Madaling araw nang biglang magising si Miho sa mahimbing niyang pagkakatulog. Nakaharap parin siya sa bintana at agad niyang napansin ang malalaking patak ng ulan sa labas. She faced the opposite side, expecting to see Pat lying on the sofa but he wasn't there— ang unan lang at ang kumot ang nanduon.
Her eyes searched for him. Halos tumalon ang puso niya nang makita itong nakatayo sa may kusina; tila isang eksena sa isang horror-thriller na pelikula. With her eyes half-open, nakita niyang tumungga ito ng inumin galing sa isang bote; she assumed that it was wine.
He should be sleeping at this hour; maaga pa kasi ang pasok nila. May insomnia ba siya? She wondered. Gusto niyang tumayo at pigilin itong uminom, pero nag-alangan siya. It was her first night in his place, ayaw niyang makagawa ng bagay na baka ikasira ng mood nito. Instead, she just forced herself to shut her eyes as she decided to return to sleep.
After a few seconds, she heard the shuffling sound of his footsteps. Naisip niyang baka pabalik na ito sa sofa para matulog. Hindi niya minulat ang mga mata niya dahil desedido siyang makatulog pero wala rin iyon nagawa. She couldn't sleep as she was worried. Gusto niyang sapakin ang sarili. Was she overthinking again?
If Pat has insomnia, siya rin nagkakaroon ng mga episodes ng ganito lalo na noon. She would sometimes do the same, drink some alcohol instead of sleeping pills; alam niyang masama yuon but she preferred the warmth of beer than ingesting medicine.
She wondered if Pat suffers from the same problem; She wanted to talk to him about it but she's a little hesitant. Naiipon na ang lahat ng gusto niyang sabihin dito; maybe tomorrow or one day, she'll be brave enough to start asking personal questions to him.
Pakiramdam niya umabot na ng trenta minutos na nakapikit siya at hindi makatulog. She felt awfully sad and the fact that she could feel sadness without any reason made her feel worse. Or maybe there was a reason— but an unclear one. The scene earlier must have made her feel this way even if in the first place, she doesn't have any idea why Pat was still up, drinking alcohol in the kitchen.
Malungkot ba siya? This question was bugging her. Everyone in the world feels sad at some point, this is a universal truth. But she still seemed to be greatly bothered by what she saw; Siguro nga masyado lang siyang nag-iisip. Nagpaikot-ikot na siya sa kama at dinilat na lang ang kaniyang mga mata.
Pat was already lying on the sofa, nasa paanan lang ang kumot nito. Umupo siya ng dahan-dahan at sinilip ito mula sa pwesto niya. His eyes were closed, arms crossed over his chest; mukha itong nilalamig. She heard before from a teacher that if someone's sleeping position is such— chances are, he's going through a stressful experience, tinatago nga lang niya lahat ng iyon. Gusto niyang matawa, she must be really overthinking again, pati ang posisyon nito sa pagtulog ay kinokonekta pa niya sa pag-inom nito.
Dahan-dahan siyang bumaba sa kama at lumapit dito. She tip-toed until she reached the sofa and then knelt beside it. Hinatak lang niya ng dahan-dahan pataas ang kumot hanggang sa balikat nito. Then, she immediately tiptoed back to bed. She felt a lot better and was able to sleep after a few minutes.
The next day, it was the smell of pancakes that greeted her first thing in the morning. Agad siyang bumangon sa kama dahil naalala niyang hindi niya narinig ang tunog ng alarm niya sa cellphone.
"Tumunog yung alarm?" She asked as she took her phone and checked it.
"Yes. I turned it off. Gigisingin palang dapat kita," He said as he transferred the pancakes from the pan to the plates on the wooden table. "A few minutes of additional sleep wouldn't be a problem. Hindi pa tayo ma-l-late. I made some pancakes, let's eat."
BINABASA MO ANG
Yo te Cielo
Ficción histórica{ sequel of ikaw na ang huli } Will Pat and Miho's encounter lead to the fulfillment of a promise that was broken in the 19th century?-or shall their past lives still dictate their destiny to remain as star-crossed lovers until the present time? ...
