Ever After #10
When Princess Annalyn, the ideal and immaculate daughter, mysteriously disappeared, the troublesome daughter, Princess Eliora Elise, was forced to play the role of her identical twin sister, Princess Annalyn, and be the perfect daught...
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.·:*¨༺ ༻¨*:·. ELIORA
THE WAY ANNALYN is behaving right now is very strange to me. She's been deafeningly quiet since she got in here. She's been in a trance. She seems to be here in this room, sitting across from me, yet her mind and soul appear to be elsewhere.
"Annalyn?" pagtawag ko sakaniya. Kanina pa ako nagkwe-kwento sakaniya sa mga nangyari sa'kin nitong mga nakaraang araw, pero parang wala siyang naririnig sa mga sinasabi ko.
"H-ha?" gulat na tanong niya. Kumunot 'yong noo ko dahil sa inaakto niya kanina pa. Napansin ko rin na kanina pa siya namumutla na tila ba may sakit siya.
"Ayos ka lang ba talaga? Kanina ka pa nakatulala r'yan at pansin ko rin na namumutla ka. May sakit ka ba?" Nilapitan ko siya at pinakiramdam 'yong noo niya gamit ang likod ng palad ko at nagulat ako nang mahina niyang tapikin 'yong kamay ko paalis.
Irritation seeps into my veins. I'm irritated not because my sister slaps my hand away, but because she clearly isn't feeling well, yet she won't tell me what's bothering her. Sa ilang taon kong pagkakulong dito, ni minsan hindi ko naramdaman na hindi ko kasama si Annalyn dahil palagi siyang nagsasabi at nagkwe-kwento sa'kin ng mga nangyayari sakaniya, kahit na maliit na bagay pa 'yan. Ako ang una niyang sinasabihan ng mga bagay-bagay. Kahit noong unang beses siyang halikan ni Olwen. Kahit noong unang beses silang tumakas para mag-date. Kahit noong araw na nagtakas siya ng mga junk foods sa kuwarto niya para kainin ito ng madaling araq dahil pinagbabawalan siyang kumain ng mga hindi masustansiyang pagkain. Lahat sinasabi niya sa'kin, kaya naiinis ako, nasasaktan ako sa inaakto niya ngayon.
Has she had enough of me? Is she sick of coming in here and telling me stories all the time? Am I now a burden to my sister?
I understand how difficult it is to be a crowned princess. She carries a great deal of responsibility. She has a lot of obligations and duties to the people of Alcadia, and now she has been given the task of marrying a prince.
"Sorry," inabot niya ang kamay ko at marahan itong pinisil bago niya ako ngitian ng tipid. "Ayos lang ako. Napagod lang siguro ako sa royal engagement party namin kanina,"
"Alam mo namang nandito lang ako 'di ba? Palagi kitang pakikinggan, kahit ano pa 'yan."
"Alam ko naman 'yon, Eli. Kaya sobrang laki ng pasasalamat ko na nandiyan ka palagi. Kahit na hindi tayo palaging magkasama, ramdam ko pa rin na nandiyan ka sa tabi ko kahit na malayo tayo sa isa't isa." Nagulat ako nang biglang pumatak ang luha sa mata niya. Sunod-sunod ito at walang tigil. Agad ko siyang nilapitan at niyakap nang napakahigpit.
"Sana palagi nalang tayong magkasama. Sana hindi ka nalang nakakulong dito. Sana nakakalabas ka rin nang malaya kagaya ko."
"Mahal na mahal kita, Annalyn. Nandito lang ang ate palagi. Kahit na nandito ako, at nandoon ka, isipin mo lang palagi na magkasama tayo hmm," Between the two of us, I'm the tougher one, physically and emotionally. That's why, despite the fact that we're twins who were born only a few minutes apart, we've unofficially decided that I'm the elder sister.
I stroked her back and kissed her on the top of her head while her face was resting on my chest and my arms were wrapped around her. Tears began to stream down my cheeks as well. Pagdating talaga sa kapatid ko palagi akong mahina. Kahit na ano kaya kong harapin, pero pagdating kay Annalyn, kaya kong talikuran lahat para lang sakaniya.
If I could simply be as flawless as she is, she wouldn't have to go through this alone. If I could simply be the ideal daughter, the perfect princess for Alcadia, I would have taken up all of her responsibilities in the blink of an eye.
