Sightless Love

Chapter 40

"Good morning po sir."

Bungad ni Diane pagkapasok nito kinabukasan.

"Diane..."

"Bakit po sir?"

Diane can't trust her voice to say anything else kaya't yun lamang ang tanging nasabi nito.

"You remember everything I told you last night, right?"

"Um... ah... o-opo?"

"Have I told you who that girl was?"

"Anong—? Sinong—? Ano po yun sir?"

"Ugh! Okay. First things first, please drop the honorifics. Can't we be just in a first name basis?"

"Yun lang po ba? Asus!—"

"Without the sir and without the po."

"Ahm. Hindi naman po yata yun sir pwede—"

"Why not? I'm your boss, right?"

"Opo. Kaya nga po."

"Then you should do what I tell you to do, don't you?"

"Ahm."

"You call my brother by his name. why not me?"

"Siyempre po kasi hindi naman ako nagtatrabaho para sa kanya."

"But you obeyed him when he said no sirs and no po. You called him by his name when he told you to."

"Kasi... kasi nga po—"

"No more buts, kasi or whatever. From now on you will call me Jake. Are we clear?"

"Pero—"

"Hep hep hep. Didn't I just say no buts?"

"Kasi po—"

Jake snapped his fingers and cringed.

"There you go again."

Napangiwi din si Diane and was so frustrated and confused na hindi niya alam ang dapat gawin. Every time she makes a sound. Jake won't listen until she calls him by his name.

Finally, sa inis ni Diane ay tinawag niya din ito sa panagalan niya.

"Jake."

Jake turned around to where Diane's voice was coming from.

"There you go. Wasn't so bad, now is it?"

"Pwede may request lang din ako? Este, condition."

"We'll see. Let's hear it first."

"Pwede ba tawagin lang kitang Jake pag walang ibang tao?"

Jake smirked at that but agreed, "Sure."

Diane felt quite at ease after a while and she let go of the tension that she felt building between them.

"Diane, ease up, please? I can feel the tension you're putting off."

"Kasi naman sir—este Jake, para kasing ano eh –"

"What? Awkward? Why would you feel that way? You're not awkward around Jimmy."

"Kasi—"

"You know what don't answer that. See, this girl that I told you about, I'm... meeting her tonight. I want you to be there. I'd like you to meet her."

Diane froze. She knew it! She shouldn't have expected. She was right all along. Ibang babae ang tinutukoy ni Jake. At hindi siya iyon. Pero bakit ba siya nito pinaaasa?

At bakit pa kailangang makilala niya ito? Gusto ba talaga nitong saktan siya?

It was all Diane could do to pretend that everything was fine. That it was all okay. She agreed to meet this girl but only because she was told to by her boss.

Pagkauwi ni Diane ay mabigat ang loob niya at hindi niya maintindihan ang nararamdaman niya.

She slumped herself on her bed and smashed her face on a pillow at magdamag siang umiyak.

Ito ba talaga ang pakiramdam ng ma brokenhearted?

She woke up with a grumbling stomach dahil hindi na din siya nakakain bago matulog. In fact, she cried all night hindi niya namalayan na nakatulog nap ala siya kakaiyak. They say we feel sleepy after crying because it's God's way of telling us "Child you're tired and hurt. Sleep now and take a rest. ... Someday, you'll find someone who makes you feel like the wait was worth it."

Kakatukin n asana siya ng ina nang mapagbuksan niya ito ng pintuan.

"Oh! Paalis ka na anak?"

"Opo ma. Ma-le-late na po kasi ako. Sige ma, mauna na po ako."

She put up a false energy and faked a smile.

"'Nak di ka pa kumakain, alis ka na kaagad?"

"On the way na lang po ako ma kakain."

"Di ka rin kumain kagab—"

"Kumain ako ma kagabi. Ako pa ba? Sige na ma, alis na po ako. Ma-le-late nap o talaga ako, ma."

Humalik siya sa pisngi ng ina at nag mano bago dali daling palabas. Ngunit bago pa man siya naka alis ay hinila siya ng ina.

"Anak, may prob—"

"Ma, naman. Bakit ganyan itsura niyo? Para naman kayong namatayan diyan oh! Hindi lang ako nakapag agahan ay nag aalala ka na naman ng sobra. Sige na nga po, kain muna ako bago umalis. Hayaan niyo na siya maghintay." Lambing nito sa ina.

Binibiro niya ang ina na parang namatayan pero sa totoo ay siya ang namatayan. Namatayan ng puso.

Habang kumakain ay tila sobra ng energy ni Diane na nahalata naman ng ina nito at mas lalong ipinag alala nito.

"May problem aba 'nak sa trabaho mo? Sa boss—?"

"Wala po." Diane answered with her mouth full.

She drank water and gulped down her food and repeated, "Wala po mama. Ano naman po ang magiging problema? Si mama talaga. Masyado ka na naman napapa paranoid diyan ma. Baka mamaya mag post ka na sa Facebook, Instagram o Twitter mo na may problema ang pinakamaganda mong anak." Biro nito.

"Heto pa! Baka mamaya ikwento mo pa sa wattpad ang storya ko." Dagdag pa nito.

"'Nak naman."

"Ma naman."

"Okay, palalagapsin koi to ngayon pero alam mo naman 'nak na nandito lang ako para makinig di ba?"

"Syempre naman ma. Oh sige na at baka mag iyakan pa tayo dito. Ma-le-late nap o talaga ako. Ang drama kasi ni mader! Baka talaga ma magka problema ako nito sa trabaho eh." Natatawa pa nitong sambit habang nililigpit ang pinagkainan.

"Bye ma. Love you."

"Hindi ka pa tapos kumain anak."

"Bibili nalang ako ma ng biskwit sa daan. Bye!"

She walked out the door wearing a dark tinted sunglasses to hide her swollen eyes.

Of course, siguradong nakita at nahalata ito ng ina pero alam niyang maghihintay ito hangaang sa handa na siyang mag kwento.

At hindi pa ito ngayon.    

~~~~~