Aurora Borealis

Chapter 5 - Childish Pinky Promises

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"That's boring." pabagsak akong naupo sa upuan nang matapos na kami nina Wendy sa kalokohang ginawa namin kanina.

"Do you think Lauren's okay?" tanong ni East at isinarado ang pinto ng kwarto.

"Malalaman natin in the upcoming days, whether all hell will break loose or it will end up being a false alarm." tugon ko at inilapag ang bouquet na binili ko. Akmang tatanggalin ko na ang mga bulaklak na nasa vase nang may mapansin ako.

"She's acting odd earlier."

"Maybe she's starting to be like the oddball." biro ko pa ngunit isang iling na lang ang isinagot niya sa 'kin.

They're not even nice to pretend that they like my punchlines. I thought I'll die earlier because a handkerchief was shoved into my mouth.

My eyes roamed around the room. Seeing this room over and over again in the past few years makes me feel sick. I'm tired of being on the knees of false hopes. No matter how wide I open these windows, the fresh air wasn't even sufficient for me to relax.

The environment here must also be suffocating for her, even though her conscious presense isn't present.

Nadapo ang tingin ko sa babaeng nakaratay sa puting kutson. She almost resemble Rapunzel for the reason of having a notable long hair, just that hers is assorted with black and silver strands. The once plump, rosy cheeks that she has have been reduced to almost nothing but skin and bones.

"It's us, again." I forced a smile. "Nauumay ka na siguro dahil puro kami na lang ang dumadalaw sa 'yo rito."

Although it's a different case for today, judging from the new flowers that seems to be placed earlier by someone. I can recall that those weren't similar to the flowers that we brought last week.

"I miss Mom's voice." East whimpered as she rested her head beside Mom's bed while brushing Mom's palms on it.

"Who doesn't? She's the only one who can make sermons sound like a gentle story-telling session." sagot ko at tumungo sa may bintana.

"West, promise me that no one will know."

"But—"

"No one will know, West."

Hesitant, I gave away a nod even though I was stricken from thinking clearly.

"That's good. From then on, continue living a normal life."

"What about East?"

"Tell her...I'm just going to sleep for a while. Mom is sick."

Without a second thought, I slapped myself as hard as I can to shake it off.

"West?"

Noon ko lamang napagtanto na kanina pa 'ko kinakausap ni East. I haven't noticed immediately since I got a one-way ticket down the memory lane.

"Bakit?"

"You're lost in your train of thoughts again? Don't tell me you're constructing some foolish punchlines in your head." saad ni East.

"Ah, no. A mosquito bit me."

She shrugged. "Do you think she'll open her eyes again?"

"I don't know. I'm also dying to know the answer." sagot ko. "Maybe Mom doesn't want to work so she remained asleep for a span of a decade. That's an incredible way of slacking off."

"That's not funny. If I were Mom, I'll rise from the bed just to give you a slap." aniya.

Maya-maya pa'y dumating na ang nurse na naka-assign sa pagmonitor ng kondisyon niya.