Autumn of May

CHAPTER 23: Act Of Kindness

Nakaupo lang si Nikka sa bench sa labas ng silid ni Abbi. She is looking at her phone while her legs are moving restlessly. Lumapit ako sa kaniya and slowly na hinubad ang aking jacket. I wrapped my jacket to her shoulders. Unti-unti niyang iniangat ang kaniyang ulo in which nagtama ang aming mga mata. Instead of saying thank you, hinubad niya ang jacket at ibinalik ito sa akin.

"Salamat Steve, pero okay lang ako" sabi niya sa akin na tila parang may halong lungkot ang kaniyang mga boses. Dahil it's concerning na hindi ko maibalot sa kaniya ang jacket ko, isinuot ko ito ulit sa kaniya but this time tumayo siya at direktang tumingin sa aking mga mata. There is sadness and furiosness in her eyes. I can't explain why and I don't know kung mayroon bang mali sa ginagawa ko. She close her eyes and bumuntong hininga. Imbis na buksan niya ang kaniyang bibig upang magsalita, she slowly sat back down. She grab her phone at ibinalik ang atensiyon niya dito.

I cleared my throat at umupo sa kaniyang tabi. "Did I do something wrong to you?" mahina kong tanong sa kaniya. She slowly shake her head. "Wala, I apologize for my actions kanina. I'm just stressed out" sabi niya sa akin sabay tabi ng phone niya sa bulsa niya. Nikka stood up but suddenly loses her balance kaya I hurriedly grab her waist. When she realized it, agad niyang inilayo ang kaniyang sarili sa akin.

"Why are you doing this to me?" sabi ni Nikka sabay tingin sa akin ng seryoso. "Anong ibig mong sabihin Nikka?" I said while trying to figure out ano ang gustong iparating sa akin ni Nikka. She let out a sigh and started to talk. "Stop acting so kind to me Steve. I don't want you to act like that" sabi niya sabay tingin sa malayo. Akma na sana siyang lalakad pero hinawakan ko siya sa kaniyang kamay at napatigil siya sa paglalakad. "May masama ba sa ginagawa ko?" tanong ko sa kaniya. She raise her head and look directly to my eye. She slowly remove my hands from her without breaking her eye contact with mine.

"You're leading me into something else, Steve" direkta niyang sabi sa akin. Napatigil ako dahil sa kaniyang sinabi. This time, she look away and started to take a step away from me. Agad ko din siya hinabol dahil gusto kong malinawan sa kaniyang sinasabi. "What do you mean?" I asked her. With that, yumuko siya and breathe deeply. "You know, I've realized that I like you from the very first day that I met you" after she said that, my body froze. I can't move my lips and I can't speak any words.

"Umiiwas ako sayo kasi kapag lalo tayong maging malapit sa isa't isa ay mas lalo akong nahuhulog sayo. Kaya please, stop acting so kind to me and kung maaari ay let's stop being close with each other" she said and this time, she walk fast para makalayo sa akin. My mind and my body are still stuck processing those words that came from her. Habang naglalakad siya palayo sa direksiyon ko, wala akong nagawa. Nakatingin lang ako sa kaniya habang palayo ng palayo siya sa akin. I never expected that Nikka likes me. I never thought that my act of kindness is leading her into something else.

Bumukas ang pintuan ng silid ni Abbi and I saw Abbi standing while holding her dextrose. Nakatayo sa kaniyang likuran si Xavier na ang expression sa mukha ay tila nabagsakan ng sama ng loob ng langit at lupa. Abbi look at me and said, "Nasaan si Nikka?" I just shrugged my shoulders so she walk past by me at lumakad palayo sa direksiyon namin ni Xavier. Xavier wanted to follow but when he saw the glaring eyes of Abbi warning him not to follow, agad siyang napahinto sa paglalakad at umupo sa bench malapit sa amin.

"What happened Xav?" tanong ko kay Xavier habang nakayuko lang siya na nakaupo sa bench. "I confessed to her that I like her" agad niyang sambit sabay sabunot ng kaniyang buhok. I hurriedly sat beside him and said, "Then? What did she said?" tanong ko sa kaniya. "Well, she doesn't like me, just like that" he said at nagulat ako ng bigla siyang tumingin sa akin at inilapit ang kaniyang mga mukha. "Am I too handsome para hindi niya magustuhan? I mean, I have everything and I can give her anything that she wants" I put my finger on his head and slowly push his head away from me. I laughed playfully dahil sa sinabi niya.