Officially Meeting You

Chapter 25: With My Sister

The voice of Ate Ria woke me up the next morning. Hindi naman ako nagmulat kaagad ng mga mata at baka nananaginip lang ako.

"Cleo, gising na."

I turned my back while still lying on my bed. I hugged a pillow and decided to continue sleeping.

"Cleo!"

"Just five...more minutes..."

Nakarinig ako ng buntong-hininga. Then the next thing I know, may humihila na ng paa ko paalis sa kama.

Kaagad akong napamulat at nakita si Ate Ria na nasa dulo ng kama. She's pulling me out of the bed while holding my feet.

"Ayaw mong bumangon ah!"

"Babangon na!"

Kaagad din naman siyang tumigil at ngumisi pa. Napabuntong hininga na lang ako at ilang segundo pa, bumangon na mula sa pagkakahiga.

I just sat on my bed and looked at her with a frown. Naalala ko kasing linggo ngayon at wala siyang trabaho. Pero wala din naman kaming gagawin kaya nagtataka ako kung bakit niya ako sa ginising.

"Magsasamba tayo ngayon," she said and looked at the clock. "Bilisan mo at mag-ayos ka na."

I frowned at first but also nodded. Right. We need to go to church today.

Hindi ako tumayo kaagad at hinintay si Ate Ria na lumabas ng kwarto ko. I didn't even greet her good morning like what I usually do.

Mukhang napansin naman niya iyon kaya muli siyang bumuntong hininga. She then sat in front of me and I just looked at her.

"I know that it's hard, Cleo," she softly said. "Pero kung mananatili ka na lang na ganito, you wouldn't make it to the future."

I stared at her and didn't speak immediately. Ilang segundo pa siguro ang lumipas bago ako nagsalita.

"I..." I sighed. "I just don't know what to do. Matagal tayong naghintay pero lahat ng iyon, napunta sa wala."

She held my face. "Alam ko. Pero ano bang magagawa natin? It's crazy but it was destined to happen. Kailangan natin iyong tanggapin. We shouldn't let ourselves get chained from that tragedy, right? It's done. Let's just accept it and keep going because that's the only thing we can do for now."

I fell silent.

Hearing those words from her made me admire my sister more. Ever since we were kids, she's always like that. She'll cry over things for a short time and forget it like nothing happened.

She's so strong and I wish I can be just like her. So brave. So tough.

I nodded and smiled. "I know."

Ngumiti din si Ate Ria at hinalikan ang noo ko bago tuluyang lumabas ng kwarto ko. After she left, I took a deep breath.

Maybe I can start getting back on track now.

Tumayo na ako at naligo na. Nagpalit lang ako ng pambahay muna atsaka kami kumain ng breakfast ni Ate. Nagsipilyo lang ako at mabilis na bumalik sa kwarto.

Nagpalit na ako ng damit at medyo natagalan pa ako sa pagpili ng dress. I rarely wear dresses and skirts. Nagsusuot lamang ako ng mga gano'ng damit tuwing magsasamba kami at kapag may pasok since palda ang isa sa uniforms ko sa Rutherford.

At the end, I chose a plain pale blue dress. Hanggang tuhod ang haba nito at short sleeves. May pagka-fitted nang kaunti pero hindi as in fit sa katawan ko.

Kumuha ako ng sling bag na kulay blue din at nilagay ang mga gamit ko doon. I applied light make-up and chose not to ponytail my hair. Then I went out of my room.