Wink if MikhAiah is real.
Fons reads the comments silently during his broadcast, while about to play on Discord. He pauses, looks at the camera. He winks his left eye, slowly. With impeccable timing to make sure everyone sees it. He repeats. To be sure. Smiling wider this time.
All right. He enthuses, still talking to the camera. Start na ng game! Watch muna kayo ng game ko. Mamaya na mga pakindat niyo. Thank you! He ends with a playful emphasis on the word pakindat.
Three… two… one.
Blooms bombarded X with screenshots of the comment from Fons’ broadcast, side by side with screen captures of his wink to the camera. One user captions: Si Fons na lang talaga ang taga layag sa #MikhAiah. Waaaaah!!! Mekaya ka ba?!
Fons ends his game, says goodbye to his audience, finishes his broadcast. He takes off his headset to put it on his table and stretches his arms and his back, arching them forward, his arms going upward. He reaches for his phone. Wow. Andame. He refers to the notifications popping. But he focuses on a very familiar name.
Gay balloon bestie na lang talaga, @fons.
Fons laughs out loud and then shouts, Aiaaaaaaaah!!!! As he’s about to reply, someone did it faster than him.
Dine-deny mo ba ako? User bini_mikha asks.
?! Coming from you?! User bini_aiah retorts.
In a snappy turn of events, Fons sees Mikha’s new post on his timeline — a quoted tweet of Aiah’s post with the caption: Suyo well, Mikha Lim. Then a string of posts coming from the other six members.
Ipaglaban mo kasi sabi! From Stacey.
Papalag o papalagan? Maloi rhetorically asks.
Ay ang piskit! Suyo well na lang talaga. Colet.
Baka magka tonisilitis si Ate Aiah niyan. Jhoanna remarks.
. . . Gwen.
Eyy ka muna, Mikha. Eyy-wan ko talaga sa ‘yo. Sheena, probably laughing.
Fons smiles widely as he drops his phone on the table, reclines his gaming chair, and tells himself, Guess I’m doing some magic tonight!
Aiah’s reading Don’t Tell My Mother by her study table. Right hand holding the book, left elbow on the armchair so her hand’s on her left temple.
She closes the book, grunts in frustration, and slumps to her bed. She looks at the ceiling. The audacity to ask that maski joke lang, Mikha Lim? Aiah remembers the time Mikha just started to be, to be, to be what? Cold? Not cold but also not warm? Lukewarm turning cold? She just stopped with all the banters online. All those sweet posts. All those that refer to them being MikhAiah as if she wants to distance herself from the ship. No. Jump out of the ship. As if showing other people our interactions is a plague she’s trying to avert. But when it’s with Stacey, she lets people hear her say Tigil niyo ‘yan. Nagseselos ako. In front of everybody!
God, Aiah. Why are you so petty? She asks herself when she hears a knock on her condo’s door.
Ice cream? Mikha smiles as she lifts toward the taller girl a three-liter tub.
Aiah has a flat affect face. But she opens the door wider, urging Mikha to step in. As Mikha walks in, she closes the door and walks back to sit down on her bed.
Mikha prepares two mugs, two spoons, and puts the tub in the fridge. She walks toward Aiah with cups in her hands. Aiah, still not saying anything, moves to her right so there’s enough space for Mikha to sit beside her.
The redhead hands Aiah her cup. Aiah takes it, no changes in her expression. She quietly scoops and eats her ice cream.
Mikha just looks at her, smiling. She leans on the headboard, imitating Aiah. She glances at the taller girl's direction from time to time as she finishes her mug. Still smiling.
Silence envelopes both of them. Just the clicking of their spoon touching the mug plus the rustling of the bed when they move their legs gently can be heard. Yet the silence is comforting.
Mikha takes Aiah’s mug. And before she leaves the bed, she clips Aiah’s hair in her ear. She smiles at her and then stands up to bring the mugs to the sink. Aiah on the other hand is still not talking. Not even a syllable.
Mikha comes back with a box of tissues plus a glass of water. She hands the glass to Aiah which the other girl drinks up. Mikha extends her arm to get the glass and she places it on the bedside table. She sits beside Aiah but now facing her. Her legs facing the headboard. She brings a sheet of tissue forward and wipes Aiah’s lips before crumpling and throwing the sheet into the trashcan.
Score! The crumpled tissue easily gets into the mouth of the bin. Three points for Mikha! She gleefully says as she faces Aiah again.
This time, she brings her face down and goes nearer to the older girl’s bowed head. Hi. She finally meets Aiah’s eyes.
Three. Two. One.
Aiah leans forward and slowly falls her head on Mikha’s shoulder. Mikha can’t help but smile. She places her right hand on Aiah’s neck, signaling the other girl to lean back toward the headboard again. Mikha slides her back toward the headboard, too, but with her right arm reaching out to Aiah to caress her. Aiah moves closer, to her left, so the space between her and Mikha no longer exists. She leans her head on Mikha’s shoulder.
I’m sorry. Mikha says as she slowly and gently rubs Aiah’s right arm. Then in a beat, she kisses Aiah’s temple. Then the top of her head.
Aiah looks up. Mikha smiles at her. Her other hand softly pokes the tip of Aiah’s nose.
In return, Aiah’s head slowly reaches Mikha’s. Despite both of her eyes closed, her lips precisely touch the right corner of Mikha’s lips. The kiss lingered, enough for Mikha to know she’s forgiven
Aiah puts her head back on Mikha’s shoulder. Her face away from Mikha’s eyes. She’s smiling. Genuinely.
Despite being just in letters, with words you can’t even comprehend because they don’t make sense as they’re just strings of random characters, you can hear people’s screams.
#MikhAiah DELULUBOG! Mikha’s post says with a high-angle photo of her and Aiah in each other’s arms, smiling at the camera.
P.S. Far from Aiah’s condo, Fons proclaims he’s a matchmaker (when honestly, the match has started and been sealed long ago).
This is a work of fiction.
Comments
What do you think, Awesome?