Lies and Regrets

16

Lies and Regrets
16

Who?

"Ma'am, hindi po ba kayo makadadalo ulit sa event?"

I sighed habang kaharap ko si Gemma nang itanong niya iyon sa akin. We had a bunch of activities spearheaded by the organization, pero minsan na lang akong nakadadalo noon dahil marami akong kailangang pagtuunang bagay. Uma-attend naman ako kapag kaya ng schedule ko, pero hindi ko iyon magagawa ngayon dahil final exams na namin.

I was already a fourth year law student. I didn't even realize kung gaano kabilis tumakbo ang panahon. Kung hindi ko pa nakikita ang paglaki at pagbabago sa ugali ni Khai ay hindi ko pa mamalayang ilang taon na rin pala ang nakalipas magmula noong una akong tumapak sa law school. Wala naman kasi talaga akong break (kahit pa sabihing summer break) dahil hindi ko naman niwawala ang pag-aaral araw-araw kaya siguro ganoon.

And yes, Khai's personality changed. It wasn't a bad change, though. I understood it din naman dahil he was now sixteen years old. And we all knew how hormones worked. He became quieter, though and serious. He became more studious, too. Hindi, sobrang studious to the point na palagi ko na lang siyang nakikitang nagbabasa ng libro. But... he was still sweet to me, and Jared. Hindi na nga lang tulad noon na sobrang lambing talaga. But I knew it was part of growing up, so I didn't mind. I myself for sure experienced it when I was my son's age.

"Gemma, I'm really sorry pero hindi ulit. It's our exam week, and I need to study," sabi ko sa kaniya. I was so worried na magalit sila sa akin dahil ilang events na rin ng org na wala ako.

But Gemma smiled, and that was enough to lift the worry off my chest. "Okay lang, Ma'am. Balitaan na lang po kita rito ulit sa mga mangyayari," she told me. "Sige po, una na po ako, ah."

I nodded at her as she made her way out of the house. She just came here to give me personally the folders which contained the activities of the organization for the next six months. Gemma was the mother of the girl Khai talked to when he was eleven. She asked for my help when she decided to report her husband to the authorities, and I did help her. Now, she and her daughter Chrishna were finally free.

When Gemma was finally out of my sight, muli kong itinuon ang tingin sa librong binabasa. It was a book on Taxation. I didn't want to fail in all of the subjects, kaya ginagawa ko talaga lahat.

"Mom."

Ibinaling ko ang tingin sa pintuan when Khai called me. Kauuwi niya lang galing school. Syempre, hindi ko naman na siya inihatid at sundo dahil medyo malaki naman na siya. He was independent, and I so adored him for that.

"How's school?" tanong ko sa kaniya nang magmano siya sa akin.

Nagkibit-balikat siya. "Good, I guess. But I..." Tumingin siya palayo kaya nagtaka ako. "I fought with some bullies."

Umawang ang bibig ko. As much as possible, ayaw ko siyang nasasangkot sa gulo, at lalong-lalong ayaw kong manakit siya ng iba. But if it was because of bullies, then I didn't mind, I guess. "Were they bullying you?"

Umiling siya. "Not me. Chrishna. They were hurting her physically, so I had to intervene."

Napatango ako. "Okay, that's good."

"Don't worry, though, I didn't hurt them like physically or verbally. I just... I just shooed them away. I did some blackmailing, though." Then he smiled a little. "Uh..." Napatingin siya sa mga libro sa coffee table. "Good luck, Mom. I'm sure you can do it. I'll go ahead, then?" Tapos umakyat na siya pa-kwarto niya.

I smiled. I always adored my son for being kind. It was such a flex as a mother.

When the clock struck 5:00 p.m., tumayo na ako at nagbihis upang pumunta na ng school. I was actually on leave sa work today since I really wanted to study everything. Don't worry, one day lang naman ang leave ko. I just had to dahil nahihirapan talaga ako sa Taxation. Hindi lang mismo roon sa subject, but the professor itself! Sobrang nakalilito ang paraan ng pagbibigay ng questions ni Attorney Suano! Although I was an accountancy graduate, I still had a hard time on Taxation kaya halos iyon talaga ang pinagtuunan ko ng pansin ngayon.