Sheer Happenstance

Hello. I want to share this story to pratice my writing skills and create a record of at least a small portion of my life. Hopefully this site lasts so I can read this again when I am a bit older to reminisce about my past experiences.

My name, for all intents and purposes on this site is Matt. I am in my mid 30s. I have a decent job and a few small enterprises din na pandagdag sa income. I am not a better looking guy but I don't look hideous naman - sakto lang o pwede na.

I was still healing from a broken heart when this story happened. That previous relationship was way more interesting and way more action-packed than this one but thinking about the good times before with her still hurts. Maybe one day I will have the courage to share it pero sa ngayon eto muna..

And I wonder
When I sing along with you

If everything could ever feel this real forever
If anything could ever be this good again

That song was blasting on the radio while I was driving to work that day. I was tuned in to RX 93.1 Riot Wednesday and while that song was playing, I was thinking of her because it meant something to us. Anyway, it was bumper to bumper that time so there isn't much to do but sing along to the music. Nung araw na yan halos isigaw ko na sasakyan na sana makalimutan ko na sya dahil sa totoo lang e pagod na pagod na pagod na ako. Logical naman ako na tao, alam ko na ang pagmmove on ay ako lang din ang makakagawa pero gustuhin man ng isip ay parang ayaw ng damdamin. I was that deep in my thoughts and then..

BLAG!

That sound was too familiar as that was not my first time to encounter it. It snapped me off my thoughts and the first thing that came to mind was I need to be calm so I can clearly think of my next move. Yes, a car hit my car from behind! I am certain it was not my fault as I have my foot on the brake and no other car was moving as we were waiting for the green light. I had to close my eyes and breathe deeply to calm my nerves. After what seemed to be a half a minute or so, I opened my eyes. Tumingin ako sa kaliwa at meron grupo ng mga lalaki sa likod ng pick up truck na sumisigaw ng 'text' 'text' tapos sa bandang kanan naman, yung isang kotse na dumaan e nagbukas ng pinto, nilabas ng driver (middle aged guy) yung katawan nya at naghand motion na parang nagttext. Ang naisip ko nun e sinasabi nila sa akin na nagttext yung driver sa likod kaya nabangga e di lalo uminit ulo ko. Bwisit! I unbuckled the seat belt at nagcheck sa side mirror kung safe na buksan ang pinto. Paglabas ko, tiningnan ko muna yung pagkakabangga. Base sa nakita ko, wala naman nayupi pero talagang nakadikit yung nguso ng kotse nya dun sa likod ng sasakyan ko. I took some pictures of it para may proof.

Parehong SUV yung sasakyan namin pero hindi na ako magbibigay ng specific details. Yung lugar din ng aksidente ay di ko na sasabihin. Ganito ang magiging tema ng kwento ko. As much as possible, iiwasan ko ang specific details. Anyway, I walked towards the car door of the other SUV to talk to the person. As I was approaching the car, the drivers side window slowly opened - in full. And there she was..

She was wearing a black facemask which for obvious reasons, covers half of her face. Sa totoo lang ang naisip ko agad nun e tingnan kung may kasama pa sya sa sasakyan kasi kung magkainitan ng ulo e alam ko kung ilan ang kalaban. But it was just her.

Miss ano nangyari? I asked calmly

Her: Pasensya na po kayo. Kasalanan ko naman po.

Me: Ano gagawin natin ngayon? Sabi nung mga tao nagtetext ka daw kaya ka bumangga

Her: Baka pwede po pagusapan na lang natin kung pano ayusin.

Me: Ok lang naman sa akin kaya lang kailangan ko muna makita yung damage sa likod bago ko ma-estimate yung cost.

At least she admitted she was at fault which immediately deescalated the tension. I looked around to check if there was a police or any traffic enforcer nearby. Luckily, there was a group of enforcers on the other side of the road. I motioned to them to come and help us with the accident. Tinulungan kami ni Kuya Enforcer para maigilid yung sasakyan kasi siksikan talaga. Pinahinto muna nya yung iba para makatabi kami. Nakakuha na naman ako ng images so may proof na ako na nabangga talaga.

Pagkatabi ko ng sasakyan bumaba agad ako para icheck yung damage ng bangga. May konting gasgas sa pinto sa likod at may gasgas din yung rear bumper ng sasakyan. Hindi malalim pero natuklap yung pintura dun sa mga tinamaan. Bale dalawang panels ang kailangan ipaayos.

Sir patingin po ng lisensya. I heard someone from the back said. I went back inside my car to get my credentials. As I was doing so, my eyes caught the clock in the car. I will not make it on time for work - luckily I dont have anything important to attend to that day.

