"Ate Mauve?"
Humarap ako sa kabilang gilid ng kama nang maalimpungatan. I've been hearing voice. The log me didn't realize it was Cloud.
"Ate Mauve, gising ka na po ba?"
Nang lumakas ang mga katok niya at tuluyan na akong magising ay saka lang ako bumangon. My alarm had one job to do—one fucking job and it failed.
"Ate Mauve!"
"Gising na Clo," malakas kong sabi. Nagsalita ako para tumigil na siya sa pagkatok. By how heavy his knocks were, my door would break. My eyes were still half opened when I pulled the door in. "Clo."
"Ate Mauve, kagigising mo lang po?" Looking up at me, he tilted his head.
"Hmm." I nodded. "Salamat sa paggising."
Nangingiti siyang pumamewang. "Hay nako, Ate. Siguro nagpuyat ka na naman kakabasa."
I failed to stop a smirk.
"Kaya ka hindi nagkaka-boyfriend, eh." He chuckled.
"Ate Mauve doesn't need one."
"Shh." He placed his index in front of his lips. "Huwag mong sabihin 'yan, Ate. Malulungkot si Kuya Yuri."
Naglaho ang ngiti ko nang sambitin niya ang pangalan ng lalaki.
"Sige na, Ate, mag-ayos ka na po. Papasok ka pa po sa mansiyon ng mga Suarez, 'di ba? Ginising na kita kasi alam kong tulog ka pa."
"How did you know I haven't gotten out of bed?"
Itinuro niya ang bumbilya sa balkonahe. "Nakasindi pa po kasi ang ilaw mo sa labas. Kapag po gumigising ka, pinapatay mo na 'yan."
That's so observant of him. "Thank you, Clo. You saved Ate Mauve today."
He smiled. "Walang ano man, Ate. Huwag ka pong mag-alala, hindi ka po mahuhuli ng gising hanggang nandito ako."
Ngumiti ako at ginulo ang buhok niya.
"Cloud, anak? Nasaan ka na?"
Sabay kaming natingin sa hagdan nang marinig si Tita Carmen. "Nandito po, Mama."
"Aba naman, anak. Kailangan na gumayak ng Ate Mauve. Gagayak ka na rin, halika na."
When Tita Carmen got into the floor, Cloud faced me. "May flag ceremony po pala kami ngayon kasi Lunes, magbibihis na rin ako, Ate."
I nodded. "Mag-enjoy ka sa school."
"Opo, Ate Mauve." He giggled and turned his back. I noticed he wanted to say something but was having second thoughts. Halfway to his mother, he ran back to me. "Ate Mauve, puwede po ba kitang yakapin?"
Lumamlam ang mga mata ko. Nagkatinginan kami ni Tita Carmen. "Oo naman." I lowered my body so it would be easier for him to hug me.
"Nakakamiss po si Kuya Yuri," he said after the hug.
"Huwag ka mag-alala. Sasabihin ko 'yan sa kaniya. He won't mind knowing that a cute, young boy, misses him." I tweaked Cloud's nose. "I'm sure he misses you too."
He smiled his sweetest yet. "Sige na po, Ate. Baka po nasasayang na ang oras mo. Byebye po. See you later." He waved his hand before leaving my front.
Inakay siya ni Tita Carmen na naglalakad na pababa ng hagdan ay nagawa pa akong lingunin para humingi ng pasensiya.
Cloud really loves him. Umagang-umaga ay si Yuri ang naalala. Hinugot ko ang kauna-unahang buntong-hininga ng linggo na 'to.
"I know a place . . . It's somewhere I go when I need to remember your face . . . We get married in our heads."
BINABASA MO ANG
The Heaven's Wildcard
Romance[SLOW EDIT] For most people, hell is just a concept or a place where the evils fall into after death. But for the registered nurse, Maurice Severina de Morga, it is her reality, her life. Her first cry was on her mother's death, died on a hospital b...
