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Mikha POV —
As the three-day, two-night camping trip filled with activity and games finally came to an end, it was finally time to hit the hay for the last time for this trip. And as much as I enjoyed everything that went on — from the bus trip, to our phones getting taken away in the mean time, dealing with lamoks and bugs, games that tested my competitiveness and so on — I still much prefer my time where I get to finally rest and get some sleep.
And yet as I lay down on the average quality bed and close my eyes to finally drift off to sleep, I’m met with myself just tossing and turning for the past 10 minutes. I couldn’t fall asleep. Without a phone to accompany my restlessness, I could only just hope that from closing my eyes long enough, I’d fall asleep.
And yet, it never came.
I let out a quiet groan as I started to toss and turn again.
Sheena POV —
I tried to fall asleep, and yes I genuinely tried! But the movement of the bed kept me awake. The bed set up was bunk beds, and I took the top bunk since, well, *bakit? gusto ko eh!*
Moving onto the actual point, ‘Ano bang ginagawa ni Mikhs, ba’t ang gulo niya??? Nagkaka-nightmare ba ‘to?’
I just wanted to end the day with a good night’s sleep but it seems like someone else is having a hard time.
As the movement still did not come to a stop, I got tired and finally went down from my bunk — careful to not accidentally hit my head on the ceiling nor accidentally slip down from the ladder. Once I’d finally safely gotten down, my eyes adjusted to the darkness and got to finally see how Mikha is so restless.
‘Gusto ko lang naman matulog eh... Ano namang problema nito?’
Scratching my head, I crouched down to her bed’s level and tried to get her attention. “Mikhs...” I poke her with my finger and that seems to get her attention. Except, when she didn’t move I felt the need to explain myself. “Hoy, hindi ako multo. Si Sheena ‘to.”
And from that, Mikha finally took her head out of the blankets. “Sheena? Ba’t gising ka pa?” She asks me.
“Mikhs, ikaw ‘tong magulo. Hindi ako makatulog dahil ang gulo mo, naaalog mo na kasi ung kama... Okay ka lang ba?”
Mikha POV —
“Ay... Sorry, Shee. Okay lang ako, ‘di lang talaga makatulog.” That’s embarrassing, I hadn’t meant to make that of a disturbance. Especially not to Sheena.
The moments passed with quietness, and I thought Sheena went back to her bunk, but I was surprised to hear her voice again. “Labas tayo, gusto mo? Baka makatulong.”
“Okay lang sa’yo?” I ask.
“Ako nga nag-aya diba?” Her response made me chuckle. I love her humor despite it being questionable most of the time.
“Okay, tara.”
—
“Ang dikit mo sa’kin Sheena...” Mikha tells, and despite it sounding like a complaint, it definitely wasn’t for her. She was cherishing every moment with Sheena right now.
“Eh! Nakakatakot! Ang lamig din kaya, hindi ka ba nilalamig?” Sheena says, rambling a little. This made Mikha chuckle softly.
She gave attention to the plaid polo she had wrapped around her waist that she randomly took from her bed. “Here. Suotin mo muna.” Mikha says untangling it from the knot and handing it to the latter. Sheena beams and gently grabs the piece of clothing and wears it comfortably. It hadn’t provided that much warmth but it was better than just wearing a sando.
“Thanks, Mikhs!” In the process though, Sheena had given them space in between each other. And Mikha couldn’t do anything else but merely hide her disappointment by it.
The two walked towards the previous campfire area they were in hours ago and sat on one log, they sat next to each other. It also wasn’t too dark because of the lamps that were kept on. “Nag-enjoy ka naman ba?” Sheena asks, trying to start a conversation.
Mikha thinks for a moment, “Yeah. Everything was enjoyable naman. You?” She returns the question, turning to the girl beside her.
“Naman! ‘Di ko malilimutan na hinabol pa ng manok si ate Jho.” Both of them laugh at the scene that unfolded during the first day. Right as they got off the bus and headed towards the designated area, a chicken appeared and somehow started chasing Jhoanna and only Jhoanna. “Still don’t know where it came from. It was funny, though.”
“Ikaw? May ibang moment ka ba na nagustuhan?”
Mikha bites her inner check to stop herself from saying, ‘This.’
“Hmm... I guess just earlier. When we were roasting marshmallows.”
