Pieces of Pastiche

Kabanata 24

Kabanata 24

"I'm sorry about my parents."

Hindi ko alam kung paano ko pakikisamahan itong si Ben. I think he feels like na ayaw ko sa kanya, pero ang totoo, hindi naman. Talagang busy lang ako sa mga instructions ko sa residente ko.

Nung maisend ko ang pre op orders ko ay bumuntong hininga ako at iniharap siya.

"Look, I'm sorry. I don't want to be rude to you. Hindi ko alam kung anong binabalak ng mga magulang natin." Sinsero kong sabi. Saglit yata siyang natawa sa pinagsasabi ko.

"They obviously want us to spend time together and to know each other."

Nilingon niya ko saglit. Naging red ang kulay ng stoplight kaya napahinto ang kotse. I can see the cars in front of us moving from left to right. Ano ba yan, inabutan pa ng stoplight!

"Sorry, pero hindi ako interesado."

Bigla siyang humalakhak ng malakas na di ko nagets bakit. Sinabihan ko na nga siyang hindi ako interesado sa kanya, natawa pa siya. He kinda reminds me of Sandro.

"Okay lang yan, sumusunod lang naman ako sa parents ko."

Bigla akong nacurious sa kanya.

"Why?"

Ako kasi, I don't follow without proper reasoning. Oo sige susundin ko sila but not to the extent na sila na ang magdidikta sa buhay ko. This is my life to start with.

"I have a sister, Melody. She died a year ago after giving birth to my nephew."

"Oh...sorry to hear that."

He chuckled, "No, she didn't die from the complications of pregnancy. She died because a doctor pulled her life support. My sister is also a doctor."

"My sister suffered from a car crash. She had a subdural hematoma. Wala kami noon sa tabi niya nung mangyare yun because she was just having vacation in that country alone. According to her doctor, she was deteriorating and her brain's herniating already. May posibilidad na macoma siya. Knowing my sister, she doesn't like that. Her doctor said that as per my sister's request, she just want my nephew to be born and as soon as she delivers her baby, she don't want any artificial life support. She just want to save the baby. To cut the long story short, my sister had an arrest, was operated CS, then the doctor puller her life support. She died."

Kumunot ang noo ko. Hindi ko naman alam ang kaso ng pasyente. Ayokong magtanong pa dahil hindi naman kami close pero...

"My father and mother were so furious with the doctor. They want to sue the surgeon who let this happen. My parents went through hell and I want to do anything that will make them happy. So yes, I agreed to them. I agreed on getting to know you."

Hindi ko alam ang sasabihin ko. Minabuti ko na lang na manahimik. Hindi ko naman siya kilala talaga at ganun rin siya sa akin. Basta ako, hindi ako papayag sa kung ano mang pinaplano nila Papa.

Nakarating kami sa ospital. I removed my seatbelt and opened the car. Isasara ko na sana pero ang rude ko naman kung hindi ako magpapasalamat. I sighed and stopped mid air when I was about to close the door.

"Thanks for the ride," Sabi ko bago sinara ang pintuan. Napatigil ako habang hawak pa rin ang pintuan. I sighed and opened it again. He looked at me like he was expecting that I'll go back. The hood of his eyes were spying at me, hawking like an eagle at its prey.

"Nice meeting you, Ben."

Madaling madali akong nagbihis. Sinimulan na naman namin kaagad ang operasyon pero huli na ang lahat. My patient died on the table. Hindi rin kinaya ng puso niya ang operasyon.