"Drink this." Adi whispered and handed me a bottle of water. I said thank you and tried opening the bottle but my hands is slipping so, Adi ended up doing it for me. "Maybe the cold made your muscles stiff. You were a great adventurer back when we were in highschool." Tumawa ako. It was half true. I was used to do diving and such during those days. Somehow, mentioning it made me miss those days.
I heard Pau hissing something behind me but I didn't mind. He was always like that even before. He would whisper something. You'll be weirded. Turned out, that was lyrics.
"Walang signal!" Sigaw ng isa sa kasama ni Adi. Pilit niyang itinataas ang cellphone para humanap ng signal habang naglalakad. Nagtawanan kami. She's so much annoyed but there's nothing she could do. We are going to stay here for days.
Anyway, it isn't the time for me to worry about other because I am worrying for myself even more. Ilang oras pa lang siyang nasa likuran ko, parang sasabog na ang puso ko sa kaba. I was imagining his dagger look directed at my back.
"Bakit hindi niyo 'to i-vlog?" Ed asked with Jah after a moment. He is one of the volunteers pero sa social welfare naman siya. They would teach kids and such. They are just meters away so we could clearly hear them talking. Idagdag pang tahimik ang bundok.
"We don't want things like this to be covered. We are here to help. Cameras would just hinder you." Pau uttered behind me. Natahimik naman lahat dahil doon. Takot siguro o pagod na rin ang karamihan. Wala nabg nagsalita matapos 'yun.
It was past two in the afternoon when we all decided to pause from walking. My face is already reddish due to heat, I am sweaty and the worst of them all, I am already starving.
"May dala kayong pagkain?" Sigaw ng social worker sa unahan. I turned my gaze to my team. Tumango sila sa akin. We have lots of foods because I told them to be ready. Kumuha ako ng isang styrofoam mula sa lalagyan namin na dala ng isa naming kasama.
"Just eat all you want." I instructed to them. They aren't moving because they are letting me to go first. "We are medicine related, we should take good care of ourselves so we could take care of other people." Ngumiti ako at tumalikod. Nagulat ako nang makitang nakatingin sa akin si Paulo. Umiwas ako ng tingin saka umupo sa batong malapit.
"Use this." Pau uttered out of nowhere and handed me his phone with a usb fan. Ayaw ko sanang tanggapin pero masyado naman yata akong maarte. In the end, ngumiti na lang ako at nagpasalamat. "Don't get me wrong, I was just being kind because cameras are everywhere."
Within three years, Pau, Felip, Stell, Josh and Jah became even more known... 'Yung mga tickets nila, palaging sold out kahit saang bansa ganapin. I wanted to cut them off fully... but I promised myself that I'll still support him from afar... I will always look at the brightest star in my eyes even he never wanted to look back at me anymore... Even when he won't see me in the crowd. I was just a dust on him now... he just walked past me. Nothing more.
"For you, doc ganda." Saad ng isang social worker saka iniabot ang tubig na idinidistribute nila. I smiled.
"Hoy, magagalit ang asawa!" Sigaw ng babaeng kasama niya. Felip, Stell, Josh and Jah turned their gazes towards Pau while Adi's teammates turned their gazes towards him. I scoffed and walked away. The others were clueless with the sudden silence in our area but I acted innocent and talked with the others as if nothing's happening at all.
Around 3, we started walking again. Dahil nasa peak na kami, it didn't take too long until we reached the other side. Nipa houses welcomed all of us. The sun is still shining brightly on the other side but it didn't stopped the cold breeze from gushing to my skin. Province atmosphere will always be different.
