Hold Onto You (Book 3 of You Trilogy)

Kabanata 26

Death. I was ready for it.

Pumikit ako at hindi na ininda ang pagkirot ng palapulsohan. Hiniwa ko ulit iyon nang hindi makontento sa rami ng dugong umagos.

Handa na akong mawala. Kaya lang, hindi pumanig ang kalawakan sa gusto ko.

Bago pa man mawalan ng malay, may kumatok sa apartment na tinutuluyan ko. Magmula noong mawala si Lily, lumipat na ako ng matitirhan. Hindi ko kinayang manatili pa roon sa condo ni Lawrence kaya nasa isang apartment ako ngayon.

Ayoko sanang pagbuksan ang istorbong kumakatok kaso... paulit-ulit iyon. Nakulitan ako kaya dumudugo man ang pulso, nagawa ko paring tumayo at buksan ang pintuan.

Sumalubong sa akin ang isang matangkad at matipunong lalaki. Bago ko pa man maaninag ang mukha niya nanlabo na ang aking paningin. At bago pa man ako makapagsalita, natumba na ako at nawalan ng malay.

When I woke up, that was when I met the tall, good-looking and long-haired man - my Kuya Vincent. Niyakap niya ako at paulit-ulit siyang nag-sorry sa'kin. Doon ko nalamang kapatid ko siya sa ama.

"I-I'm very sorry... Sky. I-I didn't know... I wasn't there.... Sorry wala ako... wala kami sa tabi mo.... Sorry, Sky."

Sumakit ang puso ko sa saya.

Who would have thought that the man who saved me was my brother? The man I have long been looking for.

"A-Ayos lang po..."

Nanginig ang balikat ko at doon bumuhos ulit ang luha. Luhang hindi dulot ng sakit o pait... kundi luhang dulot ng matinding saya at kaginhawaan.

"H-Hindi niyo naman po alam..."

Kuya Vincent was in deep regret. Which he should not be. Hindi niya naman alam. Pare-pareho naming hindi alam. At kung papaano namin natagpuan ang isa't-isa ngayon... siguro sukli na ito sa gabundok na pasakit na tinamo ko. And to me... this is more than enough.

"Babawi ako, Sky."

Totoo nga. When God removes, he replaces.

It is not always dark. It seems like it, but it's not. There's always light at the end of a dark tunnel. And we wouldn't be able to catch it if we stop in the middle and give up.

When I learned about it, I felt like I was just dreaming. It was so surreal. Hindi ako makapaniwalang kung kailan handa na akong sumuko, saka ko sila nahanap - ang totoo kong pamilya. Sina Kuya Vince at Esmeralda.

"Ang ganda!"

Napangiti ako nang makita ang bahay nina Kuya Vince dito sa Kansas. It was the type of house that I thought I could only see on tv, not in real life. A large welcoming American house with expensive smooth wood as its walls. The walls were painted white and it had brown roofs in very light color. The frontyard looked so wide and clean with neat green grass on the surface. The house was surrounded with cute plants that weren't familiar to me. Maging ang mga puno na nakikita ko ay hindi ko mapangalanan, para silang tuyot at walang buhay dahil walang dahon. Sa bagay, it's summer here when we arrived.

"Maganda ba, sis? Ang galing ko pumili ng design no?" ngumiti si Esme.

Sunod-sunod akong tumango. I was enthused when she led me inside the house. The interior was warm and open. It so suddenly sent me that homey vibes.

"Salamat at sinamahan mo ako rito, Sky."

Nilapitan ko si Esme at niyakap.

We are here for her therapy. She's suffering from PTSD. Her case was severe so we have to flew here for treatment.