Being able to bond with friends has always been something Mikha adores. She may not say it aloud but it’s a special thing for her. And the gathering earlier just made her heart feel full.
“Ang soft mo naman, Mikhs.”
Mikha rolled her eyes at that comment, “No, I’m not.” She states gently.
Sheena started more small conversations and once she ran out of things to talk about, it ended up in silence. It wasn’t that type of uncomfortable silence though. But to Mikha’s surprise, Sheena leans her head on her shoulder. This makes her feel warm all over.
“‘Di ka pa ba inaantok, Mikhs?” Sheena says after a yawn, her eyes wanting to close and drift to sleep already.
Noticing this makes Mikha want to go back now so Sheena could rest, even if she’ll still have trouble sleeping. “Pwede na tayo bumalik. Inaantok ka na.”
“Eh ikaw?” Sheena puts her chin on top of Mikha’s shoulder, oblivious to their close proximity, Mikha decides to turn her head to look at her. And that was a mistake because Mikha’s brain was close to short circuiting.
It takes a moment before she can reply, “I— I’ll be fine.” Mikha tears her gaze away and softly coughs.
‘Ang cute.’
“Sure?”
“Yeah.”
Mikha was the first to stand up, and when she looked back towards Sheena, the woman was asking to be pulled up from the log she was sitting on. She helps her despite the overwhelming amount of physical touch they’d already been doing since earlier.
“Ano ba ‘yan... Ikaw ‘tong inaya lumabas para ikaw antukin. Bakit ako naman ung inantok?”
Mikha laughs, “Makakatulog naman ako, it’s fine.” It was more her convincing herself than convincing Sheena.
“Tatamaan talaga kita pag hindi.” Sheena threatens as another laugh erupts from Mikha.
But Mikha stops for a moment, she could feel light raindrops falling on her skin. “‘O ba’t ka huminto?” Sheena asks.
“Umaambon.”
“Ha?!?” Sheena practically shouts and it makes Mikha snap out of whatever reverie she was in. She didn’t expect her to be so loud. “Ingay mo!”
“Eh! Mabilis kang magkasakit pag-inambunan!” Sheena quickly takes off the plaid polo shirt she was comfortably wearing.
“No I don’t?”
“Oo kaya! Nung bata pa tayo!” Sheena grabs Mikha’s arm and pulls her so they’re close and puts the polo shirt above them so both of them are covered.
“That’s when we were kids...?” Mikha’s confusion was clear at Sheena’s actions, and besides that, her emotions were in array.
“Bata pa din tayo!”
“I’m older than you...”
“Wala akong pake!”
“Okay...?”
“Basta! Tara na!” Sheena seemed to be more awake than ever as the droplets started to pour faster. She was also practically dragging Mikha along as she walked ahead to the cabin they were staying at.
Once they reached the porch of the cabin, Mikha was about to separate from Sheena when she got tugs her back in under the polo shirt. “Wait! Picture tayo!” Sheena says as she reaches in her short’s pocket, fishing out her phone.
“Nasayo phone mo?”
“Kinuha ko kanina hehe. ‘Wag mong sabihin! Hindi ako nagpaalam.”
“‘O! Ikaw mag-pic.” Sheena says handing Mikha her phone.
Once Mikha has it, she extends her arm out and angles it slightly below them so it captures them being under the polo shirt. At first, Mikha wasn’t posing at all, only smiling so she got scolded by Sheena. “Huy! Pose ka naman!”
“Dami mo ng energy ngayon ah?”
“Sakto lang!”
Mikha shakes her head before positioning the phone again and actually posing with Sheena now.
Once they’ve taken a bunch of pictures now, Mikha hands back the phone to Sheena and they check the pictures together. “Ang cute.” Mikha absentmindedly comments. “Ko?” Sheena playfully replies back. It takes a moment for Mikha to reply, “Pwede din.”
“Bolera!”
“What? Totoo naman?”
“I think inaantok ka na Mikhs, tara na nga.”
“Ewan ko sayo.” Mikha sighs softly. At least the darkness was hiding her flush cheeks. Little did she know that Sheena was also getting red.
As they were inside the cabin and back to their bunk beds, Mikha sat down on the edge of her bed while Sheena remained standing. “Thank you, Sheena.”
“For?”
“For making an effort? And also sorry ulit for disturbing you.”
