Between his arms (Azares Family Series)

BHA 7 | Sky after the storm

Chapter 8
Sky after the storm
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A country song played through my mind, something that stirred from the depth of my memory.

I let myself to sink in the past, to remember the smell of my mother's cookies seasoning the air, to hear Nicholas and Dereck raking the leaves on the yard and arguing about something. Rinig ko ang pagtunog ng mga dahon sa bawat paghakbang ko, pagkatapos ay makikita ko nalang ang sarili na nakahiga na sa tumpok ng mga dahon na inipon ng mga kapatid.

"Are you singing?"

Lana's voice waked me up to reality, realizing that we are still in the middle of the sea. Me and her, alone. Lumuhod s'ya sa tapat ng pintuan ng balsa at binuksan ito ng sapat na para mailabas ng pump hose ang tubig na naipon sa loob. Aabutin siguro ng dalawang oras bago ito tuluyang maubos. While I lay in the back of the raft, letting her to be the hero.

She'd become even more breathtaking as dawn approaches. Her dark hair had dried now and lay in long, midnight curls.

"Don't stop. It's nice." She smiled, closing the entrance and came over to kneel next to me.

"I can't remember all the words. It's an old song tucked away in my memory."

The waves still rocked us back and forth. Now it's calmer and safe. I'm no longer feared that we might flipped over.

The calming of the water tempered the ambiance, the agony. At habang dumadating ang umaga, umaasa kami na darating din ang rescue na inaasahan namin.

I reached for Lana's hair, hinayaan ko itong bumagsak sa pagitan ng mga daliri ko. I don't care if the gesture seemed intimate. I'd been wanting to touch her hair, twirl a long lock on my finger. Mamamatay nalang rin ako, bakit hindi ko pa lubusin?

Hindi ko na maramdaman ang kalahating parte ng katawan ko. The fatigue is pressing me into the numbing water, the way I wanted to return to the memory of the Lakeside Resort.

"My dad likes country music." hindi ko na napigilang magsalita. "Mom hates country, so she makes him listen to it in our garage. Or used to. Maybe not anymore. I dunno."

Marami na akong hindi alam tungkol sa kanila. Kasalanan ko rin naman, alam ko 'yon at hindi ko rin itatanggi.

"Where does your family live?"

"On our resort in the Northern part called Lakeside Resort. Outfitters and Cabin rentals. It's a beautiful place with twelve cabins, all built along the lakeside. It's been in the family for four generations. Except it burned down two years ago."

"Sorry." Napaiwas s'ya ng tingin dahil sa sinabi ko.

"My brother, Dereck is rebuilding. He's got a little boy, his son, named Tiger and got remarried last summer. His first wife died when Tiger was a toddler."

"That's terrible."

"Masaya na rin naman s'ya ngayon. I think. I dunno."

"That's a lot of Dunnos." She giggled, but still attentive and looking straight at me to listen.

"My mom makes the most incredible chocolate chip cookies. She puts peanut butter chips in them, and I swear, right now I can taste them."

Lana smiled, again. "You're just hungry."

Funny, I'd never been this conversational in my life.

I sighed, and now I started to feel pressure in my stomach, building. A hot pressure against my ribs, my lungs and my heart.

"It sound fantastic." she praised.

"My sister, Blue is an amazing cook. Mayroon s'yang sariling recipe ng egg pie. I don't know kung anong nilalagay n'ya pero if ever man na matitikman mo, it could make you cry."