If You Speak Your Heart (Heart Series #1)

Heart 22

Chapter 22
HEART

Dinala ako ni Calvin sa isang malawak na field na paitaas at may naglalakihang mga puno.

I've never been to this place. Hindi ko rin alam na may ganito kagandang lugar pala sa lugar na ito. Kitang-kita namin sa baba ang mga kabahayan sa villa na lumiliit sa mga mata namin.

"Wow! Ang ganda!" namamangha kong sabi.

Calvin chuckled and watched me closely. I roamed my eyes around. Unawang ang bibig ko nang makitang may nakalatag na isang picnic mat sa damuhan at iilang basket ng pagkain.

"Is this yours? Are we going to picnic?"

"Yes. We will just wait for the sun to set. Ayos lang ba kung magagabihan ka nang kaunti?"

"Ayos lang."

He smiled.

Naupo na kami sa nakalapat na mat sa damo pagkatapos kong i-text sina Kuya na gagabihin ako. I saw a little hut in a distance. It was beautiful! Luma na iyon pero mukhang inayos ulit at nilagyan ng mga dekorasyon. Itinuro ko iyon kay Calvin.

"May bahay-kubo pala rito! Wala bang nakatira diyan? Ang ganda! Parang bagong ayos!" I was suddenly curious what's inside.

Calvin only smirked and gave me the sandwich from the basket. Nagkwentuhan kami at nagpatuloy sa pagkain hanggang sa unti-unti ng bumaba ang araw tanda ng paggabi.

Ilang saglit lang ay biglang nagkaroon ng liwanag sa paligid. The lights didn't came from the city lights nor from the village. It's the lights from the tree and it was flickering. It took me a while before I realized that it was hundreds— no, thousands of fireflies!

Umawang ang bibig ko sa mangha at napatayo. All of the trees surrounding us were beautifully lighted by the fluttering fireflies. Hindi pa ako nakakita ng ganoon karaming fireflies buong buhay ko!

I felt like my heart beats with them. Mabagal na nagliparan ang napakaraming alitaptap sa paligid namin ni Calvin hanggang sa maabot ko ang iilan sa mga daliri ko.

"Wow..." I stared at the little fireflies in awe. My heart was so happy that I can feel my lips tearing apart. "Bakit ngayon ko lang alam ang lugar na 'to? This is so beautiful, Calvin!"

I looked at him and he's already beside me, staring at me with a warm smile. He looked so mesmerized, too— not to the fireflies but to me. Hinawakan niya ako sa beywang at hinapit papalapit sa kanya.

"Do you like what you see?" he asked huskily.

Napapangiti akong tumango at inilibot muli ang mga mata ko sa paligid. When I looked back to him again, his face was already near me, and he's looking at my lips intently.

I smiled. "Thank you for introducing this place to me, Calvin. Thank you, really. Simula pa sa pagsama sa akin sa paghihintay kahapon. You did a lot of good things for me..."

"If you really are thankful... Can I kiss you?"

My lips parted. Kumalabog ang dibdib ko at nanindig ang balahibo ko sa batok.

"If I really did a lot of good things... can you allow me to kiss you? Para sa lahat ng nagawa ko?"

My heart beats so fast. I stared at him in awe. I swallowed hard as the fireflies keep illuminating lights around. And as if something hypnotized me— something inside me wants to compensate what he did— I nodded my head.

He smiled so wide and dropped his head to reach for my lips. My mind was elsewhere. Kasabay ng paglapat ng mga labi namin ay ang tuluyang pagliwanag ng paligid dahil sa mga light bulbs, street lights at ang ilaw sa kubo.