One Promise (Celestial Series #1)

Promise 2

#OnePromiseWp

Chapter 2

When I was a kid, I always need to understand the situation. I should always accept what my parents said dahil iyon daw ang tama; dahil galing daw iyon sa kanilang karanasan. That's how life works for me. Ano naman ba ang magagawa ko sa liit kong ito? Wala. I couldn't even voice out my own thoughts because I was just a child. I know nothing . . . yet.

"Naomi!"

Napatingin ako sa likod ko nang marinig ang tawag sa aking pangalan.

"Oh! Othniel! Nandito ka na pala?" I blushed.

Othniel Lemuel Garcia, my long time crush. He was seven years older than me. I always admire him ever since I first met him in Sunday school. Unang pagkikita pa lang namin, he was already attractive to everyone in school. Othniel was always vocal and active on church services. He always stand out among the crowd. I was a newbie that time at siya ang na-assign mag-assist sa akin to guide me along the activities.

At first, I couldn't even believe it. Syempre, hindi naman ako ganoon kaganda o kaya't may nagawa sa bansa na deserving akong mabiyayaan ng ganito. Ang lakas ko naman kay Lord kung ganoon. Tandang-tanda ko pa ang laki ng ngiti sa aking labi nang malaman kong si Othniel ang magiging guide ko.

My heart flutters everytime I watched him ran towards me. Lagi akong nahihiya sa harap niya. I thought, Goodness, how will I be able to talk to him if I feel like fainting every damn time. I need confidence booster drink, saan ba nakakabili niyon at mamamakyaw ako nang ganoon.

Ngumiti pa ako sa kanya bago tumango. Nagulat naman ako nang biglang may yumakap sa akin mula sa likuran.

"Surprise, our little Naonao! I miss you so much!"

"Shaien!" nagagalak kong binanggit ang pangalan ng best friend ko.

Shaien Garcia was Othniel's only sister. We were batchmates and classmates. Shaien was moody and blunt. Kung ayaw niya sa iyo, ipararamdam niya talaga na ayaw niya sa iyo. If may ayaw siya sa iyo, sasabihin niya iyon at wala siyang paki kung masaktan ka. She would rather let you faced the hard painful truth than comfort you with a lie. In other words, hindi siya makikipagplastikan sa iyo to save your ego. That was why most of our classmates build up barriers against her. They were too scared to talk to her. Her intentions were all pure, but some mistook her actions wrongly, that was why she was also judged by others wrongly too.

Naging close kami ni Shaien when Othniel first introduced me to her. We talked, and she would always call me pabebe and mahinhin. I didn't find that demeaning because in the first place, that was just her natural attitude. Then she'd shout at me if I did something wrong, or I was a weak shit that couldn't even defend myself. But then, we just clicked that way. I didn't know exactly why. It just happened, I guess?

May mga pagkakataon talaga na kahit magkaiba ang ugali ninyo, you'll just click. You'll start up with small conversations until you became too close and familiar with each other. Looking back, you can't even remember how you managed to be friends in the first place, despite the contradictions of your attitudes.

"Kumusta? You were so busy in the classroom last time, hindi na kita nakausap nang maayos!" Shaien pouted.

I laughed. "Pasensya na. I was just preoccupied with some stuffs,"

Umirap si Shaien. "Probably that 'stuffs' is your fucked-up family, huh?"

Hinawakan ni Othniel ang braso ni Shaien to stop her from talking. Othniel and Shaien knew a brief background of my family problems. Shaien had always been beside me everytime I'd have a breakdown. Shaien saw me in my deepest and lowest self. Othniel was there too, but Shaien knew more. I wasn't keeping it a secret anyway, especially to them. But as much as possible, I wanted to be discreet.