BORROWED TIME

5

"Bye Jho! Mag-ingat ka palagi diyan ha! Don't stress yourself. Don't hesitate to call kung may problema diyan. We miss you! And we love you!"

"Ingat din kayo palagi diyan okay? I miss and love you too!"

Then I waved my hand to say goodbye to them. Pinatay ko na rin yung tawag at tuluyan na akong nahiga sa kama ko.

Sobrang daming nangyari ngayong araw at feeling ko, napagod ako at hindi ko ma-digest ang lahat ng pangyayari.

I just want to take a rest when I heard a knock on my door.

"Come in."

Bumukas ng bahagya ang pintuan and it was Nanay Tere pala.

"Jho, kakain na. Ipinapatawag ka na nina ma'am."

I nodded. "Sige po, susunod na po ako."

She also nodded tsaka isinara na ang pinto.

Naghilamos naman ako at nagbihis tsaka bumaba para dumiretso ng dining room.

Palapit pa lang ako doon but I already saw three figures, the two are familiar because I'm sure, sina tito Elmer at tita Det yun. But the other one, is not familiar to me. Idagdag mo pa na ngayon ko lang narinig ang boses niya.

"I really hope, Bea could recover fast."

That's what I heard from the unfamiliar person when I finally reached their dining room.

"Oh, Jho, iha. Tara na, let's eat. Para hindi na lumamig ang pagkain."

Inaya ako ni tita Det to sit beside her, at sakto namang nasa harapan namin ang isang hindi pamilyar na tao. Or parang nakita ko na to dati?

"By the way Jhoana, we have a visitor. Introduce yourself to Jhoana na lang." utos ni tito Elmer dito.

So he stood up, he's tall, he has a bulky physique, at mukhang athletic.

"Hi Doc Jhoana, right?"

"Yes." I even nodded at him.

"I'm Thirdy. Thirdy Ravena. Bea's bestfriend. It's nice to finally meet you."

He extended his hand to reach for my hand so I also stood up and accepted it.

"I am Jhoana Maraguinot. Jho for short. Bea's new doctor. I'm glad to meet you."

Then we both sat down.

"So, let's eat!" masayang sabi ni tito Elmer.

They just keep on talking and maybe catching up with what happened to Thirdy, samantalang ako, pangiti-ngiti at patango-tango lang. Hindi ko naman kasi siya kilala at hindi pa rin naman ako gaano ka-komportable sa kanya.

Paano ba naman? Man, this guy is tall and obviously, athletic, he has a huge over-all presence, the way he talks, at kahit yung porma niya. Akala mo artista or NBA superstar.

"You really look familiar to me, Doc Jhoana."

"H-ha?" napatingin naman ako kay Thirdy when I heard him mentioning my name.

"You look so familiar to me, have we met before?"

"I don't know? But I guess, I already saw you too." nahihiya akong ngumiti dito.

Then we heard tito Elmer laugh. "Ano ba kayong dalawa? You probably already met each other. You're schoolmates in college. You're both athletes. Ano ba naman kayo."

Tita Det also joined tito's laughter.

"Oooh.. That's it. That's why you are very familiar to me. You're Jhoana Maraguinot of the Ateneo Women's Volleyball Team. Now, I remember." Thirdy said with a smile after he figured it out.