Ink and Prints

Chapter 26: Twins and Pairs

We spend time with people we hold dear
We savour the moments that we share 
In hope that everything may last forever
In hope that time will never end 

_

     "Oh, you're back? Napaaga ata, huh?" I said to them as they entered our apartment. I remembered that they shouldn't be home by tomorrow because Sol wanted to spend an extra day with Carmela somewhere after their cruise, yet here they are now. "I was going to take Carmela somewhere, but we both realized that we were too tired, so umuwi na lang kami dito," he replied to me in a light tone. He's still the same, huh? When Sol talks, it's as if everything seems light and jokey, but that seems to be the problem with him, he  is always taken too lightly, so his seriousness comes off as a shock when it appears to others, I'm actually not used to it yet, even though we've been together for the longest times. "Hmm. Why don't you rest for the day? Did you have fun though?" I asked the both of them. "Yeah, I actually enjoyed the time off. You know, getting my family out of my hair," Carmela said in happy tone, yet seriousness can still be felt from her tone when she mentioned her family. If you're from a family of politicians, of course you can expect some things to happen. "Ikaw ba, Lunie? Ano bang ganap mo noong wala kami?" Shoot! I just remembered that I haven't told them anything, huh? I didn't want to ruin the fun times that they shared. "Long story, why don't you get some rest for now? I'll make you breakfast," I said to them in order to stop any assertions that they may have, this is still not the time for them to know what happened with me and Lumi. "Okay, Luna. We'll be upstairs, I'll come down after a bit," Carmela said to me gently and they went up the stairs. 

     I prepared the ingredients that I'll need. I actually thought of cooking tapsilog for them since it's one of Sol's favorite breakfasts. I wasn't good at cooking back when I was a student, Sol was always the one who handled that when we were still in school, I just taught myself after we both got jobs, since the nature of his job as a flight attendant prevented him from staying here, meaning I had to do everything myself. I'll be honest,  it was dreadful, lot of burnt food at the table, but I got the hang of it eventually. 

     After slicing and mincing all the ingredients that were needed, I began cooking the tapsilog. As I was cooking, Carmela came down and sat on the table. "Oh. Bakit mo naisipang bumaba?" I asked her out of nowhere. "Just wanted to keep you company, I missed you. Wala akong narinig galing sa 'yo for the past two weeks, akala ko nangangalimot ka na," she said in a mischevous tone. "Why would I forget you, Carmie? Am I crazy or something?" I asked back to her. "A bit. I'm a bit curious though, Luna, bakit wala kang paramdam ni isang beses?" She said to assert that she's pressing the subject matter at hand. "Wala lang, I didn't want to interrupt you. I wanted you both to enjoy your cruise, and I'm afraid that when I call, I'll cause some problems," I said to her in a cold tone and I went back to cooking breakfast. "So you did have problems, Luna? Why don't you tell it to me now, tutal wala naman na kami sa cruise." Carmela is a really stubborn person, if she wants something, or if she wants to know something, she'll press on until she gets what she wants. There's no escaping this, huh? "I actually only talked to Lumi once ever since you left, and we just reconciled kaya kami nag-usap." I'm really about to drag my best friend into a problem in the past, huh? 

     Carmela looked at me with a curious demeanor, she wants to hear more, huh? "Hala, bakit naman?" She asked me. "Ayun, nag-overthink ako about not truly loving him or something," I said with my usual serious demeanor. "Ay, dios mio, tanga ka ba, Luna?" She asked to me with a sarcastic tone. "Look, I'm not good at this, okay?" I replied to her. "I know, Luna. What lead to that conclusion though?" I'm kinda embarassed, this is Carmela we're talking about, I'm pretty sure that she knows the ins and outs of things like this. "'Di ba ano, ang bait sa akin ni Lumi, pero ako ang insensitive ko sa kaniya. Ayun, I wasn't reciprocating the feelings that he deserved and because of that, I felt like I didn't love him," I bashfully said, focusing on the food that I'm preparing instead of looking at her eyes directly.