misery. Somewhat. Slight.

Mabuti na lang, her friend Fall decided to text her, PUPUNTA AKO SA OPIS HA!!! SALUBUNGIN MO AKO!!!

Ni-reply-an niya ito ng, 'lessen the (!), one is enough, and avoid caps locking words if unnecessary.'

Leche! Ang sagot ni Fall.

That shut Jhing up. Hindi na siya nag-reply.

Dumating si Fall sa office para kuhanin ang royalty, late na kasi ito ng ilang days na nagkasabay-sabay ang mga authors. Sandali lang ang pagkuha kaya naupo sila sa sofa ng lobby, tambay lang.

"Musta manuscript?" Fall asked after she got her royalty.

Nagkibit balikat si Jhing. "Ayos lang."

"Tapos mo na?"

"Medyo."

"Define medyo."

Jhing heaved a sigh. "Ending na lang."

"Agad-agad?" Hysterical na tanong ni Fall, dahilan para mapalingon sa kanila ang ilang passersby ng lobby. Jhing squinted her eyes on Fall, nag-peace sign ang kaibigan. "Parang last na usap natin, wala pa. Tapos ending na lang ngayon? Paano nangyari 'yun?"

Paano nga ba? Instead of confessing, because it's my blood dripping to flow the words as I cut my flesh to reminisce, Jhing said, "magic."

Poker face ang reaksyon ni Fall. "Di nga?"

"Oo nga. Ending na lang kulang."

Lumawak ang ngiti ni Fall. "Anong ending balak mo?"

That stopped her a little from breathing. Ending? Well, that's a question she wanted to answer. But can't. "Wala pa akong idea."

"Wala ka pa ring idea? Paano ka napunta sa 'ending na lang' kung wala ka pang ending?"

Hindi nakasagot si Jhing. At the back of her mind, alam niya kung ano ang ending ng kwentong sinusulat niya. At the back of her heart, alam niya kung ano ang dapat na susunod sa kwento. Pero ayaw niya ang idea na pinapaasa niya ang sarili niya.

She will not just fool the readers if she followed her heart's desire but she will also be fooling herself. Nakakagago lang.

"Hindi pa rin kasi ako makapili kung bibigyan ko ba ng amnesia yung lalaki at mamamatay kasi nalimutan huminga o ipapasagasa ko na lang sa tren yung babae kasi nalimutan niyang bawal tumawid sa riles," sagot ni Jhing.

"Cliché naman!" Fall laughed. "Mas peg ko ang nalunod sa dagat at nakain ng pating. Pero seryoso nga, chicklit di ba? Mas okay kung happy ending."

"Yun naman lagi ang gusto ng lahat eh, happy ending. What about the reality?" Jhing asked – not too sure kung kay Fall ba o sa sarili.

"Well, you're a romance writer. A writer's job, especially romance, is to satisfy romantics. May kapangyarihan tayo para baguhin ang isang bagay gamit ang pagsusulat. Use it wisely ba."

"Paasa lang."

Mas lalong tumawa si Fall, at tumayo. "Bakit hindi? Kumikita tayo sa pagsusulat ng mga paasa stories!"

Jhing didn't argue with that, syempre. Sa ilang months na wala siyang trabaho, royalties mula sa books niya ang dahilan para makakain sila sa pang-araw-araw. Sa pag-eedit din ng mga romance stories, napansin niya na puro happy ending ang kwento.

At that certain moment, she decided how to end that story.

May cancer na lang parehas.

Para masaya.

Lunod ang utak ni Jhing nang matapos ang manuscript, kaya nag-absent siya the day of the deadline. She slept the whole day, refreshed her mind, bago bumalik sa pagtatrabaho at matuyot sa mga ineedit na manuscript.

Pagpasok two days after her scheduled 'sick leave', Vams shouted from the other cubicle. "Jhing! Check email please!"

Bumilis ang tibok ng puso niya as she open her email, halos tawagin na ang lahat ng santo at santa dahil results na ng manuscript evaluation. Habang binabasa ang mga comments, napapangiti siya dahil marami siyang nalaman sa grammar at scenes. Medyo ginisa, pero okay lang.

She couldn't stop crying when she read the comment for the ending.

Tears were shed as the last fifteen minutes of reading commenced. It was heart breaking to see her cry because of her own decision. It was only thirty thousand words worth of a story to capture my heart. The two of them became a part of me in a matter of four hours of reading. Corny as it seems but when they laugh, I laugh. They smile, I smile. When their hearts were broken, my heart also shattered in pieces. It's nice to see a touch of reality in the end but Jhing, don't you think it's unfair for the girl to be this miserable? I know it's her decision but. . .BUT. BUT!

I think she deserves a happy ending. And I refuse to think and consider a happy ending without him.

Have you thought about changing the ending into a happy one? I mean, hey – this doesn't look tragic but I don't know – I know I'm supposed to comment like an editor (I'm trying!) I just can't see the two of them without their own little forever. Give them their own, please. They deserve it.

Reading a comment from another perspective made her re-think of everything. Every. . .thing.

They deserve it.

Gusto niyang matawa pero luha ang lumalabas. Do they really deserve it? Does she deserve a happy ending? With him?

Hah.

"O bakit umiiyak ka?" Facio asked.

Pinunasan ni Jhing ang luha. "Sorry. Naiyak kasi ako sa comment."

"Crybaby ka pala?!"

Natawa na lang siya. Couldn't argue, no?

The comment's good way to start the day. . .not until she continued editing and she almost set her computer on fire. She grunted. Hissed. Almost flipped the table. Gusto niyang magmura, but oh gahd, cannot be.

Why, she asked the gods.

Why punish her?

Before highlighting the whole manuscript and add a comment: REWRITE TO MAKE SENSE!!!! Nag-break muna siya.

Sa ilang oras ba naman niyang pinipilit i-absorb ang nonsense scenes ng manuscript, bumigay na ang lahat ng nerves niya sa utak. O baka OA lang siya? Basta!

She bowed her head, para hindi makita ang pagkabadtrip, papunta sa pantry to get herself coffee. But someone blocked her path, a person wearing a worn out converse shoes.

Without looking, gumilid siya pakanan which the person did, too. Gumilid siya sa kaliwa, sumunod na naman. Badtrip!

Ano 'to, patintero?!

Naiirita na siya, kaya pagkagilid, at sumunod din ang nasa harap niya – she burst:

"Leche naman oh!"

With creased forehead, she looked up, only to feel her heart stopped from beating. A terribly familiar face looked at her with a smile.

In a familiar playful voice, the guy said, "leche rin."