Kidnapped (A Romance Story for Filipino Wattpadders)

102: A Bright Day

Amber

I stood by the bus stop. I'm actually good at riding buses now. Kahit nakatayo. Di ba nag-iimprove na ang adapting skills ko in being a poor member of this society?

After about 30 minutes, I reached my stop. Then naglakad ako ng mga 10 minutes to reach the bakeshop. Actually I half-ran and half-walked to it. Nakakahiya na kasi kay Tita Eli na lagi na lang akong late.

I opened the door and almost bumped into Jeremy.

"Ano ba? Bulag ka ba?" He said.

I almost banged the door on his face. Pa-inside kasi yung pag-open ng door ng bakeshop.

"Ba't ka kasi paharang-harang?" I said. The door is made of glass and I should've seen him but I was looking at the ground kaya di ko siya nakita. Anyway, totoo naman na nakaharang siya e. Di dapat siya tumatambay sa may entrance.

He made a face at me. I stuck my tongue out at him.

Hindi ko man gustong aminin, but Jeremy had been an enormous help to me. Siya ang nagconvince sa Mom niya to give me work sa bakeshop, and this place is actually the one place where I can let go of all the burdens and worries I have and let myself loose like a carefree child. Much more dahil sobrang childish ni Jeremy. Lumabas pa lahat ng childishness at kalokohan niya 'cause his Mom is here.

"Oh, Amby, you're here..." Tita Eli greeted me with a warm smile and a hug.

Alam nga pala ni Tita Eli yung about sa akin. All of it. I want to tell her because she's being my benefactor tapos pagsisinungalingan ko siya. That doesn't seem right. And I don't want to lie anymore. Kahit si Tita Myrna alam na lahat about me.

I'm grateful for all the people around me na pumoprotekta sa akin right now. For now, Pricilla is being quiet. Maybe she thinks I'm really dead, or maybe because of other things. I don't really know. But she's being quiet. For now. I have the feeling that this is the calm before the storm and it's driving me crazy thinking of all the people I cherish na baka galawin ni Pricilla.

"Jem, naprepare mo na ba lahat ng ingredients?" Tita Eli asked Jeremy.

"Yes, Mom. Nasa kitchen na lahat. And I also refilled the storage room." Sagot niya.

"Good job, my precious baby..." Tita Eli cooed while pinching Jeremy's cheek.

I giggled. Jeremy shook her hand off, embarrassed. "Mom naman e." He complained.

"Amby is going to bake us some cakes today, so don't disturb her in the kitchen a." Tita Eli told him.

"Mom, kahit gaano kalaking disturbance pa ang gawin ko, it won't make a difference. What I'm curious about is ilang volcanoes na naman kaya ang makikita ko today." He said matter-of-factly.

"Jeremy Hogan, shut your mouth o ibubudbod kita sa chocolate a la mode na gagawin ko ngayon." I threatened.

"Chocolate a la mode o Chocolate hills?" He joked.

"Isa, papakainin talaga kita ng lupa." I took a french bread and aimed it at him like a sword.

"Lahat naman ng ginagawa mo lasang lupa e." He teased.

"Okay, break it up, break it up. Jem, may deliveries ka pa di ba?" Tita Eli said.

Jeremy groaned. "Mom, masyado akong good-looking to be a delivery guy... Can't you hire some help?"

"Bakit naman ako maghahire pa when you're there doing nothing. Consider your allowance as yor salary, okay?" Tita Eli told him.

I smiled. I went to the kitchen to accomplish my chores.

It's another bright day. I hope something good will happen to make it even brighter.

~~~~~

I threw my bag on a small table near Casper's bed. Gosh... I'm sooo tired.

I baked three cakes today. I mean, I ruined three cakes today. Tita Eli's teaching me how to bake but it was so darn hard. She wanted me to bake a lava cake ala mode. Pero laging nag-eexplode yung cake. Mukha tuloy may crater sa gitna. Dun ko na lang nilagay yung ice cream. It didn't look great but it was okay so I told Jeremy and Tita Eli that I can bake now. And I really thought I can, until I tried to cut it. Heck, it was as hard as a rock.

I tried to bake a chocolate almond cake and a blueberry cheesecake but the result is always the same. Parang gooey mixture at lasang natunaw na rubber. Jeremy kept on teasing me. He was sooo annoying. Kapag ako nasanay nang mag-bake, lagot siya sa 'kin. Ipapaubos ko sa kaniya lahat ng cake na gagawin ko.

I looked at Casper's face and smiled. "Of course I'll give some to you too." I told him.

"Bibigyan ko din si Jai at si Tita Myrna. And I'll try to teach Jade. Kaso baka masunog yung buong apartment dahil sa kaniya." I sat on a chair beside his bed.

I took a hand cream on top of the side table. Naging habit ko nang i-massage si Casper simula nung sinabi ng doctor that it's good for him.

I squirted some cream on his hand. "Buti ka pa Casper, wala kang eyebags. Ako, laging napupuyat sa kakabantay kay Jai. Nagwo-work pa ko sa cafe tapos sa bakeshop pa nila Tita Eli. Sisingilin talaga kita 'pag nagising ka na. Ang arte mo kasi e. May pa-coma-comatose ka pa." I sighed. Even though a month had already passed, it still hurts whenever I talk to him and I don't get a reply.

I put his right hand down and gave it a gentle pat. "Okay. Yung left hand mo naman."

Kukunin ko na sana yung left hand niya when I suddenly felt something grab my wrist. That's weird. Wala namang ibang tao— Oh my... Could it be Casper?

I looked as his right hand. Hindi naman gumagalaw. I touched it and gave it a squeeze. Wala pa ring reaction. Imagination ko lang siguro...

Medyo tumayo ako para abutin yung kabilang kamay niya. Tiningnan ko yung mukha niya and the weird thing is, his eyes are open and he's looking at me intently.

"Nababaliw na ko..." I whispered under my breath. "Casper, I think I'm dreaming. Kasi parang nakikita kong nakadilat ka e imposib—"

"Nasan ako?" He suddenly said.

Nabitawan ko yung kamay niya sa sobrang gulat. "Ca— Casper..."

Oh my. He's awake. He's really awake...

Dahil hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala, I gave my cheek a strong slap. Sa sobrang lakas nung sampal, pati si Casper nagulat.

Then I started crying. Hindi ko alam kung dahil ba sa sakit nung sampal o sobrang saya ko dahil gising na si Casper.

"Casper... Casper, gising ka na. Gi— Gising ka na talaga." I said while touching his cheeks and crying nonstop.

"Sandali lang. Tatawagin ko yung doctor, okay?" I told him.

Paalis na sana ko when he suddenly said something.

"Sino ka?" He asked.

I froze. Anong sinabi niya?

Lumingon ako at humarap sa kaniya. "What?"

Maybe I heard it wrong. Imposible naman di ba? Why would he say something like that?

Nagkamali lang ako ng dinig, di ba? Di ba? Sana... Sana nagkamali lang ako.

But he just asked the same question. "Sino ka?"