Tune of Rapture (Echoes #2)

Chapter 34

Chapter 34

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"Hala! Nakatulog pala sa 'yo si Kai? Sorry, Yael! Nag hanap pa kasi akong diaper niya pero wala naman akong nakita. Akin na..."

Nang dumating si Avi ay nasa cashier pa rin kami pero nasa tabi na lang. I was waiting for the staff to finish bagging everything. Sobrang kasing dami at nasa kahon na. Nag hihintay ako nang kasama si Sergo. Nasa tabi ko siya at halukipkip.

Hindi ko na siya tiningnan nang ibigay kay Avi ang anak niya na tulog na tulog. I clicked my neck. Nangalay ako ro'n, ah.

"Salamat..." she spoke slowly as she glanced at the man beside me.

Umawang ang labi niya at tumingin sa akin. Natingnan ko tuloy si Sergo na halukipkip. He had a cross on his arm and his hunter eyes seemed to pierce even more as his eyebrows furrowed, looking at us.

We looked like dwarves here, and he was the king who would add weight to our words with just a few. He also glanced at Avi as if she had committed a grave sin.

Tumikhim ako.

"Uh... si Sergo nga pala, Avi, kakilala ko."

Pumikit ako nang mariin. Gago talaga. Alangan namang kaibigan ko? Hindi ko naman siya kaibigan. Ayoko rin namang maging bastos kaya ayan. Pinakilala ko pa rin sila sa isa't isa.

Avi smiled and reached out her hand in a very friendly manner. Bigla akong kinabahan dahil baka hindi tanggapin ni Sergo, mag kainitan pa silang dalawa rito!

Tiningnan ko si Sergo, nakahinga ako nang maluwag nang tanggapin niya naman pero mabilis din na inalis ang kamay. Avi hadn't even finished introducing herself yet! Nag iba yata ang ihip ng hangin ngayon dito. May naamoy ako.

Avi awkwardly smiled at me. I knew she could feel that she wasn't liked by the person next to me. Problema ba kasi nito? Nag tatampo? Walang susuyo sa kanya r'yan.

"I'll go ahead. Thank you for watching over Kai. Just come to our house whenever you want! Birthday ni Kai sa February, punta ka!" tinapik ni Avi ang aking balikat.

Tumango ako at ngumiti. Hinaplos ko ang buhok ni Kai. Avi smiled as she looked at Sergo. I bit my lower lip.

"Nice to meeting you... Sergo?" patanong na sabi ni Avi sa akin.

Humalakhak ako at tumango. I glanced at Sergo, whose face showed no emotion. I didn't know if he was pleased with us or what. He seemed to be deep in thought as he watched the two of us.

"Nice to meeting you, Sergo. I hope to talk to you again."

The man just nodded and looked away. I furrowed my brow, but when Avi said they were leaving, I just nodded. Silence then reigned between us as no one spoke.

I scratched my head out of extreme awkwardness. I kept shifting my gaze around because even if my eyes weren't on the person next to me, I could see from the corner of my eye that he was looking at me! Ano bang trip nito?

When I looked, indeed he was staring at me. His eyes were calm now, no furrow on his brow. His face reminded me of the times we were together in Laguna, when we used to go home from school together.

"Umuwi ka na kung nababagot ka mag hintay." malamig kong sabi.

Kaya ko naman pating buhatin ang kahon ng mga pinamili ko. Bakit ba kasi ako pumayag? Gusto ko ring talaga, e 'no?

"Hindi ako mapapagod mag hintay." he replied in a deep voice.

My heart skipped a beat at tumango na lang, hindi na ako sumagot at hindi na rin siya tiningnan.