Under His Hoodie

Special Chapter

Special Chapter

"Love?" Nazareth called me.

Napatigil ako sa pagsasalin ng gatas. It was already midnight. I woke up in the middle of the night; I couldn't go back to sleep, so I had thought of drinking milk. Ngunit sa kalagitnaan nito ay bumaba si Nazareth. Pumupungas pa ito na halatang nagising. Magulo ang buhok at bahagyang nakanguso. I tried my best not to stare too much. Lalo ko siyang . . . minamahal.

"You're awake?" I asked.

Pinilit niyang idilat ang mata niya pero halatang inaantok pa. Kaya nakapikit tuloy siyang lumapit sa akin. His arms immediately wrapped around my waist. I could feel his warmth breath behind my neck as he shoved his face on my skin.

"Nagising ako na wala ka sa tabi ko . . ." he whispered. "I was scared."

I bit my lower lip because I could feel my heart racing endlessly. Akala ko may magbabago kapag kinasal kami. Akala ko magsasawa kami sa isa't isa. Akala ko mawawala na yung saya. But I was wrong. Completely wrong. He never let me feel otherwise than this. Laging may pagmamahal.

Lahat ng ginagawa niya sa akin ay may pagmamahal.

I chuckled. "Why are you scared? Hmm?"

"You think this is funny?" bulong niya. Kahit hindi ko kita, nakikita ko sa isip kong nakasimangot siya. His voice sounded so low yet annoyed. I chuckled once more.

Nang masalin ko ang gatas ay nilagok ko iyon nang hindi gumagalaw. I was afraid I would ruin the mood; him behind my back, lips pouted, and throwing a tantrum like a kid. Oh, God.

"I am sorry, okay?" sabi ko. "Bakit ka natakot?"

Pagkatapos ko sabihin iyon ay tumahimik ang paligid. I could only hear his low breath from time to time. It was comforting, somehow. The silence was not dead, it actually meant more than what he had to say.

"Nanaginip ako."

Naibaba ko ang hawak kong baso nang marinig iyon. Worry was written on my face right away as I shifted my position to face him. Ngunit nang makaharap, binaon niya lang ulit ang kaniyang mukha sa leeg ko. I didn't complain. I was more concerned.

"Nanaginip ako na . . . iniwan mo ako. Mag-isa," he continued. "At hindi ka na bumalik kailan pa man."

It was followed by another silence. I knew life wasn't that easy for us. We got married a year ago. We had small conflicts as well within that one-year marriage, but not enough to let each other go. Mas pinapatibay n'on ang pagmamahal naming dalawa sa isa't isa. Mas minamahal namin ang isa't isa. It was never an issue for us.

Our love remained stronger than whatever waves came our way.

"Love." I held his cheeks in between my palms. My eyes widened when I noticed that his eyes were wet! Umiyak siya! Oh my God! Hindi ko tuloy mapigilang mapangiti!

"This is funny to you, huh?" puna niya. Bloody lips were pouting a bit.

"No," sabi ko. "Love, listen to me."

Salubong ang kilay niya habang nakatingin sa akin. His eyes were a bit red because of tears. Namumula rin ang tainga at pisngi niya. I bit my lower lip to restrain myself from smiling so he didn't think that I was fooling around. Dahil sa totoo lang, itong side na ito ang gustong-gusto ko sa kaniya. The side of him wherein he could express himself to me freely without hesitancy. It was full of innocence and . . . love. Nothing but love.

"I won't ever leave you. No matter how big or small the problems are in our relationship, hinding-hindi ako bibitaw. Kasi nangako ako sa altar. Nangako ako sa harap Niya. The moment I said my vows was the moment I wrote in the stars that for the rest of my life, I'd make sure we end up together," sabi ko. "Sobrang mahal kita."