Written On A Canvas

Chapter 21

Chapter 21

"Here."

I opened my eyes and saw a bottle of water being handed to me. I assume that the water came from the running faucet just a few steps away from us. I could hear the trickling of it while I am practically laying down on the ground. Zibon was looking at me with worry in his eyes.

Umayos ako ng upo at tinanggal 'yong strap ng bag sa balikat ko bago ko tinanggap 'yong tubig. I drank it straight and felt refreshed after. I took a moment to breathe before giving back the water bottle.

"Okay ka na?" tanong niya ulit.

"Do I look okay?" ismid ko dito. Kinuha ko 'yong sarili kong tumbler sa bag ko at tumayo. Zibon also stood up from kneeling.

Sabay kaming nag-lakad papunta sa gripo. Nasa ilalim iyon ng isang ugat ng isang puno sa itaas lang na ground. For some reason, the tree didn't go down even when its roots were already out in the open. May kaunting butas kung saan doon umaagos ang tubig. Wala itong pampatigil. Continuous lang ang flow nito. Medyo madilim pa rin sa paligid pero nakatulong naman ang buwan.

Nakita ko ring nakahanay na sa nakasementong water tub ang mga empty bottles na pinadala ni Yaya Moning kanina. Isa-isa iyong pinupuno ni Zibon ng tubig. Bottle after another.

"Uminom ka na ba?" I asked when I noticed that he was just filling in the bottles but not drinking on any of them.

"Hindi pa. Pupunuin ko muna 'to," sagot niya. "Tsaka inuna kita."

My heart thumped at his remark. Hindi ko pinansin ang sinabi niya at hinalukipkip nalang kamay, hinihintay na matapos ang anim na maliit na bote na mapuno. Nang matapos ay kumuha siya ng isa at tinitigan iyon. Kumunot naman ang noo ko sa ginawa nito.

Why the hell would he examine a bottle of water?

"Sabi nila, masarap daw 'tong tubig dito," untag niya habang nasa hawak ang mata. "Tignan nga natin."

Pinigilan ko ang tawa ko sa sunod niyang ginawa. He positioned the water bottle and his head as if he was in a drink commercial and drank it.

"Ah!" He shook his head slowly as if he was trying to savor the taste and looked at me, feeling like he did something amazing.

Hindi ko na napigilan ang tawa ko.

"What? What are you laughing at?" untag niya ngunit hindi ko siya sinagot at tinakpan nalang ang bibig ko para hindi lumaki iyong boses ko.

Kinalma ko ang sarili ko at tinignan siya ng mabuti. "Masarap ba?" at napatawa ulit nang maalala ko 'yong ginawa niyang stunt kanina. Ang cringe!

"Tell me why you're laughing first," sabi niya. "Is it because of this?" Inulit niya ulit ang pag-inom sa water bottle at muling iniling-iling ang ulo. Only this time, he was more exaggerated and dramatic. I laughed again because he was really looking like a fool!

I don't know if this was because he can now walk, but Zibon became more playful. This side of him is something that he doesn't show to many people. Pero mas pinapakita niya ito ngayon ng mas madalas kaysa noon.

"Stop it," diin kong pigil ko sa kanya dahil ayokong mag-ingay sa gitna ng kagubatan.

"Ginto ba 'yang tawa mo?" bigla niyang tanong nang humupa na siya sa kalokohan niya. "Ngayon lang siguro kita narinig tumawa ng hindi pilit."

"Or I'm just a good actor that I can make my laugh sound real?" rebut ko dito at tinaasan siya ng kilay.

He shook his head. "No. I know how fake laughs sound. Yours now didn't sound like one."