Set You Free

Chapter 29

Lory's POV

Kakatapos ko lang maghugas ng pinggan, I didn't let Ria wash the plate, baka kasi pagod yun eh. Siya pa naman nag-alaga sakin kanina. It's now 7pm, hindi ko alam kung saan nagpunta yun after namin kumain. I told her to rest pero nagdala yun ng ice cream kanina eh.

I went upstairs at pumunta sa kwarto, baka kasi nanuod na naman yun ng tv eh. But when I enter the room it's empty. She can't be in the CR kasi naka off yung lights.

I'm about to close the door when I heard a ringtone. That's not my phone, sinundan ko ang tunog at dumating ako sa balcony. Nakita ko si Ria nakatalikod sa akin, naka-upo, hawak-hawak niya ang ice cream habang nakatitig sa telepono sa tabi niya.

"Why won't you answer it?" I asked.

Tumingin ito sa akin, ngumiti at bumalik na sa pagtitig sa mga kalangitan.

Lumapit ako sakanya at tinabihan siya.

"Kaya pa?" sabay akbay sa kanya.

I saw her eyes getting watery but I know she's holding it , that's the cue for me to hug her, to comfort her.

"If you feel like you have to cry, do it. You can't be strong all the time, you don't have to keep things all to yourself. Let it out you can share your pain with me, let me take at least some of it off your shoulders." I said as I rub her back when I heard her sobs.

Her phone ring again, I saw the caller's ID. Uno, after a couple of minutes it turned off. I saw a lot of messages popping out of her phone's screen. A lot of 'sorry' and 'answer the phone', Uno, your sorry won't do anything, it's actually useless.

That's what I really wonder, why do people say 'sorry' when they hurt them? When it's too late? I mean, sorry can't do anything, sorry can't take away the pain you feel, sorry can't bring back what's lost, sorry can't fix what's broken. But we say sorry all the time, kinda weird right?

And here's the thing, we always say 'it's okay' or 'I'm okay' all the time too. Even though we're not and it's not. Why lie, when you can tell the truth and let people who care about you, comfort you. We should normalize saying we're not and it's not okay.

She broke the hug and wiped her tears out. She took a deep breath and looked at me, she then start telling me the story

Ang masasabi ko lang talaga is what the fuck??? Should I tell her na nagkita yung Mika na yun at Uno sa Baguio? I think deserve niyang malaman, I should tell her. Bahala na si Batman.

"Uhm, kasi Ria. Nung nasa Baguio pa tayo-" I was cutted off by Ria.

"Nagkita sila, kumain sila. Alam ko." She said and looked at me with swollen eyes. Kitang-kita ko sa mga mata niya ang sakit na nararamdaman niya, kitang-kita ko kung gaano niya kamahal ang punyetang Uno na yun.

I want to ask how, paano niya nalaman? Pero ayokong balikan niya ang mga ala-alang yon, ayokong maalala niya ulit ang nangyari don dahil masasaktan lang siya.

I hugged her tight and rub her back. I gave her a long kiss on the forehead, I don't care kung na awkward siya don. I just want to comfort her.

She looked at me and said "everything hurts."

I caressed her face and let our foreheads touch and whisper "but everything can heal."

"Healing takes time, Ria. It doesn't happen overnight. Don't worry, we're here naman eh. There's a lot of people around you whom you can count on. Siguro God did that to you in order to make you stronger and braver, always remember that God won't and will not give us a challenge in life we cannot handle. You can take Uno as a lesson or curse. I know how it feels, lalo na kapag first mo. It's not that easy, it's easy to say but it's hard to do and for me, that's normal.We struggle because we need to know how we could handle ourselves in our breaking points. Baka someones nakalaan for you, someones waiting for you, a better one that God intended for you. They say: when someone leaves, someone better will arrive. Just wait for that better one and let yourself heal from pain. Just cry it out okay? Crying helps you ease the pain." I said hugging her while rubbing her back.