Kabanata 22
Wala akong ginawa noong nakaraang dalawang araw kundi naglinis lang ng bahay at sinamahan si Lola sa mga gawain niya. Ngayong lunes ay maagang pinapapasok ang lahat ng assistants sa law firm dahil magkakaroon ng public mission na ginagawa nila every summer. Nag-ooffer sila ng tulong sa isang baranggay to handle cases na hindi pinapansin ng mga lawyer, there are lawyers that took the oath as public servant but guess what public lawyers are said to be the dirtiest in the field.
While sipping my morning coffee, files started to file up on my table, and I needed to organize them within the day. I started scanning through my files and I notice how our society so anti-poor, totoo nga na malaki ang dulot ng kayamanan keysa sa katotohanan. Andaming kaso ng nakalagay is attempted murder pero may nakalagay na allegedly but in the lower part may stamp na guilty.
I finish almost half of the paperworks while not minding the time or even the surroundings. Here in province walang kahit na anong traffic noises which I find very soothing dahil ang tahimik at ang linis-linis lang ng paligid. It's near three o' clock in the afternoon, kumakain ako ngayon ng rice meal while viewing the whole place as my scenery, samantalang kanina pa naglilight-up ang phone ko dahil sa notifications.
Hindi ko intensyon na iwasan ang mga kaibigan ko, sadyang marami lang talaga akong ginagawa ngayon at wala rin akong oras dahil maraming tao ang kailangan kong matulungan. This simple action maybe a small one to all of you but this really means a lot for a person fighting for its freedom.
Its past eight in the evening when I cleared my table, wala na rin pala akong kasama sa office dahil umalis na rin sila kanina pa. I fixed the files according to their details and nagphoto-copy pa ako ng mga ids and requirements to put in each folder, para kumpleto na.
Naglalakad na ako palabas ng aming building ng makita ko ang isang anino sa tabi ng exit door namin, it was River, wasting his time waiting for me. Iikot na sana ako papuntang basement exit ng mapagtanto kong gabi na at panigurado nakalock na iyon kaya wala akong choice. I stomp everytime I take a step for him to notice that I'm here, I can't stop my curiosity and pilling up anger everytime I see him, nakakahinayang ilang taon din naming pagkakaibigan 'yon na akala ko totoo, eh tangina mukang hindi pala.
"Uwi na tayo?" he asked me, tumango lamang ako at dinire-diretso ang paglalakad, "Gutom ka ba? Tara kain muna tayo?" he asked me again, it was so gentle and I can't tell if there was something wrong?
"Tara kain tayo." I smiled at him at least, he held my hand and pulled me to the ramen house near our building. Ngayon ko lang masusubukan dito, sana masarap. Before, everytime I try new things I'm always with River, and every moment is filled with hope, a memory that will make me look forward that everytime I try these things again, maiisip ko na kasama ko siya, pero bakit hindi ko maramdaman ngayon yung look forward? yung hope ko for tomorrow.
He served the food in front of me and I fixed the other side dishes he ordered, I smiled widely ready to take action, ready to eat. Tinawanan niya lang ako, alam niyang ganito ako palagi pag kumain kami, and as much as possible I want to make him feel that we're okay at least on his side, sige lang saktan at gamitin niya ako hanggang gusto niya, ano pang magagawa kung haharapin ko sila? Mas mapapabilis lang ung pagkamatay ko ganoon ba?
