#SilenceBackfired

"When the lips could not speak, perseverance will deliver the message."

-x-

"Anong trip 'yan?" Facio asked Miko. "May sakit ka? SARS ba 'yan?"

"SARS? Napaka-updated naman nung sakit," natatawang sabi ni July.

Hindi na nag-expect ang lahat na magsalita si Miko dahil na rin sa cute nitong mouth mask na suot. Instead of talking, binura nito ang kasusulat lang sa whiteboard na dala at pinalitan ng: WALA AKONG SAKIT

Eh ano?" asked another. "Paos? Walang boses?"

MAY BOSES AKO.

"Aha!" sabi ni Yayo, the pregnant editor who was severely fond of Miko. She tried to get the mouth mask from Miko pero pinigilan nito. "KPOP ka? Ganyan uso sa Koreans, eh!"

Jhing's heart pounded inside her chest when she saw the smiling eyes of Miko, almost gone dahil sa chinito eyes. Nakakainis pa dahil napaka-pa-kyut ng design ng mouth mask.

He couldn't really take everything seriously, could he?

"Para saan ba kasi 'yan?"

UTOS LANG

July asked, "sinong nag-utos ng trip na 'yan?"

Nag-panic si Jhing from the inside when her eyes met Miko's kaya agad siyang napatingin sa sariling computer.

Hindi tuloy niya nakita ang nakangiting mata ni Miko as he wrote, ANG NAKATATAAS, that earned laughter from most of the book department. Kahit sila Ms. Vams at Ms. Stels ay napangiti rin sa trip ni Miko.

"Sabog ka talaga, 'tol," Facio commented.

Nakitawa rin ang lahat.

She decided she was too busy with work para intindihin ang kalokohan ni Miko. Pero nang sumilip, napasapo siya sa noo dahil sa nabasa sa whiteboard.

(/ﾟｰﾟ)/ HA HA HA HA＼(ﾟｰﾟ＼)

Pucha. Nakakahiya talaga.

He had ways in which the simple things become extravagant.

Nakakainis.

Sure, she couldn't hear his voice for the past few hours. Pero ang nakakainis? Hindi nawala ang ingay! Mas lalo pa ngang umingay ang cubicles malapit sa pwesto ni Miko dahil kung anu-ano ang pinagdodrawing ng lalaking 'yon!

Eh di fine. Siya na ang artist.

Siya na ang close sa lahat ng tao.

Palibhasa, walang ginagawa. Parang bata!

When lunch came, it was a good thing na umalis si Miko; may kaibigan daw itong kasama mag-lunch. Jhing wasn't interested on who was that guy with. Mga katrabaho lang niya ang interesado, so she knew that Miko was with Ulysses and Marco – kung sino man ang mga 'yon.

Who cares?

"Lakas ng trip ng lalaking 'yon," July said over lunch. Napapansin na rin ni Jhing na kapag wala si Miko, ito ang nagiging topic ng mga kapwa editors. Not that she was complaining. . .

. . . wait, gusto talaga niya mag-complain.

Pwedeng change topic?

"Weirdo niya," Yayo said as she munched on her bread. "But in a good way. Ang cute."

"Nako, baka sa kanya mo ipaglihi anak mo."

"Bakit hindi?" she said as she patted her 5 month old tummy. "He's appealing, has a sense of humor, lakas trip at I think he has a big heart. I'll dig a son like that."

Jhing almost choked.

"Oh Jhing," July said, smiling, and offered her a glass of water. "Anyare sa'yo?"

"Nasamid lang," ang sabi na lang niya.

Big heart? Gods.

Nothing won't end with Miko.

Pagbalik nito from lunch out, walang ibang kasama si Jhing dahil naglamyerda ang mga kasamahan sa pantry, lobby at labas ng building. Tulala sa monitor, a hand from behind placed a mug on her table. Again.

The mug of juice made Jhing's heart skipped a bit.

