THE PRANKSTER'S STORY
—mysteriasecrecy—
Hindi talaga ako makapaniwala. Binuklat-buklat ko pa ang iba pang pages ng notebook na hawak ko. Ito ngaaa! Hindi ko tuloy mapigilang mapangiti. Kakahalukay ko para sa isang sketch na pinapahanap ng kuya ko sa piles ng mga old notebooks at kung ano pang mga papel-papel ko, nagawi ako sa pinakahuling box. Yung pinakahindi ko yata nabubuksan na at nasa pinakasulok ng kuwarto ko.
Dito ko rin nakita ang isang old notebook ko. Wala nang cover at ang dami nang punit. I scanned the pages to know whatever was I writing before. Narealize kong isa 'to sa mga scratch notebooks ko six years ago. Pagdating sa bandang dulong pages, nanlaki ang mata ko at—okay, na-excite ako nang makita ang mga pamilyar na pangalan.
O mas tamang sabihing codenames.
These were the names of the Wattpad characters that my roleplaymates used in our roleplaying text clan six years ago. Mga panahong kakaunti palang ang nasa Facebook at mas uso pa ang text clans. At ang mas nakakaamaze pa, sa tabi ng bawat pangalan nila, may dash and then, yung digits nila. Oh, my. I can't help it. Kusang nagfa-flood sa akin 'yung experience na ibinigay sa akin ng roleplaying six years ago.
Iniscan ko yung mga pangalan. I was really isolating myself before. Kaya wala talaga akong ka-close na roleplaymates. Wala din akong acquaintance man lang sa mga nakalista dito. Pero syempre, andon pa rin 'yung nostalgia. They were part of my fourteen-year-old life after all.
Pagdating sa dulo ng list, mas na-amuse ako nang makita ang isang pinakapamilyar na pangalan ng lalaki. Well, technically, hindi niya naman talaga 'yon pangalan. Kundi pangalan ng karakter na hawak niya noon. Napangiti ako nang maalala kung sino siya.
He was one of the administrators of that certain roleplaying text clan. He was never a fan of Wattpad. It's just that, yung founder ng text clan ay pinsan niya. At siyang sole reason kung ba't siya napadpad sa ganoon at admin. I still remember the reason why my fourteen-year-old selfeu developed an admiration to this guy who was four years older than I.
He was always aloof. Not really aloof. Ang hirap lang humanap ng tiyempo para kausapin siya. Hindi makikipag-usap kung hindi kailangan. He doesn't even read the GMs. Pero despite of that, he never—ever delete a member's phone number and message thread. All because of his duty as an administrator. Most of his messages were just all about the text clan and rarely about roleplaying. Bawat sinasabi niya sa grupo, ang rational. Puno ng logical reasoning at bihira yatang subjective. Halata sa pagsasalita na years ahead sa karamihan at mentally matured than the average. To me, he was always an admin and never really a member.
I never really talked to him. Unless it's about the clan. I later have been apparently belong as an admin. So, we did talk. We always had conversations. As admins. Nothing apart from that. Nothing beyond that. Ewan ko ba. We were both acting professional and never tried to informally speak to each other. Hindi naman dahil aloof din ang character na niroroleplay ko. It's just that—He's mysterious and that particular trait played a huge part of why I liked him. Ayokong baka mawala ang interes ko sa kaniya kapag nakausap ko na siya nang higit bilang fellow admin. I liked it better being mystified. So I never tried talking to him.
Until I asked my sister to join the clan. My dear warfreak sister. Ghad. I know this older sister of mine's all savage and dauntless and stands her ground pero hindi ko naman naisip na gagawa siya ng malaking issue sa text clan.
I was my sister's recruiter. Younger sister ko siya sa character na hawak namin. And she's his leading lady according to their origin story. Because of that affiliation, madalas silang magkausap. I don't remember having such thought about it. So I did not expect that that would be how I would be able to talk to that mysterious admin.
Hindi ko alam ang nangyari. Alam ko nalang, magkaaway na ang ate ko at ang admin. They were involving the whole group over their stupid petty argumentation for heaven's sake! I receive all these GMs and all that. I'm more than aware na parati naman talagang nag-aaway ang characters nila sa story'ng pinanggalingan ng mga ito but this is real life, holy mother cheesecake! It's been six years. Pero I think may parte ng issue ay ang pagpoprovoke ng ate ko sa admin na crp ito. Oh, my god.
Dahil nga ako ang recruiter ng ate kong warfreak, he later talked to me as an admin of the group. He surely was aware of the fuss my sister began. I, being a good sister both in the story and the real life, talked to him professionally. To the best that I can.
The annoying part is that—he thought my sister and I was the same person. Worse, he thinks I joined with two identities to captivate his attention! How conceited. Hindi naman porke pinoprovoke siyang crp ng ate ko, paghihinalaan niya nang iisa kami. SOLELY because I was her recruiter. He asked and with honesty, I told him we're not. Pero nagsalita siyang parang sigurado siyang iisa nga kami. What the heck is this guy's problem. He was starting to annoy me.
