Book 1: The Day She Came (UNDERGOING MAJOR REVISION)

Chapter 2 - Smile, Rion

A few days after Carlos' paranormal experience, we finally had some good sleep.

Pero kahit wala na ang antok namin, there's still one thing we had to deal with: the cold.

Not the actual cold, but the coldness that radiates from his body. He's been like this for 3 months already. I mean, there are times na good mood siya, pero the coldness never disappears. Minsan nga nanginginig ako kapag tumatabi siya sa akin. It's like he's a walking ice block.

"Hoy andito pila." aniko sa kanya. As he walked up behind me, I felt a chill go up my spine.

"Ba't ba nanginginig ka? Naiihi ka ba kapag nariyan ako? Anyare sa'yo Bris?" tanong ni Rion.

"Gago. Bobo. Wag nga ako. Kasalanan mo eh. Nilalamig kami sa'yo. Parang ice block ka." sabi ko sa kanya.

"Luh! Gago ka pala eh!" sabi niya bago ako batukan.

"Aray! Sasakalin kita!" banta ko.

"Hoy, Briston! Umusog ka na! Madami pa ang nakapila." ani Carlos.

I dutifully stepped forward at bumili ng kakainin ko. Still, I could feel the chill on my back. I swear to God, gagawa na talaga ako ng apoy kung naririyan si Rion.

We found ourselves a spot to eat our food.

"It's been 3 months. Why the hell are you sulking like that?" tanong ni Carlos matapos lumunok.

Rion didn't say a word. He was still staring at the stack of still-wrapped sandwiches in front of him. Naku, naku, naku! Natulala na naman ang loko. I can still remember what had happened to him about two months and a week before:

He was a mess. A complete, motherfucking mess. Wasak ang bungo (just an exaggeration), maraming nadislocate na joints, but miraculously, no fractures. Yun nga lang, puno siya ng sugat at bubog, saka several metal shrapnel had found themselves into his skin.

He was found 10 minutes after he fucked up. Had it been any longer, he could've been dead. Sabi nga ng doctor, himala pang nakayanan ng katawan niya ang sobra 10 minutes while losing blood as fast as he could. He fell into a coma for about a week or so. Tapos nung nagising siya, nagulat na lang kami nang nagpakita siya dito sa University. Sabi niya, magpapraktis pa daw siya para sa interschool finals. Hindi mapinta ang mukha ng Coach niya at ng mga teammates niya nang madatnan siyang literally butt naked (wearing his gown kasi tumakas mula sa ospital) saka dumudugo pa yung kamay niya kasi natanggal ang karayom na para sa IV fluid niya.

He looked like a fucking donkey that time. We, Carlos and I, took him back to the hospital immediately. As soon as he was discharged, he went back to his training, and the rest was history.

However, sa loob ng nakalipas na mga linggo, he experienced blackouts. Saka naging mas makakalimutin na siya kesa dati. And, of course, natutulala.

"Hey." Raph said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

He kinda jumped. Napalingon-lingon siya.

"Ha? Asan ako?" tanong niya. Yep. Told you.

"Canteen. You're gonna eat that or not?" sabi ni Raph habang nakaturo sa patung-patong na tinapay.

"Ha?" he glanced to where Raph was pointing. "Syempre! Walang sayo, kupal ka." aniya bago simulang lantakan ang mga tinapay.

However, he was eating with sadness. Like, mararamdaman mo talagang pinipilit niya na lang na ikain ang pagkawasak ng damdamin niya. I can recount how we heard him crying in the middle of the night, just a day after he was discharged. We passed it off as stress from the training pero, hindi eh.