A fiction for Rose

This afternoon, she came to said goodbye for she was leaving bound to Manila. I was busy playing MMORPG again. She sat beside an empty chair beside me because the internet shop was only half-full.

‘Ano’ng level ka na?’ she asked, while my left hand was busy with the hot keys and my right on the mouse.

’41.’ I answered paying little attention to her presence.

‘Malakas na ba si Eunice?’ she said, referring to my female frontliner.

‘Oo naman—at least nasusuot na nya yung level 40ng armor, and look.’ I showed her by zooming in the female character wielding a sword and a pistol. ‘Pwede na nyang pagsabayin ang sword at pistol.’

‘Ang cute naman.’

‘Two slash and one shot ang normal attack niya—astig di ba?’

‘U-huh.’

Silence. After several minutes she asked again. ‘Nareceive mo ba yung text ko?’

‘Oo.’ Busy killing the mobs. My cellphone lies beside the monitor.

Silence again.

‘Sorry, di ako gaano nagloload.’ Slash, slash and one shot; bang! ‘Need to level up kasi.’

‘5:30 alis ko ngayon.’

‘Gusto mo bang ihatid kita? Saglit lang ‘to.’ The experience bar says 81--19% to go.

Soundtrack of Granado Espada in Port Coimbra. She was looking at the three characters as they ran across the town with other players. Eunice takes the lead followed by the wizard I called Vladimir and the scout-healer named Veta. She didn’t answer.

I took the cellphone and reread her message she sent last night hoping to figure out what’s the matter. I didn’t found anything. I must’ve erased it. I checked my outbox and there was none either.

She stood up and tapped me at my shoulder reluctantly.

‘Sige mauna na ako.’ With a sad smile she left.

I found an unsent message in my drafts; supposedly sent to her as a reply to her text messages last night: ‘I used to care a lot for you. Don’t you know that?’