Charlie
I parked my car in front of the facility. Normally, hindi pinapayagan ang mga bisita ng pasyente na magpark dito. Pero dahil sa VIP kame ng pamilya ko at dahil narin medyo kavibes ko na si manong guard ay walang halong kaba na doon ako nagpark. Alam ko naman na hindi ako masisita.
"Hi, manong." nakangiting bati ko sa security guard.
"Hi Ma'am Ganda." nakangiti ding bati niya.
Dali dali na 'kong umakyat para dalawin si Ate. Sinalubong ako ng isang nurse at sinamahan sa kwarto ni Cassandra. She was sitting on her bed when I came. Agad niya 'kong nakita at nginitian.
Sinenyasan ko ang nurse na iwan na kami na siya naman nitong ginawa. I was smiling while I walked towards her. "How are you, ate?"
"Never been better." she smiled widely at me. "Ikaw? Kagagaling nga lang pala ni Daddy dito."
"I know, nagkita kami kanina sa office." naupo ako sa tabi niya at niyakap siya. "Ate.."
Cassandra half laughed, she was surprised by my action. She patted her hand on my arm, awkwardly. "Hey, what's wrong? Kung umarte ka parang ikaw yung may sakit instead of me."
"I missed you, ate."
"What do you miss? Our sparring?" she joked.
Natawa ako sa sinabi niya at humiwalay na sa pagkakayakap. Nakita ko ang pagaalala sa mukha niya nang titigan ko ito. My forehead creased at the way she's staring at me, her eyes are searching. "What?"
"Your laughter sounded off, what's wrong?"
It was now my turn to laugh at her. "Nothing, I told you, I just missed you." I said defensively.
She narrowed her eyes at me. "You can't fool me, Charlize Rose. I may be a bit deranged but I'm taking my therapy seriously, hindi mo ko malilinlang. Cmon," umusog siya palapit sa'kin. "Tell me what's wrong, little sis."
Pinagisipan kong mabuti kung dapat ko bang sabihin kay ate ang problema ko. I mean, siya na nga 'tong may sakit, siya pa ba aabalahin ko sa mga sentimiento ko? I'm not that selfish. "Wag na, I know you have a lot in your mind already."
"Are you kidding? C'mon, spill it out!"
"I don't wanna bother you with these things-"
She grabbed my hand and squeezed it. "It's okay, sis. I insist! Sa ganitong paraan man lang makabawi ako sa lahat ng nagawa ko sayo." she looked at me encouragingly, with a gentle smile plastered on her slightly pale lips.
"Si Ram ba ang dahilan kung bakit ka nagkasakit?" I blurted out, then I looked down at my hand seated on my lap.
"Where the hell did that come from?" bulalas ni Cassandra. "Charlie, No! Of course not! Hindi si Ram, I'm already having symptoms even before I met him."
I stared at her as if trying to find out if what she was saying was the truth. My older sister gave me a faint smile. "Sis, don't be mad at Ram. He had nothing to do with what happened to me." she said. "And speaking of him," she held both my hands and looked at me pleadingly. "I'm sorry for whatever I did to cause your relationship a discord. Naiintindihan mo naman siguro na I'm out of my senses at that time diba?" she paused and I nodded. "I hope you can fix things with him. He loves you so much, Charlie. Hindi mo lang alam kung gaano siya ka-messed up sa Ohio, he thinks of nothing but you. At sobrang lungkot niya. It never occurred to me na maaaring makaramdam ng ganun katinding emotion si Ram towards anyone."
She chuckled. "He was every woman's man. I remember how he dated almost every hot girl in the campus. How he charmed his way through any girl's pants. How he made alot of women cry, but then, looking at him when I got to Ohio. He was.. Lifeless. Wala siyang buhay nang mawala ka sa kanya, when he decided to leave you because he thought you were inlove with your bestfriend, Jareth."