Paglingon, she saw Miko's eyes. Despite of the black mouth mask na napaka-pa-kyut dahil sa horizontal 3 design, like cat lips, alam niyang nakangiti ang loko. Nang-aasar.

Miko showed the whiteboard to Jhing.

MANGO - ORANGE JUICE?

Jhing didn't have the chance to talk, decline, or get the mug away from the table when she heard familiar voices. Shit. Mga kasamahan nila! Nag-panic agad si Jhing. Gusto niyang tumayo at iwan si Miko but she was stunned when he suddenly walked away.

Nang makarating ang grupo sa mga pwesto, Miko was already sitting on his cubicle – mukhang seryosong nagtatrabaho habang si Jhing ay nakatitig sa mug.

She didn't drink even a single drop from it until the day ended.

Kinabukasan, Miko was still not talking. The act was not a big deal anymore, kaya hinayaan na ng iba maging weird si Miko. They were enjoying his drawings.

Plus, they were all busy with work.

Walang time halos lahat sa pakikipagbiruan.

Even Miko was surprisingly serious.

Kaya amazement was evident from Miss Zue's face when she saw the book department busy and really concentrating with work. Kahit ang laruang remote controlled helicopter na pinagkaguluhan ay naka-display na lang sa taas na shelf.

Kinuha ni Miss Zue ang atensyon ng team. "Magkakameeting tayo by 3pm, be at room A3," she said. "Walang male-late, ha!"

Everybody said their "yes ma'am", but Miko, still with his mask on, held his whiteboard up high with writing and a drawing:

MASUSUNOD!!!!! (￣^￣)ゞ

Juicecolored.

Jhing saw the weirded out reaction of Miss Zue sa whiteboard ni Miko. She just wanted to get inside a hole or something, para hindi na siya mahiya sa pinag-gagagawa ng lalaking 'yon.

That whiteboard had to stop. And that fucking pa-cute mouth mask, too.

Bago pa dumating ang meeting, she finished the initial reading of the manuscript she would be editing soon. When the clock said it was almost 3, nag-note muna siya sa first few paragraph for a starter.

Ako ay nagising ng ten ng umaga. Late na ako. [1* "Late ako nagising."] Ako ay naglakad papunta sa CR para makaligo. Naghubad ako ng pajamas. Maingat kong pinihit ang shower. Ang bumuhos sa akin ay malamig na tubig. Nanginig ako. Nag-shampoo ako at nagsabon. Tatlumpung minuto rin ang tinagal ko sa CR bago lumabas. Basa ang aking buhok. Nagbihis ako. Ako ay kumain habang nagpapatuyo ng buhok. Lumabas ako ng bahay. Sa office ang tungo ko sa pagmamaneho ng kotse kong SUV. [2* Paragraph can be shortened or deleted]

Ang araw ko ay nagsimula nang galit na nakaabang ang boss ko sa aking pwesto malapit sa may bintana katabi ng ilan ko pang katrabaho. Ang kamay niya ay pagalit niyang binagsak sa brown wooden desk ko na may intricate design. "Why did you not show up last night, Ms. Yue?" [3* Why didn't you show up last night, Ms. Yue?"] ang kanyang sabi. May galit ang boses niya. Siya ay bumulong. "Do you not want to have a date with me?" [3* "Don't you want to date me?"] Galit na sabi niya. "You do not want to date me, huh," [3* You don't want to date me, huh."] pagalit ang kanyang pag-akusa sa akin. Kita ko ang galit sa kanyang nagdidilim na mata. 

1. Most of the sentences are passive; not that it isn't right, but writing in active voice will be more advisable. Avoid 'ay' as much as possible. But using "ay" is not a sin.

2. A step-by-step character's action that doesn't push through character and plot development can be shortened or deleted. This is just a morning ritual. To get the right word count: ang sinusulat at sinasama lang sa kwento ay mga nangyayaring kakaiba at interesante.

