Just As The Sunset (Albuera Series #1)

10th

Sunset

It was near six pm when we arrived at the island. It was a small piece of paradise filled with coconut trees behind and beside the pentagon shaped beach house of Diego. Kulay puti iyon at hindi kalakihan. It was a two story house that has a balcony that faces the beautiful sea.
Glass ang lahat ng wall na nakaharap sa dagat.

Hindi ko na masyadong maaninag ang ganda ng isla dahil dumidilim nang talaga.

"Are you hungry?" tanong ni Diego, he's behind me

"Hindi naman masyado," sagot ko

"I'll cook for our dinner,"

Nilingon ko siya.

"Pwedeng ako nalang Diego,"

"No, I know you're tired. What do you want me to cook?" malumanay nyang tanong

Inilagay ko ang aking index finger sa aking baba. Hmm, let's see if you can cook my favorite food.

"I want, chicken curry." nakangisi kong sagot

He nodded his head. Nagulat ako, alam nya kung paano iyon gawin? Baka alam lang, baka hindi masarap. Hahaha. But then, I don't care if it's not delicious as long as it was him who cooked.... joke.

We entered the house and yeah, it looked so cozy. Pagkapasok ay makikita ang sala at nasa kabilang side naman ang kitchen. It was a condo type beach house pala. The  sofa were gray as well as the carpet. All were facing the sea.

Umakyat muna si Diego sa itaas para mailagay na doon ang aking bag. Pagbalik niya ay nakabihis na siya ng pang-itaas. He's now wearing a plain black singlet that emphasizes his muscles.

"Diego, you have clothes here huh?" I asked

Wala lang, tanong ko lang para may topic naman kahit masyadong obvious. Sawa na kase ako sa katahimikan naming dalawa kapag kami lang eh.

I'm currently sitting on a high chair in the island counter. The kitchen looked so neat with it's white theme and gray accent. The floors were marble. The appliances looked modern and expensive.

"Yeah," sagot ni Diego

Now he's busy picking the ingredients from a very cute pantry.

"You come here often, then?"

Sino kaya ang kasama nya? Babae nya, obviously.

"No. I'm always busy, you know that. I don't have the privilege to come here often and relax." sagot nya

"Sino namang kasama mo pag pumupunta ka dito?" inosente ko kunwaring tanong

Napalingon siya sa tanong ko.

"Ako lang, minsan kasama yung mga pinsan ko." suplado nyang sagot sabay patuloy sa kanyang ginagawa

"Pinsan, o babae?" nakataas kilay kong tanong

"I don't have girls, Amanda, if that's what you're implying."

Napairap ako. Eh yung sekretarya mo? Dinadala mo dito?

"Do you have caretakers here?" pag-iiba ko sa usapan.

"Yup, nandun sa Kala Island. They just come here everyday to check and clean the house." sagot nya

He's now washing the vegetables. May inilabas rin siyang marinated na na manok.

"Anong tawag nga pala sa islang 'to?" tanong ko

"This island is named Hubo. Hubo is a bisaya word which means hubad. Before, this island was naked, walang kahit na anong puno o imprastrakturang nakatayo kaya masyadong mainit. When I bought this, I decided to build here some beach house and plant some coconut trees to freshen up the island a bit."