Perhaps it's my fault that Annalyn is suffering through all of this. Kahit na hindi niya sabihin sa'kin, alam ko, nararamdaman kong nahihirapan siya sa mga nangyayari ngayon. Alam kong nasasaktan siya dahil sa gustong ipagawa sakaniya ng mga magulang namin. At lalong alam kong hindi niya kayang saktan si Olwen. I know how much she loves him. I haven't met Olwen in person, I don't even know what he looks like. But I know that he makes my sister happy in a way that no one else could.
When Annalyn broke away from our hug, her nose, eyes, and cheeks were flushed from crying out all of her frustration. She needed it. No one else in the castle would ever let her weep like that, and I'm sure she wouldn't allow anybody else to watch her cry like that, only me. Because I would never condemn her for her flaws. For being an imperfect person.
"Gusto mo ng beer? May natira pa r'yan," alok ko sakaniya. Agad siyang tumango kaya tumayo ako para kumuha ng beer sa maliit na fridge ko sa loob ng kwarto.
Sandali kaming natahimik habang umiinom ng beer. Gusto ko man siyang tanungin kung ano bang nangyari pero natatakot ako na baka umiyak siya ulit.
Bumuntong hininga si Annalyn bago niya binasag ang katahimikang bumabalot sa'min.
"I broke up with him."
Sa sobrang gulat ko ay muntik ko pang mabitawan ang hawak kong beer. Malungkot akong tinignan ni Annalyn bago ngumiti.
"It's for the best, Eli. I tried opposing this marriage, but it was futile. There is no way that I could change their minds." She sighed again. "Maybe this is my fate and there's nothing else for me to do but accept this."
"Pero si Olwen—"
"Olwen will understand why I made this choice."
"You love him, Annalyn!"
"I do... I really do love him so much," she said as she shifted her gaze away from me and drank the beer from the can she was holding.
"Then do something! Ipaglaban mo kung ano 'yong gusto mo. Huwag mong hayaang sirain nila 'yong pagmamahalan niyong dalawa." I yelled, frustratedly. Umasa ako na hindi susuko si Annalyn sa pagmamahalan nila ni Olwen. Akala ko nong mga araw na nawala siya ay humahanap siya ng paraan para pigilan ang kasal niya kay Prince Nolan pero 'yun pala ay nakipaghiwalay siya kay Olwen.
Annalyn chuckles. The type of chuckle that has no sense of humour. Another tear dropped from her eyes, which she quickly wiped away.
"Akala mo ba hindi ko sinubukang ipaglaban, Eli? I tried. I tried so hard that I begged and kneeled in front of the King and Queen. I poured my eyes out and begged them to call off the marriage, but they refused. They didn't even consider changing their minds, even for a second." She chugged her beer till it was empty and smashed the can with her palm before tossing it against the wall.
"Alam mo kung anong nakakatawa, Eli?"
"Ano?" Nakatitig lang ako sakaniya at hindi alam kung anong sasabihin dahil wala ako sa posisyon niya ngayon. Wala akong karapatang kwestyunin ang mga desisyon niya dahil wala ako sa posisyon niya ngayon.
"Sometimes I envy that you're hidden here in the tower, away from the Alcadians and the castle. I envy that you don't have to follow a lot of rules and you can live the way you want to live."
"Annalyn..."
"Nakakatawa ako. Nakakaawa ako, Eliora... Alam kong hindi mo ginustong makulong dito at alam ko kung gaano mo kagustong makalabas dito, pero heto ako at sinasabi sayong naiinggit ako dahil nakakulong ka dito."
Hindi ako makapagsalita. Ni hindi ko alam kung anong mga tamang salita ang sasabihin ko kay Annalyn para mapagaan ang loob niya. Kung pwede ko lang akuin lahat mula sakaniya, ginawa ko na. Dahil gaya nga nang sinabi niya, nakakulong lang ako dito. Siya nga na nakakalabas at nakatira sa royal castle ay walang magawa, paano pa ako na hindi kilala ng mga tao sa sarili kong bayan?
Tumayo si Annalyn mula sa pagkakaupo. Nakatitig lang ako hanggang sa maglakad siya palayo sa'kin papunta sa pintuan ng kwarto ko.
"I wish I could be as strong as you, Eli. Then maybe I wouldn't be as pathetic as I am now." She gave me one last smile before walking away and closing the door to my room with a soft click.
