"Papa, gaano nyo po kamahal si Mama?"
A boy asked me. He's wearing a green top and a blue shorts. Bata pa siya, based sa appearance niya. An 8 or 9 year old?
"Mahal na mahal ko siya, anak. More than my life, more than anyone else." I answered. Pero wait... Did I just call him "anak"? Bakit?
"Did she love you?" He asked.
"Oo naman. More than what you could possibly imagine."
He's consistently showing a sign of curiousity in every question that he's asking.
"Then, kung ganun, bakit sya umalis?"
"Hmm... it's for the better... No, it's for the best."
Umalis? Sino bang umalis? I don't know, I honestly have no idea of the things that he's asking. I don't even know who he is. Pero yung babaeng binabanggit niya, it feels like I know her.
"Will she ever come back?"
"She said, yes. But I guess she never will."
Issues about coming back, bumabalik nanaman sa alaala ko.
Si Ara. Si Ara ang tinutukoy niya sa mga tanong niya.
Si Ara rin ang tinutukoy ko sa mga sagot ko.
"Why po? Don't you trust her?" Kumunot ang mga mata niyang halos hindi ko na makita sa sobrang liit. Chinito. To be honest, kamukha ko yung bata. I just don't know if how did that happen.
"Hindi naman sa ganun, anak. Pero kasi there are things na hindi ka na dapat umaasa pa. Especially when it's impossible."
Bakit ang sakit ng sagot ko?
.
"Like this one?"
"Like this one."
I opened my eyes. Anong klaseng panaginip yun? Weird. Sino yung bata? Bakit niya ako kilala at tinatawag na papa? At higit sa lahat, bakit niya kilala si Ara?
I dragged my body all the way to the bathroom and stared at my face sa mirror.
Para na akong panda. Ang laki kasi ng eyebags ko. Dark circles everywhere. Obvious na lagi akong puyat.
I smiled... at least I'm trying. I think smiling is my only choice for this kind of situation.
"Ara... I miss you."
I feel like crying--more like breaking down.
Pero 10 years ago, nagpromise ako. Nagpromise ako sa babaeng pinaka mamahal ko na hindi ako iiyak. Kahit anong mangyari.
*riing riing*
I searched for my phone. Ugh. Nasaan na yun?
*riing riing*
After some seconds of searching, nasa kama ko lang pala.
"Hello?"
"Sir Thomas, this is Kiel."
"Kiel, why?"
"Sir, ready na po ba kayo? You'll be leaving in an hour."
"Yeah, I am. I'll be there real quick."
"Thank you, sir."
I just nodded then ended the call.
This is it. I'm going back to the Philippines after 10 long years.
