In The Arms Of An Angel (ON HOLD)

CHAPTER 14

"Pero bakit...?" Dei asked, confusion written all over her face.

"Kailangan nyang malaman ang totoo. Walang dahilan para itago mo ito sa kanya." Richard thought as he heaved a deep sigh, looked her in the eyes and said:

"Dahil hindi ako tao."

His revelation was met with a very heavy silence as their eyes do the communicating since his words seemed to rob her of the capacity to talk.

"Hindi mo dapat hayaang umasa siya sa imposible. Tangggapin mo na lamang ang galit o maging ang takot nya..." He reminded himself silently when her voice broke through his sad thoughts.

"Wehhh, di nga? Pick up line ba yun? Ano sasabihin mo di tao kasi bagay tayo? Ang luma na nun, ha! Cute mo sana kaso waley eh!." She blurted out.

And before he can react, Dei moved closer to him and looked at his face from various angles. This made him step back in surprise but she just continued her close scrutiny. And as if not fully satisfied with her assessment, Dei suddenly poked the indentation on his left cheek.

"A-anong ginagawa mo?" He stammered as Dei then turned her attention to his left bicep and poked it as well with her pointer finger.

"Chinecheck ko lang kung lulusot ang daliri ko pag sinundot kita. Sabi mo kasi di ka tao, di ba? Eh bakit nararamdaman kita? At in fairness matigas, ah! Ang muscles mo! Totoo din ung dimple mo, oh! Wala ka nga lang pores kahit sa malapitan, nasaan naman ang hustisya dun?! "She blabbered on nonstop that he could barely keep up with her words.

She walked around him as she continued her inspection. Richard just followed her movements with his eyes, gazing at her in confusion.

Some people would have ran away already upon hearing the
truth or may have already fainted in shock.

But not Dei.

She is even cracking jokes at him as if there's nothing unusual with what he revealed.

With that thought, Richard held Dei's shoulders so he can get her full attention. Dei's body turned rigid with the contact.

"Dei, totoo ang sinabi ko. Sa ngayon maaaring hindi madaling paniwalaan pero totoo yun. Di ako tao. Well, dati oo tao ako pero ngayon hindi na..."

That made her contort her face in utter confusion.

"Dati kang tao pero ngayon hindi na??? Parang lalong lumabo..." She has that weird look on her face again like he is talking in an alien language. So he explained.

"Isa akong tagabantay."

"Tagabantay? Parang narinig ko na un before...Teka! You mean like a guardian angel? Isa kang anghel? Kaya naman pala ang angelic ng face mo in fairness...." She quipped again. He remained serious.

"Hindi matatawag na ganap na anghel ang isang tagabantay subalit halos magkatulad ang kanilang misyon at tungkulin kapag nandirito sa lupa." He tried to explain. She just nodded her head slowly as if deeply thinking about what he said.

"Pero di pa ako ganap na tagabantay. Di pa dumarating ang araw ng aking pagtatalaga pero malapit na..." He explained further while still staring at her face to gauge her reactions.

Dei just nodded her head again distractedly and continued to look at him from different angles.

Richard is really finding it surprising that they are having this conversation like it's not something out of the ordinary. He then reached the conclusion that his confession did not really sink into her consciousness.

"Hindi ka man lang ba nabagabag sa mga inamin ko?" He asked her as she went back to sitting at the rock.

"Wow, nabagabag! Ang lalim nun ah!" She tried joking again but sobbered up immediately when she saw that he was just regarding her with a serious expression on his face.This made her look at him more intently. A few seconds later, her eyes grew large with realization.

"N-nooo way..seryoso ka ba talaga dun?"

"Dei..." He started but Dei put her hand up as if to stop him from explaining further.

"Okay, let me process what you said for a moment here. Medyo naghang lang ako ng very, very light dun. Kakalmahan ko lang ng konti ha, kaya ko 'to. Wait lang..." She was taking huge gulps of air as she said these. He just stood there looking at her, undecided if he should approach her to help her calm down or just let her be, thinking that his touch may cause her greater anxiety.

He decided to do the later. He waited. He just looked on quietly as she struggled to gain composure.

"Ohkey! Okay. Medyo keri ko na. Game. Pakiulit nga uli ung sinabi mo kanina. Ano ka nga uli?" She faced him determinedly, squaring her shoulders.

Richard regarded her closely to read her. He can still sense her racing heartbeat and her mind is still trying to grasp the things they are discussing.

"Dei, alam kong hindi ka naniniwala basta sa mga bagay na hindi madaling ipaliwanag at intindihin ng tao. Subalit ang sinabi ko kanina ay ang katotohanan. Isa akong tagabantay."

"Pero paanong...bakit kita nakikita? Bakit nahahawakan at naririnig kita? Ang sabi ng mga tagarito ay wala pa silang nakakasalamuhang tagabantay dito sa bundok. Bakit ako?" She asked him, all the while searchingly looking through his eyes.

"Maaari kaming magpakita sa mga tao kung nanaisin namin o kung kinakailangan. Bahagi ng tungkilin ko ang iligtas ka sa panganib noong nasa may bangin tayo. Pero sariling desisyon ko ang pagpapakita sa iyo nang iligtas kita." He said as he moved closer to her.

"B-bakit?" She asked again.

"Dahil naiiiba ka, Dei. May kung anong malakas na pwersang humihila sa akin palapit sa'yo kahit alam kong dapat kitang iwasan. Hindi ako mapalagay kapag hindi ko nararamdaman ang presensya mo mula noong araw na iniligtas kita sa may bangin. Sinubukan kong paglabananan ang pagnanais na siguruhing lagi kang ligtas dahil hindi dapat. Pero hindi ko kayang labanan. Patawad, Dei. Hindi ko kayang layuan ka..."