Later that night, I was on the verge of falling asleep. Nang biglang magvibrate ang phone ko. I was too lazy to take the call. Inignore ko. Hanggang sa umabot ng pangatlong tawag. Tumayo na ako at tiningnan kung sino ba 'yon. And heck, it was him. Tinatawagan niya ako.
I answered the call. Pero nanatili lang akong tahimik. It's my habit—waiting for the person in the other line voice first. And he did. Nag hello lang siya non. So, he really was a guy. Malapit pa naman na akong maniwalang crp nga siya. Though that doesn't really matter if it's in the sense of admiration. Tatlong beses siyang naghello pero dun sa pangatlo, biglang namatay. Talk about the signal.
Kinaumagahan. Hindi ko alam kung anong meron. There were two pms. What a rare sight in my messaging. Isa galing sa ate ko at ang isa ay sa admin. Binuksan ko muna yung kay admin dahil pangalan ko lang naman ang message ni ate. Pagkabukas ko ng two messages galing sa admin, talaga namang napakunot ang noo ko. Keaga-aga.
'Bakit hindi mo ko sinasagot kagabi?'
'Iisa nga kayo no? Tinawagan ko kayong pareho pero siya lang ang nagsalita'
Early in the morning and I already rolled my eyes heavenwards. It was my normal self that kicked in and not the fangirl mode. Ang bossy'ng magsalita. I did reply for the sake of formality and politeness. When he replied, he was still insisting that we were one. Ghad.
Nakausap ko si ate. They had this serious talk or something which I didn't really ponder myself with. At sinabi niyang magquit na daw kami. Heck. How am I involved? I should now believe it's dangerous to be my sister's recruiter. Sinabihan rin niya akong ako na raw ang mag-GM ng Farewell Message. Oh, my god. I can't believe I've been involved and had to kick myself out without receiving any explanation from the both of them.
In the end, I thought I had to. Nagquit kami. With my last GM. Still, in a manner that my character will. Do'n lang niya kami tinext ni ate sa pormal at propesyonal na tono. Namamaalam. I didn't reply. I was still pretty annoyed. That was the last time I ever had a message from him.
And it's been six years now.
I wonder. Ito pa rin kayang nasa notebook na 'to ang gamit niyang digits? He never really changed his digits as far as I remember. Sobrang kabaligtaran ko na buwan-buwan yatang nagpapalit ng digits. Geez. The good ol' days. Being banned by the network. Receiving a hundred of messages a day. And the roleplays through group messages.
I must be growing backwards. Sa kapilyahan, naisipan kong i-save ang number niya. He must be around twenty four now. Considering na four years ahead siya sa akin. Well, I wonder if he's still that serious guy I knew. At para nga malaman kung active pa rin ba ang digits na 'yon, I miscalled. It rang. Surely, active pa rin. Hindi ko nga lang alam kung siya pa rin ang nagamit. Nevertheless, it's this prank that I want to highlight.
I decided to start that prank kinabukasan ng gabi. Tiningnan ko ulit ang call logs. Napataas ang dalawang kulay ko sa amusement nang makitang saktong 11:11 nang magmiscall ako kagabi. I've been a teenager believing in this kind of stuff. Na kapag nagwish ka ng 11:11 ng gabi, magkakatotoo 'yon. Having that in my mind, one sly smile formed on my lips.
Hindi ko pa pala nasisave ang number niya kaya naman pinangalanan ko na 'yong 11:11. Tutal, ang plano ko ay involved doon. What a good timing. It was already 11:02 nang i-save ko ang number niya. Naghintay nalang ako ng nine minutes para i-send ang unang text ko sa kaniya. That was,
'tell me a wish'
That was the beginning. Every night for a exactly 11 days, at exactly 11:11 PM, I would send him a text. The same message for 11 days and 11 texts that contains 11 letters. Sapat naman na siguro ang 11 days para mapansin niyang sa parehong oras ko sinisend ang messages. Pero hindi ako naka-receive ng reply. I see he still do not entertain nonsensical message from unknown numbers like what he told his members six years ago.
After 11 days, I changed my messages. Although exactly 11:11 ko pa rin sinisend, tanong naman ngayon. The first message after 11 days was, 'Do you believe death can grant you peace?'. For another 11 days, all I did was send him messages containing one-lined question related to cults, gothic and all the dark stuffs.
He still wouldn't response.
After 11 days, I decided to change my messages again. This time, mga message na hindi naman na patanong pero tungkol pa rin sa previous one. The dark stuffs. I remember my first one was, 'Never be alone in the dark or I'll come'. And continued. After four days pagkatapos kong simulan ang ikatlong set ng 11 Days, saka ko napansin sa sarili ko—sending him text messages every night became a habit. A FREAKING CREEPY HABIT!
