"We must understand that sadness is an ocean, and sometimes we drown, while other days we are forced to swim."
- R.M. Drake
That's what welcomed me as a first post on Rainbow's timeline. What an odd choice of username, by the way. The quote was a caption to the photo of a wave crashing onto the shore.
I continued stalking her Facebook page in hopes of knowing more 'cause she certainly got my attention. But there's nothing to find about her true identity, except for one.
She's from Arco City. Baka nga nag-aaral pa siya dito, eh. Hindi ako maaaring magkamali. May kinunan siyang litrato kung saan kita ang city proper. Aside from that, I haven't find anything else. It's just simply a page ng isang taong mahilig sa pagbabasa at sa photograpy kung pagbabasehan ang laman ng timeline niya.
Who are you, Rainbow?
As soon as I woke up, I immediately looked for my phone. I waited for Rainbow's reply last night, but it didn't come. To my surprise, she haven't responded even this morning.
Instead of overthinking, I prepared myself for school. I took a bath and then wear something comfortable. A black T-shirt, faded jeans and white sneakers. Walang prescribed uniform ang Arco University except some courses like Nursing, Education and others. In special circumstances, we were told to be in an executive or office attire. But mostly, it's casual wear. Pero sa mga susuotin, dapat kailangang sundin ang proper attire regulations ng university.
Speaking of clothes, in my drawer and closet, everything's grouped according to colors. They were labeled so that it won't be difficult for me. Plus, to prevent odd and mismatched colors.
I went downstairs. Naabutan ko si Nay Carmen sa may dining area. Naghahain siya ng pagkain. Base sa amoy, fried chicken ang ulam na niluto niya. Whoa, heavy breakfast.
"Good morning, anak. Aga mong nagising, ah. Heto ang almusal. Kumain ka na," bungad niya sa'kin. I returned her greeting with a smile. Gusto ko sanang saluhan niya ako sa pagkain. But she always refused, telling me that she was done eating already.
Hindi naman iba si Nay Carmen sa amin. Anak ang tawag niya dahil gano'n ang turing niya sa akin... sa aming magkakapatid. Parang pangalawang ina na rin namin siya. She's in her 60s pero nandito pa rin siya't nagtatrabaho. Matagal na siyang nagsisilbi sa pamilya namin kaya napamahal na rin kami sa kanya.
"Salamat po, Nay Carmen. Mapapadami naman ang kain ko nito dahil sobrang sarap ng mga luto niyo," I said and genuinely smiled.
I spoke it with all honesty. Alam kong masarap ang luto ni Nay Carmen. Ang problema'y kapag tinitingnan ko. It looked disgusting in my eyes, but it tasted good. Imagine how awful it was to eat when you see the food in shades of gray? Sa katagalan ay sinasanay ko na ang sarili ko. I didn't mind the appearance, what mattered was the taste.
"Hay naku. Ikaw talagang bata ka. Nambola ka pa," she said, ending my train of thoughts about leaden food.
"Hindi 'yon bola, Nay. Totoo kaya 'yon." I started to eat, ninamnam kung gaano kasarap ang pagkain. I gave a thumbs-up to Nay Carmen.
She looked at me like she wanted to say something. I had an idea on what it was about. She just didn't want to speak.
"'Nay Carmen. May gusto ka pa bang sabihin?" tanong ko sa kanya after drinking water.
YOU ARE READING
When Everything Turns to Gray
Roman pour AdolescentsERITQUE ARCUS SERIES #1 Ash Grayson Samonte suffers from a disorder called cerebral achromatopsia. He became totally color-blind due to a traumatic brain injury. When colors were drained from his sight, he believes it took everything away. How can h...