3. Use contractions for realistic touch in dialogues. Don't. Didn't. Won't. Can't.

An example:

"Iniisip ko baka dahil late akong nagising at nakapuntang office kaya nakaabang si Sir [name], boss ko, sa pwesto ko. Hiyang-hiya ako dahil halos tumagos ang titig niya sa akin habang paupo ako. [Deleted the wooden table at 'yung malapit sa bintana description dahil hindi naman din ito sobrang importante. Nalimutan na nga rin ito sa buong kwento.] Nagulat ako, pati ang mga nakakita at nakarinig, sa pagbagsak niya ng kamay sa harapan kong desk. [Consider the people / environment the characters are in. Si Boss ang nagbagsak ng kamay, so it sure can get a lot of attention lalo na't nasa office sila.]

Shit! [Or] Napapikit ako sa gulat. [Or] God. Hindi dahil sa late ako kaya siya galit. Mukhang alam ko na 'to. [Insert more samples here]

[A first person POV rule: When an action has been made, consider writing the character's thought, emotion or reaction to it. Nagmumukha kasing robot kapag wala lang sa kanya ang nangyari o nalaman.]

"Dialogue," pabulong niyang sabi. "Dialogue." Nagdilim ang mata niya. "Dialogue."

[Deleted the galit words and sentences dahil kapag binagsak ng tao ang kamay sa desk, kapag nagdilim ang mata, at walang pakialam sa environment, considered galit na siya. The writing's already showing the action, so telling it every time isn't necessary. No need to rub it in para lang sa emphasis. Once or twice is enough. Or delete the telling and make the readers read between the character's actions / description.]

Medyo natuyo ang utak ni Jhing sa pag-comment kaya hindi niya napansin ang whiteboard na unti-unting nagpapansin sa gilid niya. Beside the whiteboard, hawak ng isa pang kamay ni Miko ang isang mug.

The whiteboard said, MILK TEA?

Nilingon ni Jhing si Miko. "Not a fan of milk tea," she deadpanned.

She went to the meeting room like nothing happened, and sat next to Yayo; the whole team were in the room already. A few seconds after, pumasok sa loob si Miko with mask still intact and his whiteboard, without the milk tea.

Kung nasaan ang milk tea, wala na siyang pakialam.

Miko sat beside Facio na katabi ni July, na katapat ni Jhing. Hindi tuloy makatingin si Jhing kay Facio nang kausapin siya nito.

The meeting started when Miss Zue and Sir Franz arrived, at nagkaroon ng sales report sa mga librong ni-release nila. "Mataas profit sa Part 1 but the Part 2 sales dropped at 84%," she started. "Kapag nagtagal pa 'to for a few months, we'll go downhill."

Sir Franz backed up. "We decided to not make a part 2. Edit the stories into 1 book because most of our markets are teens who don't buy part 2 books. Nagrereklamo pa sila kung bakit hinahati."

That made Jhing's heart sank an inch. Kahit editor siya at gets niya ang kalakaran sa mundo ng publishing, she's still a writer.

And it felt like shit to know that her imagination will be compressed into a one part book.

At the same time, it made sense for her as an editor. Ang dami kasing filler chapter na hindi nakakatulong sa character at plot development. MEMA scenes. Memailagay lang.

Still! Her imagination was hurting. Ahh, the contradiction was fucking her brain.

"Can't we publish a bigger book? Mas makapal than the usual?" Yayo asked. "Kung 300 pages ang normal, 500 to 600 won't hurt."

"Great idea," said Sir Franz. "But consumers hate a price more than 200. Iisipin nila pineperahan natin sila. And the bookbinding will be hard, baka magkalas-kalas sa glue."

"We'll struggle making a 200k word count drafts to a 50k book," said July. "Maraming magrereklamo kapag marami tayong binawas na scenes. Readers are unforgivable pa naman, right, Jhing?"

Tumango si Jhing. She could almost hear all the rants in her head, nananakit tuloy lalo ang ulo niya.