Kaya naman tinapos ko nalang ang huling 11 Days. Pagkatapos ng pangatlong 11 Days, I never texted him for 11 Days. But then, again, pagkatapos ng no-texts 11 Days na 'yon, I decided to send him my one last message. Natatawa pa rin ako habang tinatype ang mensaheng 'yon.
'It's done. From this moment forward, we don't know each other.'
Just the thought na someone whose number is unfamiliar to you would send you this kind of text message already make me laugh. Alright! That's it. That's gonna be my second to the last message. Nagulat nalang ako. Kinabukasan, nakita kong nagresponse siya. At exact midnight—which in 24hr format is 00:00.
'Who are you?'
Natawa ako. That's the perfect response for my first message! Still, hindi ako nagreply. I waited for the 11:11 of that night bago ako nagreply ng dalawang word lang naman. 'Very good'. I can't help pero natatawa lang ako. Ewan ko ba. Tumatanda nga talaga yata akong paurong.
Patulog na ako. Pero saktong midnight, nagvibrate ang phone ko. In my surprise, siya ang caller. What the heck. Mukhang hindi pa rin nga siya nagbabago. O kung siya nga ba 'to. Tawag pa rin ang ginagawa tuwing may gustong malaman.
I did answer the call. Pero katulad six years ago, hindi ako nagsalita. I waited for him to speak up first. Limang segundo bago niya ginawa. In the voice I remembered him with.
[Anong klaseng biro ang trip mo?]
I held my laugh. Did not response. Maya-maya pa, narinig ko siyang bumuntong-hininga. Parang stress sa paraan na 'yon.
[Sino ka ba?]
Gaya ng una, hindi ako sumagot. Hawak ko pa ang bibig ko para kung sakaling magcreate ako ng sound or any noise. May katahimikan na naman. Goal kong siya ang unang magbaba. Kaya umabot ng sampung segundong wala kami parehas imik. Pagkatapos ng sampung segundo, narinig ko ang pag 'tsk' niya at parang nagkamot pa ng ulo bago nagsalita.
[Sige, wag kang magsalita ha. Wag ka ring magtext]
Then beep. Gaaah! He sounded very much annoyed! And sarcastic. Annoyed and sarcastic. Kaya nang matapos ang tawag, saka ako tuluyang natawa. What the hell am I really doing this for. Seriously. Dapat ko na nga yata siyang tigilan. Nakakaloko.
I did plan deleting his number the day after. On 11:11. My last 11:11. Ayokong magpatuloy na maging habit ang pagtext sa kaniya. Kinabukasan, umagang-umaga, dumating na ang kuya ko mula sa ilang buwang pagbabarko. Napansin yatang panay ang tingin ko sa phone ko. Hablutin ba naman sa akin. Agh, big brother never changes even after years! Nang-asar pa habang tumatawa. Ang liit ko pa rin daw. At kunin ko na daw muna yung sketch na hiningi niya sa 'kin a month ago nung sinabi niyang uuwi na sila galing barko.
Defeated, umakyat na ako ng kwarto para kunin nga yung sketch na hinihingi niya. Kung bakit ba naman kasi sa akin niya ipinapatago ang mga gamit niya. Nung makuha ko na yung sketch, dahil inasar naman na niya ako, napagpasyahan ko na rin lang na buksan ang nakatuping papel na 'to. Sa labas lang kasi ang indication ko eh.
With the thought of mocking him gamit ang kung anumang inisketch niya, sinilip ko na. But then it was I who was surprised. It wasn't what I thought. This. Is. Unbelievable. The whole thing's about that text clan. Its members, its system, its schedule—everything! At sulat-kamay ang three bond papers na 'to. There's no way na ganito kaganda ang sulat-kamay ng Kuya ko.
Emotions overwhelming me, nagmamadali akong tumakbo palabas. Taas ko pa yung nakaladlad na pages. Kaso napahinto ako nung pababa na sana. Sa baba, nakatayo si Kuya at nasa akin ang tingin. May katabi siyang lalaki—of course I know him. That's his best friend since high school! Pero ang nagpalaglag ng panga ko ay hawak ni Kuya ang phone ko at hawak naman nung best friend niya ang phone na pag mamay ari nito. Sa parehong screen, may call na nakaflash.
Tinatawagan ng phone ng best friend ng kuya ko ang phone ko. The last bomb? Parehas na 11:11 ang contact name namin sa isa't isa. Nang magtama ang paningin namin, realization hit us both. There was a long moment of silence. It can't still sink in to me hanggang sa si Kuya na ang nagbasag ng katahimikan nang mapansin yatang binuksan ko ang pinapakuha niya.
"You brat! Hindi sa 'kin yan, ba't mo binuksan? May contact dyang gustong hanapin ng utol ko, aba!"
Oh, my deity above, how the world can be as small as this?
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Public copying is a violation act of applicable laws. © May 2019 — Mysteria Secrecy