I can feel s a stare from someone kaya nang iminulat ko ang mga mata ko at makita ang puting ceiling ay napabangon ako kaagad.
I can't be in a hospital! And gladly, I'm just in my room.
When I looked around me, dumako ang tingin ko sa sofa at nandoon si Liv. Patong ang siko sa hita niya at nakapatong naman ang mukha niya sa nakasaradong kamao niya.
I guess namalayan niyang gising na ako kaya nang makita akong nakatingin sa kanya ay dali-dali siyang lumapit sa'kin at saka umupo sa gilid ng kama, sa gilid ko.
"Hey. How are you feeling?" His eyes are worried so I smiled at him to calm him down and tell him that I'm just fine.
But It's not just worry that I saw on his eyes, I also saw guilt.
"I'm just fine, Liv. Don't worry." I said at dahan-dahang bumangon sa higaan para isandal ang kalahating katawan sa headboard ng kama.
He looked down while clasping his hands and chuckled lowly before looking back at me and talked. "Parang noon lang." Umiling siya at pagak na tumawa. "Ikaw rin yung andyan para sa'kin."
Hearing those words from him made my heart lighten and be proud of myself that I was always there for him during his hardest days and he actually acknowledge my efforts. But there's a part of me that is hurt for him and his sufferings.
Liv is a good son, a good brother and a good friend. It's just that, no one understands him and no one will understand him kaya ako nagbibigay ng efforts dahil gusto kong intindihin at maging sandigan ni Liv habang wala pa si Avy.
I know when Avy's around, kahit pa galit na galit na si Liv ay mapapakalma siya ni Avy kahit sa presensya niya palang. Wala akong laban kaya habang ako ang nandito, I will be there for Liv, always.
"What are childhood friends for?" I smiled at him softly.
He also did the same and moved forward to hug me na ikinagulat ko naman. I can already hear the rapid beating of my heart. Damn this.
"Salamat, Ely. I was really blessed to have you." He said.
Nakadiin ang mukha niya sa bandang leeg ko kaya ramdam ko ang ginhawa niya sa leeg ko. I don't know if he noticed but I became stiff at hindi ko nagawang yakapin siya pabalik. Isa pa yung mga sinasabi niya. I wonder if he could feel my heartbeat?
When he let go of me, I immediately pretended to fix the blanket before looking at him and cleared my throat before speaking.
"A-anyway. Umuwi na sila tita? How many hours am I asleep?"
"They went home after you fainted and I put you here in your room." So sa kaniya pala yung bisig na sumalo sa'kin nung pabagsak na ako. "And you are asleep for one day and one night."
I looked at him shocked. Shocks! Hindi ako nakapasok sa klase.
"May klase ako ngayon!" Dali-dali akong bumangon para sana maghanda dahil papasok pa ako nang hinawakan ni Liv ang pulsuhan ko at saka hinatak pabalik sa kama.
"Mas mabuti pang magpahinga ka muna pagkatapos mong kumain."
Nang sabihin ni Liv iyon ay para namang may sumpa ang mga salita niya dahil nakaramdam ako ng gutom.
Umalis rin saglit si Liv para kuhanan ako ng pagkain para breakfast. I wonder how is he feeling right now? Ano kayang nangyari nang mahimatay ako?
Liv seems... tired and sleepless. I can see dark bags under his eyes. He was really depressed dahil bumagsak siya sa exam.
This feels like deja vu. Parang nung elementary lang siya. Liv is not dumb. This is only the second time he failed and his parents can't even acknowledge his accomplishments but his failures. This became the reason why Liv is scared of being a failure.
"Here. I'm the one who cooked it earlier. I know you'd wake up." He then placed the small table and placed the trey.
Adobo, bacon, eggs and rice.
Right, my favorite adobo. It became my favorite because adobo was the first recipe Liv cooked for me. Only for me.
After that day, Liv and I decided to stay in the house to bond with each other. We even talked about our engagement and marriage that pleased me dahil alam ko naman na mahal niya si Avy yet he didn't objected the engagement and didn't even made a comment, pinag-usapan pa namin.
We planned about our lives after marriage and I'm glad Liv is now smiling and laughing with me. Weeks passed by and we did our usual routines. Wake up in the morning, go to school and after that, went home. Liv was given the chance to take the exam again. Nagtaaka kasi ang Prof. nila na matalino siya pero hindi nakapasa and Liv was so happy. Bumalik narin si Liv sa sarili niya.
Weeks became months and I am happy for those days dahil masaya naman ako. Kasama ko si Liv eh. We became even more closer and passionate about our relationship. I can't be more happy because of that.
But not because I am happy for those past two months hindi ibig sabihin na nawala ang pagsakit ng ulo ko. It even got worse na hindi na tumatalab ang gamot.
But as my time in this world became longer, my end
became nearer and my days in this world is getting shorter.
Liv still doesn't know about my condition. And I don't plan to tell it to him until I've gotten time pero wala pa rin.
"It's getting worse, Ms. Davis. We really need to perform a therapy before it's too late already. You only have two months more, Ms. Davis." He said in a worried tone.
"I know, Doc." Sagot ko naman.
He sighed at may kinuha sa drawer ng mesa niya at inabot sa'kin ang isang maliit na garapon ng gamot.
"That is the same medicine, but has a higher dose. So strictly one medicine per day, Everly."
Tinanguan ko lang si Doc Rivero at saka kinuha ang gamot at sinilid sa bag ko.
Two months. Two months nalang ang natitira. And two weeks before I pass away, is our wedding day.
Nang umuwi ako ay sinalubong ako ng isang masayang yakap mula kay Liv. And that made me feel better.
"You're very happy, huh." I chuckled.
"I have a good news for you!" I was supposed to be happy but why do I feel like his good news will crumble me?
"What is it, Liv?"
"Avy is home!"
