Serendipity (Thalassophile)

Thirty-two

"What the hell Rae?!" Singhal ni Vaughn nang makita nila si Dylan na kasama ni Kristene sa Hong Kong.

"Why?" Kristene asked with a playfull smile on her face.

"Bakit si Dylan ang kasama mo? Asan si Vincien? Hoy Dylan! Kahapon lang nandito ka sa Pilipinas ah? 'Bat nasa Hong Kong ka na agad?" Walang patid na tanong ni Vaughn dito.

"Something happened. And I n-need to accompany Rae. Wala syang kasama."

"W-Where's Kuya V?" Iyon lang ang tanging lumabas sa bibig nya dahil sa sobrang panlalamig ng katawan nya.

She doesn't know what to think. Gusto nyang intindihin kung bakit naroon si Dylan pero kahit anong pag-justify nya sa isip nya, may mga parteng hindi nya matanggap. Kung kahapon pa ito nasa Hong Kong, he could've atleast leave a message on her social media just for her not to worry too much on him. But he didn't. That's what's hurting her the most.

Oo at nagkaintindihan sila na nariyan sya palagi para sa kapatid nya kapag kailangan sya nito. But would it kill him to be transparent to her? Ano pa bang pag-intindi ang kailangan nyang gawin? Dahil kahit anong gawin nya, hindi nya kayang umintindi ngayon. Idagdag pa na masakit ang ulo nya at masama pa rin ang pakiramdam nya.

She went back on her reverie when she heard her Sister spoke, "He went back to Newark. Mukhang may emergency."

Isa pa si Vincien. What the hell happened this time? It's unusual for him to leave her Sister alone just like that. Something must've happened and she wanted to talk to Vincien too.

Then she heard Vaughn mumbled softly beside her but enough for her to hear it. 'Fucking shitheads.'

"Kaya si Dylan ang pumalit?" Naiinis na sambit ni Vaughn at kitang-kita nya ang pagkuyom ng kamay nito.

"He insisted. Wala daw kasi akong kasama. Hindi na ako umangal pa. Knowing this hard-headed man? Gagawin nito lahat ng gusto nya."

Oh so Dylan insisted. And honestly it fvcking hurts right now. May pagkakataon naman pala silang mag-usap ng kapatid nya. Pero bakit sya, ni isang message wala? I thought I'm the priority? Or I'm just being selfish right now?

She looked at the screen, particularly on Dylan who can't even look at the screen. Looks like he's feeling guilty.

Gustong sapuhin ni Krislene ang ulo nya pero pinipigilan nya dahil ayaw nyang malaman ng kapatid nya at ni Dylan na nahihirapan na sya. Not just physically but emotionally. So with that, she decided to excuse herself.

"Uh... Ate! Uhm... kayo muna mag-usap ni Kuya Vaughn." Then she felt her lips trembling. Even she can feel that tears would soon come out from her eyes. "M-May gagawin lang ako saglit."

Hindi na nya hinintay pa na sumagot ang kapatid at agad binigay ang kanyang cellphone kay Vaughn at tinalikuran nya ito sabay lakad ng marahan papunta sa kwarto nya.

And as soon as she reached the door of her room, tears started to fall from her eyes. Kahit pala anong pag-intindi ang gawin nya, masakit pa rin masampal ng katotohanan. Maybe sometimes she's the priority. But most of the time it's her Sister Kristene.

Ano ba naman kasi ang panama nya sa isang dekadang pagmamahal ni Dylan sa kapatid nya?

All she ever asked is a good communication with Dylan to avoid misunderstandings in their relationship. Mahirap ba iyon gawin?

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Gustong suntukin ni Dylan ang sarili dahil kitang-kita nya kung gaano nya nasaktan si Krislene. Alam nyang napaka-gago nya para hindi magsabi dito kung nasaan sya.