Song of the Wind

Kabanata 17

Questions

Kung iisipin mo ang mga pinoproblema mo, hindi mo maaayos ang sarili mo. I always remind myself to not worry about what is in front of me. Tulad na lang itong kaguluhan na nararamdaman ko nitong mga nakakaraang araw.

Instead, I focused myself into painting. Matagal na kasi akong hindi nakakapagpinta. Huli kong gawa ay noong nagpa-charity work pa si Cha.

Now that I want to free my mind for once, I let my hand do its wonders. With every stroke of the paint, colors submerged with each other. Lapse by lapse, from white to grey to black, I painted a very dull painting.

I used shades instead of tints, making this piece of art look... dreadful. Trees standing tall in every corner of the paint, casting their shadow on to the gloomy lake. The sky is crowded with dark clouds so the moon wasn't as visible as it used to be. I decided to add a wind effect with a trail of small white stroke and glimmering glitter. And there stood a girl beside the lake, looking at her reflection as if she has seen a ghost.

I named this piece, The Girl Who Cannot Run.

I don't have a concrete reason why I entitled it like that but I feel naming it like that.

Pagkatingin ko sa oras, malamit nang maghatinggabi. I need to sleep now. May pasok pa ako bukas.

With that in mind, I signed at the bottom part of my artwork and left it leaning on the easel. Pinagpag ko ang mga dumi na nakapatong sa aking apron bago iyon hinubad. My hand is now covered with paint so it took me exactly thirty minutes before I sleep.

It was a normal day at school. Maingay. Maraming chismis. Abala na sa mga ireregalo para sa christmas party.

"Sino nabunot mo?" Inuudyukan ako ni Kim na sabihin sa akin ang nabunot ko.

"Ayoko nga. Okay na ako sa nabunot ko e."

Sumimangot si Kim at parang nabagsakan ng langit at lupa.

Nagbunutan na kasi kami para sa exchange gift dahil malapit na ang Christmas party.

Ginawa kasi naming bunutan, pinag-isip kami ng code name tapos maglalagay din kami ng wishlist. Nag-isip ako ng code name na walang makakaalam na ako 'yon.

Suzuran.

That's my code name. Kaya kung sino man ang makabunot sa akin, maswerte kasi wala naman akong reklamo kung ano ang gusto ko. School supplies, maayos na 'yon.

Ang code name na nabunot ko ay Forgotten Memories. Sa code name pa lang na iyon at laman ng wishlist niya, alam ko agad na si Pia iyon. She's really poetic and loves to read books. Iilan lang naman sa klase namin ang mahilig magbasa pero si Pia talaga iyong tipong tao na kahit anong libro ang makita niya, babasahin talaga niya.

On her wishlist, she listed:

1. Books
2. Books
3. Books

Natawa ako sa nilista niya. Oh, definitely I'll give her the books she badly wants to get—A Little Life, Aristotle and Dante Discovers the Secrets of the Universe, and Ugly Love.

Nagkuwentuhan pa kami ni Kendra at Pia kung sino ang nabunot namin. At dahil si Pia ang nabunot ko, hindi ko puwedeng sabihin kung ano ang code name. Ayaw ko rin naman mag sinungaling. Sinabi ko na lang na babae kasi girly ang nasa wishlist niya.

Si Kendra naman ay naiinis dahil lalaki ang nabunot niya at ang laman ng wishlist ay mga kagamitan sa bike.

I laughed with the way Kendra pulled her hair in frustration. Hindi naman kasi namin alam kung ano ba itong nasa wishlist ng monito niya.