All I Ever Wanted

• 26 •

"Kale tama ba itong paghiwa ko?" tanong ko kay Kalepagkatapos ay ipinakita sa kanya ang hinihiwa kong patatas.

"Medyo liitan mo pa," sagot ni Kale at nagpatuloy sa ginagawa. Nagluluto siya ng sauce para sa pasta.

It was nine in the morning and I made sure my family would arrive here at twelve noon. Three hours. I guessed that was enough for Kale and me to prepare everything. Well, I planned to dothe cooking, tapos i-assist na lang ako ni Kale. Pero parang sayang lang sa oras at isa pa, paano kung pumalpak ako?

Kaya naman hindi ko na lang tinuloy and went to do the peeling and cutting stuff. I just let Kale do the cooking job. Pinagpatuloy ko ang paghiwa sa patatas. At habang ginagawa ko ito, may ilang hibla ng buhok ko ang natanggal mula sa ponytail at napunta sa mukha ko.

Pero kahit na bahagyang natatakpan nito ang mga mata ko, hindi ko pa rin pinansin at nagpatuloy lang sa ginagawa. And then through my peripheral vision, I saw Kale leaned into me. I looked up to see what he was about to do when his hand caught the strand of my hair then he tucked it behind my ear. I shivered at the contact of his hand to my skin.

Kale remained still in his place, keeping his eyes on mine. And it was so awkward. But I didn't look away.Instead, I fought his stare.

And there was something in Kale's eyes that was so strong. An emotion I couldn't describe. An emotion I couldn't name. And I silently prayed that as he looked at me right now, he wouldn't read what my eyes were saying.

That... I like him.

Unable to keep up on our little staring game, I looked away.

Narinig ko na nagbuntong-hininga si Kale pagkatapos ay umurong siya sa akin at tumayo na muli ng tuwid. Narinig kong humakbang siya papalayo.At nang ibalik ko na sa kanya ang tingin, nandoon na ulit sya sa stove.

I let out a deep breath as I shut my eyes close.

What was that?

Gusto ko talagang malaman kung anong ibig sabihin ng tingin na yunni Kale kanina.

How I wished he was easy to read. That I could easily see everything right through him.

I opened my eyes and still, Kale's back was on me.

Patuloy ko lang siyang tinitingnan hanggang sa igalaw ko na ang kutsilyo at itinuloy ang paghiwa.

At dahil nga wala ang mga mata ko sa ginagawa, hindi na ang patatas ang nahiwa ko...

"Ouch!" hiyaw ko sabay baba ng kutsilyo sa chopping board.

Dumurugo na ang hintuturo ko.

"What happened?" Kale suddenly asked as he appeared beside me, taking a hold of my hand.

Hindi na ako nakasagot dahil nagsalita ulit si Kale, "Halika, linisin natin yan."

Dinala ako ni Kale sa sink pagkatapos ay hinugasan ang sugat ko. Pagkatapos pinaupo niya ako. "Yung first aid kit, nasa bathroom?"tanong niya.

Tumango ako.

Pinatay muna ni Kale ang stove pagkatapos ay dumiretso sa kuwarto ko.

Pagkabalik niya, bitbit na niya first-aid kit. Umupo siya sa tabi ko pagkatapos kinuha niya ang kamay ko at nilagyan ito ng disinfectant.

I bit my lip as I felt it sting a little.

"You're so clumsy you know that," sabi ni Kale at tinapunan ako ng tingin pagkatapos ay ibinalik din ito sa kamay ko.

"Anong ginagawa mo at namali ka ng hiwa?" tanong niya.

Busy staring at you, I thought. And then I felt my cheeks burn. What if I told that to Kale? How would he going to react?