TWENTY-EIGHT: Birds In A Gilded Cage
Blair
"Blair, come here!" narinig ko ang boses ni Jem na nanggaling sa loob ng kuweba.
I started making my way towards the entrance of the cave. Malubak ang daan. Nagkalat ang iba't ibang laki ng bato sa lupa. Nang makapasok ako, nag-adjust nang ilang segundo ang paningin ko at bahagyang luminaw ang kalooban ng kweba.
"Blair, pumasok ka rito. It's just a short distance," muli kong narinig ang boses ni Jem na nanggaling sa butas na nasa ilalim ng dalawang magkadikit na malalaking bato. Sa palagay ko, kasya naman ang isang tao roon.
Pinasadahan ko ng tingin ang kabuuan. From my spot, I could see stalagmites and stalactites. Kahit na may kadiliman, nakikita ko iyon nang malinaw. I was in awe. It was a beautiful sight. I had never seen a cave before in my life.
Bahagya akong yumukod at dumapa. Sinimulan kong isiksik ang sarili ko papasok sab utas. Madali naman akong nakagapang sa kabilang bahagi ng bato. Nadatnan ko sila na pinapasadahan din ng tingin ang kuweba. The other side of the cave was almost the same.
Nanlaki ang mga mata ko nang biglang may umilaw sa isang banda. It was a small ball of light but when I came near it, I could see its long, delicate tentacles hanging from above. And then in a matter of minutes, the ceiling of the cave started lighting up. Naging kulay asul ang paligid.
"What the—" I heard Ryan say.
Hindi ko mapigilang ngumiti. "Wow," I whispered.
"Glow worms," ani Jem na nasa tabi ko na pala. When I turned to look at him, his eyes were glued to the ceiling. Tila ba umiilaw ang kulay asul na mga mata niya. "I learned about it from my dad. He used to travel and go to caves and such."
Nakita kong tumango-tango si Evangelyn.
Glow worms. I hadn't heard of it until now. I said to myself.
"They only light up in complete darkness," dagdag pa ni Jem.
Sunod na nagsalita si Maru. "I think safe naman siguro na gumawa tayo ng apoy dito," suhestiyon niya. "We should go and get some woods."
Evangelyn quickly chirped in. "Sama ako," nakangiting sabi niya.
Both of them crawled their way out of the cave. Kaming tatlo lang ang natira. May kumpol ng malalaking bato sa bandang kanan kaya doon ako dumeretso at umupo. Muli kong pinagmasdan ang mga glow worms sa itaas.
They're strange creatures, I told myself. I wish Noah and Mama were here to see this. I could only image the expression on their faces. I smiled at the thought of them. Ano na kaya ang ginagawa nila ngayon sa bahay? Ano kaya ang sinabi sa kanila ng unibersidad? Na patay na kami?
Bahagya kong nailing ang ulo ko. I quietly wished to see them again. I wish I could see how Noah's dimples shows every time he smiles, again. And my mother, I wish I could taste her dishes for one last time. I missed them both.
Nagbaba ako ng tingin nang maramdaman ko ang pagpatak ng luha sa pisngi ko. Mabilis ko iyong pinunasan. Not now, I told myself.
Naramdaman ko ang pag-upo ni Jem sa tabi ko. "Hey, 'you okay?" aniya sa malambing na boses. Even though his voice was deep, I still find it comforting.
Tumango lang ako sa kanya. "Yeah, I'm good. Na-miss ko lang sila mama," I told him.
Malungkot siyang ngumiti. "I'm sure they're okay," sabi niya na nakatingin sa mga mata ko.
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