reika anxiously hold the ice cream while standing infront of addie's house. she subconciously knocked on her door. sandali niyang plinanong lumakad palayo pero nakarinig na siya ng footsteps palapit sa pinto.
jinri greeted her with a smile. "good evening, rei—"
"ice cream!" sulpot ni feia sa harapan at bigla na lang kinuha ang hawak ni reika.
tumakbo kaagad ito papunta sa kusina, leaving jinri and reika. the two giggled at the younger's action. "come in, nasa bathroom si addie."
napatango na lamang si reika. hindi niya alam kung anong sasabihin niya kaya tahimik na lamang itong sumunod.
"ice cream, ice cream, ice cream," paulit-ulit na sabi ni feia habang nags-scoop.
"omg! did you say ice ... cream?" addie said, walking down.
nagtama ang tingin ni reika at addie kaya sandali natahimik si addie. reika smiled awkwardly.
"thank you for the ice cream!" addie waved her hand at reika before running towards feia.
naramdaman ni reika ang kamay ni jinti sa balikat niya. "told you,"
. . . . .
pareho silang nakalingon sa bandang kusina dahil sa ingay ni feia. tuwang-tuwa ito sa ice cream kaya kung ano-ano ang pinagsasabi kay jinri.
"she's such a kid," reika commented.
"she really is!" addie joyfully agreed. "i'm younger than her but she looks babier than me."
pareho silang natawa sa sinabi ni addie.
as silence enveloped the two, reila suddenly sighed.
"addie... i'm sorry about last time. i-i wasn't thinking properly. nasa isip ko lang no'n, seeing jaemin and nallie okay would make haechan happy. i thought it'd be enough to make up for my mistakes to him. but it was really... wrong. i'm sorry, addie." she poured her heart out.
addie smiled genuinely. "it's okay, ate rei. it's subtly my fault din naman,"
"no, addie, it's not—"
"that thing, i feared that thing. i got bullied because of that. i feared people, especially men. um-ayaw ako sa mga tao, natakot ako sa kanila. it affects me, ate nallie, and other people, kahit hindi na dapat. i mean— yes it happened, and it's not my fault, pero i should take responsibility. hindi ko kasalanan na nangyari sa 'kin 'yon, but i've wasted a long time already, i'm dragging other people, and i think it should stop. i should take responsibility."
reika remain silent. "i dragged ate nallie into my darkness and made her act as if she's the light bringer even if she's just another me in another darkness."
addie smiled, "don't worry. i'll try my best to step out of this." reika smiled at her. "i honestly felt so happy when you and kuya kio became my friend. tapos nadagdag pa si kuya yangyang. and then ate jinri and feia." she looked up at the stars, "ate nallie went through a lot with me. i'm not that relevant pero when it comes to me, things get messed up."
"nallie cares for you, don't say that."
"she does, nasosobrahan nga lang minsan. buti nga may kuya yangyang kasi kung hindi malamang 'di pa rin niya maiisipang alagaan sarili niya." addie frowned. "ate nallie is really lucky to have kuya yangyang."
"yangyang is a good friend,"
"he is! minsan naiisipan kong may gusto siya kay ate nallie dahil masyado siyang caring pero..." addie paused, "na-realize ko na gusto niya lang makita si ate nallie maging okay. he just wanted to help ate nallie but they grew closer because of that."
natawa si reika kaya napalingon sa kan'ya si addie. "you don't really talk to much, ang cute mo tignan."
addie jokingly frowned. natawa silang pareho pagtapos.
another silence enveloped them until addie speak. "ate rei," she called. reika raised her brow, "if i'm okay, if 'di na ako takot, if i'm already healed, would you treat us all again?"
reika smiled. "i sure will."
