"Here's your tumbler." Proud and confident, Yuri is handing the new tumbler to Hiko. He is wearing one of the ties I gave him.
The day ended when we parted ways. The rest of my twenty-four hours were spent trying to get rid of him from my system.
"I want my tumbler," ani Hiko pagkatapos titigan nang matagal ang hawak ni Yuri.
"Here it is. Take it back." Yuri eyed it and extended his hand closer to the kid.
Lumayo nang bahagya si Hiko mula sa kaniya at higit na tumalas ang mga salita. "Let me repeat it, signore. I want MY tumbler."
Yuri scratched his head. "That's why I'm giving it back to you. This is your tumbler, little man."
Hiko gave him a suspecting gaze. My eyeball would either drift to Hiko's side or Yuri's. Aside from them, I'm not moving anything else.
"That's not my tumbler."
And from that moment, I knew where all of this would end. I am a couple of meters away from them to give them space. Sa sobrang lakas naman nila mag-usap ay hindi ko na kailangan lumapit para marinig lahat.
"What do you mean this is not your tumbler?" Yuri sat on his legs to equal Hiko's height. He started convincing the kid. "Look closely, this is green and tall. Stainless inside, right? Plus . . . the black lid." His smile was made of hope—hope that Hiko would buy it.
Hiko's gaze didn't change, he was still looking at him darkly. "What did you do to my tumbler, mister?"
Yuri sighed, shortly and looked away before insisting his point to the child for the nth time. "This is your tumbler, okay? Look at it. Don't you recognize it?"
"My tumbler has a star sticker at the bottom. My teacher gave it to me so I put it there."
"T-The sticker, yes. I accidentally took it off. But it looks neater now, don't you think?" He chuckled nervously.
"Mister, where is my tumbler?" Hinawakan na ni Hiko ang magkabilang bewang niya.
"Boy, this is your tumbler."
Hanga rin ako sa dedikasyon ng lalaki. Kung ako siya ay kanina pa ako umamin. Hindi niya mapapaniwala ang anak ko.
Hiko took it from him. For a short while, Yuri celebrated. Until my son raised it to the chandelier and said. "My tumbler has few scratches and it becomes visible with light." Using his thumb, he felt the body of it. "This is too smooth—looks like new to me. Let me guess, you bought it." Hiko's brows jump between his accusations.
The guilty eyes of Yuri bulged. "I didn't!" And how would Hiko believe him if he sounded that defensive? "W-Why would I buy something for you? What are you? My son?"
Oo. Gago.
"Did you lose my tumbler?" Hiko kept his focus on solving the mystery.
Napapikit nang mariin si Yuri. Akala ko pagdilat niya ay aamin na siya pero walang balak sumuko ang lalaki. "What are you saying? This is your tumbler. There's no way I would bother to buy you one."
"Lying makes someone lose focus. Look, you didn't even notice there's a TAG on it." Dumapo ang paningin ni Hiko sa etiketa na hawak na niya. Ngayon ko lang din iyon napansin.
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...
