Sino kaya ang Amanda na iyon? My curiosity got the better of me as we moved away from the barn where he lives. The wind kissed my face. Kumakalampag ang takbo ni Kole, and the movement of his jog caused me to continuously lean on Lyon. Kaso urong-sulong ang nagaganap. I was doing my best not to let our bodies touch.
But it's so hard, lalo na't kinakabahan ako na baka mahulog ako kapag sinusubukan kong ilayo ang upper body ko.
Ewan ko ba, pero iba ang dating sa akin kapag nararamdaman ko siya sa aking likuran.
"Lyon," I called him. I heard his, "Hmm?"
"Sino iyong tinutukoy na Amanda?" tanong ko sa kanya, facepalming myself internally because I let my curiosity get the better of me. Bakit hindi kami dapat mahuli ng mga alagad niya? Is she someone with a bad attitude? Or is she a spy?
"Ah, wala," sagot niya. Tumingin ako sa dinaraanan namin. Kitang-kita ko ang napakahabang mga corral sa paligid namin. Trees from some distance were dancing to the music of the wind while noises from nearby animals added to the symphony. "Wag mo na pansinin iyong sinabi ni Michael. Nagbibiro lang iyon."
See, Gabrielle? Biro lang iyon. Masyado kang malisyoso.
"Okay. Pero is the stable far?" I noticed that the path ahead seemed to open up and there were no more corrals in sight. The dirt path was quite visible against the green ocean of grass.
"Oo. Sa kabilang dulo pa iyon," he pointed into the distance. I saw a tall tree at the side of the path and read the sign: Hearthstone Stable.
As we passed that point, I saw in the distance a few corrals painted in darker tones. At the far end was a larger barn than where Lyon lived.
When we neared one of the corrals, Lyon suddenly pulled the reins. Kole neighed and changed direction. I turned to look at Lyon in confusion, but because it was difficult to see him, I could only focus on the path ahead.
"Where are we going?" I asked, nervous. Saan niya ako dadalhin?
"Hindi ba't sinabi ko kanina na ipapasyal kita? Mayroon akong alam na lugar na pwede kang mag-enjoy."
Kole ran towards an area that has a lot of trees hugging each other. Para itong jungle. No, it's not even 'like' a jungle. Ganun talaga siya.
And mag-eenjoy? Sa dami ng mga puno at sa tila crowded na itsura ng dinaraanan na namin, hindi na ito mukhang ka-enjoy-enjoy. We were heading into a deep jungle.
Lumunok ako. Sigurado naman akong iingatan ako ni Lyon, di ba? Siguro naman ay wala siyang gagawing masama sa akin?
"Mag-ingat ka sa mga sanga, ha," he warned me. A low branch was approaching, so I bent down to avoid getting slapped by it.
Ilang distansya pa ang tinakbo ni Kole. Unti-unti, parang pababa kami sa aming dinaraanan. Sinilip ko ang gilid namin at napansin ang iilang mga tuyong halaman at sanga.
The sun is not hurting my skin now unlike the path we took a while ago. Some large trees have their huge leaves cover us from the sun. Pansin ko rin sa taas ang mga gumagalaw na mga dahon at sango dahil sa mga ibong nagsiliparan.
Pansin kong malayo na kami masyado sa origihinal na dapat tahakin namin. Malakas pa rin ang nararamdaman kong kaba dahil ang lugar na ito ay hindi pamilyar sa akin. I was attentive throughout the journey. Baka kase biglang pokpokin ni Lyon ang ulo ko tapos iiwan na lang ako rito.
But then, my worries popped like a balloon. Lalo na nang marinig ang tila rumaragasang tubig.
Lyon pulled Kole's rein. The horse whined and slowly stopped running.
