"I heard you went to swim school, Coby."
Gulat akong napatingala nang bahagya kay Papa. Ilang araw na ang nagdaan, ngayon na lamang ulit siya nagsalita sa harap ng hapag. Kahit si Kuya Addie ay nanibago kagabi, dahil wala siyang natanggap na anumang pagbati mula kay Papa, maliban sa malamig nitong presensiya. He wasn't present last night as well, during our movie night.
"I went with Kuya Lé," Coby--who's sitting beside Mom on the other side of the table--replied before he took a forkful of pancake.
Naka-unipormeng puti na siya. Sina Mama at Papa ay suot na rin ang kanilang semi-formal wear. Si Kuya Addie ay nakapambahay, habang ako nama'y mustard yellow long sleeve at khaki pants ang suot dahil university fair naman.
Acting like he heard nothing, Dad casually sliced a small portion of the three round pancakes piled up on his white plate and dipped it in the maple syrup drizzled on top.
Biglang pumait ang panlasa ko. Sapat na ang tapang ng pait nito upang bumigat ang tiyan ko at mawalan ng gana. Not even maple syrup could cleanse my palate or boost my appetite.
"How's Bayforth, Ad?" baling ni Papa kay Kuya Addie.
"Good. On Saturday, I'm going to start my internship at El Espejo Law Firm," pormal niyang wika kay Papa.
Impressive. Isa ang Espejo Law Firm sa mga top performing law firms sa Pilipinas. Hindi na nakakagulat para kay Kuya na roon siya mag-i-internship, given the fact that he had two valedictorian title, one magna cum laude, and a top four CPA board passer in the bag. Iyon ang naglalayo sa estado naming dalawa.
"Great," tipid na sagot ni Papa.
Matapos nito, tanging kalansingan ng mga kubyertos na lamang ang aming narinig. Pinilit ko na lang na punan ng pagkain ang tiyan ko kahit wala na talaga akong gana.
Was I expecting a word from him? No. Not at all. I had no intension of disturbing the peacefulness in front of the grace, so I'd rather remain invisible to his eyes. Sinubukan ko na lamang na humiwa muli ng maliit na parte ng pancake.
"How's afternoon training going, Lé?"
I was completely immobilized when he called my name. Nagsisimula nang magtubig ang aking mga mata, ngunit mariin kong isinara ang aking panga upang pigilan itong bumuo ng isang patak.
"V-very well." I squeezed my chest to remain calm, so I could speak normally despite the gust of emotion rushing into my heart.
Ramdam ko ang bigat ng mga ulap na yumayakap sa aking dibdib na nagtutulak ng luha patungo sa aking mga mata.
"I-I was up in the north for the training camp last weekend. It was a great experience," I said formally as I nodded with a bit of enthusiasm.
"Interesting. Keep at it."
Tuluyan nang umalpas ang isang patak ng luha mula sa aking mata nang sabihin niya iyon.
Hinawakan ni Kuya Addie ang nanginginig kong kaliwang kamay. Ngunit imbis na humupa ang luha ay lalo lamang itong bumugso.
Kabod kong pinahid ang namamasa kong pisngi, hindi na alintana kung makita man nila.
It was better than an apology. Kahit gano'n lang kaiksi, kahit paunti-unti, as long as it would lead us to a good restart and reconnection, sapat na 'to para sa 'kin.
BINABASA MO ANG
Dive Deeper
Romance"You're the arsonist who set my heart ablaze. I will do everything to keep the fire burning." ••• If Cerulean had to dive the deepest ocean to win against his rival, Gaven Miguel Zafra for the regular libero spot, he would do it. He thought it was t...
