Mercedez 3: Wildfire Games

27

Chantal

"I'm so proud of you, baby," madamdaming bulong nito sa aking tenga. Umapaw kaagad ang ginhawa sa aking dibdib.

Finally.

"Thank you for being with me..."

"Of course, I would always be with you. Hindi ko hahayaan na humarap ka sa mga ganitong bagay mag-isa." Bahagya kaming humiwalay sa isa't isa.

Tuwid na akong nakatayo habang nakapalibot pa rin sa kaniyang leeg ang aking mga braso. Habang siya naman ay bahagyang nakadungaw sa akin, sakop ng kaniyang mga palad ang aking maliit na bewang.

"I know you don't need me at all. And I know that you can do all of these alone. But, I want to be included in every battle you face. I would face it with you. You don't want me in the front line? Then I will cover your back. I will be your back up."

My lips broke into a soft smile.

"I need you, Hadz. I needed you." His eyes softened. "Kung wala ka sa tabi ko habang hinaharap ko 'to, paniguradong wala akong lakas para gawin ito lahat."

Inabot ko ang kaniyang buhok at sinuklay iyon ng dahan dahan gamit ang aking mga daliri.

"I broke down, remember? You saw that. I stumbled."

"But you stood up again."

I nodded slowly. Indulgent.

"Yes. Because of you. For you. But I was weak and vulnerable that time. I'm sorry that you'd have to see that," mahina akong natawa.

Tumalim naman ang mga mata nito habang titig na titig pa rin sa akin. The back of his palm reached for my cheek and caressed me there tenderly.

"You don't have to apologize for that." He breathlessly whispered. "That was so brave of you to be vulnerable in front of me. I admire you more for letting yourself crumble down, taking in the moment, and picked yourself up when you were ready again."

My heart burnt.

So good.

It almost made my head rest on the clouds.

"Because we won't know how far strong we are when we don't break. And once we allow ourselves to break, we also get the chance to build ourselves stronger the next time. I don't know if you are familiar with the tensile strength but... imagine I make a paper out of water lilies. It's a very innovative idea, right?"

Tumango naman ako.

He gently squeezed my waist. Ang isang kamay niya ay mahinang tumapik pa sa may hip ko.

"So what makes water lilies positive to be made into a paper? It has fibers. Lots of it. But... how strong is it ba? Kapag pinunit ko ba o... hinila ang dulong parte... o kapag tinupi ba ay napupunit kaagad? That's when we do the testing of its tensile strength. Every time the paper breaks, we add more fibers... or glue... In that way, we can make stronger papers, and are of the high quality ones."

Napaawang ang aking labi ng kaunti, nakukuha ang kanyang ipinupunto.

"So don't be embarrassed when you break down. Don't apologize when you are vulnerable. Don't be afraid showing weakness to those poeple you trust the most. Because that makes you stronger. Your bravery and courage should be celebrated, too."

"That's... beautiful..."

Wala akong masabi.

Masyado akong namangha sa analogy niya. Sobrang nakakataba ng puso.

"And so are you," aniya na may maliit na ngiti na nakaukit sa mapupulang labi. "It's an honor to have seen you vulnerable, baby. Thank you for trusting me with your brokenness. I love you."