Between his arms (Azares Family Series)

BHA 15 | Captured

Chapter 15
Captured
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Hinagis ko sa likod ng sasakyan ang duffel bag na bigo kong ibalik sa may-ari bago umakyat. Nakita ko ang pagkagulat ni Uncle Gil dahil doon.

"Nakaalis na siya." saad ko nang hindi naghihintay ng sagot. I don't think anyone would care that he left more than I do.

This is fine. This is the last straw that I needed so I can finally give up. Tama lang ang naging unang desisyon ko na umalis. Siguro kung naabutan ko pa s'ya rito ay mahihirapan lang ako ulit na iwanan siya.

"Did he...? He didn't pass away, did he?"

See, people made assumptions. Hindi ko kasalanan na iyon din ang una kong naisip nang makita ko na wala na siya sa kwarto.

"Bumalik na s'ya ng St. Guerrero kasama ang kuya n'ya." Sabi ko nang hindi nililingon si Uncle.

Where he belonged. In fact, they were both exactly where they belonged.

Looking at the bright side, tama lang na umuwi siya sa pamilya niya pagkatapos ng nangyari. Kailangan niyang umuwi pagkatapos ng lahat. To his family. Especially to his daughter.

He spent so many years away from them. Ang malala pa ay hindi siya nagpaalam at hindi nila alam kung buhay pa ba siya sa loob ng ilang taon na 'yon. I can only imagine the pain it cause to his parents.

Now, he can finally say his regrets and beg for forgiveness. I should be happy for him.

Pero bakit hindi ko parin maisantabi ang pagsikip ng dibdib ko kahit ano pang dahilan ang aking ipakain sa utak ko. I tried so hard, since the day that I left that hospital, to avoid this stupid feelings inside me. Wala na. Tapos na. Ano pa ba closure ang hanap nito?

I place my palm on my chest and subconsciously rub it to ease the numbing pain.

We almost died and he almost lost his chance to get home. He wanted to go home, say sorry...and bring me to meet his parents. Hindi narin masama, halos lahat naman iyon ay matutupad na. It's my fault that I expected something from everything he told me. I should have known that those words are fruit of our desperate moments.

Umabot din ng ilang oras ang byahe. After a couple of turns, we pulled up to the police headquarters, just down the road, a two-story gray-and-brown government building with flags littering in the breeze of the afternoon air.

Bumaba ako ng sasakyan at sinundan si Uncle Gil sa loob, bitbit ko parin ang dalawang duffel bag. Every minute I try ignoring the temptation to drop one of these in the nearby trash carts.

Sinundan ko si Uncle sa lobby hanggang marating namin ang administrative office. A male in uniform stood up and smiled at us. Binati siya ni Chief Auguste at nakipag-kamayan. The chief is almost bald, with a tough-guy smile, could be a poster boy for the local SWAT team, with his crushing handshake.

"Great to have you join us, Ms. Tuazon. Your uncle spent an hour begging me not to give you a job." He said giving emphasis on the 'not'.

"Thanks for that, Uncle Gil." 

"Kung hindi ko lang alam na magiging malaking kawalan ang kakayanan ng pamangkin ko ay hindi na ako nagpumilit. Because, did I already mention she's also stubborn?"