Hurricane (Disaster Series #1)

Kabanata 32

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The cold westerly wind ruffled my hair and danced along the hem of my dress. Pilit kong sinisikop ang buhok habang kumakaway sa papalapit na si Peter.

He swam near the board walk where I was standing, nakangiti habang inaangat ang scarf ko na tinangay ng hangin papuntang dagat.

He was smiling while shivering because of the coldness of the sea water. Basta na lang kasi siyang tumalon sa tubig kahit na naka-maong at leather jacket pa na suot niya galing sa flight.

I don't even know why he'd do that for a scarf. Trip niya rin 'ata. He always does unpredictable things.

Nandito kasi siya para sa isang vacation slash mission this week. Simula kasi no'ng umalis ako ng Pilipinas ay palaging kinukumusta ni Asmodeus ang kalagayan ko. And Peter, being his cousin, is always the one to have to check on me.

I don't know why Asmodeus always have to do Tita Helen's favors. Gusto kasi ni Tita na palaging may kumukusta sa akin ng personal dito kahit isang beses man lang sa dalawa o isang buwan. And Asmodeus volunteered to do it. At kung minsan, kapag busy siya, ang pinsan niyang si Peter ang pinapapunta niya rito.

Bumibisita rin naman minsan sa akin sina Tita at Tito, pati na sina Kuya Eisen at Kuya Ezra. Kaya nga lang, sobrang busy na nila sa mga nagdaang buwan dahil mas lumalago na ang pharmaceutical company ni Tito Gilbert.

I assured them that they don't have to visit me often though. We can do face time, video calls, chat, text messages, or anything just so we can communicate and keep in touch.

Time passed by in a blur, huh. Because it has been four years since I left...

I can still remember the moment I arrived in Canada back then. The moment I got off the plane, ang ngiting-ngiti na si Rafaela ang sumalubong ng yakap sa akin.

I felt so bad about it. Masayang-masaya ang kapatid ko habang malungkot akong dumating. So I did my best to beam and smile at her.

We then lived together in Mom's condo. Kasama rin namin si Lola at iilang relatives na bumibisita sa amin kung minsan.

When I left, I thought life will always be monochromatic from then on. But then, it wasn't just blue and grey. Somehow, there were beautiful shades too. I realized how much I missed my mother. Kaya, sa panahon na binigay ulit sa amin, bumuo ulit kami ng panibago at masasayang alaala kasama ang kapatid ko.

But still, life wasn't that easy. The first few months has been honestly so difficult for me. I was still adjusting and nightmares about what happened kept on haunting me at night.

Mas lumala pa 'yon nang kinailangan kong ipagpatuloy ang pag-aaral. I pursued mechanical engineering at the University of Toronto, which is far from where Mom's condo is. It will take me four hours and nineteen to twenty-three minutes to drive from Ottawa to Toronto. So I have to be independent and live in an apartment near my school.

While my life went on, nakikibalita pa rin naman ako sa sitwasyon na iniwan ko. Tita Ada recovered after a year at nagpatuloy ang buhay nilang lahat sa normal.

And Dad, we're okay now. It's just that we don't communicate like before. Kung noon, hindi masyadong malapit ang loob namin sa isa't-isa, mas lumayo pa talaga at humina ang koneksyon namin pagkatapos ng nangyari.

Despite how mad Tita Helen was, binigay niya pa rin ang bagong number ko kay Dad. But he didn't contact me, kung nakapag-usap man kami, isang beses lang at noon 'yon no'ng nalaman niyang nasa Canada na ako.

And I wanted to reach out... para kasing sobrang layo na namin pero may malaking parte sa akin ang nagsasabing hayaan ko na lang. That maybe, his life will be better without me. And so I let it be.