What the Trees Kept Whispering [COMPLETE]

• PROLOGUE •

The heat of the summer wave greeted the rose-colored tiles of my bedroom floor. With the curtains draped open, tittles of dust made their entrance as they made the beam of sunlight their staircase.

Sweat skid all over my bare light brown skin. With a lot of stuff in my room, the hotness was just trapped in. Well, the city is a cramped space after all.

I was only wearing my tight boxer shorts with my shirt hanging over my shoulder. Hindi ko na lang ininda ang init sa paligid maging ang tumatagaktak kong pawis nang mas lalong umigting ang pagkaka-focus ko sa 'king ginagawa.

Nakasaklang ang aking paa sa upuan. Halos makuba na ang aking likuran sa pagtuon sa screen ng aking computer. Tila nagbubuhol-buhol na rin ang aking mga daliri dahil sa mabilisang pagpapalit-palit ng mga pinipindot sa keyboard.

"Shit! What the hell?" I muttered under my breath as my speakers blared the sounds of gunshots. My character lost a huge amount of hit points from the damage my opponent dealt from the game.

I moved my character around to a safe spot before resting my back on the chair. Nag-inat-inat muna ako upang pansamantalang pahingahin ang sarili. After a few groans of stretching and wiping my sweat, I placed my hands back in the game.

This was my only plan throughout my lazy summer vacation before I officially start my college life. Wake up. Grind. Eat. Grind ulit. Then, sleep. At nineteen, I will just be enjoying the last free times of my life before it gets a little bit more serious and messier.

"Oh huli!" I cracked a peal of laughter after I shot my opponent dead.

To be honest, mas pipiliin ko na lang na magkulong dito sa 'king kwarto buong bakasyon kaysa abalahin ang sariling maglalalabas. People are all over the place outside my safe spot. The noise the outside world bears daily is enough to irritate every inch of me. Standing for too long on the dust-covered roads already drains my energy. What more if I get to force myself to interact with the people around me? It's a bummer!

"Kuya! Kakain na raw!" dinig kong sigaw ng aking nakababatang kapatid mula sa baba.

I clicked my tongue in exasperation. "Sandali lang! Tapusin ko lang 'to!" sigaw ko naman pabalik.

Lumaki ang tensyon sa pagitan ng dalawang panig ng laro. Nagkakaubusan na rin kasi ng mga tauhan kaya minabuti ko na ring mag-ingat sa aking bawat galaw at asinta.

The footsteps my character makes became realistic on my speaker. Habang nagtatago ito sa likod ng mga puno sa napiling forest map ay mistulang tumahimik ang paligid na kanyang ginagalawan. I became warier of the surroundings as I widened my eyes across the screen.

"Labas na..." I murmured in a singsongy tone. I was about to turn my character around when—

"Vian Light Evangelista!"

I jumped from my seat when the door slammed open. Multiple gunshot sounds echoed around my room as the huge "You Died" banner flashed on my screen. When I shifted my gaze toward the door, I saw the furious look on Papa's face.

"Kanina ka pa tinatawag ah? Pinaghihintay mo ang pagkain." His brows were furrowed as he reprimanded me—in front of my game over play!

Kaagad akong napabihis bago ibalik ang atensyon sa laro.

"Ano pa bang ginagawa mo diyan?"

I felt a brewing annoyance inside of me but I decided to keep my cool. And I was just this close to ranking up. Hindi ko na lang sinamaan ng tingin si Papa.

"Natalo tuloy," buntonghininga ko na lamang habang ine-exit ang laro.

"Ano ka na niyan, Anak? Buong bakasyon ka na lang bang tatambay sa harap ng laro mong 'yan?" usisa ni Papa. "Lumabas-labas ka naman minsan. Alam mo 'yon? Fresh air. Friends."