Turn The Page

Chapter 54

"I can't believe I heard that come out of your mouth. That was so harsh. Ganun katindi yung nangyari sayo ng anak mo for you to say those? Whatever happened to 'Ako, I'm going to love my kid no matter what'?" Sandy asked in disbelief. She looked June in the eyes. June avoided her stare. "I guess that's the downfall of being human, we tend to say things we don't mean or that we change our mind a lot," she said without taking her stare off the table. Sandy leaned back on her seat, disappointed to be hearing the things June was saying. "Siguro nga. At isa pang downfall natin as human beings? We get so wrapped up with our emotions that we don't think straight. We hurt others when we hurt, kahit pa gano natin sila kamahal," she said to her friend. June looked her in the eyes for a second before she looked away again. "Yeah," she answered quietly. "So, ano na balak mo ngayon?" Sandy asked. "I was going to ask you the same thing," June replied as she stared at the menu. Sandy watched her friend's every move. "Sabi mo 'wag ko ibalik yung tanong mo sayo. You're doing the same thing to me," she pointed out. June sighed. She looked at Sandy again. "I guess I still have that to figure out. I'm thinking of expanding my business. Maybe start one here. Who knows? Baka mag-work out rin internationally. Now na sarili ko na lang iniisip ko, I can put all my time and effort on that. Para secured na secured na yung future ko. Hindi ko na kelangan umasa sa iba sa mga needs ko when I grow old," June told her. Sandy sighed as well. "You're storing riches kahit na hindi mo naman kelangan. You're putting your time and effort for your future, eh kahit naman siguro hindi mo na gawin yun, you're wealthy enough to have everything you need pag tumanda ka na. What you should be investing your time and effort on is your relationships. Ayusin mo yung relationship nyong mag-ina. Don't let it completely fall apart. Knowing Page, I'm pretty sure willing pa rin yun ayosin kung ano nasira between the two of you. And maybe you can even squeeze in finding love. With everything that's happening with Nicky, nasayangan ako sa relationship na sinira ng parents nya with him. They're going to have to pay for the consequences now that he's dying. They're going to have to feel that extreme guilt na hindi na lang nila inembrace si Nicky for being who he really is. They won't ever be given a chance to take back the time they wasted. Now it's too late. Nicky's dying. Sana 'wag mo paabotin na it's too late for you to fix your relationship with Page. Value that you still have time to do that. Don't take her or any of that for granted, baka magsisi ka kapag huli na ang lahat," Sandy advised. June took a deep breath. She looked at Sandy before she looked at the menu again.

"I'm sorry to be asking this, Page, pero ano na plano mo ngayon?" April asked as she wiped the tears from her face. "Focus na lang siguro sa trabaho, tita," Page replied. April nodded. She could tell how exhausted Page was. "Don't forget to take very good care of yourself. Payat payat mo na nga eh. Make sure you eat. Make sure you get some sleep. You know just how much your body needs its sleep. Remember na pangalawang puso mo na yan. Kaya alagaan mo," April said. Then she thought about whose heart was beating inside Page's chest, so she closed her eyes. Then she opened them again. She looked at Page. "I know this would probably sound weird," April started to say with a little hesitation. Page looked at her in response. "But can I listen to your heart?" April asked. Page continued to stare at her. She thought her aunt's request was a bit odd, but she also thought maybe she just wanted to know if her heart is beating healthily. The fact that April worked as a nurse, made it a bit less weird for Page, so she nodded. "Thank you," April said. Just as expected, April had a stethoscope handy in her luggage. She always liked to be ready and tend to over-pack when travelling. Page had to smile a little. "Lagi ka talagang may dalang stethoscope," she pointed out. "It's my security blanket. It's the nurse in me," April said. She smiled when she saw her niece smiling. "Come and sit here," she instructed. Page obediently did what she was told and sat where April had wanted her to sit. April swallowed. She reminisced about the time when Page was young and wouldn't let anyone go near her. She has really come a long way, and they all knew a huge part of that was because of June. Then April started listening to Page's heart. She closed her eyes. She has been wanting to do this for so long. "Summer," she whispered as she listened to every bit of Summer's heart who now belongs to Page. Tears fell from her eyes. "Hm?" Page asked. "Ah sabi ko, 'better' now that I'm hearing it. It sounds good," April lied. "Pero bakit ka umiiyak?" Page asked worriedly. "May naalala kasi ako eh," April said truthfully. "What is it?" Page asked. "I remember the days na you won't even let us hug you. You won't even let us check your forehead kung may sakit ka kaya san san ka na lang nagko-collapse kasi malala na pala yung lagnat mo. Nakaka-touch lang how you allowed me to do this. Naiyak tuloy ako," April explained. She was telling the truth. That was indeed making her cry, too. "Tita, ang dami na natin pinagsamahan. I think allowed ka nang batukan ako kung hanggang ngayon ayaw ko pa rin magpa-yakap sayo," Page said half-jokingly. Then she swallowed. "Lalong lalo na ngayon na magka-dugo pala tayo," she said as she looked at her. April smiled a little and nodded as she cried. She couldn't help it. She scooped Page in her arms and gave her another tight hug. "Kita mo na, lagi moko pinapahirapan noon tapos tita mo pala ako," she said to her. Page swallowed. "Sorry, tita," she said quietly. "It's okay. You were a kid then. What matters is that you're progressing. Kita ko naman yung efforts mo to let me in now na malaki ka na. That's all that matters," April replied as they let go of the hug. She rubbed Page's back. Page looked at her. "Na-aappreciate ko naman na kahit papano hindi ka nawala sakin, kahit na alam ko nasasaktan ka rin sa mga nangyayari," she said. "Page, of course not. To be honest, alam kong in pain si ate eh. Alam ko naman yun. Siguro kelangan nya lang talaga ng oras to be on her own and think things through. Maybe she needs to wallow in the pain until magsawa sya and decides na ready na sya mag-move on. Sana lang hindi pa huli ang lahat by then," April said before the two of them fell silent. After a few minutes, Page took a deep breath. "Tita, tatawagan ko lang saglit si Nicky ha. Baka mag-taka yun kung nasan ako. I forgot to leave a note na sumama ako sayo," she said to her aunt. "Ay, siguro naman understood na yun na kasama kita," April replied. Her heart started racing. "Eh kasi baka sabihin ang bastos ko. Nag-stay ako sa bahay nya tapos wala man lang akong pasabi na umalis ako," Page said. April nodded. "Sige," she said, hoping Page won't get any idea about what's really happening to her friend.