Muli (An Agnes-Jerry fic)

EIGHT

Mid-flight, as the light on the seatbelt sign went off, Agnes takes off hers, taking a deep breath as she looks out the window.

She feels a tap on her arm. She turns to find Alie and a sad face.

"What's wrong, honey?"

"I want to see the clouds."

Jerry hears this and looks at Agnes, too. "Pasensya ka na, ha?"

Knowing he is likely to shut the request down, she smiles and turns to the child. "Ask Tatay first if we can trade seats?"

The kid glances at Jerry. "Tatay....?"

"Alison."

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeease?" With matching palms pressed together, as if in prayer. He tries not to laugh as he sighs, then nods. He is about to help Alie take off her seatbelt, but Agnes' hands are on there already, their fingers barely touching.

They both smile, and he lets her take the seatbelt off his daughter.

Alie stands up and Agnes carries her to sit on her lap, arms protective around the child's waist like a seatbelt in itself.

The kid's eyes widen at the sight of the clouds. "They're like cotton!" she says. Jerry and Agnes smile.

"Tita Agnes?"

"Yes, honey?"

"How come hindi tayo nababangga?"

"Ah... Kasi clouds are water vapor. So the plane can get past it."

"Vapor?"

"It's like... When Tatay boils water in a kettle?"

"In the teapot short and stout?"

Agnes laughs. "Yes. When the water boils and it whistles, there's steam, right?" Alie nods. "It's like that... Vapor. It goes up to the sky..." She points to the window. "It turns into clouds... Then -- have you seen clouds when it's going to rain?" Alie nods again. "How do they look?"

"Gray."

"Gray, that's right... It's gray because it's heavy with the vapor... The vapor pours back down on us as rain."

"So..." Alie turns to the window. "Those are not cotton?"

"No, sweetie. But it looks like it, right?"

Alie is pouting that cute little pout that Jerry loves, so he laughs. Both Agnes and his little lady look at him quizzically.

"Sorry," he says. "Go on..."

"How come angels don't fall through?"

"Well, they have wings, honey."

"Ay oo nga..." Alie sighs. "So I can't lie on clouds..."

Agnes giggles. "Well, we'll have to get you a parachute para you'll get to come back to the ground safely... Though I doubt Tatay will let you jump off a plane to do that."

"'Coz I'm not an angel?"

"Well, you look like one. And you're a good girl, so for us, angel ka... But maybe the textbook definition of it... Medyo hindi match."

Alie nods, defeated. Agnes smiles and makes her look up to meet eyes. "But that's what planes are for, right? So we can see the clouds on our eye level? Technically, you're on clouds right now."