Love, Lies and Alibis (Henares Series #1)

Fourteen

Sunrise

Dapit-umaga. Sumasabay ang aking katawan sa indayog ng paglalakad ng kabayo. Zohar is calmly ambling on the way.

Kung hindi pa maliwanag ang buwan at kung hindi pa natatanglawan  ng street lamps ay hindi ko maaaninag ang daan. It’s usually like this when the dawn is near breaking. Ang pinakamadilim na oras ay tuwing magbubukang liwayway. Tuwing malapit nang sumilay ang araw.

How odd nature works. Odd yet magical.

Tila sinasalamin niyon ang buhay ng tao. Only  in our darkest, weakest moments we get to discover what makes us strong. In our darkest we perceive the light a lot brighter.

“Relax, Sia...” I stiffened as Voyd’s husky baritone murmured in my ear.

Only the thumping of Zohar’s hooves cuts through the air. At dahil sa tahimik na kapaligiran ay dinig na dinig ko ang malakas na kabog ng sariling puso.

Mas lalo akong nanigas nang bahagyang tumalon si Zohar para laktawan ang isang hump sa daanan. Instinctively, his strong arms tightened around my waist pulling me close. Bumangga ang aking likod sa matigas niyang dibdib.

Tumikhim ako bago nagsalita. “Saan tayo pupunta?”

“Have you been to the hill?”

“Hill?”

I felt his chin in my shoulder as he nods. Nakadantay na pala siya roon. I took me a lot of effort to not drew a shaky breath. Damn! He has no idea how much he is tormenting me!

“M-may—” Tumikhim uli ako. “May hill rito?”

“Glad to know no one has brought you there yet.”

Makalipas ang ilang minutong paglalakbay ay pansin ko na ang pag-aagaw ng liwanag at dilim. Sumisilip na ang liwanag mula sa kanina’y madilim na ulap. We passed by plots planted with different kind of crops.

Bahagya ko nang naaaninag ang malapad na taniman ng pinya sa bandang kanan at saging sa kabilang bahagi. The temperature is humid. Crops and its leaves were green and moist.

“What’s in the hill?”

Dinungaw ko ang braso ni Voyd sa aking kandungan para sana tingnan kung anong oras na pero napunta sa iba ang atensiyon ko. His muscles were strained and his veins were protruding beneath his tanned skin.

Napalunok ako at binaling ang mata sa kanyang relong pambisig. It’s already 4:56 in the morning. Kaybilis ng oras.

“You’ll see.” Aniya sabay tuwid ng tayo.

Marahan akong nagpakawala ng hangin pagkalayo niya. The longer the time I spent with him, his effect on me intensified for every passing minute.

“It’s a perfect spot for viewing the sunrise.” He glanced at his wristwatch. “Malapit na.”

“Sunrise?”

He pulled the reins, causing Zohar to begin cantering towards our supposed destination. Humigpit naman ang braso niya sa akin at dumiin pa ako lalo sa kanyang likod.

“Hold on, Sia. We’re almost at the hill.”

The stallion picked up its speed at the sight of the hill. Hindi masyadong kataasan iyon but it was high enough to overlook the whole wide hacienda. Napakapit ako sa kanyang braso nang nagsimula na kaming umakyat patungong tuktok ng burol.

Mas lalong naging mahangin pagkarating namin sa tuktok. Maliwanag na pero hindi pa tuluyang sumisilip ang haring araw. From where we stood, overlooking ang buong hacienda.