Dancing With Fire (TO BE PUBLISHED)

Kabanata 19

Kabanata 19

"K-KAHIT NGAYON LANG... p'wede ba?!" 'Di ko na napigilan ang pagtaas ng boses, pakiramdam ay pumipintig at sasabog na ang ulo.

Silence fell. Bumuntonghinga si Tita, lumalambot ang tingin sa 'kin. Hindi ko pa rin maproseso ang narinig ko, walang lakas para magtanong. All I could think of was my brother and his safety.

Him before anything. Punong-puno na ang utak ko para dagdagan pa ang walang katapusang problemang 'to!

"Sera..." Tita Asunta murmured.

"Aalis muna ako. Siguraduhin mong magiging maayos ang anak ko pagkabalik ko, Serafine." Nanay looked ay me pointedly, rolled her eyes, and walked away.

Nasapo ko ang mukha at mariing napapikit. I heard footsteps moving closer.

"S-Sera... I'm sorry, m-magpapaliwanag ako," Tita said.

"Pati ba naman ikaw?" I asked weakly.

I saw pain and regret in her eyes when I finally looked at her. She sighed and tried to hold me.

"S-Sorry, hindi ko intensyong itago sa 'yo," she murmured.

I didn't answer, just stared at my hands as she held them.

"Sana... sana, pakinggan mo ako."

"Sa susunod na," I whispered, meeting her gaze. "Ang kapatid ko... mas kailangan niya ako ngayon. Sa susunod na, please, punong-puno na ang utak ko."

She nodded with understanding. I gasped softly when she stroked my hand, then pulled me into an embrace.

"I understand. Dito lang ako. Salamat, Sera. We will pray for Miggy," she whispered.

My tears fell. I inhaled shakily and hugged her back.

"M-Magiging maayos siya, 'di ba?" I whispered.

"Of course... sshh, of course, magiging maayos siya," she soothed, stroking my back.

I caught sight of Vioxx walking toward us, his eyes searching. When our gazes met, I quickly looked away and pulled back from Tita.

I harshly wiped my tears, sobbing as I tried to pull myself together.

"Sino pong kaanak ng pasyente?"

Doon na ako napatayo at dagling nilapitan ang doktor.

"K-kapatid ko po. Ano pong nangyari? Kumusta?" I couldn't hide the fear in my voice.

He looked at me, the look couldn't be mistaken. It doesn't look good. "Miss Mendez, as much as I want to say he's doing fine, he's not at the moment."

My heart pounded, tears brimming.

"His stress these past few days weakened his heart further. Emotional stress isn't good for him, right? He experienced shortness of breath because of it. His scheduled operation, unfortunately, has to be as early as now."

I gasped, shutting my eyes tightly. Naramdaman kong may humawak sa braso ko at narinig ang boses niya.

"Then let's push through with the operation," he said. The doctor looked at him, recognition in his eyes, and nodded.

"We will, Engineer. We can't prolong the process. The patient's life is at risk."

I couldn't speak. My body trembled with fear—fear for my brother, fear for the operation, fear for his safety. Fear from everything that's been going on with us.

Hindi ko kakayanin kung pati sa kapatid ko'y may mangyaring masama...

"G-Gawin n'yo ang lahat, p-pakiusap... iligtas n'yo ang kapatid ko," I pleaded. "Please..."