A Diamond Between Us

CHAPTER 4

"Ayaw mong tumigili, ha."

He is the type of a guy na madali mong kainisan talaga kahit wala naman siyang ginagawa, ganoon ang dating niya sa akin.

To: Josh Mark A. Cross

alam mo may sasabihin ako sayo.

Na-seen naman niya agad. Para siyang nakatambay sa chatroom namin—makulit talaga.

From: Josh Mark A. Cross

Uy, ano yun?

I smirked when I read his reply. He is kind of playful, uh! I like it.

To: Josh Mark A. Cross

i love u

I laughed when I sent that to him. It's just that I can't believe I said that to the person who is of the same sex as me, well except to Blare. Of course, he's my best friend.

Pangaasar lang naman!

But don't get me wrong; I don't have any problem with the community—I support them. I also believe that you don't have to be part of the community to stand with them. Everyone deserves support and, more importantly, respect, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression.

That's why I don't understand why some people are so harsh toward others just because of their sexuality. Like, don't they have one of their own?

Is being straight the only sexuality that exists? LMAO.

I really don't get the logic of attacking someone just because they're expressing their identity.

I can't stand people who judge others based on their sexuality and then use religion to justify it. That's just so hypocritical. Funny, in a really ironic way.

Si Blare. He is bisexual, a part of the community. He came out to us when we were in high school.

Nagkaroon siya ng boyfriend, but they're not into each other anymore. Tanggap siya ng parents niya, and of course, lalo na kami ni Andrea.

Kung saan kami masaya, sinusuportahan namin ang isa't isa. Well, that's what friends do. A basic definition of friendship is supporting, accepting, and loving each other.

After I sent that to Mark, I turned off my cellphone and put it on charge so I can use it before going to sleep later. Sure din naman ako na hindi na siya magre-reply. I know he felt that he annoyed me.

Bumaba na ako at pinuntahan ulit si Yaya Pearl sa sala, but she was already gone. I saw her cooking, so hindi ko na siya ginambala. Si Dad naman, nakita ko sa garden, nagtatrabaho ro'n. Pumunta ako kay Dad since naalala ko na may hihingin nga pala ako.

"Daddy, how are you?"

Bati ko kay Dad at umupo sa tabi niya.

"Doing well, as usual." Nginitian ako ni Dad bago siya bumalik ulit ang tingin sa ginagawa niya. "Maraming ginagawa sa office son, eh."

"I'm glad you're doing fine, dad. Make sure lang po na hindi niyo pinapabayaan ang health niyo, kayo po ni Mommy. Magagalit ang ate at kuya kapag malalaman nila na nagpapabaya kayo sa health niyo."

Tinanguan ako ni Dad at hininto ang ginagawa niya sa laptop, "Don't worry, son. We take our medicine regularly and make sure we don't overwork ourselves. Your mom and I are being extra careful at work. We're very thankful that we have people around us in the company whom we can trust—that's why you don't need to worry about us being overworked. We're happy, son, and I hope you are too."