Parallel Intersection

Chapter 22

Masakit ang aking ulo nang muli akong magising. Akala ko ay sina Mama ang unang bubungad sa akin.

"Aries." I called his name with disgust laced on it.

"Jam," He sighed.

Bumukas din ang pinto at saka nito iniluwa sina Ced. Bitterness crawled into my system.

Tumikhim ako. "Anong ginagawa niyo rito?" Malamig kong tanong sa kanila.

My eyes then went to John, who claimed that he's my friend. That I can trust him.

"Pagkatapos niyo kaming iwan nang gabing iyon, nandito kayo?" I gritted my teeth.

Tila ba naubusan ng dugo ang kanilang mga mukha. Ced was quick enough to disagree.

"Nagkakamali ka ng iniisip." He said.

Ced, according to my memory, has always been the calm one. Kung kayang idaan sa maayos na usapan ay iyon ang kanyang gagawin.

"We didn't leave the two of you to just die, Jam. Hinabol namin si Jorge dahil hindi siya pwedeng makatakas pa." Mahinahon niyang paliwanag sa akin.

John sadly smiled. "Muli niya kaming pinaputukan ng baril. Gladly, daplis lamang iyon sa aking kanang balikat, at saka mabilis din na rumesponde ang mga pulis." Tears are once again evident on his eyes.

Natahimik ako. My memory showed me one side of the story. Of course, I wouldn't remember it because I became unconscious.

Napalunok ako. Tahimik kong pinagmasdan ang kanilang mga mukha. It was Ced who once again narrated what happened.

"Chuck and Jay quickly went back to you and Carly. Sila rin ang sumama patungo sa hospital. Grace suffered trauma."

Grace...poor Grace. She must not be seeing those things.

"Is she alright?"

They all nodded. "How about...Carly?"

"Inilibing na siya...limang araw matapos ang pangyayaring iyon." Aries said it with both anger and sadness.

My poor friend died under the hands of the man he loves. May parte rin sa akin na naaawa kay Aries. Maybe, he's blaming his self.

"Are you okay?" I managed to asked him.

His bloodshot eyes told me that he's not feeling okay.

"How can I be okay?" It was almost a whisper. "My friend died because of my recklessness."

I pity him. Lasing siya ng mga araw na iyon. Lahat kami ay lasing. Alam kong hindi iyon sapat na dahilan para kahit papaano'y mapagaan ang nararamdaman ni Aries.

"No one wanted for it to happened." It was Ellie who replied. Mukhang kararating niya lang galing escuela.

"My sister knew how violent Jorge can be but she still stayed with him. Alam ko rin naman na hindi niya ginusto ang nangyari sainyo, Aries." She said, with toughness evident on her voice.

Tahimik itong naglakad palapit sa akin. "Ayos ka na ba?" Usisa niya.

I nodded. "Jam..." She looked at me in the eye. Hindi ko man sa kanya makita si Carly, but Ellie would always be my favorite souvenir from Carly. "I hope that you'll be able to forgive what wounded you and move on."

Ito ang mga alaalang muling bumabalik sa aking isipan habang pinagmamasdan ang lapida ni Carly.

Carly Rosalie Tuazon Luzada.
May 1, 1998 - February 10, 2020

Umihip ang malamig na hangin. For awhile, I can feel Carly's presence behind me.

Bukas ay tutulak na kami sa Manila para sa OJT. Matagal-tagal iyon. I am hoping that when I reach Manila, I would be able to somehow forget the pain I had in here.