Sheena shakes her head and smiles, “Okay lang. Pero...”
“Hm?” Mikha hums, trying to decipher Sheena’s expression who’s just in front of her.
“Pwede tabi tayo?”
“Tabi?” The red-haired woman asked, confused at the question and if she was thinking of the right intention of Sheena.
“Matulog. Tinatamad na din kasi ako akyatin ung bunk bed.” Sheena reasons out.
Mikha thinks for a second but ultimately offers the bed space still. “Sure. I don’t mind naman.”
“Sure ka ah?”
“If you made an effort earlier, I’ll do too, Shee.”
It takes Sheena a little while before she replies back, and maybe also just saying her thoughts out loud, “Kinilig ako dun ah, Mikhs.”
Mikha wants to combust but before so, Sheena goes to lay down the bed — specifically the ledge side of the bed. Taking notice of this, Mikha quickly comments, “Dun ka sa kabila.”
Confused, Sheena merely looks at Mikha for a moment before deciding to follow her instructions, she also really just wanted to sleep now. Once Sheena had situated herself on the inner side of the bed, Mikha finally went to lay down.
Mikha faces upwards for the time being as she hears Sheena ask, “Sure ka dyan ka?” Mikha nods while saying, “Yeah, mas kumpartble din ako dito.”
“Sabi mo eh.”
Silence.
Mikha turns her body so she’s laying on the side facing the ledge, trying to get herself comfortable. She was about to close her eyes when she heard Sheena again, “Mikhs, baka mangyakap ako ah. Okay lang?”
“Gusto mo ba ng nakayakap?”
“Konti.”
After thinking for a moment, Mikha turns her body again to now facing Sheena, also now realizing that Sheena was also facing her. Without a word, Mikha opens her arms for Sheena to come close, and so she does. The younger one wraps her arms around Mikha’s waist area and her head is just below Mikha’s chin. “Thank you Mikhs..” Mikha merely hums as a reply as tiredness was finally taking over her.
“Goodnight, Shee.”
“Goodnight din, Mikhs..” Sheena snuggles closer until she has her nose close to Mikha’s neck, her comfortable scent making her easily drift off to sleep.
In Mikha’s mind before she fell asleep was, ‘I could get used to this.’
—
Colet was passing by the hall of beds until she was taken by surprise by one of the beds having two people under the covers. One was obviously Mikha because of the obnoxious red hair, but she didn’t know who the other one was. She gazes up, trying to see if someone was on the top bunk and notices no one. ‘Sino nandito?’
It takes her a while just standing there until it clicks. ‘Si Sheena!’
And then it takes her another minute until they all click. ‘HA SI MIKHA AT SI SHEENA???’
Unable to contain her excitement and surprise, she makes her way to her bunk bed with Maloi. She quietly crouches down and tries to wake the woman up. “Loi... Maloi, gising.” Colet likely shakes her shoulders and Maloi groans, “Bakit..? Anong meron...”
“May papakita ako, bilis!” Colet whisper-shouts trying not to wake anyone else up. “Ang aga pa, Col.”
“Sige na!” With another groan, Maloi gets out of the covers and sits down on the bed. “Aga aga pa eh.”
“Sorry uyab pero basta! Maiintindihan mo din. Tara.” Colet stands and pulls Maloi up to stand up from the bed and lightly drags her towards Sheena and Mikha’s bed.
“Anong tinitignan ko..?”
“Mikha at Sheena.”
Having just woken up from sleep, it takes her a while until she realizes what she’s looking at. And when she was about to yell, Colet makes quick work to cover Maloi’s mouth. “‘Wag kang maingay!” Colet whisper-shouts again. And when she was sure that Maloi wasn’t going to yell, she put down her hand. “Ang cute nila!” Maloi exclaims quietly, feeling so proud even though she doesn’t even know what happened. “Ano kaya nangyari sakanila? Diba may crush naman sila sa isa’t isa? Di lang nila alam.”
“Oo. Torpe ba naman ‘tong si Mikha eh.” Colet says as both of them laugh. Out of habit, Maloi leans back onto Colet’s shoulder, and Colet’s hand quickly wraps around her lover’s waist.
“Magkakaaminan kaya sila?” Maloi asks as she admires both of them looking at peace with each other.
“Sana.”
Only time will tell.