Smile
I blinked for a few times before looking at Selene again. Tulala siya habang nakatingin sa akin. Tumatagos ang tingin niya at tila may malalim na iniisip.
Ayesha... Selene's younger sister. She died because of sickness five years ago. She's also a good friend of mine, siya kasi ang lagi kong nakakalaro dati kapag pumupunta kala Selene kapag hindi ko maistorbo si Selene sa pag-aaral.
Ayesha was a cheerful kid, we were very close. Mas makulit siya kay Selene at mas palangiti, it was sad that He took her away that soon.
I've witnessed how broke Selene that time. Nandito sila sa Pilipinas nang nangyari ang pagkamatay ni Ayesha pero dahil sa dami ng nangyayari ay umalis na sila agad patungong US kaya hindi ko siya nadaluhan agad.
Our family attended for Ayesha's burial so we went to New York dahil doon gaganapin ang libing niya.
"Blair?" Naputol ang pag-iisip ko nang tawagin ako ni Tita Serena.
I looked back at Selene's mother. Naghihintay siya ng isasagot ko. Agad naman akong marahang tumango at tipid ding ngumiti pabalik.
"Sure po." Why not? Matagal na rin akong hindi nakabisita sa puntod ni Ayesha. I think it'll be also a nice opportunity to go now that I'm courting Selene. Even if Ayesha is already gone, I would still like to tell it to her personally — or at least to her tomb.
Isa rin kasi siya sa mga bilang na mga taong nakakaalam na mahal ko si Selene. She would always support me and say to go for it and confess to her Ate Selene but I'm still too afraid before and isa pa, we were still kids.
"Great!" Tila natuwa si Tita Serena at malawak na ngumiti sa akin.
Tumango ako at ngumiti rin pabalik. Tiningnan ko muli si Selene at nginitian din siya. She looked sad and bothered now so my smile slightly faded.
Maybe this topic still makes her sad. I wouldn't blame her though, it's her sister after all. Her only sibling. And Selene loves her sister so much.
Binitawan ko ang kamay niya kaya napakurap siya at tila bumalik sa kasalukuyan. She bit her lower lip and gazed at me.
I gave her a reassuring smile and took a step closer to place my hand on the side of her waist. Napakurap-kurap naman siya dahil doon at tila kumalma na.
I smiled when she finally showed me a smile. It's a tight one but that would do. Muli akong tumingin kay Tita Serena na naabutan kong nakatitig sa amin ni Selene pero agad ding ngumiti ulit nang makita akong lumingon.
"I need to go na, Tita, madaling araw na rin po kasi." Magalang kong sabi.
Tita Serena nodded at me. "Sure, Blair. And also, I'll book the plane tickets for all of us later in the morning."
Ngumuso naman ako. "No need to pay for mine, Tita. I could pay po--"
She shrugged and gave me a smile like it was just okay. "Okay lang, ano ka ba naman. You were like a family to us already, Blair. And ako naman ang nag-invite so I should be the one who'll pay it."
Napakagat ako ng labi nang sinabi niyang parang pamilya na rin ako nila. So does this really mean na okay na talaga siya sa akin? Yes!
Gusto ko pa rin sanang umalma dahil gusto kong ako talaga ang magbayad pero alam kong hindi papayag si Tita Serena kaya tumango na lang ako.
"And it's also a way of thank you for taking care of my Selene." Tita Serena said.
Napangiti naman ako agad at sumulyap kay Selene na nasa akin pa rin ang titig. I caressed her waist gently.