After a few ideas, the meeting ended up with a unanimous decision: it's official, they'll publish single books with a maximum of 80k word count. Mas siksik na kwento, mas maganda kaysa maraming fillers.

"Next topic: Halloween Party," said Sir Franz after a head aching meeting about the sales. "We're all going, yes? Napagkasunduan namin na may theme tayong book team. May prize raw ang may magandang costum—"

Everybody looked at Jhing's raised hand. "Hindi ako sasama."

"What?!" Miss Zue almost shouted. Fellow co-workers reactions followed. "Why! This will be your first Halloween with us! Sumama ka na! Ayaw mo ba?"

Not that she didn't want to bu—okay, fine. Ayaw niya ang idea na papasok sa office nang hindi normal ang itsura.

She wanted her life, her face, and her overall to be normal, thank you very much.

Nalimutan din naman ang KJ moment niya when Miss Zue asked, "any suggestion for our theme?" not minding Jhing's grunts and disapproval.

Everyone looked at Miko when they heard the tapping sound of his marker against the whiteboard. Pinakita niya ang drawing na costumes that made Miss Zue smile, but a again, with a weirded look.

"Why aren't you talking?" she asked.

"Kahapon pa 'yan, Ma'am. Wala namang sakit at hindi paos."

Yayo giggled kaya napalayo si Jhing sa katabi. Not wanting to get involved with the giggling.

"What happened, Miko?"

Ay! Ang ganda ng memo pad na dala ni July!

So Jhing stared at it. More interesting than the trashcan and the keyholder.

Mas lalong lumakas ang pag-tap ni Miko sa whiteboard, kaya mas lalong naging interesting ang memo pad. To Jhing's horror, she saw a slender hand with marker stains reaching to her across the table.

KINALABIT SIYA NI MIKO.

In front of the fucking book team! For everyone to see!

Halos mahimatay na si Jhing when Miko held the whiteboard for her and everyone! shit!, to see what he had written:

JHING? PERMISSION TO TALK? PLEASE?

The widening of Jhing's eyes made Miko assume that it was a go signal so he took his mask off and breathed in a little longer before he exhaled. Ngumunguya rin pala ito ng mint gum.

With a smile, he said, "hah, sa wakas. Fresh air!" voice a little raspy.

Nakakapanibago.

Syempre, hindi lang si Jhing ang napanganga.

Ang buong book team, composed of more than 15 adults who have no idea what the fuck just happened, did too.

"Salamat, Jhing!"

He even said her name with glee in his voice!

Tangina po!

Ginalaw-galaw nito ang panga na para bang matagal-tagal na hindi ginamit, not minding all the stares and Jhing's distorted face.

If Jhing was a protagonist in a movie, this was the scene she wanted to get hit by a truck. Ten wheeler. Dead on the spot.

¡Qué horror!  

_____

How to get chapter dedication: Gandahan ang comment (not necessary mahaba)  yung chill lang at true to your heart comment.

What kind of comments: Nakakatawa. Nakakatouch. Nakakatulong sa kwento at sa akin bilang manunulat. Hindi pambobola lang. Hindi ako binabash kasi nasasaktan ang poor heart ko :c 

Hindi po ako nadadaan sa "pa-dedicate po pls (insert pakyut here)" kaya please, tantanan po ako ng ganyan.

PS: Nasa sequel na po tayo people, thank you sa mga taong hindi na nangungulit ng ibang tao (ehem) at congrats sa iba na ang tawag pa rin sa akin ay "Ate Jhing" dahil mute ka saken (pwedeng nagjojoke ako, pwede ring hindi hihihi) NO HARD FEELINGS! :)

Rayne po pangalan ko. Babae. Pilosopotasya ang username. (wow amazing no?) #ElebenTwentitri ang official hashtag. Salamat sa pagbabasa at suporta nakakatouch!!! :'D

Lovingly Yours,

-- Rayne M., hindi Jhing ang pangalan, pilosopotasya ang username, badtrip sa mga nangungulit ng ibang tao at hindi nagbabasa ng author's note.