"Ma'am Amara, narito na ang almusal niyo po."
I was standing beside Nanay Jacinta while waiting for Amara to open the door. It was past nine o'clock already and she still hadn't eaten anything.
Napalingon ako sa matanda nang walang sumagot mula sa loob ng kuwarto ng babae. Gusto kong mapailing dahil alam naman namin na gising na ito.
I checked in with Canlas and Tamayo earlier and they said she was on the terrace earlier. Hindi naman ito bumaba kanina nang tawagin ko ito para mag-almusal. Kaya rin napagdesisyunan na lang namin na pahatiran ng pagkain ang babae sa kuwarto nito. Nauna na rin kaming kumain kanina dahil na rin alam naman namin na hindi ito sasalo sa amin ngayon.
Kumatok akong muli upang kunin ang atensiyon ng babaeng nasa loob na alam ko naman na nagbibingi-bingihan lang at pinipili na huwag kaming pansinin ng matanda.
"Amara, your breakfast is ready. Can you please open the door?" pakiusap ko rito at mas nilakasan pa ang boses. I can't just kick the door open even though I can. Ako lang din ang mapapagalitan kapag ginawa ko ang bagay na iyon.
Tumingin muli sa akin si Nanay Jacinta, bakas ang pag-aalinlangan sa mukha nito. Marahil ay iniisip nito kung tatayo na lang ba kami roon at hihintayin si Amara o kung may plano ba akong iba. "Tawagin kaya natin si Sir Conrad at–"
"No," I cut her off immediately and shook my head. Mukha namang nagulat ito sa mabilis na pagsagot ko. "Uhm..." I cleared my throat and looked away. "He's busy with his work and it's my job to make sure Amara is okay. We... we don't need him to come here and knock," I babbled before looking at the door again. I could feel myself getting pissed easily right now and I hated it.
I clenched my fists before I drew a deep sigh to calm myself.
"Amara, please, open the door. I have a key to this door and I don't want to use it because I don't want to invade your privacy. But if you won't open this, I will have no choice but to use it and–" I stopped talking when I heard she unlocked the door.
See? Madali ka naman palang kausap, e.
She opened the door and she didn't even try to hide her annoyance while she was looking at me. "What do you need?" she asked.
I looked at Nanay Jacinta and gave her a small nod. "Ipasok niyo na po ang almusal niya," sabi ko sa ginang bago muling humarap kay Amara na nakatingin sa akin at nakataas ang kilay. Hindi naman ito nagreklamo nang naglakad papasok si Nanay Jacinta at ilapag ang pagkain nito sa lamesang naroon.
Nakapantulog pa rin ito at mukhang walang planong lumabas sa kuwarto nito sa buong araw na iyon.
"I called you to eat breakfast earlier, you didn't answer so we just brought you your food. I have no plans in losing a client just because she decided to be a brat and starve herself to death," I told her and gave her a small smile.
"What did you just call me?" bumagsak ang mga kamay nitong nakakrus sa magkabilang panig ng katawan nito at nakita ko ang pagtalim ng tingin nito sa akin.
"Hmm? A brat," I replied. "You're acting like one, might as well call you one," I shrugged and looked at Nanay Jacinta who exited her room. Nagsabi ito na babalik na sa baba kaya tumango na lang din ako rito.
She scoffed and shook her head. "For someone who's supposed to be taking care of me, protecting me, your tongue is surely sharp and–"
"Oh, I can protect you very well and keep my tongue sharp, Amara," I interrupted her hate speech. "My job is to take care of you, and I am doing that. Sugarcoating my words was not part of the deal," I added and her nostrils flared.
