When it Rains (Completed)

CHAPTER 43

I was standing by the window, watching the rain over the city. Nasa bahay ako ni Donnabelle, pinatira muna niya ako saglit dito habang nagpapagaling pa rin. Medyo hindi ko pa rin kayang makalakad ng tuwid. Hindi ko makontrol ng maayos yung mga binti ko, pero gumagaling na ako, 'yon ang halaga.

Tanging nasa isip ko pa rin si Patrick. Mag-iisang taon ko na siyang hindi nabisita ng personal. Nag-video call naman kami, kaso gusto ko na personal ko siyang makita at makausap. Iba pa rin sa pakiramdam na nasa harap mo yung tao.

The next day, we prepared ourselves for the burial of Patrick's Mom. Tuluyan na siyang binawian ng buhay last week. Kaya nag-aalala ako kay Patrick ngayon. Alam na niya kasi ang nangyari kay Mrs. Villamore.

At ang masakit pa, hindi siya pinayagan na sumama sa burial. Kahit saglit man lang, pero hindi talaga siya pinayagan.

We've been preparing everything for almost a year. Nag-aantay lang kami ng tamang panahon, kahit na kaya ko na humarap sa korte. Gusto ko ng patunayan na inosente si Patrick at nararapat mahatulan ng parusa ang mga kumukopkop sa akin.

Balita ko, nagtatayo na raw sila ng bagong business. They're doing well, as of the moment, using all the money they stole.

That money? It was from my parents. We dug into the history of my family, and there, we discovered a lot of things I didn't know. To my surprise, I just recently found out that they used to be heirs of a big company.

But, my parents didn't really want to run their family's business. Instead, they left their homes, ran away, and flew to the province where I grew up. May naitabi silang pera, pero nagdecide sila na 'di nila gagastuhin 'yon at nilagay sa bago nilang bank account.

My parents gave birth to and raised four kids, and I was their second child. We had a normal life in the small community by the sea. They were the best parents I had. I had my best times with my siblings. I miss everything we had back there.

But, with one single typhoon hitting the community, they were gone. That's the time these b*llsh*ts came into the picture.

Tita Alice was my Mom's stepsister. Anak siya ng lolo ko at ng naging kasambahay niya. As far as I know, Tita Alice was the one who helped them find their new home when they ran away. I assumed Mom and Tita Alice had a good relationship, but not that close.

By the time my family died, they immediately kept me. At that time, I was still mourning their sudden deaths. Kaya, hindi ko iniisip anong nangyayari sa paligid ko. Nasa isip ko lang, sana namatay na rin ako kasama nila. Ang daming bagay na tumakbo sa isip ko no'ng mga oras na 'yon. Yun pala, may ibang balak yung pamilyang kukupkop sa akin.

Days have passed since I was slowly able to control my legs again. I could walk for a few steps. Donnabelle and Johen would always find time to assist me. Until one time, I was so bored that I wanted to go outside the house.

Pinayagan naman ako, kaso 'di makakasama si Donnabelle sa 'min kasi may aasikasuhin muna siya. Kaya, si Johen lang ang sasama sa akin.

We get into his car, just the two of us. He drove us out of the place and played some songs. He was just humming while driving down the road.

We reached a familiar place, the subdivision where I used to live. We even passed by the house, but he told me it was sold and occupied by a different family. Wala na sila rito.

We headed to the back gate. He parked the car and we got out of it. It was already dark when we arrived, but he had a handheld lantern with him, which lit up the walkway. And, of course, he assisted me. Medyo nahirapan pa talaga ako pero sinubukan kong maglakad.

Nakalabas na kami sa gate. The place was the same as it was. I could feel the grass I was stepping on as we walked across the grassy place until we reached for the table that I've never seen before.

I took seats and waited for a while. "It's been a long time since we came here together," he said.

"Yeah, sobrang tagal na talaga."

He looked at his wristwatch and smiled. "It's time."

He snapped his fingers, and I started to look around once more. There, those glowing fireflies appeared right before my eyes again, just like the first time Johen took me here.

"Wow," the only thing I could say as the number of fireflies grew slowly and slowly.

"Feeling better?"

I smiled. "Yeah, just like before. Thank you for bringing me here again."

Bigla naman siya naglabas ng panyo. "Oh, baka kasi umiyak ka na naman."

Natawa na lang ako. "Nah, I promise, 'di na 'yon mauulit. May naaalala lang kasi ako no'ng time na 'yon."

So I started talking about the things I remembered from that time.

Back then, I had a friend in that small community we lived in. We were still kids, but he's two years older than me. At that time, I was very shy about making friends with other kids, but he was the first to approach me.

Kiko, that was his name. Whenever I go out of the house, he's the first one I call to play with. He lived next door. He knew so many things that I didn't know before. It's like the more he says, the less I know. He showed me the world outside our home.

One time, we went together to a forest nearby. Nobody knew we went there all by ourselves. Sabi naman niya, 'di niya ako pababayaan.

Until the night fell, we realized we were lost in the middle of nowhere. I was trembling in fear already, yet he kept himself calm. We were trying to get out of the forest when something started glowing in front of us. And then, as we looked around, we saw plenty of glowing tiny creatures floating around us.

It became one of the happiest memories we had at that time, kahit na muntikan na kaming naging missing. Pinagalitan pa kami ng parents namin.

Simula no'n, 'di na ako hinayaan pang makipaglaro sa kanya. Nalungkot ako, at pansin naman nila Mama 'yon kaya hinayaan ulit nila ako makipaglaro sa kanya, basta 'di na kami lalayo pa at pupunta pa sa gubat.

Isang araw, nagpaalam siya sa akin na sasama muna siya sa tatay na mangisda. Nangako siya sa akin na babalik siya para makipaglaro sa akin pero dumating ang hapon, nabalitaan na lang namin na naanod raw ang bangka nila.

Hinanap sila ng awtoridad, hanggang sa napadpad sa baybay yung mga bangkay nila. Bumalik nga sila, pero wala ng buhay si Kiko.

Sobrang nalungkot ako. Wala na 'yong kalaro ko.

Kaya, sa tuwing nakakakita akong gamo-gamo, siya yung unang naiisip ko. This brings me back to the joy I'd felt when I was with him, and at the same time, the mourning I'd felt when he died.

Somehow, Johen reminds me of Kiko. Dahil sa mga nangyari sa amin ni Patrick, medyo naging close na rin kaming dalawa, kasama si Donnabelle. Of course, may boundaries pa rin.

After that, we went to his house. Tsaka rin umulan ng malakas. Buti na lang nasa bahay na kami ni Johen. Tsaka rin dumating si Donnabelle na may dalang pagkain. We ate dinner together and watched some movies, just like we did before.

I'm really glad that I have good friends like Donnabelle and Johen. They're the best.