REMEMBER (R SERIES #1) COMPLETED

C H A P T E R 19

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Months later...

"Lauv..." pagtawag sa akin ni Zach na kakagaling mula sa kwarto, "Oh?" pagtanong habang kinakain ang popcorn habang nanunood ako ng Phineas and Ferb sa may sala.

"Schedule mo dapat ngayong araw para magpacheck-up," aniya. "What about it?" tanong ko. "Pero kasi nakatanggap ako ng tawag ngayon-ngayon lang, may lakad pala ako," pagku-kwento niya.

"Kanino galing ang tawag? Saan ang lakad mo?" pag-uusisa ko. "Tumawag si Trevin, sa Hospital lang din naman." Si Trevin ang kababata niya at matalik na kaibigan na na-mention niya noon sa akin at remember yung guy na nagbigay sa amin ng meal sa office ko noon? Siya yun.

"Okay lang. Sige, mag-ingat ka," I smiled and gave him a hug. Tumingin naman siya sa akin ng makahulugan. "Hindi ka galit?" tanong niya at nag-smile na awkward. "Baliw, bakit naman ako magagalit? Kailan na move ang check-up ko?"

"Oh, I thought you're angry. Ngayon araw ka din magpapa-check pero si Dra. Lianne ang mag che-check sayo," he explained. "Oh okay Lauv."

"Prepare yourself now and get dressed," he commanded so namili ako ng susuotin at lumabas na kami ng condo. Dito pa din ako tumititra sa condo dahil hindi pa rin naman sila ni Mom and Dad umuuwi but they had their excuses kaya okay lang. Ewan ko sa lalaking ito kung bakit dito pa rin siya tumititra.

"Good morning po ma'am and sir," manong greeted us nang narating namin ang sasakyan. Bumati kami pabalik at pumasok na ako sa sasakyan. "Sabay tayo?" tanong ko sa kaniya nang pumasok rin siya. "Yeah, ihahatid lang kita muna sa opisina ni Doktora tapos magpapahatid nalang ako kay manong sa hospital," he replied at napatango-tango nalang ako.

Nilagyan niya ako ng seatbelt at nag seatbelt din ng sarili at tinanguan si manong sa rearview mirror na sign na pwede nang mag drive. He held my hands and we were holding hands the whole ride. Nakarating kami agad dahil malapit lang naman ang opisina ni Dra.

"Good morning Zach." A lady on maybe her 40's greeted Zach when she saw us entering her office pagkatapos kausapin ni Zach ang sekretarya ni Dra. "Good morning po Dra." Zach replied.

"This must be Avani? Tama ba ako? Ang ganda mo naman iha," saad niya at tumingin sa akin, "Ako nga po, salamat po," I replied shyly. "Pasok kayo," pag-aanyaya niya sa amin pero nagpa-iwan si Zach sa labas dahil nga may lakad pa siya.

"I won't be joining you po dahil may lakad pa po ako," Zach looked at Dra. at tumingin sa akin. "You'll be good, susunduin ka ni manong mamaya pagkatapos. I won't be long either."

"I'm going, I love you. Bye," he planted a soft kiss on my forehead at umalis na. I don't reply to his 'I love you' yet because I'm still on the process of understanding things and I don't want to assume real bad.

He once asked me why I don't reply 'I love you too" towards him and I was a bit shy but then he said, "Don't worry, I do understand and I'm willing to wait." So yeah, let's just take things slowly but surely.

Pumasok na ako sa loob at baka kanina pa naghihintay si Dra. at nakakahiya naman. "Maupo ka iha," she offered me a seat and I sat on one of the chairs in front of her desk. "So how have you been feeling these months?" pagsisimula niya sa pagtatanong.

"Okay naman po ako, unlike dati," I replied frankly. I was actually feeling nice unlike noon na palagi akong nakakaramdam ng mga konting sakit sa katawan. My big bruise also is lumiit na at unti-unti nang nawawala which is a good thing.

"I heard from Zach's reports that you've been having nightmares, how about them? Nagkakaroon ka pa din ba ng mga ganoong panaginip these months?" tanong niya ulit. "Ahhm... hindi na po masyado. Noon, nagkakaroon ako ng mga sunod-sunod talaga na mga panaginip, I mean I'll have nightmares daily, as in araw-araw," panimula ko.

"Pero ngayon, minsan nalang at minsan nalang din yung mga masasama. Iba naman po ang napapanaginipan ko ngayon, mga random things na hindi nakakatakot," I continued and she was nodding her head and writing something on a paper while listening to me.

Talagang 'random things' remember nung napanaginipan ko yung nag-aano kami ni Zach which is really weird at nakakahiya because Zach was there beside me nung nananaginip ako! I'll have nightmares pero not everytime I'll go to sleep dahil ngayon ay nakakatulog na ako ng maayos."

"Let's check your body, shall we?" she smiled at me at pumasok kami sa isang pinto sa kwarto niya. "You've been well. Wala ka nang masyadong pasa. If you would look at here," sambit niya habang tinuturo ang katawan ng isang babae na representation ko na may mga shapes ng pasa sa katawan noon.

"Nawala na ang malaki mong pasa dito sa may puson mo and that's a good news. Wala ka na bang ibang nararamdaman?" she asked. "Wala naman po and I thank God for that," maybe I really am recovering, thank you Lord!

"You're recovering, do you have any idea why you're feeling good? Like people around you or your surroundings?" I dig deeply to my mind. "Hmmm... I can only think of one, Zach had been beside me all these time and I also moved out for a bit from our house and stayed in my condo for a bit."

"I saw the way you held hands earlier, so you've been together? For how long?" pag-uusisa niya. "We're a couple po for... I think almost four months already," I replied with a smile glued on my face.

"That's great, maybe he's been making you happy to the point that you're recovering," she implied. We talked for a lot more until I decided to go home dahil tapos na rin naman kaming mag-usap.

I'm in the back seat. Manong just came para ihatid ako sa condo and I came home with a smile because Dra. told me earlier na, "You're a survivor, congratulations to you dear," at ang saya ko!

When I knew that I have a stage four cancer, I was nervous to the point that I can't sleep properly at night and I would eat a little during meals because I was overthinking things that I might possibly die. I lost myself for a short period of time kasi parang nawala ako sa sarili ko because of the thought na may cancer ako at akala ko na any moment ay iru-rush ako sa Hospital dahil mamatay na ako.

But I saw how my parents pity me kaya I tried my very best to fix myself and be an actress so I can act that I'm really okay and I'm not feeling anything bad or I'm not hurting but that acting didn't last long because I was exhausted to the point that I'd go overtime at work para hindi ko ma-isip na may sakit ako at lahat lahat na lang.

But when Zach came, I felt different? Dra. Lianne was right, Zach really made me happy to the point that I recovered. I made my way home at pagkapasok ko ay nandoon si Zach, umuupo sa couch. I ran to his direction and then gave him a hug and kissed him directly.

"Thank you Zach and," I looked intently to his eyes. "I love you too," and in that moment, we made love.

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