Hudunnit Series

Chapter 9

chapter nine

YOU CAN STILL CHANGE YOUR MIND." SABI NI CADE SA ANAK PAGSILIP NIYA SA KWARTO nito. "Masarap gumawa ng assignment dun, madaming puno, tahimik, sariwa ang hangin."

Nakaupo sa kama si Angela, kaharap ang laptop, "Madaming langgam at higad sa mga puno dun. Amoy ipot ang hangin. And this is not an assignment." Nag-angat ito ng mukha, tumigin ng deretso kay Cade, "This is the first circle of Hell."

Sobrang seryoso ng mukha ni Angela, natawa si Cade, "That hard?"

"No, it's the easy part, I guess. Noone's suffering yet."

"Huh?"

"I'm trying to translate this Canto into conversational English. It's the intro to the first circle of hell. The Limbo. Lola's rigt, you know? It's where aborted babies go cos they're not baptized."

"Oh, I see." Tango ni Cade. Akala niya, impyerno sa hirap ang ginagawa ni Angela. Inferno pala. Ni Dante. "I-Google mo." Payo niya, just like any good parent. He grinned.

"That's cheating." Sagot ni Angela, puno ng indignation, parang hindi nandadaya sa allowance.

"Okay. Uh, I gotta go." He stepped back.

"Hey, Dad!" Tawag ni Angela, "I need costumes. X-Men."

"May party?"

"No. We'll interpret this part as X-Men. Professor X will be the guide, Dante is Magneto. The rest of us are the chuwariwap and the unbaptized. We're non-mutants and we're in limbo."

Na-imagine ni Cade ang next X-Men movie: X-MEN: FIRST CIRLE.

"Okay, nice." Aniya. "Search on-line, then I'll check them out for you on Monday. 'Yung sa malapit lang...uhm, why not Star Wars? Yoda is the guide and Luke is Dante, and he's looking at the first circle of the Force."

Kumibot-kibot ang labi ni Angela, "I'll think about it." Anito at, "Close the door."

"Yes, Princess."

Twenty minutes later, ikinukwento niya iyon kay Geraldine. They were just getting into his car.

"And she's not sarcastic...I mean, not that much. Maganda ang mood, hindi ako inaway." Kwento pa niya. "Sabi ni psychiatrist noon, tulungan daw naming madiskubre ni Angie ang mga interests niya, i-introduce sa mga sports, outdoor activities. Or maybe she likes music and arts. Inenroll ko sa kung anu-ano'ng lessons. I made sure na hindi s'ya maiinip. Hindi ko pinayagan na nasa bahay lang s'ya, nanonood ng TV or nagbabasa maghapon-, walang exercise, hindi pinapawisan--" tumigil siya dahil natawa si Geraldine. "Why?" He started driving.

"Hindi mo naisip na 'yun mismong ipinagbabawal mo ang interest n'ya. That she wasn't really being lazy. She simply liked to imagine things, create make-believe worlds. Tapos, tinatanggalan mo s'ya ng oras para doon. No wonder she's not sleeping much. Ginagamit n'ya 'yung nighttime para sa gusto talaga n'yang gawin. 'Yun lang ang oras n'ya para doon. Her sleep suffers. Kaya laging mainit ang ulo. Imagine getting only three to four hours of sleep everynight?"

"Is that a fact?" Hindi makapaniwala si Cade. Ang alam niya ay natutulog naman ng maayos sa gabi si Angela. Nasa loob ng kwarto, patay ang ilaw, tahimik.

"Napapansin kong sluggish pag oras na ng klase namin, ten am 'yun. Meaning, lumipas na ang epekto ng sugar intake tuwing umaga. Nagagawa lang n'ya bumangon at pumasok dahil sa sugar rush--"