Almost
Umihip nang bahagya ang hangin nang magkabangga ang kahel na araw at ang mga ulap na tila nasilaban ng apoy. Ang mga mata ko'y marahang dumiretso sa perpektong mukha ni Dos. Humuni na ang sasakyan ni Kuya Uno kaya agad na kaming pumasok. Inayos ko ang aking buhok at isinandal ang aking ulo sa balikat ni Dos habang si Alexis ay nakatulog na sa aking tabi. Umubo pa si Kuya Uno, hudyat na nagpapakitang narito siya sa aming tabi. Humagikhik si Dos.
"This is normal between lovers, bro," usal ni Dos. Ngumisi ako. Umiling na lamang si Kuya Uno at tuwiran nang pinaandar ang sasakyan.
"I don't have one," Kuya Uno replied, breaking the silence in the middle of the ride.
My eyes widened. Wala siyang....
Bumuntong hininga ako at hinigpitan ang pagkakahawak sa kamay ni Dos.
"Masyado na siyang bitter," bulong ni Dos.
Ngumiti ako at dahan-dahang ipinikit ang aking mga mata.
I love this. I am home, or more like, I am at peace when I am with him. I hated the nostalgia of silence before. It was utterly atrocious. There was always a phantom of paranoia inside me until I met those dazzling eyes. Lying my head on his broad, slender shoulder while our hands were fully intertwined, I rewrote the definition of peace in my head. Sure... There are many kinds of love, as most people say. And yet, this kind of love, this one thing between us, is what they call a safe place, where the call of silence is not the image of fear but a shadow of rest.
"Tulog ka muna, Ali. Alam kong napagod ka," bulong ni Dos habang hinahaplos ang aking buhok.
His birthday is almost as close to the wind's breath as it gets. I am sixteen, and he'll be eighteen soon. My birthday is still far from my grasp to come into his league, but I know that despite being a kid inside of my mature figure, he will still, as always, hold my hand and bend his knees, professing how I have bewitched him. Despite all these things being new to me, he did not rush me or make me feel like I had to properly equate his heavy adoration for me. The deep-down truth in me managed to surface when I met him. I wanted to be loved, and for the other parts of it, I, too, wanted to be loved.
There were always these fearsome thoughts beneath my lovely visions of him. There was still a part of me that longed to be hugged, that wished to be heard, and that desired to be cared for. There was still the howling voice of my lost inner child, which I do not know how to cure. There was still a miniscule puzzle that wanted to be solved despite being long lost. And yes, this is what I have been fearing: to realize how broken I am when I am being loved rightfully.
Nadama ko ang mabagal na paghinga ni Dos habang pinanatili kong nakapikit ang aking mata. Batid kong malapit na kami sa bahay.
"Dos," dinig kong tawag ni Kuya Uno. Bahagyang gumalaw si Dos.
"Kuya?"
"Alam ba niya?" Bakas ang pag-aalala sa boses ni Kuya Uno.
"Ang ano?" Naging mas baritono pa ang boses ni Dos.
"Na tanga ka?" Humalakhak si Kuya Uno.
"Tss, mana sa 'yo," tugon naman ni Dos.
BINABASA MO ANG
Just a Pain Reliever (Pinili Series #1)
Romance"Why does the candle lose its flame when the wind blows?" It was a question that neither Cupid nor the gods could answer. It was an abyss of bliss. A question that takes a lifetime to be answered. A question that only people who adore each other wo...
