Mirae

Kapitulo 24

Kapitulo 24

Beer

The thin line between hatred and love was often crossed by people who let their emotions control them and, often, love wins. But for Cyra's case, it seemed as though Adiel would never cross the line. At least, not now. Maybe, in the future. She could only hope for now.

"Diel," mahina niyang sabi habang nililinis ng asawa niya ang kotse nito sa garahe. She arrived before lunchtime and saw him topless, wiping his car with a bubbly sponge. "Magluluto ako ng seafood marinara, kain ka, ha?"

Adiel listened and looked at her. Wala siyang pagkain sa ref ngayon dahil hindi pa siya nakapaggo-grocery shopping. Kaya, tumango siya sa babae.

Sige na, pilit ni Adiel sa isipan. Kakainin ko dahil wala akong pagkain at hindi pa ako tapos maglinis.

He watched as her face beamed at his response. Nakaramdam siya ng kaunting awa. In the middle of his anger facade, care slipped out a little. Saglit na tumigil ang kamay niya sa pagkuskos sa pinto ng kotse niya. Isang ngiti lang, isang beses lang. He composed himself and went back to washing as she walked into the house.

She shouted a "masarap ako magluto nito, promise!" as she walked into the house.

Adiel tried to remember the last time he had homemade seafood pasta, but he couldn't. He only ever ate it in restaurants. Back then, Cyra hadn't tried making seafood pasta because she wasn't a huge fan of seafood. But she knew her husband was, so when they go out, she occasionally tells him to eat in a seafood place to quench his thirst for seafood.

When Cyra was in Baguio, kadalasan, ang niluluto niyang pagkain ay 'yong mga gusto ng asawa niya. Kaya, nahiligan niya na ang seafod marinara, parang na-perfect niya na nga pagluto no'n, e. Maipapatikim na rin si Cyra ang pasta niya sa asawa, at last.

Ang kinakain niya araw-araw ay ang mga gusto ni Adiel dahil sa pangungulila at paghahanda na rin. Inaral niya ang bawat putahe na gusto ni Adiel para kapag bumalik siya, mas makikita ni Adiel na mahal siya ng asawa niya. Para maipakita na hindi nawala ang lalaki sa isipan niya.

She began to cook the various fresh seafood she bought yesterday while chopping up onions and tomatoes. The silence in the house demanded sounds, conversations, or music. Just something loud because cooking, for Cyra, needed a little noise to feel less deserted.

So, she went to her back swiftly to put on her headphones and play music. Hindi naman 'yon malakas, just enough so that she would still hear her husband if he ever called for her. Sana nga tawagin siya, sana nga maibaba niya ang headphones niya ngayon kahit isang beses lang.

Cyra softly sang while mixing the boiling mussels. "There'll be no sunshine, if I lose you, baby. There'll be no clear skies, if I lose you, baby."

While that was going on, sweaty and tired Adiel goes into the house. When his eyes landed on his wife cooking for him, natigil na naman siya. The scene a little far from him was something he wished to see on days when Cyra was appointed to cook dinner. If he'd be honest, it was a scene he wanted to see every day, not because he wanted her to be the one cooking all the time but rather because he wanted to see her as she was now-a wife who looked forward to eating with him by preparing dinner. The idea that she wanted to eat with him made him soft, a little jelly even.

He slowly walked towards the staircase and heard her humming. She was singing a song he knew from start to finish, and it made him think of the time she was gone. He practically embodied the song she was humming and listening to.

Araw-araw ay umulan nga, napagtanto nito sa isipan, hindi na suminag ang araw simula nang mawala ka, Cyra. Pero bakit parang natatakpan pa rin ang liwanag kahit narito ka? Hindi naman na madilim, malabo na.