God Must Die

chapter 4

"Gan'on pala kayo magbatian? Kantunan kaagad?"

Nanlaki ang mga mata ni Kyle nang sumalubong sa kanya ang mukha ni Jo na makabuluhan ang tingin sa kanya. Napangiwi siya nang umikot nang bahagya ang mundo niya. She picked a pillow up before throwing it towards the direction of her brother who just ducked and laughed at her. "Pikon, kantunan sinabi ko, oy."

"Gagawin mo pa akong tanga, may doctorate na ako, oy," aniya. "Paano ka ba nakakapasok dito sa kwarto ko? Ikaw talaga, may lahing magnanakaw ka."

"Ikaw may lahing ninja, ninja moves ka kagabi, eh—"

"JO NICHOLAS, GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY ROOM!" She picked up more pillows before throwing them at him.

Mas lalo lang itong natawa imbes na matakot. "Ito naman, masiyadong pikon. Mom just asked me to wake you up. Sila kuya darating dito maya-maya." Nanlaki ang mga mata niya sa narinig. "Kinuha ko na rin pala 'yong prototype na pasalubong mo sa 'kin, nasauli ko na 'yong journal, eh, hehe."

Hindi na lamang siya nagsalita dahil mas mapapagod lang siya kung bibigyan pa niya ng atensyon ang kaaptid. Muli siyang napahiga nang umikot muli ang paligid. She ushered Jo to get out of her room and luckily, he did not tease her further.

She made sure to drink a lot of water before taking a shower. She played music in the shower in an attempt to divert her attention from the things that happened hours prior. Luckily, she was good at that, so the distraction plan was a success. Björk's Biophilia was playing in the background as she tried to calm herself down.

Alam niyang magpapa-welcoming party ang pamilya niya sa kanyang pagbabalik kaya nararapat lang na handa siya at hindi magmukhang matamlay. After all, she was sure that not everyone who would attend would be in her favor. May masasabi at masasabi pa rin talaga ang mga ito pero kahit na ganoon, wala man siyang jowa sa pagbabalik niya, at least hindi siya mukhang chaka.

That was it. That was the vacation she had envisioned herself to engage with. Walang Caeles, walang Commander Dalmian. She just wanted to spend her free time with the people she loved, not thinking about work, not thinking about astronomy and physics, although she loved the both of them. There was just time for everything.

She prepared even the tiny details of her vacation. She was determined not to mess it all up.

Kung ano man ang nangyari'y balak na niyang kalimutan ito. Hopefully, their paths would never cross again during the entirety of her break. She just wanted peace of mind.

Dumapo ang kanyang tingin sa poster ng Discovery ST-04 tsaka muling naalala ang mga nangyari. She pouted before switching her gaze at the sight of Queen's poster on her wall.

"Do not think about it, Kyle, don't," she told herself.

Pagkatapos makapag-ayos ay bumaba na rin siya. Sinalubong siya ng amoy ng niluto ng mommy niya. Nasa kitchen ito kasama si Jo na tumutulong sa pag-aayos. Nang nakita siyang paparating ng kapatid, muli na naman siya nitong binigyan ng makabuluhang tingin habang tumaas-taas ang kilay.

She made face and continued walking towards their direction. Napansin na rin siya ng mommy niya kaya kaagad sumilay ang ngiti nito sa mukha. "Good morning, Lang. Anong oras ka nakauwi kanina?" tanong nito.

She kissed her mom's cheek before replying, "I don't know, Mommy. I was so tired, I didn't check on the time, dumiretso na ako sa kwarto para magpahinga."

"Oo nga, Ma, pagod na pagod 'yan," makabuluhang sabi ni Jo. Kinurot naman niya ito sa tagiliran kaya kaagad itong napangiwi tsaka nagtago sa likuran ng mommy nila. "Pikon kasi totoo."

"Mukha mo pikon. I'll tell dad and kuya what you did yesterday," she warned.

"I'll tell dad and kuya what you did yesterday as well," pang-aasar nito.