A Burnt Flower's Ashes

Chapter Nine

"He's been absent for a week." I whispered to myself, my eyes glued on the vacant chair beside me. "I miss his unreasonable temper."

Uriel went missing in action since the day he experienced an asthma attack in school. Akala ko isa o dalawang araw lang siyang mawawala pero isang linggo na ang lumilipas at hindi parin siya nagpaparamdam. If only I had his number, I could contact him.

My seatmate is the type of person who thinks that friends are nothing but excess baggage, thus he refuses to socialize with others. Ipinagdadamot niya ang cellphone number niya. Wala rin siyang Facebook account. He's basically unreachable.

"Sir Hana," I approached my teacher as soon as he dismissed the class. Maingay ang mga kaklase ko dahil uwian na at mukhang wala namang nakapansin na kinausap ko ang aming guro.

"Yes, Suna?"

"May balita po ba kayo kay Uriel?"

He adjusted his eyeglasses. "Uriel called me last night. Hindi pa raw niya alam kung kailan siya makakapasok." Sir Hana informed me.

Bumagsak ang aking mga balikat. May sakit parin siya?

"Fret not. Uriel assured me that he's already fine." he said after noticing my low spirits. "Maybe he just needs more time to fix some issues at his home. Weren't you the one who told me to have faith on him?" Sir Hana tried to cheer me up by gently patting my head.

I sighed. "Nag-aalala na ako sa kanya. He has the habit of keeping things to himself. Uriel doesn't like asking help from others."

"Don't worry too much." He smiled. "Let's just pray for him."

Sinabihan naman ako ni Sir Hana na meron siyang ibibigay sa akin kaya sinundan ko siya sa faculty. I courteously greeted the other teachers who seemed busy with their own paperworks.

"Here," Sir Hana handed me an envelope when we arrived at his cubicle. It's a wedding invitation. "Lars asked me to give it to you."

"This is Miss Lucy's wedding, isn't it?"

He simply nodded. Looks like Sir Hana is in deep thoughts.

"Marami kayang masarap na pagkain?" I wondered.

"Aren't you shameless?" natatawa niyang tanong.

"I don't know the couple personally. Pagkain lang ang habol ko."

Sir Hana exploded into laughter. Pinabayaan ko na lang siya.

To be honest, I don't like going to such events. My hands are full with working and studying, and I don't have the time and money to make myself look presentable. Magastos. Malakas kumain ng oras. Bukod sa wala akong pera, wala rin akong panahon.

I pouted. "I don't think I can attend, Sir Hana."

My professor eyed me. "Why?"

"Wala akong damit." pag-amin ko.

He winked at me. "Akong bahala sayo."

"May trabaho po ako, Sir Hana."

He took a deep breath. Sumandal siya sa cubicle niya at taimtim niya akong tinignan. Tila pinag-isipan niyang maigi ang mga sasabihin niya dahil ilang minuto rin siyang nanahimik.

"I need you to be there, Suna." He sighed. "Please?"

My chest heaved at the sound of his voice. He sounded so helpless and desperate. How could I say no when he's like that to me?

He's not brave enough to go there alone. It's the wedding of his first love, after all. I don't think anyone will ever be prepared to watch the love of their life get married to someone else.