Say My Name

Chapter 10-Rina's Mom ft. MuBee

Two months later...

Pasado alas kuwatro ng umaga ng maalimpungatan si Rina sa isang tawag. Walang malay niyang kinuskos ng magaan ang matang kamumulat lang at nairap sa liwanag na nagmumula sa kanyang cellphone. Inabot niya ito at nakitang unregistered number ito. Hmm, a foreign call at this hour?

Sinagot niya ang tawag pero hindi pa siya nakakapagsalita ay may naunahan na siya sa kabilang linya, "Honeybee, how are you? Mom's been missing you dearly." Puno ng saya ang boses ng kanyang ina na umalingawngaw sa tenga niya. It was none other than Mrs. Irish Larson-Carmen. Her beautiful mom who's been MIA again. Only God knows where she is now. Maybe travelling for work again just by guessing from the foreign number she's using. 

"Hey, Mom! Your bee's fine. It's early here, though. How are you?" Rina answered almost a whisper. Afraid she might wake her boardmates up. She stood up from bed and went to the veranda of the second floor to avoid making unnecessary noise inside the room. She's been living with them for months now and she memorized their schedules. Besides, they were anything but nice.

She shivered right away with the cold morning breeze. Oh, I forgot to put on a cardigan.

"That's good news, honeybee. Did I wake you up? Sorry, it's just that it's been almost three months since you left the house. Your Dad and I are missing you so much. Even MuBee do." It did not pass her observant ears how her mom's voice was laced with sadness. 

She then recalled the tiny bee that she saw in their backyard a few weeks after her graduation from middle school. That baby bee was the only one left when after the typhoon occurred and she tried all ways and means for the bee to survive. Her Dad had put it in a glass jar. It may sound strange and funny but she asked a friend who is then studying to be a Veterinary Doctor on how to take care of a bee. Her friend Mariel laughed at her at first but when she realized Rina's seriousness, she told her to buy a bee house or she can do it herself. Afraid that the bee might turn dead before she could build a house, she ordered online straight ahead after talking to Mariel. The bee house then arrived in the afternoon of the same day. She decorated it put it in a tree near their mini park inside their backyard. Tuwang tuwa siya ng makitang lumilipad lipad ang kanyang Munting Bee sa loob ng bahay nito.

"Oh, I miss you guys so much, too. How's my Munting Bee?" Rina beamed.

"Your tiya Shane said MuBee had been quite less playful these days. Maybe the bee's misses you or you know I don't want to guess anything honey, just take some time to visit home, okay?" Her mom's worried tone was apparent.

"Hmm" she answered with a nod even though her mom can't see her. Bumaba ang energy niya sa nalaman. Alam niya kasing konti lang ang buhay ng isang bubuyog. Lalo at mag-isa ito sa bahay niya. 

'A bee's life is too short, bal. Just don't be too attached with it, okay?' She recalled her friend Mariel advised her. Ayaw pa niyang paniwalaan noon si Mariel pero tama nga talaga siguro ito. 

Napabuntong-hinga siya saka tinanong ang ina kung nasaang bansa sila ng kanyang ama. Her mom said their in Paris at the moment. They talked for a while then Rina said, "Mom, tell Pops I want something nice from Paris."