INIHINGI namin ng permiso mula sa aming source kung maaari namin itong isulat with a promise na pangangalagaan namin ang kanyang interes. Well, we couldn’t care less about the two principal characters involved in this story.
Isa kasi sa dalawang pangunahing tauhan dito’y napakalapit sa kanyang puso, with their friendship dating as far back noon pang 1989 only to see it crumble at the drop of a hat.
All throughout this item ay tatawagin naming “Arbie” ang aming source na manaka-nakang inaalok din ng mga trabahong showbiz. In effect, Arbie boasts of showbiz connections palibhasa nga’y napakalapit niya to one of the two women, na tatawagin naming “Irene” at “Marsha.”
Isang araw ay naghatid siya ng balita sa isang showbiz-oriented program, in fact an eyewitness account while inside the premises of a network studio. Meron daw siyang eksenang nasaksihan involving Marsha and a fellow actress.
Walang labis, walang kulang ang ulat na ‘yon, as Arbie would say. But little did he know that Marsha’s supporters were monitoring at that time. Agad ding nakarating kay Marsha ang “scoop” ni Arbie prompting her ilk to trace his identity.
Their tireless research—kundi man pag-iimbestiga—yielded a positive result. Arbie’s closest link was traced to Irene. So as to cover up the issue, Marsha demanded—through Irene—that Arbie post his sincere apology on social media.
But Arbie initially stood his ground: he felt sorry he displeased Irene pero hindi siya hihingi ng dispensa kay Marsha. Pero mapilit daw si Marsha, sa kanya raw dapat mag-sorry si Arbie, at ‘yun din ang gustong ipagawa ni Irene kay Arbie.
Para wala na lang kiyaw-kiyaw, Arbie—much to his consternation—did just that. Nag-sorry siya kay Marsha sa social media, but he made it clear na ang kanyang iniulat was no more, no less.
Believing it was no big deal, after all, ay naroon pa rin ang pagtangi ni Arbie kay Irene. To his mind, it was such a trivial issue that would put their long years of friendship at stake.
Or so Arbie thought.
Inamin mismo ni Arbie sa amin na ramdam niya ang panlalamig ni Irene sa kanya. And because he could discern how cold as a cucumber Irene was to her ay dumistansiya na rin siya rito.
Hindi maitago ni Arbie ang kanyang sama ng loob kay Irene habang kausap namin siya, “Masakit kasi ipinagpalit niya ako kay Marsha na kung tutuusin, eh, kailan lang naman niya naging ka-close samantalang noong 1989 pa kami.”
Hanggang dito lang muna ang aming kuwento.