Requited

Chapter 7

Everything in this world has its own opposite. Protagonist and antagonist, bad and good, pretty and obnoxious. Para daw kasi magkaroon ng balance. And for Rhian who's born to be fighter, the heart and brain must not fight for that balance- her brain must be superior. As per Heneral Tiago, the world they live in has no room for absurd feelings, and his daughter tend to live with that too.

Pero hindi niya kaya. Why should she choose between her heart and mind when she can use both? So when she had the chance to use both, she did and apparently......... she got hurt.

Hindi na dapat siya nakinig pa sa puso niya't hinayaan ang sariling malunod sa malalim niyang boses, kausapin ang nangungusap niyang mga mata, at mapangiti sa kurba ng kanyang mga labi sa tuwing nag-uusap sila.

"Anong iniisip mo, Rhian?" Nana Gloria interfered the young lady's thoughts. She forcibly smiled and her lips quivered as she said, "wala po."

"Anong wala? Noong isang araw ka pang ganyan. May problema ba?"

Rhian examined Nana Gloria as she put her clothes, already folded, in her closet. The old lady waited for her to answer as she fixed the girl's shirts.

"Kung ayaw mong sabihin sa akin, okay lang," Nana Gloria said without turning around to face Rhian.

Huminga ng malalim ang dalaga. Ah, bahala na.

"K-kasi Nana, may tao kasing basta-basta nalang akong hindi kinausap." She closed her eyes and immediately opened them. Mukha na naman kasi ni Franco ang sumagi sa isip niya.

Nilagay muna ni Nana Gloria ang huling T-shirt bago niya tinabihan si Rhian na nakaupo sa higaan nito.

"Baka may nagawa ka sa kanya na ikinagalit niya?"

Rhian recapped for a moment, the sunset, that one 1 am when she got caught and the next morning when he didn't bothered to explain himself and obviously ignored her and lastly, that time when she tried to talk to him and he shut her up.

She finalized her thought. "Wala po. Katunayan nga po, siya yung may kasalanan sa akin."

Para siyang batang inaway sa eskwelahan na nagsusumbong sa kanyang ina. But thankfully, she felt lighter.

"Sinubukan mo na bang kausapin siya?"

Rhian nodded and was reminded by his treatment. Nakakainis.

Franco's mad face days ago crossed Nana Gloria and made her think that she can now tell what happened. She smiled at the thought. Mga bata nga naman.

"Baka galit siya kasi may kaibigan ka nang iba?"

The rhetorical question from the old lady tucked Rhian to bed that night. Hindi, e. Franco will never get mad just because she started talking with the other trainees. And why would he be mad? It's not as if Rhian is his.

A week passed and both are still not talking to each other. Kung may pagkakataon man na dapat silang mag-usap, tango, oo o hindi lang ang tanging sinasagot nila sa isa't isa. Until that one afternoon came and their Science teacher rushed them to run.

"Mga militar!" a guard shouted. The kids ran as fast as they could. But Rhian idled for a moment bago tumayo at tumakbo pabalik sa mansion.

When the guards ordered them to run, Franco hurriedly stood up. All of the kids were panicking and a familiar guy bumped unto him and he saw the face of Rhian's new friend. As if on cue, his eyes automatically searched for that particular persion and it's like his feet had its own brain immediately ran towards her and his hands grasped for her like it's the boldest move. She was taken aback seeing his anxious eyes and his hand on her wrist.