DUCANI LEGACY SERIES 10: KAHEL (VIP STORY)

Sample Chapter: Kabanata 5

Kabanata 5

Eloisa

I saw how Noa's eyes widened in amusement the moment Ma'am Khalila placed a slice of cake in front of him. Kumuyakoy ang anak ko habang tila nanunubig ang mga matang pinakatitigan ang cake.

Hinaplos ko ang ulo ni Noa. "Ano ang sasabihin mo kay Ma'am Khalila, anak?"

My son glanced at me. Maya-maya ay ibinaling niya ang tingin kay Ma'am Lila. "Ahpy burday po!"

Umugong ang mahinang tawanan. Nakangisi namang nagsalin ng juice si Sir Kali sa baso at itinulak iyon patungo sa harap ni Noa.

"Hindi birthday ni Mommy, Noa," si Sir Kali.

Labis na nalukot ang noo ni Noa. "Weh? May cake aman po, eh!"

Tumikhim ako. "Pasensya na po. Nakakakain lang siya ng cake kapag birthday o kaya kung may pupuntahan kaming birthday party."

Sir Klinn flashed a fatherly smile. "Mind sharing a bit about yourself? I'm curious about how you can manage to stay in your job that long."

Napalunok ako. Tatlong buwan pa lang naman ako sa trabaho pero parang sa paningin nila ay napakatagal na no'n. Siguro dahil walang tumatagal kay Kahel. Kung hindi kasi nasisisante dahil nahuhumaling sa kanya, tinatanggal niya naman dahil hindi masabayan ang ugali at takbo ng utak niya.

"Uhm, there's not much to share, Sir."

"Come on. I'm sure there is," he insisted. "Something very interesting."

Sandali akong nag-isip. Nahagip pa ng tingin ko ang tila nabo-board na si Kahel. He's leaning his body a little towards his grandmother. May pakiramdam tuloy akong lola's boy ang isang ito magmula noong maliit pa.

"Hmm, iyong daddy ko po, may weird na disgusto sa mga negosyante. Parang successful ka lang kung teacher ka, nurse o kaya engineer. Iyong kuya ko po, civil engineer. Ang ate ko, nurse."

Sir Kali shifted to his seat. "So how did you end up in the corporate world?"

Napangisi ako nang maalala kung paano. "I took up nursing for one semester. I gave it a try but I realized that nursing isn't really for me so I secretly changed my course. I falsified my father's signature for four years until I finally graduated as a Laude."

"Wow! That's such a bold move!" bulalas ni Sir Kali. "Hindi ka na mapapalo no'n. Laude ba naman pag-graduate."

I scratched my temple. "Actually, nagalit pa rin si Daddy. He's a pastor in our church so he thought my love for money had driven me to lie to him. Para kasi sa kanya, makasalanan ang isang taong naghahangad ng maraming pera."

Ma'am Khalila lifted a brow while a slight smirk was written on her lips. Tila naaaliw sa aking kwento.

"Are you solely driven by money, dear?" she asked.

Umiling ako. "No, Ma'am."

Sir Konnar smirked. "Then what does?" he asked in a more professional approach. Parang hindi ko na tuloy makita iyong Konnar na kanina lang ay kinakalabit ako para sa bente pesos.

I sat up straight and filled my chest with enough air. "It's not about the amount of money, but the things I can do with it, Sir. I can create jobs and introduce my ideas to others. I can do the things I want in a responsible manner. I can . . ." Payak akong ngumiti. "I can pave my own path and be free to live my life the way I want to . . ."

"And you think you can't do those if you're a teacher, a nurse, or an engineer, huh?" tanong ni Kahel na hindi ko inasahan.

I swallowed the pool of saliva in my mouth. "I salute those people who are dedicating their lives to the profession that they chose, but I have a belief that in order to thrive on something, one must love what he or she does. Because love will make you keep choosing that path no matter how hard the journey is."