Tristan
I drove my car to the hospital where Tita Erica is staying. On my way there, hindi ko talaga maisip kung bakit nangyari yun kay Casper kahapon. He got into a car accident yesterday and Amber still hasn't called me. Basta sabi ko sa kaniya, if she has news— good or bad, sabihin niya kaagad sa 'kin.
Casper and I are not in good terms. We kind of dislike each other but still, I know how much he means to Amber so I'm still concerned.
I sighed. Bakit ba parang lahat na lang ng taong importante kay Amber, nadadamay sa gulo?
Sana naman okay lang si Casper. He has to be. Amber needs him.
I parked my car and went inside the building. Dumiretso ko sa room ni Tita, holding a doll in my right hand. It's a doll similar to the one Tita calls 'Amber'. Sinabi kasi nung mga nurses na pinatapon daw yun ni Pricilla so I just bought something that looks similar. I mean, I told someone to buy it for me. It would be weird if I bought it myself... A grown man buying a doll? That's not exactly the kind of image I want to have.
I knocked on her door and went inside. The nurses let me come and go casually dahil nga matagal na rin akong bumibisita.
"Hi Tita." I greeted her.
She just looked at me and didn't greet back. Nasa harap niya yung laptop ko. I forgot to take it back with me yesterday.
"Here's Amber." I told her. Inabot ko sa kaniya yung doll.
She smiled weakly. Bakit ganon? Parang hindi siya cheerful ngayong araw? Dati makita niya lang yung doll na 'to, halos magtatatalon-talon siya sa tuwa.
"Tita, do you want to watch Amber's ninth birthday party?" I asked her.
She nodded weakly. I turned on the laptop and looked for the video. I found it in one of the folders. I played it and we watched in together.
In the middle of the video, she started sobbing. "Tita what's wrong?" Tanong ko.
She did not answer. She just cried and cried. Finally, she said something. "I'm sorry Tristan."
Hindi ako makapaniwala sa narinig ko. Did she just call me Tristan?
"I'm sorry..." Sinabi niya ulit.
"Tita... Nakikilala niyo na po ako?" I asked.
She nodded. "Sorry. Hindi ko kasi alam kung pa 'no ko sasabihin. I couldn't bring myself to tell you because I feel really guilty but I already... I mean—" She stopped and started sobbing again.
"I watched all of the videos about Amber yesterday when you left. I even saw some of your pictures together. I know everything now..." Paliwanag niya.
Hindi ako makapaniwala. "Tita..." Pinaulit-ulit ko muna sa utak ko yung mga sinabi niya bago ko maintindihan lahat.
"Tita, 'wag na 'wag mong sasabihin 'to sa iba, okay? Kahit kanino. Lalo na kay Pricilla." I told her.
"But Pricilla's my sister-in-law. Why shouldn't I tell her?" Tanong niya.
"I'll explain to you later. But please... Promise me first that you won't tell anyone."
Amber
When I woke up, Jade was already gone. Sinabi ni Tita na pumunta muna daw sa kwarto ni Jairus. Si Tita, sinundan siya. Gusto daw niyang makita si Jai. I slept sitting on a chair near Casper's bed. Hindi ko siya iniwan. Not even for a moment. Hindi ko kaya e.
The doctor already told us about his condition. Sabi niya, comatose daw due to the head injury sa brain stem ni Casper. A failure to the Reticular Activating System. So basically right now, Casper's brain is not receiving any stimuli, and with RAS broken, his brain cannot be aroused and woken up.
BINABASA MO ANG
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