THUNDER

8TH ROAR

SKYE’S POV


I get in the car while waving goodbye to my new friends and T. I’m sure Tatay Benjie can see the glow in my face the moment I got inside the passenger’s seat. The smile on my face didn’t go unnoticed by him too.



Tatay Benjie faced me then rubbed the top of my head like what a father would do to her daughter. “Mukhang masaya ka ngayon anak. Do you want to tell me why?”, tanong ni Tatay Benjie sa akin. “I’ll tell you and Nanay Melinda later over dinner.”, sagot ko naman ng may ngiti sa aking mga labi.



“Not even a clue?” he asked.



“Hmmmmmm… Well… I made new friends. And they’re good people.”, I answered while still smiling.



Knowing that I won’t tell him more, Tatay Benjie just smiled at me. “Mabuti naman kung ganoon! I’m so proud of you. And I’m very happy to know that you’re starting to come out of you comfort zone.”, he happily said.



“Me too.”, I said.



“Sigurado akong matutuwa din ang Nanay Melinda mo.”, dagag pa ni Tatay Benjie.



“That’s why you have to start driving already or we won’t make it home in this case.”, I jokingly said at him.



“Right!”, Tatay Benie said with a laugh.



I look at the window with a smile while remembering how happy the three girls are when I finally became friends with them. It was hard at first. Natatakot akong magpapasok na naman ng ibang tao sa buhay ko. Pero mas mahirap silang hindian. They’re just so loveable. They’re really kind and I can see the sincerity in their eyes when they told me that they want to be friends with me. Kier for the first time, looked serious when she asked me, no, more like commanded me, to become their friend. And I happily accepted.



I can’t wait to go home and tell Nanay Melinda and Tatay Benjie about my friends. I assessed myself and I can’t find any regrets from my decisions. In fact, I am very happy. In the short time I was with them, they are slowly helping me forget about my dark past. They help me get use to the attention our schoolmates are giving me.



Every time I walk in the hallway, some of our schoolmates will give me smiles and greetings. I don’t know what to do the first time but as the time pass by, I now give them a smile too. I’m slowly changing. The friendly and jolly Skye is slowly coming back. I’m happy about that. And I know that Nanay Melinda, Tatay Benjie and my Dad would be too.



When we finally arrived home, I run inside the kitchen where I know Nanay Melinda would be. “We’re home!”, sigaw ko.



Right after seeing her, I run to Nanay Melinda’s arms then wrapped my arms around her. Nanay Melinda was surprised for a moment but then wrapped her arms around me too after recovering. “Oh gosh! You surprised me. You’re very hyper today. May nangyari bang maganda?”, agad naman niyang tanong sa akin,
.


I pulled away then looked at Nanay Melinda with a very wide smile. “Uh-huh!”, I said while continously nodding my head.



Seeing me so happy made Nanay Melinda’s eyes teary. Alam kong sabik na sabik siya na makita ulit akong nakangiti ng ganto. Alam kong mas masaya siya sa akin ngayon dahil alam niyang masaya ako.




“Take a seat while I prepare our food and you can tell me about it after. Kumain ka na muna bago magbihis at alam kong gutom ka na. Wait, did you tell you Tatay Benjie about it already?”, she asked with jealousy in her tone.



“Not yet. I want to tell you both at the same time.”, sagot ko naman.



“Good. Or else I’ll be jealous.”, she said while placing the food on the table.



Right after placing the food on the table, Tatay Benjie entered the kitchen then took a seat. “You know how much she loves you. If ever, ikaw ang una niyang pagsasabihan bago ako.” Narinig pala ni Tatay Benjie ang tanong ni Nanay Melinda.



“Take your seats please! I want to tell the both of you already!”, I excitedly exclaimed.



“Okay. Okay.”, Nanay Melinda said with a laugh.



Nanay Melinda and Tatay Benjie shared a look when they noticed that the smile never left my face. Tatay Benjie shrugged his arms and goes back to staring at me. Nanay Melinda took a seat beside me then placed my food on my plate. I once again gave her a smile. “Thank you.”



I know Nanay Melinda can’t help but feel curious on why I seem to be very happy. “So what made you this happy?”, she asked me.



I put down my spoon and fork, drink some water then looked at Nanay Melinda and Tatay Benjie. “She made new friends.”, pangunguna ni Tatay Benjie.



“I thought she didn’t tell you yet?”, nanunumbat na sagot naman ni Nanay Melinda.



“That was all I told him.”, singit ko naman sa kanila.



“But still…”, inunahan ko na si Nanay Melinda bago pa ito tuluyang magtampo. “So, as I was saying, I made new friends today.”, I told them.



“Wait, as in friends with an s?”, tanong ni Nanay Melinda.



“Yes! Can she continue now?”, Tatay Benjie groaned.



“Yeah, sorry. I’m just excited.”, Nanay Melinda said with a sheepish smile.



“It’s okay.”, I said laughing. The two adults are anticipating what I will say so they stopped eating too.



“They’re three girls. Angel, who is very kind and the one who acts like their leader since she is the oldest among them. Kier, who is very talkative, I swear that girl never know when to shut up. Then there’s Yra who loves to play sports. They’re very good people. They help me whenever I need someone.”, I excitedly told them. I know my eyes are twinkling with so much happiness while telling them about my new friends.



The two went silent for a moment then looked at each other. “This means you have four friends at school now, right?”, Tatay Benjie asked after a while.



“Who’s the other one then?”, Nanay Melinda asked.



“T-Thunder.”, I said.



“Oh right! The persistent one.”, she said with realization.



Nanay Melinda can’t help but feel emotional because she knows that the joyful Skye they once knew is slowly coming back. “We’re very proud of you dear.”, Nanay Melinda added with teary eyes.



“I want to thank the both of you because if it wasn’t for the both of you, I wouldn’t think of taking risks on opening up to others.”, sinsero kong sabi sa kanila.



“You’re always welcome dear.”, Nanay Melinda said with tears of happiness streaming down her face.



“We only want what’s best for you. Now, tell us more about them.”, dagdag pa ni Tatay Benjie.



The dinner went well with us sharing stories and laughing so much. I look at Nanay Melinda and Tatay Benjie with love and thank God for giving them to me.

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Another chapter!

   If anyone noticed, yes, I decided to removed the characters (the ones I visualized them to be, I mean) I used for the story 'cause I want you, the readers, to visualized them yourself. You can freely imagine the characters as who you want them to be. I also changed the title of every chapter for them to better suit the Title of the story. So yeah! Thank you for supporting and reading my story  ❤