Chapter 21: Gusto
Unti unti kong minulat ang aking mga mata. The familiar pink room welcomed my eyes with a few voices heard in the background.
"She's awake!"
Bumaling ako sa nakaupo sa aking kaliwang tabi, si Tita Herminia. Umupo ako sa kama at klaro na ngayon ang kanyang nag aalalang mukha. Narito rin pala si Tita Symfle sa kabilang tabi.
"How are you feeling, hija?" banayad na tanong ni Tita.
Ngumiti ako. "Ayos lang naman po..."
Tipid siyang ngumiti. "You passed out."
Umawang ang aking labi. Agad dumapo ang aking mata sa wallclock. It is already 2pm! I'm late for school!
"Eugene is talking with Stefan, Stella. You should rest here, okay? I'll ask the maid to bring your snacks and dinner upstairs," si Tita Symfle.
"I'm fine po, Tita. It's just I'm late for school!" hindi ko mapigilang punain iyon.
Bahagyang humalakhak sila Tita. Naunang tumayo si Tita Herminia at ngumiti sa akin.
"Don't worry about that. You fainted after witnessing a tragic incident, Stella. We already called your teacher, you won't go to school today."
"Oh..."
I smiled at them and leaned back on the headboard. Lumabas sila Tita sa kwarto at ilang minuto, bumukas ulit ito. Si Tita Eugenia na mukhang na-i-stress na ang pumasok.
"I'm all good, Tita." pauna kong sinabi.
"This is why you shouldn't go out without a bodyguard! Oh my, Stefan is gonna kill me for this," iling niya.
"Nasa puder ko ng nangyari ito sa'yo, Stella. He's not gonna trust me anymore." aniya sa may pagkadismaya na tono.
"Tita, it was an unexpected incident. Daddy's not gonna blame anyone and besides, I wasn't even there." mahina kong sinabi.
"Nakausap ko siya kanina, Stella, and he's very scared."
Ngumiti ako sa kanya. "Tita, I'll call him po. Wag po kayong mag aalala..."
Marahas na hininga ang pinakawalan ni Tita. "Hindi ko alam kung bakit nangyari iyon kanina sa mall, hija, pero naroon na si Cassius. He is leading the team to investigate what happened."
Namilog ang mata ko at kinakabahan ng husto. "No!"
Gulantang napatingin si Tita sa akin.
"Uh... I mean, siguro may.... may malfunctions lang Tita. Wag n'yo na pong d–digdigin iyon." nauutal kong agap.
Nanliit ang mata niya. "Kaila—"
"Tita, let's just leave it to the authorities." kalmado kong sinabi.
God knows how cold and tense I am right now.
Unti unting tumango si Tita at ngumingiti. "Okay, I'll leave you to rest for now. Ipapaalam ko pa kay Mama ang nangyari."
"Tita," I'm scared. "Maliit lang po na bagay ito. Ayaw ko pong malaman ng lahat lalo na ay wala naman ako sa pangyayaring iyon."
Natutop ang labi ni Tita at sa huli, unti unti siyang ngumiti.
"Okay, hija. Magpahinga ka muna rito."
Pagod akong ngumiti at pinanood si Tita Eugenia na lumabas. Meliorn was around so I'm feeling a little giddy. The phone on the table under the lampside beeped. I took it immediately and received a text from an unknown number and may iilang texts na rin ang aking kaibigan.
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