And You Became My Favorite Track

Chapter 5

Tingin

"Little do I know that this marks the beginning of something that will test everything I thought I knew about myself."- Rylle

Nagising ako sa ingay ng playlist ko na hanggang ngayon ay tumutugtog pa rin.
I must have forgotten to turn it off before falling asleep. 

Ang mga mata ko ay namamaga na tila ba ako'y napuyat. 10 A.M na nang magising ako.

The soft, dreamy melodies of LANY were sounded more like a dull hum in the background as sunlight peeked through my curtains, nudging me awake.

I was trying to shake off the remaining drowsiness when suddenly Mom started knocking on my door. Her voice filtered through it.

"Rylle, gumising ka na at kumain na ng almusal.You only have three days left before school starts. Bilhin mo na lahat ng kakailanganin mo, Gina is coming with you"

I groaned quietly but forced myself out of bed.

She was not wrong—I do need supplies, but the idea of stepping out again felt like too much effort.

Inaantok pa yata ako. I don't feel productive today.

Alam niyo ba 'yung pakiramdam na wala kang gustong gawin kundi humilata lamang buong araw? — ganon ang feeling.

I went out of my room and everyone is prepping for breakfast. Naghahanda na silang umupo at kumain.

Tamang tama ang paggising sa akin ni Mom.

Mayroong hotdogs, scrambled eggs, at corned beef sa hapag kainan.

Sinimulan kong ikain ang tila namimikit kong mga mata. I wanna sleep more.

We're having our breakfast when suddenly Tito Martin started talking to me again.

"Kamusta ang tulog mo Rylle? Malamig ba sa kwarto mo?" he asked.

Obviously, it was freezing cold. May aircon eh.

I nodded and it seemed like he got my answer.

I did not really feel like talking to him dahil naninibago pa rin ako sa kaniya.
I hope he does not get me wrong though.

Everybody's enjoying their meal. Having casual conversations about stuff. I remained silent, trying to shake off the sleepy feeling. Sa tuwing ako ay tinatanong at kinakausap, tumatango lamang ako. 

As usual, I finished eating first. Gusto ko nang maghanda para sa lakad namin ni ate Gina mamaya. I headed straight to the sink, leaving my plate there. Kinuha ko agad ang aking towel and started taking a hard bath. The water felt cold pero sakto lang para sa katawan ko. As the cold water runs through my skin onti onti akong nagising mula sa natutulog kong diwa.

Ibang iba ang gawain ko rito sa Manila. I remember, I was still in Vigan, maaga akong nagigising para maging productive. Isa pa, ako ang nakakasama ng lola ko sa mga negosyo namin roon, kung kaya't kailangan ko talagang magising ng maaga para magbukas ng aming laundry shop at magbantay roon.

Ganoon ang naging practice ko sa Vigan.— Kung wala ako sa bakery na nagbabantay, naroon naman ako sa laundry shop. Alam ko ang ginagawa ko roon, pero siyempre, bilang baguhan dito sa Manila, I'm still taking it all in. Tinatanong kung ano ang day to day purpose ko rito kaya hindi ako ganon ka-productive.

After a cold bath, naghanda na nga ako para sa lakad namin mamaya.

I'm  wearing a baby blue shirt, the soft fabric felt cold touching my skin. The shirt comes with white shorts that showed off my complexion, the fabric felt light and comfortable as I walked. My feet were in white sneakers, perfect for the warm day, and I carried my canvas string bag, printed with patterns of lines in blue ink, slung over my shoulder.