"Haa… the rain is so heavy today." Ronaldo looked out the window, a sigh escaping his lips. Did I bring my umbrella? He began searching through his bag. "Shocks!, I forgot it. I was in such a hurry this morning that I forgot to fold my umbrella and put it in my bag. Tsk, tsk, tsk…"
The office was quiet and grey, the only sound the steady drizzle outside.
"Have you heard? A lot of townfolks were evacuated due to the rising floods, and some are even missing because of late preparations."
"Really? Dang, natural disasters are getting worse, aren't they?"
Ronaldo was busy at his desk, but he listened intently as his colleagues discussed the news. What should I eat later, hmm? Beef noodles with boiled eggs sounds great!
It was eight o'clock, and the officers were now packing their belongings to go home. It was an early dismissal due to the bad weather.
"If I buy an umbrella, it would cost me four dollars. Hayst, I'll just soak myself. It won't affect me much". He finished his tasks quickly, then set off. As he stood by the glass door of their building, waiting for the rain to ease, a lady approached him.
"Hmm, sir, don't you have an umbrella?"
Ronaldo replied, "Ah, yes, I forgot my umbrella."
"Where are you going? I can share with you."
Ronaldo said, "It's alright, thank you. Don't mind me…"
"No, it's okay. It's not much work; my umbrella is big."
Ronaldo stammered, "Ah-hehehe, I'm really fine, you can go ahead first, Miss."
"Uhmm… Okay, sir." The lady walked ahead.
Ronaldo muttered, "Yep, thank you for your offer." He watched her go, then slapped his face. "Ayts, that's embarrassing. A lady just offered a man an umbrella. I'm losing my aura." He shook his head. "Now, let's just run faster!"
Ronaldo ran to buy his dinner at the convenient store.
Along the alley leading to the convenient store, Ronaldo was sprinting, and on the other side, a fine, tall, dark, and handsome man was also approaching the store. He saw Ronaldo, soaking wet, enter the very place he was heading.
At the store, Ronaldo picked up a pack of beef noodles and a tray of eggs. The other man picked up a can of beer. Ronaldo paid for his items. While waiting for the cashier to ring up his purchases, he saw an umbrella at the front desk, priced at two hundred fifty pesos. The guy behind him, who was also about to pay, noticed it too and wondered why Ronaldo hadn't bought the umbrella even though he was completely wet.
The cashier finished ringing up Ronaldo's items. "Two hundred, sir!"
Ronaldo exclaimed, "Aw, wait a minute." He pulled out his wallet and counted the coins. "Oww, holy cow… Miss, can I just take two eggs?"
The clerk, with a moody stare, said, "That will be one hundred seventy-five!"
"There, thank you, Miss," Ronaldo said, bowing slightly. He stepped out to put the items in his bag.
The other guy, now at the counter, said, "I'll buy this and these."
The clerk, shyly, said, "Five hundred ten, sir…"
The guy handed her a five hundred ten-peso bill. "Do you want a loyalty card, sir? Just give me your infor-"
"No, thank you," the guy said, cutting her off. He left immediately, catching up with Ronaldo, who was still fumbling with his things, putting them into his bag.
Then, an umbrella and the tray of eggs were presented to him. Ronaldo was shocked. "Oh, what is this?"
The guy replied, "I saw you buy this, and you ran out of money. So here, and here's an umbrella so they won't get wet when you get home."
Ronaldo protested, "Oh no, sir, you don't have to do that."
The guy replied, "Listen, a lot of people aren't able to have this and eat this. Take it as a gift. Not everyone gets to experience this free treat."
"Free treat? No, sir, I'm going to repay you. Just give me your GCash."
The guy looked at him with cold eyes, insisting he take the items. "Thank you, sir! I will pray for your health and safety," Ronaldo said, bowing thrice and smiling.
"Tsk," the guy smirked, a slight smile gracing his lips. "Don't worry, I'm not gonna chase you to pay me back. Destiny will find its way to pay me back." With that, the guy walked off, drinking what he had just bought, and their conversation stopped. They parted ways.
At Ronaldo's apartment, kitchen utensils clanged like a busy restaurant, and smoke filled the air. Ronaldo hummed while cooking his noodles and eggs. "Let's kill this love, yeyeyeyeah, tururururm, tutututm, pampapam, pampapammm… This is gonna be good! Let's eat!" He placed his palms together in a gesture of gratitude before devouring his meal as if it were a feast.
The night passed with the rain growing stronger. Ronaldo went to sleep, wondering what might happen to him the next day. Another day dawned, and the rain hadn't stopped. Ronaldo stood up and did a little stretching. "What time is it?" He checked his phone. "It's 6:06! What? It's still early, and the rain is this strong. Tsk, tsk."
He then prepared his bag and his belongings, changing into a jacket. "I should bring extra pants and shirts. The creek might overflow." He opened his closet, placed his bag on the floor, and put the pants and shirt inside. He applied perfume and took the umbrella from above the shoe rack. "I will never forget you. A lot of things happened last night without you. I met a stranger, and now, with you, I'm going to be a low-key hardworking guy."
He opened the door. The wind was strong, and he was almost swept away, but he held on tightly to the umbrella's handle. "Wow, the wind is strong! I bet people will be crowding the bus station right now." He walked for just a minute and saw a lot of people at the bus station. "I knew it. Hayst, it will be hard to get a seat on the bus. Hayst." He went to the bus stop and rode the bus, standing all the way from the bus station to their office.
Upon arriving at the office, he took off his umbrella, left it outside the window, and patted his clothes with a dry cloth. He entered the office. Everyone was busy as usual, and he saw a pile of papers on his desk. He took off his jacket and shirt. "Haaaa, what a life. I wish I could just live in another world where there is no computer," Ronaldo muttered to himself.
"Ronaldo, good morning! Can you do this… Please copy these documents into this file and create a file copy for our own department and the company, just to be sure we have backup if things go north. And then paste it here in the USB. Can you do it?"
"Yes, Ma'am, no worries! I can do this," Ronaldo enthusiastically replied.
"Okay, thank you!… Oh, be done with it until eleven for the confirmation. Thank you again!" The woman left, leaving Ronaldo speechless.
Ronaldo exclaimed, "Holy molly! This is a huge file! How am I gonna do this?" He sighed, placing his hand on his forehead. "I can do this." He looked out the window. I can do this. The rain just stopped, and there might be no cancellation of office time, and I get to go home peacefully.
The night fastly approached. The office slowly emptied, and Ronaldo was still there, clicking his computer, copying and pasting the documents.
"Phew! Finally, I'm done with it…" He looked at the clock, and it was 8:49. "Dang, I'm a pro at this! I even edited the scrambled words and letters! Okay! I'll just submit it first via Google Mail and paste it here in the USB." His mouse clicked, and the keyboard chirped. "Alright, I'm done! Let's go home."
The rain suddenly poured again. "What da- it's raining again?" He took out his umbrella and set off for home. In the alley, it was dark, but there was a shade of light from the streetlamp. He noticed someone was following him. He turned his back, and there was nothing. He continued to walk, and at the intersection, something sharp stuck on his side. He looked back to see a man with a creepy smile.
"Give me your bag, Mr."
Ronaldo, in pain, stammered, "Wha-what are you? I don't have money."
The man forced the knife deeper into Ronaldo's side. Ronaldo shouted, elbowed the man, and ran. The man chased him. "Help, help!" Ronaldo shouted, and he saw a way leading to a plaza where there were lights and a crowd.