Falling in Love With My Brother

Chapter 8

"Ang hilig mo sa maaasim." nakangiwing saad ni tita nang madatnan niya akong kumakain ng mangga sa kusina.

Tinotoo ni kuya Tyler ang sinabi niyang ipipitas niya ako ng mangga. Napuno ang basket na pinaglagyan at siya pa mismo nagbalat sa mga ito. He left me alone in the kitchen after he finished his work.

Ngumiti ako sa kanya at inaya siyang kumain. "Tita, gusto mo?"

"Don't mind me, iha. I'm not fond of eating that." umiiling ni sabi ni tita.

Nagkibit ako ng balikat at nagpatuloy sa pag-kain. Nakita kong nagsalin siya ng tubig sa baso. I thought she's going to leave after she finished drinking her water but she stayed.

"Did Tyler get those?" she asked referring to the mangoes.

"Hmm... opo. Inakyat niya yung puno sa may bakuran."

Tumango-tango siya. "Ang swerte mo sa mga kapatid mo. They're willing to do anything for you kahit na..."

She suddenly stopped in the middle of her words. Para bang bigla siyang natauhan kaya hindi niya na tinuloy. It was if she wasn't supposed to say that.

Kumunot ang noo ko. "What is it tita?"

Ngumiti siya at umiling. "I'm sorry. What I was about to say is that maswerte ka sa mga kapatid mo especially sa mga kuya mo dahil hindi ka nila matiis kahit na minsan ay pasaway ka at matigas ang ulo mo."

Napaisip ako sa sinabi niya. "Ganun ba yun?"

"You silly girl! Alam kong pasaway ka sa mga kapatid mo. But you should always listen to you brothers. They only want what's best for you. And what you have right now, you should cherish it and be grateful for it. Not everyone gets to have a family like yours."

Napaisip ulit ako at tahimik lamang na tumango habang patuloy parin sa pag-kain ng mangga.

"How about your cousins? Still in bad terms with them?"

Pagkatapos banggitin ni tita ang bagay na iyon ay parang bigla akong nawalan ng gana. Bumuntong hininga ako at itinabi ang kinakain.

"Hindi kami magkakasundo kahit kailan. Seriously, I don't understand why they dislike me. Mahirap ba akong pakisamahan?"

Malungkot niya akong tiningnan. "Hindi ka mahirap pakisamahan, Naomi."

"Then, why? I can see them being nice to my brothers. Why am I the only one treated unfairly?" I said, pain was evident in my voice.

Ilang beses na bumukas ang bibig ni tita ngunit walang lumabas na salita dito. Para bang nahihirapan siyang sagutin ang tanong ko.

Mahina akong ngumiti sa kanya. "Just... forget about it."

It was a fleeting visit. Nagpaalam kami na aalis na after staying for several hours. Nagpaalam kami sa mga taong maiiwan. I kissed my lolo and lola on the cheek and said my goodbyes.

Tita Estella went to me and smiled lovingly while softy caressing my cheek. "Take care, iha."

I smiled back for the sweet gesture. She's like a second mother to me.

While the whole family is still busy for the farewell interaction, kuya Waylon sneakily went beside me to whisper something.

"Sasabay ka ulit sa kanya?" sabay tingin niya sa direksyon ni kuya Tyler. Mabilis kaming nag-iwas ng tingin nang lumingon ito sa gawi namin. We acted as if we were talking about else. Then we resumed our conversation when we noticed that he wasn't looking anymore.

"So, bati na kayo?"

Panandalian akong napaisip. "Hmm... I think so. We're back to normal now. He even climbed the tree to get me mangoes."