DUCANI LEGACY SERIES 9: Khol

Kabanata 6

Kabanata 6

Chandria

Nahihiya akong bumuntot kay Khol sa loob ng malaking grocery store habang tulak niya ang cart. Ang sabi niya ay kumuha raw ako ng kahit anong gusto ko at ilagay sa cart dahil siya naman ang magbabayad, ngunit kahit fifteen minutes na kami sa loob ng store ay dadalawang pirasong cup noodles pa lang ang laman ng cart.

As if he could sense that I had no plans to add more stuff in the cart, he finally stopped and looked at me.

"Come on, Ria. We don't have all day. I told you I'm paying."

Nahihiya akong umiwas ng tingin habang hawak ko ang braso ko. "A-Ayos na 'yan. S-Salamat."

He sighed. Maya-maya ay bigla na lamang siyang dumampot ng canned goods at naglagay ng tig-dadalawa ng bawat klase. Napaawang naman ang aking mga labi at natataranta ko siyang pinigilan.

"Khol! Hala, mapapamahal na!"

He took one glance at me and lifted a brow. "Either you'll choose what you want or I'll fill the cart myself."

Napakamot ako ng patilya. "Ayos na ako sa dalawang cup noodles. Nakakahiya na kung dadagdagan ko."

"It's fine, Ria. Just study well and don't give me reasons to dislike you again." He moistened his lower lip while staring at me. "I can tutor you so you won't fail your classes anymore because of me."

Ngumuso ako. Hindi naman ako bumabagsak dahil sa kanya. Ayaw ko lang magalit si Mama. Siguro . . . pwede kong sabihin sa kanyang hindi naman ako bobo para hindi niya sisihin ang sarili niya?

He continued pushing the cart. Maya-maya ay may nadaanan kaming section na may mga action figures at ibang laruan. Khol picked up a toy aircraft then smirked while showing it to me.

"What's your topic in History now?" he asked.

"Uhm . . . World War II."

Isinangkal niya ang kanyang braso sa handle ng cart. "Sabi ni Sir Perez, may naging magkaibigan na German at American pilot dahil sa gyera. He said Charlie Brown who was flying his B-25 aircraft was accompanied by Franz Stigler instead of bombing the plane."

"Wrong," I said unconsciously while staring at the toy aircraft.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Sandali akong lumunok at nagdalawang-isip, ngunit siguro ay pwede ko siyang pagkatiwalaan ng sikreto ko? Para na rin mawala sa isip niyang bumabagsak ako nang dahil sa kanya.

I took a sharp breath for a moment. "Charlie Brown, an American pilot was trying to get the B-17 aircraft to safety when a German Ace named Franz Stigler realized that he couldn't shoot a fellow human five days before Christmas so instead of taking the plane down like he was expected to do, he tried to accompany the B-17 aircraft so his comrades wouldn't shoot the plane down. Franz tried to tell Charlie to go to Sweden for medical attention since Sweden during the war remained neutral but Charlie refused to follow Franz' suggestion. They parted ways and after several years, met again, became good friends, and died in the same year." I smiled with lips pursed while he stared at me in a state of shock. "It was a B-17 not a Mitchell plane. A B-17 has four engines. A Mitchell or the B-25 only has two."

Nakatulala at tila gulat na gulat niya akong tinitigan. "You're . . . not dumb." He blinked. "Jesus, you're not dumb, Chandria."

I forced a smile. "Nabasa ko ang kwentong 'yon sa A Higher Call na libro. It's a real story and the book gave both of the pilots' persoectives. I was . . . ten if I'm not mistaken, when I read that book in one sitting."

Napahugot siya ng malalim na hininga. "Hindi ka bobo. You fucking remember that? Every detail?"

Nahihiya akong tumango. "Uhm, oo."

"Then why the hell are you failing? Goodness, you're smart enough to be in my section yet the teachers keep on complaining about you being the most stupid student in SJ," tila hindi pa rin makapaniwala niyang sabi.

I scratched my temple. "Mas . . . okay na 'yon."

"No, it's not?" His brows furrowed. "Are you failing your classes on purpose?"

I sighed. "M-Medyo."

Lalong nalukot ang kanyang noo. "Why?"

Umiwas ako ng tingin. "Magagalit kasi ang . . . Mama ko, eh kung malalaman niyang . . . nagmana ako kay Papa."

"Can you enlighten me?"

Nahihiya ko siyang tiningnan. "Will you promise to . . . not tell anyone?"

He offered his pinky. "I promise."

Nakagat ko ang ibaba kong labi nang mag-pinky promise kami. Ngumisi naman siya nang makita ang namula kong pisngi.

"Now tell me why your Mom will get mad," he said.

Sandali akong lumunok. "A-Ano kasi, 'yong Papa ko, he's a genius. He wanted to invent things but no one took a risk with him. Then one time, may isang tao noon na nagpahiram ng malaking halaga para sa invention niya pero . . . nagkamali siya at . . . nalugi ang perang ipinuhunan. Nagalit ang nagpahiram sa kanya." I blinked my tears away when they started to build up as I remembered my Dad. "Papa couldn't accept that he failed. Our debts piled up and he was mocked by other people. H-Hindi niya kinaya kasi . . . pati si Mama ay sinisisi na rin siya. And then one day I . . . saw him . . . hanging on the ceiling." I flashed a broken smile. "My Dad killed himself and my Mom blamed his death to his intelligence."

Gumuhit ang matinding awa sa mga mata ni Khol. "I'm sorry to hear that."

I sniffed. "Ayos lang. Natanggap ko na rin naman. Ang magagawa ko na lang ngayon ay . . . huwag ipakita sa Mama ko na nagmana ako kay Papa."

He sighed. "You know what? Maybe you should start making your father proud instead. Baka kung ipakita mo sa nanay mo na hindi lahat ng matalinong tao, nagiging gano'n ang kapalaran sa Tatay mo, maybe she'll change her perspective, too."

"Hindi kasi gano'n kadali, Khol. Iba magalit ang Mama ko."

"Ria, you said you and your Mom are struggling in life. If you will use your intelligence, maybe you will someday give her a better life. Maybe she will stop treating you badly just because your intelligence reminds her of your father's failure."

Pilit akong ngumiti. "Pag-iisipan ko."

He patted my shoulder. "Thank you for letting me know you're not really dumb. I owe you more than groceries for clearing my conscience."

I laughed softly. Maya-maya ay napansin kong natulala siya sa akin kaya napatigil ako at nagtataka siyang tinanong.

"A-Ayos ka lang ba?"

"Hmm?" Napahugot siya ng hininga saka tumikhim habang tila namumula nang bahagya ang mukha. "Uh, yeah. Let's go? Oh, look. Those sardines look interesting?" he said, obviously changing the topic as he pushed the cart.

Payak na lamang akong napangiti. Mukhang hindi naman pala maling Ducani ang nagustuhan ko . . .