BOOK 1 | ESOTERIC

Chapter 17

| CHAPTER XVII |

"The Twisted Perspectives of the Twisted"

STELLAN

Unti unti akong naalimpungatan dahil sa sinag ng araw mula sa bintana. When I opened my eyes, agad kong naramdaman ang epekto ng aking tulog. I do not feel tired anymore.

Habang nakahiga pa rin, dinungaw ko ang kama. I found Eris sitting on the bed, eyes on mine. As if she has been waiting for me to wake up from afar. "Took you so long to wake up."

Tingin ko ay maaga lang talaga siyang nagising. Umalis ako sa pagkakahiga at sinuklay ang aking buhok gamit ang kamay. "Did you sleep well?"

She shrugged. "But my neck hurts."

Tumungo na muna ako sa bathroom para gawin ang aking morning rituals. Mamaya na lang ako maliligo kapag nakaalis na rito si Eris. Tuluyan ko ng inalis ang kurtina mula sa pagkakaharang sa malaking bintana dahilan para malayang makapasok ang liwanag dito sa kwarto.

I wonder what time it is? "May gagawin ba ngayon? Pupuntahan?"

She shook her head, maya maya ay pinaningkitan niya ako ng mata. What? What did I do wrong? May sinabi nanaman ba akong hindi maganda? "You are not going to ask why I slept here without saying anything?"

Hindi naman nakakapagtaka na ginawa niya ang isang bagay nang walang sinasabi na kahit na ano. "Should I know?" I glanced at her. Nasa desk na ako ngayon, inaayos ang mga gamit na nagulo dahil sa pagaaral ko kagabi. Hindi na ako nakapaglinis dahil sa labis na antok.

"Sanay kang may natutulog na babae sa kwarto mo?"

Saan naman niya nakuha iyon? Hinarap ko siya. "Sige, bakit dito ka natulog?"

Sa halip na sagutin ako ay umiwas lang siya ng tingin. It is not the kind of showing shyness but rather...how should I say this? Kamalditahan? Kakaiba talaga.

"Nagugutom ka na ba—"

"He's our family doctor."

Huh?

"Dr. Le Claire is our family doctor." Oh. The doctor. I did not know we are doing this right now. Makakapagantay naman ako. "He has been here, in this house, a lot of times. I knew him since I was a kid."

A family doctor...I see. That explains how he knew Eris kahit hindi naman ito lumalabas. I assume ang doktor na iyon mismo ang pumupunta sa pamilya nila.

"He is the best one so we hired him. He is quite famous." My brows furrowed. Famous? What was the name of that doctor again? Iyong binanggit ng gumamot kay Hedone? Don't tell me that is the guy? I actually met the so-called famous doctor at hindi ko man lang alam? Eris sighed at inalis ang comforter sa pagkakatakip sa kaniyang hita. "That is all I can say. May iba ka pa bang tanong?"

"He is the friend, right?" I asked. "That doctor."

Her innocent eyes looked at me. "Did I say 'friend'? Sa pagkakatanda ko ay sinabi ko lang na pinagkakatiwalaan ko siya. Trusting someone does not mean you consider them as friends."

"So basically...you do not have any friends...?"

"Given that you know I have never been outside, that remark is surely stated as an insult. Nice try." She crossed her arms. "However, I do not have any plans to have friends so consider your attempt a failure."

Hindi ko naman siya iniinsulto. I just simply asked. But given that she felt insulted kahit hindi naman iyon ang nais ko, it is safe to say that she is indeed insulted.