I walked towards the enforcer to hand my license when I saw him looking at a piece of paper.

Sir eto po ang lisensya ko. I said to him while handing over the card. Out of curiosity, I glanced at the piece of paper he was holding and it was a student permit. Wait what? She doesn't even have a license yet. I saw her name, her address and her birthdate on the piece of paper. I have a good memory so its like I took a screenshot of those 3 information in my mind.

I left the enforcer alone after that and went to talk to her. She was still sitting inside her car. As I was approaching, my eyes caught hers looking and that was the first time that I saw beauty in her. With the facemask covering half her face, the beauty in her eyes was even more emphasized. She has a chinita brown eyes with long lashes, fair skin tone and small face. Every part of that face (at least from what I can see) just complements nicely and brings together what I can describe as a gorgeous face.

She was just there - sitting nervously in her car with her window still open. I approached the car window and then my eyes started to notice other details. She was wearing a nice summer dress which fits beautifully on her body. The length of her dress is up to her thighs so naturally while sitting, a portion of her legs were exposed - it was dangerously close of exposing her underwear. Ngl, I looked at it with ungodly thoughts but got snapped back to reality when I heard her say 'Sir sorry po ulit'

Miss dalawang panels yung tinamaan nung bangga. May cash ka ba para dun? I asked

Pwede po bang i-Gcash na lang? She responded

Hindi ako gumagamit ng Gcash Miss e. I said

Kasi po 1k lang ang cash ko dito. Magkano po ba ang babayaran?

5k Miss. Dalawang panels kasi yung tama e 2,500 per panel ang singil sa shop sa akin. I answered

Kulang po kasi cash ko. Wait lang. Meron po ba ATM dito?

I looked around and saw an ATM nearby. I pointed her towards the direction of it and asked 'Pwede ba sa yo yun?'

She nodded and looked for her card inside her vehicle. When she found it, she opened the door of her car and got out. She was wearing the summer dress and a white Tretorn slip on. She dresses really well. At this point, I didn't know how tall she is as she was just inside her car the whole time. Thankfully, we're of the same height.

I accompanied her to the banks machine but kept a safe distance while she was taking out the money from the ATM. She handed the money to me and I noticed that her hands were shaking. I thought she was nervous and really was just terrified of what just happened - not just because of the accident but also maybe due to the fact that she is driving unaccompanied while only having a student permit.

Tinanong ko kung ok lang sya kasi parang namumutla na sya. Tumango naman sya at napatingin na ako sa relo ko. Sobrang late na ako sa work pero ayoko naman umalis ng biglaan. Then narinig ko sya nagsabi na nakalimutan nya kunan ng pics yung aksidente. Sabi ko meron ako kopya pero nagmamadali na kasi ako. Nagoffer sya na ibigay number nya para masend ko daw copy. Dalawang numbers ang binigay nya sa akin kasi yun daw pareho ang ginagamit nya.

The enforcer approached us while we were talking. I told him we have already settled the cost and I no longer wish to pursue the next legal steps. He handed my license back to me. I also persuaded him to take it easy on her regarding the student permit issue as she was clearly overwhelmed with emotions at that moment. Lastly, before I left I told her that I will be sending the images by the end of the day. With that, I got back to my car and drove to work.

The rest of the day was work which means very time demanding but extremely boring. By the time I got home, I was exhausted. When I parked my car at the garage, I saw the chipped off paint from the accident and it reminded me of the images I have to send.

Iniisip ko kung pano isend yung images kasi di ko matandaan kung ano app yung sinabi nya na ginagamit nya. Sinubukan ko na lang sa Viber. Inattach ko yung limang pictures na nakuha ko. Nagmessage na din ako ng 'Hi! Ako yung kanina sa aksidente' Pagkatapos nun kumain na muna ako ng dinner at nag catch up sa current events saka ko muling tiningnan yung telepono ko. May dalawang messages sa viber.

'Hello'
'Pasensya na po ulit Sir'

Nireplyan ko na lang.

'Aksidente lang naman'
'Ingat na lang sa sunod'
'Di naman bawal magtext basta wag lang maaksidente haha'

Hindi nagtagal nagreply din agad sya

'Thank you po. Ingat din po kayo'
'Pasensya po ulit'

Naiinis na ako sa paggamit nya ng 'po'. Baka akala nya matanda na ako. E hindi naman magkalayo ang edad namin. Alam ko dahil nakita ko sa permit nya. At kahit alam ko na din ang full name nya, dahil na din sa kagustuhan ko na matuloy ang usapan namin e tinanong ko pa din sa kanya.

'Di ko pala nakuha yung name mo'

I didn't even bother to close the app after sending that message. I saw her typing a response already so I waited..

'Ako po si Ella'