Whispers of the War

Kabanata 8

KABANATA 8.

Sanctuary.

MY NOCHE BUENA has never been this chaotic. I swear, this is my most chaotic Christmas Eve, ever.

Bandang alas-syete nang dumating ang mga friends nina Mommy. Sakto ay kakarating lang din namin ni Apollo. Pagkapasok namin sa bahay, nasaamin agad ang lahat nang atensiyon.

The super outgoing Apollo even hid behind my back. Akala niya siguro ay makakapagtago siya. Sa laki niyang ‘yon?!

Okay, that was the start of my chaotic Christmas Eve. Dahil puro Fil-Canadian or pure Filipino ang mga bisita, Filipino din ang main language sa bahay.

And swear, Filipino teasing is on another level. The teasing started when Mom introduced us to the visitors. Syempre close si Apollo sa parents ko. And one of the visitors just said, “Ito na ba ang mapapangasawa ng unica hija mo, mare? Aba'y kay gandang lalaki!”

And I'm not even exaggerating when I saw Apollo's ears turned red. Sanay siya sa complements pero iba talaga ata kung nasa 40's na ang nagbibigay sa'yo ng complement.

Dahil sa sinabi noong isang bisita ay sunod-sunod na ang mga pang-aasar saamin. Kesyo, bagay na bagay daw kami. Na maganda raw ang mabibigay anak at apo namin.

Like?! Mga Pilipino talaga, ang advance mag-isip! At isa pa, malisyoso't malisyosa!

We explained the we're just friends pero ipinilit talaga ng Titas and Titos of the Philippines na mag-jowa keneme kami. Nakakaloka.

Siguro ay kada may gagawin kami ni Apollo nang magkasama ay bibigyan nila ng “hidden meaning" na non-existent naman talaga.

Kaya ngayon, pagkatapos naming mag-dinner ay inaya ko agad si Apollo sa taas. Pinayagan naman kami ni dad kaya walang problema. Wala pa si Kuya, eh.

Dinala ko si Apollo sa guest room sa taas. Malapit iyon sa kuwarto ko. Dumiretso rin ako sa guest room pagkatapos kong magbihis.

I found Apollo sitting on his bed, kakaligo lang din siguro dahil basa ang buhok. Tinabihan ko siya.

“Wala pa si Kuya Ali?” he asked. Umiling ako pero hindi nagsalita. I heard Apollo's soft chuckle.

“Na-stress ka kanina, ‘no?” pang-aasar niya. I rolled my eyes at him na lalo niyang ikinatawa.

“Pwede ba, tigil-tigilan mo ‘ko. May pag-uusapan pa tayo,” After hearing what I said, agad na sumeryoso si Apollo.

Ilang minuto kaming tahimik. The atmosphere is not heavy, the silence isn't awkward as well. We just… have to talk. Kahit na alam ko naman na ang rason.

“The usual happened… again. I thought I can take their words. Pero hindi ko parin kaya. The fact that the harsh words came directly from my family made it even worse,” he laughed bitterly.

“Paulit-ulit naman ang mga sinasabi nila. I know I'm the blacksheep. I know I lacked something but… is that enough for them to throw harsh words at me? And… my mom didn't even do anything to stop her family from throwing harsh words to me made me feel like… I'm not worth it,” he paused again. This time, to wipe the tear that escaped his eyes.

My heart aches at the sight of his tears. Apollo… he's one of the strongest person that I know. But when it comes to his family, he's becoming like this. A whole different person.

“Now I know why dad isn't coming with us whenever there's an occasion on my mother's side. That family really sucks. Sucks to be there,” he wiped his whole face. After that, he chuckled again.