Out Of The Woods

Scars

"Suot mo iyan."

Ibinato sa akin ni Callix ang Rayban na hawak niya. Ang wiwirdo talaga ng mga tao dito. Para bang lahat sila may isang sikretong alam at nayayamot ako dahil doon. Alam kong may ibig sabihin para sa kanila ang pangalan ko at gusto kong malaman pero natatakot naman akong magtanong. Baka naman kasi mahawa ako sa kawirduhan nila.

"Bakit? Bulag ba tayong magpe-perform?" I asked him. It's a joke. Naalala ko lang kasi iyong mga bulag sa Duty Free noon. Sila din ang rason kung bakit natuto ako sa music. When I lost my eyesight, I had nothing to run to but music. Pinilit kong matutong maggitara para hindi naman ako magmukhang kawawa. I wanted to do something out of the box. Music is my only friend - maliban sa loneliness.

"Basta, isuot mo iyan! God!" He seemed so irritated. Noon naman pumasok si Audrey. Napatingin siya kay Callix.

"Cal, kaya mo ba? Medyo marami nang tao sa Mermaid's Hall. They're ready for the show. Are you okay?"

"How the hell did he get inside?!" Sigaw ni Callix kay Audrey. Napasimangot ako. Bakit ba panay siyang nakasigaw?

"Hoy, grabe ka naman! Wag mong sigawan si Audrey. Wala naman siyang ginagawa sa'yo!" Sigaw ko na din. Napatingin silang dalawa sa akin.

"It's okay. Ganito lang kami mag-usap." Nakangiti niyang sabi. "Callix, I don't know. He was at the back, I don't even know if Bruce Wayne or L-lo-Logan saw him, pero mukhang hindi naman siya mangugulo. It's her birthday, let's just be happy about this."

Callix looked at my direction. "Wear your glasses and don't you dare look at that bad man again!"

"Why are you being so possessive?!" I hissed at him.

"I'm not!" He spat. "I'm not going to let him take this away again."

"Wirdo!" Sigaw ko matapos niya mag-walk out. Nagkatinginan kami ni Audrey.

"Hindi naman siya ganoon, dati. He used to be just like JP, but when the twinkle in his eyes faded, our Callix faded too. Anyway, are you ready for your first show?"

"Sure. Pagkatapos nito opening na bukas ng store ko."

"Yeah. Let's go."

Lumabas ako mula sa dressing room na nasa backstage. Nakita ko si Callix na may hawak nang isang bote ng San Mig lights habang kausap si JP. Mukhang mainit talaga ang ulo niya. Lumapit si Audrey sa kanila. JP automatically put his arms around Audrey's waist and smiled. Si Callix naman ay lumapit sa akin.

"Look at them..." Bigla kong sabi. Napatingin din sa akin si Callix. Sinundan niya ang mga mata ko na nakatitig naman kina Audrey.

"Something is wrong with them. Parang may kulang."

"Bago pa lang sila. Umayos ka. Don't ever look at Judas again." He said with such finality in his voice. Again, he cupped my face and stared at my eyes. "I'm not letting him see this." He mumbled. Siya pa mismo ang nagsuot ng shades ko.

Nagsimula na ang show. Habang nakikinig ako, I realized that it was a memorial birthday concert for a person named Sam. That was when I realized that my question was answered already. Ayon sa kwento, Samuelle died years ago. She was shot. But as I hear the stories of how she touched everyone's lives, naisip kong napakabait niya.

Before Callix' set. Ni-flash sa monitor ang picture ng babaeng Sam na iyon and then they played a video of her and Callix singing.

"Callix, just get on with it! Dalian mo, uuwi na ako!"