Kabanata 6
Laughing Stock
Again, I woke up from a very deep sleep. Cold sweat trickled my forehead. Sa pagmulat ko ay ibang kuwarto na ang paligid. It's my room.
So what was that? A dream in a dream?
Sinabunutan ko ang aking sarili. Of all dreams, why that? Kasama si Rience at dinalhan ako ng pagkain? At may mga sinabi pang...
Oh my God. I must be crazy. In hopes to disregard the memory, I shook my head. Pagod lang ako. Hindi naman iyon totoo. If it was real, then I'd be embarrassed. Wala namang sense kung iisipin ko pa iyon.
Nang umalsa ako, nakita kong suot ko pa rin ang itim na bestida. It's also dark outside the window. I have no idea how I got here and how I slept. Ginusto kong manatili sa chapel para sana makapagluksa nang maayos, pero inuwi pala ako.
My stomach grumbled. I remembered the dream again. Pumikit ako nang mariin at tuluyan nang umayos. Gutom lang iyon. I didn't eat the whole day. Baka kaya nag-hallucinate na ako sa panaginip ko ay dahil wala pa akong nakakain na kahit ano.
Hinagilap ko ang pambahay na tsinelas. Sinuot ko iyon at nagpasyang magpalit na ng pantulog. I want to shower, too, but it's late. And very cold. I'm sure the temperature's not this low because of the air-conditioning alone.
I wore a pair of white silk jammies. Pinili ko ang may sleeve dahil sobrang lamig talaga. Accidentally, I saw a picture of my father and I during my elementary graduation. My parents never failed to attend any of my events. Father thinks that whatever I do is important to me and he works hard balancing his schedule just to have an appearance in each of my milestones.
Sinong hindi gaganahang mag-aral? I smiled sadly and picked up the frame. Saglit ko iyong niyakap. Nagmuni-muni ako. Nang muling maramdaman ang gutom, I decided to make my way downstairs.
Rience has a point in my dream. Daddy will move mountains just to make me eat if he's still here. Alam kong mahihirapan ako sa ganitong sitwasyon pero sa nakalipas na taon, natutuhan ko na ring tumanggap ng ilang bagay. Acceptance frees people. It removes the thorns in me. Mas dadali ang buhay kung tatanggapin ko, at hindi rin naman ako nagmamadali.
Halos matumba ako sa grand staircase dahil sa lamig. I'm not used to cold ever since. Even the house is centralized. May ganoon naman siguro. At sana, hindi ako sipunin dahil kung dadapuan man ako ng sakit, tiyak na malala iyon at maghihirap ako.
The living room is dark. Nangapa pa ako sa switch ng ilaw. It's somewhere on the walls of the hallway adjacent to the stairs. Nang matagpuan ay pinindot ko ang lahat ng switch. The lights opened and I had to close my eyes because of its brightness.
"So much for your first meal, Crescent," bulong ko sa sarili habang kinukusot ang aking mata.
Pagkamulat ko, may nakita akong nakaupo sa sala. At first I thought of ghost stuff again. Mabilis ko iyong inalis sa isipan. Ano ba? Hindi nga iyon totoo!
Unsure, I slowly took steps forward. Tiny, quiet steps. Nakatalikod sa akin ang lalaking iyon kaya hindi ko makita. He's peaceful and immobile on his seat, but I can't be sure. Sino-sino na nga ba ang napapatuloy namin dito? Nag-aalala na ako sa security.
He shifted on his position. My mouth parted when I saw Rience. At iyon na naman ang panaginip. Nairita na ako sa sarili kaya umismid ako. Napapadyak pa nang bahgya. But then because of that irrational move, I forgot about the tall lampshade beside me. Natabig ko iyon.
"Oh my!" I reacted in panic.
Naalimpungatan si Rience! Alertly, he stood up. His sleepy eyes were troubled. Lumapit siya nang walang pag-aalinlangan. Maingat niya akong hinawakan. Itinulak sa isang tabi para tingnan ang nangyari.
