Blossoming Heartbreak

ch. 88

#blossombreakwp

88 : attached

"ILAGAY MO NGA 'yan dun, Tin."

Sinunod ko ang sinabi ni Mama.

"Yan. D'yan mo na ilagay nang ilagay ha."

Pinapaikli ni Mama 'yung Rustin tapos Tin na lang ang itinitira niya. That's why some people assumes na may anak siyang babae kahit wala naman. Gustong-gusto ko pa naman 'yung Rustin Vecary, kaso si Mama naman 'yan, e. Pawisan na ako dahil kanina pa kami nagbubuhat nila Kuya at Papa ng mga box. Ang dami na naming nahakot pero marami pa rin ang natira. We transferred here, since this location is nearer to our pottery shop compared to our previous place.

Stopped abruptly to pull the hem of my shirt. Mag-pupunas dapat ako ng pawis sa noo ko gamit ang laylayan ng t-shirt, kaso binitawan ko agad nang makita ko si Llarene na naglalakad. Yumi supplied me the knowledge that Llarene's family is occupying the space in front of us. She's holding a plastic bag that's swaying against the soft cloth of her pink dress. Papunta sa pwesto namin. Tumalikod ako at nagkukunwaring nag-uunload pa ng gamit sa sasakyan.

I heard her greeting Mama and Papa. My eyes shifted sideways, trying to peek at the three of them. Kunwari kumukuha ng kahon. Soft spoken and demure, she feels that way. Pinakawalan ko lang ang hininga ko ng maka-akyat na siya. Buti na lang 'di na ako tinawag ni Mama. Llarene looked so flimsy that it'll make you think twice if you'll hold her . . . or settle for a stare and admire from afar.

Tinutuyo ko ang buhok ko dahil ayaw kong matulog ng basa pa, nang mag-vibrate ang phone ko sa kama. Sumilip agad si Kuya Leencoln mula sa hinihigaan niya. Hati kami sa double-deck, ako sa baba, siya sa taas. He stopped for a moment and squinted his eyes in suspicion. 'Ayoko din naman sa taas dahil malikot ako matulog, natatakot din si Mama na baka mahulog ako.

hi rustin ☁💗 sorry if i asked yumi about . . .

"Oy oy, sino 'yan? Ba't may heart?!" kala ko tatalon pa si Kuya sa taas, e. Dinampot ko agad ang phone ko. "Hoy bawal ka pa niyan. Baby ka pa!"

Sinimangutan ko si Kuya, "Titignan ko pa nga lang, e." continued reading the message. I snorted at the baby thing. Nineteen na ako, anong baby dun?

Ah, yung kanina. Si Llarene. Auri pala ang nickname niya. The name Llarene is pretty too, it suits her. She's talking about the thing in the convenience store. Namukhaan pala ako. She's panicky that she left her purse and that she can't pay for her stuffs. I accidentally overheard the reason she offered the crew. Binayaran ko na lang kasi konti lang naman 'yung binili niya. Isa pa, baka wala siyang pagkain pagdating ng recess.

no! please let me ☁ . . . Kumunot ang noo ko nang pinipilit niya na babayaran niya ang pera ko. Um-oo na lang ako. I told her that I'll come out in five minutes. Drying my hair until no dripping water left on the strands, I left to see Auri.

I'm fine even if she doesn't have plans of giving my money back. Hindi ko din naman inisip na mababalik pa dahil hindi ko rin naman siya kilala. But, as I stumbled upon the sudden turn of events, she happened to be my neighbor. Palagi siyang may bi-n-bake na binibigay sa akin. Tinatanggihan ko, since I don't see the need to. But whenever she's making that puppy and pitiful eyes, I always find myself reaching out for the cupcake or cookie or brownies. I couldn't pinpoint what, but there's a part of her that cannot be resisted.

Para siyang mushroom na sumusulpot sa tabi ko 'pag nag-aabang ako ng masasakyan pauwi. Mushroom na naka-hair clip at may iniinom na strawberry milk.

Bibili lang dapat ako ng materials one weekend that arrived, but my eyes tracked her down, waiting at the train station. Dala ko ang bike ko. For some reason, I headed closer to Auri. Sinabayan ko siyang mag-hintay ng train. And, I can feel her staring at my eyes . . . hindi ko alam kung napansin niya pero kurap ako ng kurap. Kinakabahan.

Kamukha niya 'yung guinea pig na nilalaro ko kapag nagagalit. Kahit minsan ko lang siya inaasar,

I kept on brushing off the fact that she likes me. Despite her actions shoving her feelings to me, I resisted. I couldn't figure out why she would like me. Boring akong tao. I don't like going out too much. Mas gusto ko pang kasama si Papa gumawa ng paso. Samahan si Mama mamalengke. So I turned away from her. Her feelings will dwindle in the long run, she's getting things wrong because it's blurry, and she won't stick with someone like me, but what I didn't see coming is that my feelings would blossom even before that moment will come and maybe . . . I wouldn't like that she'll empty up hers.

Iniiwasan ko na nga, e . . . kaya nga umiiwas na, e.

Hindi ko alam . . . maybe it's her eyes flowing with emotions, that sparks whenever she's doing something she wants, or the way her eyes looks small if she finds anything suspicious, or how I also feel gloomy when her eyes are dull, or how she's still cute and using her charm when she's angry . . . but I fell, twice as hard as her. Kahit wala sa plano ko. Kahit pinipigilan ko, niloloko ko lang ang sarili ko.

Until I can no longer hold myself back.

Hindi ako gumagalaw, siguro fifteen minutes na. Auri's head feels lightweight on top of my shoulder. She told me she's sleepy from doing her last project and she's been yawning a little while now. Kinuha ko ang maliit na backpack sa kandungan niya, mahuhulog na kasi since she's losing her grip on it.

Slowly, I craned my neck to the side and looked at her. A little smile formed on my lips. I don't care if there's still a blossoming heartbreak trying to come our way, as long as we'll withstand it together . . . and we'll stick through the end.

The little things I kept ignoring . . . are the things that led me to her.