The Antiquity of Us (La Fortuna Series #2)

Kabanata 29

Kabanata 29

Sky

The sky was blue.

When I opened my eyes and stretched out my arm towards the vastness of the heaven above me, the only color I could make up was blue. What variant? Stupid. The sky was stupidly blue . Sa dinami-rami ng kulay na puwede nitong maging, bakit bughaw pa talaga? Why did it need to be a color that symbolizes peace, kindness, and serenity? And the sky, too... why did it need to be so tranquil and calm?

They say that we always hate things we actually wanted. Kaya siguro ayaw ko kay Maeve kasi lahat ng gusto ko, nasa kaniya na. At kaya rin siguro ayaw kong ipinta ang bughaw na kalangitan kasi naiinggit lamang ako roon. I hated how at peace it was, because God, I wanted that for me, too.

"Miss, okay ka lang ba?"

I tore off my train of thoughts when a truck stopped in front of me. Nakalabas ang ulo ng driver at tila ba takang-taka sa kondisyon at suot ko. I was still wearing my evening gown from the pageant. Naka-heels din ako at naka-full makeup pa.

I stood up from laying flat on the sidewalk. Ang talahib at gaspang ng mga ligaw na damo ay kumaluskos sa mga binti ko. I realized then that my gown was abruptly cut off. Nilibot ko ang tingin ko sa paligid at natantong puro azucarera lamang ang tanging matatanaw mula roon. Tall sugarcanes blocked my view of the horizon. Kunot-noo kong nilingon ang driver.

"Manong, nasa'n po ako?"

Nagsalubong ang kilay niya. "Nasa Valderrama, Antique ka, hija. Naliligaw ka ba?"

"Huh? Galing pa po akong La Fortu..." I trailed off when what happened last night dawned on me. Namilog ang mga mata ko.

Oh my God. What happened to my father? Napatay ko ba siya? If I did, then am I a fugitive now? Naaalala kong sinaksak ko siya pero hindi naman siguro 'yon sapat upang mawalan siya ng buhay! Besides, the real question is who smacked me with a bottle? Maraming bumaha sa isipan ko ngunit naputol 'yon nang maalala ko si Mommy. My breathing labored.

She's gone... and I didn't even get to say goodbye to her. Uminit ang sulok ng mga mata ko nang matandaan ang huli niyang sinabi. In her last breath, she called me by my name. She knew who I was! All along, she knew that I am Iowa. Naluha na ako kaya sa taranta'y dali-daling bumaba ang driver sa kaniyang truck upang dumalo sa 'kin.

"Huwag kang umiyak." He offered me his face towel and flashed a shy smile. "Uh, kung naliligaw ka, sumabay ka na sa 'kin. Patungo akong sentro."

Humikbi ako. "Wala po akong pera."

Kinapa ko ang tagiliran ko upang bigyang-diin 'yon ngunit napasinghap nang may mahawakan ako. My forehead creased when I realized that my Prada sling bag clung over my shoulder. Binuksan ko iyon at mas lalong napakunot-noo dahil may makapal na bungkos ng iilang libong piso roon. I could say that it was more than fifty thousand just by eyeballing it.

"Huwag ka nang mag-abala, ineng. Magd-deliver ako ng mga sako ng bigas sa palengke kaya sige na."

Iyon nga ang nangyari. I tried to give the good Samaritan at least a thousand but he refused to accept it. Nang makababa na sa truck niya at napaligiran na ng iba't-ibang tao'y tuluyan ko nang napagtanto kung ano ang sitwasyon ko.

What should I do? I'm in an entirely new place and it's a province at that matter! Tila probinsiya rin naman ang La Fortuna at Capiz dahil sa likas nitong yaman, ngunit iba pa rin ang lugar na ito sa nakasanayan ko! I've never even been to a market before! And I never thought that it would smell this bad!

Imbes na manatili roon sa palengke ay pumara ako ng tricycle at nagpa-hatid na lamang sa isang Inn. I asked to be brought to the cheapest place possible because I couldn't be adamant about spending my money. Wala akong ideya kung sino ang nagbigay sa 'kin nito pero hindi na' yon important. I should think about survival more than anything else.