Way Back Home | PORDEE AU

Chapter 6

Santini Qien Escovar

"Muhgan-dang umagah?"

"No, it's magandang umaga," I corrected her broken pronunciation. "And when addressing old people, always include po at the end of the phrase, while responding with opo. Adding po and opo is a gesture of respect in our Filipino culture."

She nodded in understanding as she listened intently, "Understood!"

I raised an eyebrow at her, "No English, please."

"Oops, my mistake," she grinned, flashing a peace sign, "Naiintindihan ko... poh?"

"Very good!" natutuwang usal ko at binigyan siya ng dalawang thumbs up.

She playfully tossed her hair and wore a confident smile, "What's next?"

"Wow, you're so mayabang na ha?" naiiling na sabi ko habang tumatawa, kinuha ko ang papel at lapis na binaba ko kanina para tignan ang kasunod na salita.

"What does mayabang mean again?" she pondered, placing her hand on her chin, trying to recall, "Boastful and arrogant?"

I nodded, "Or like, full of yourself."

Avi, once again, struck a pose as if boasting, pretending to pat her own shoulder, "What? Like it's hard?"

Natawa naman ako at mahinang pinitik ito sa noo, "Yabang,"

"Hey!" reklamo niya at nakangusong hinimas-himas ang parte ng noo niyang pinitik ko, "Cĕb na!"

(Masakit!)

"What now?"

"C̄hạn ca kæ̂khæ̂n læa t̀xs̄ū̂ kạb h̄n̂āp̄hāk k̄hxng khuṇ bæb ræng s̄ib thèā! Khuṇ ca h̄ĕn xeng!"

(I will take revenge and flick your forehead ten times harder! Just you wait!)

"Not fair, Avi," I frowned at her, "I don't understand Thai, you know that."

"You act as if you don't do the same to me when speaking Tagalog," she countered, crossing her arms.

"Of course not!"

"Talk to my hand, Qien."

"✋" Oo. Ginanyan niya ang kamay niya sa mukha ko kaya nag-make face nalang ako sa kaniya.

Kailan lang rin namin nalaman na Thai pala ang salita na hindi ko maintindihan noon kay Avi. Inakala ko pang lengguwahe iyon ng mga sirena o kung anumang elemento dahil sa panglalason ni Marina sa utak ko.

At nang napagtanto namin na she's speaking Thai ay napagtagpi-tagpi na namin kung saan siya nanggaling. Oh 'di ba malamang sa Thailand? Natuwa kami sa kadahilanang malaking tulong iyon para matulungan namin siyang hanapin ang pamilya niyang paniguradong hinahanap na rin siya simula noong araw na nawala at napadpad siya rito sa isla. I'm sure her family must be extremely worried as several days have passed.

Pero ang ipinagtataka ko ay imbes na matuwa at pumayag si Aviana sa plano naming tulungan siya ay todo tanggi ito. I asked her the reason for rejecting the idea of finding her family, but due to her amnesia, her response was unclear. She simply mentioned that even if she were to remember at this moment, she felt like she would choose not to return wherever she came from.

At dahil iyon ang kagustuhan niya ay pumayag nalang kami kahit medyo tutol ang dalawang matanda. I just talked to them, asking them to understand Aviana's decision, especially given her current situation.

I wasn't really in a rush because I had my own purpose for staying on this island – to unwind, forget, heal, and fix my life once again. Well, actually, it's a hobby of mine na sirain ang buhay ko kapag may time.