Duskfall

Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Sasha is a cute little girl that's afraid of people due to trauma. I want to ask her of her story and to comfort her, tell her that everything will be fine, but I didn't. It might frighten her kaya naman nag-interact lang ako sa kanya as if I didn't know ang isang part ng nakaraan niya. I complimented her of her writing, of how cute she is, and other things that will make her feel familiar with me.

Maya-maya lang ay hinayaan niya akong tulungan siyang magsulat. I squatted malapit sa kanya so our heads are leveled. She seems afraid of physical contact pero hinayaan niya ako na hawakan ang kanang kamay niya na ginagamit niyang pansulat. I gently held her hand as I guided her to write.

"Wow, ang galing naman ni Sasha, nasulat niya ang buong pangalan niya." Pumapalakpak na sabi ko.

Sasha seems shy about it so she tried to hide her smile, which made me smile more. Slowly, she's opening up to me.

After patting her head ay pupunta naman ako sa ibang mga bata para tulungan sila and praise them as I did to Sasha, but I didn't forget to approach Sasha once in a while para masanay siya sa presence ko. And I succeeded dahil pagkatapos ng klase ay hindi na siya mukhang ganoong katakot tuwing lalapit ako. She even laughs sometimes, giggling when I got the wrong lines and needs to erase it.

Nalipat ang atensyon ng mga bata nang pumalakpak ang kanilang teacher. She asked them to fall in line dala ang mga sulat nila para macheck niya. The kids excitedly did that at mga nag-uuhanan pa , but the teacher said that she won't check their works kung hindi sila pipila ng maayos.

"Wow, ang galing naman. Good job! Dahil diyan, meron kang star!" Sabi ng teacher matapos i-check ang sulat ng mga bata. She's giving them a stamp on their arm, which made the children really happy.

"Ate Solana, meron po akong star~" Excited na sabi sa akin ni Sasha habang kiming ipinapakita sa akin ang kanyang kanang braso.

"Wow, patingin nga?" Sabi ko at marahang hinawakan ang kamay niya, which of course with her consent. I saw a star shaped stamp tattoo on her skin. I gently tapped it at mukhang madaling mabura so hindi ko na hinawakan. I don't know much about school stuffs but it's a good way to motivate the children.

"Ang galing naman ni Sasha. Sana ako rin, may star." Papuri ko sa kanya.

Sasha beamed a smile at me at hinawakan ang kamay ko. "Hingi ka rin po kay teacher, ate. Good job ka din po sa pagturo sa amin." Sabi niya bago ako hinila.

I chuckled and let her pull me patungo sa kanilang teacher. She was shy nang makalapit na kami sa unahan, specially when she asked the teacher if she can give me a stamp too. The teacher looked at me and smiled, asking kung pwede niya akong tatakan. I smiled and offer the back of my hand kung saan niya ako tinatakan. Now I got my own star too.

"Happy ka po ba, ate Solana?" Tanong sa akin ni Sasha.

I smiled at her thoughtfulness. "Oo naman. Thank you Sasha."

Nakangiting tumango ang bata. "Welcome po~~. Thank you ka din po kay teacher~"

I chuckled and thanked the teacher.

The rest of the day is fun and meaningful. Kahit na medyo pagod ako dahil sa pagiging energetic ng mga bata ay masaya pa rin. Mas nakakapagod pa ata makipaglaro sa kanila kaysa sa mga physical activities na ginagawa ko like hiking. Though, everything is worth it. Makita mo lang ang ngiti ng mga bata ay parang narecharge ka na.

"Babalik ka pa po ba, ate Solana?" Malungkot na tanong sa akin ni Sasha.

The time flies so fast, and it's now time to say goodbye. Nasa may main entrance na kami ng building, and some kids came to see us. Mas maraming mga bata ngayon kaysa kanina. Most of them are the ones who came back from school.