Chapter 9Di-kalayuan ay nakita ko si Buboy at Sasha na kumakaway sa akin. Magiliw nilang binuksan ang gate habang naka-uniporme pa. I waved back and smiled at them. They just came from school and eventually went here."Hi po ate Celestia! Kumusta yung araw niyo?" bungad sa kaniya ni Sasha.Kanina pa naka-alis si Wayde at ilang minuto ko na 'ring ginagalaw ang paa ko para hindi lumala. It's actually getting better now."Ayos naman. How's your school?" bungad ko sa kanila.Nilapag nila ang mga bag sa gilid at umupo sa damuhan. I also sat on the grass and followed them."Okay naman, ate Celestia. Etong mga boys kasi ang iingay, nagpa-long quiz tuloy si Sir Montebon." Parang bata na sumbong sa akin ni Sasha. Napakamot pa ito sa ulo at tinignan si Buboy. Sinamaan siya ng tingin ni Sasha na para bang ito ang salarin kung bakit sila may pa long quiz."Pasalamat nga tayo at matagal kakatalak si sir at naubos yung time niya na dapat quiz natin." Gatong naman ni Buboy.Napangiti ako sa dalawa
Chapter 10The only thing that I could see was those silhouettes from those people playing from a far and the shape of the trees that were dancing together with the wind.“Napakaganda ng paglubog ng araw, ate Celestia ‘no?” lumapit pala si Sasha at hindi ko man lang napansin ang presensya niya. I was busy looking at this beautiful scenery in front of me. It was truly captivating.“Napakaganda. Napakaganda ng paglubog ng araw na hindi mo maiwasang malungkot,” kumunot ang noo niya sa sinabi ko.“Bakit naman ate? Malungkot ka ba ngayon?”I smiled dryly, “Malungkot dahil… we always tend to remember memories in good moments like this. Maganda o masalimuot man ang mga alaala. Malungkot dahil napakabilis ng oras at sa isang iglap lang ay ang mga ginagawa natin ngayon ay maging isang alaala na lamang.”“Eh bakit po naging malungkot iyon?”“Cause we can’t go back to that certain moment to feel that pure bliss and happiness again. People come and leave to leave a memory. You might not appreciat
My eyes darted to my phone. Roseanna’s calling again. I rolled my eyes and tapped the decline button. Hindi ko siya gustong makausap ngayon pero kilala ko si Roseanna. She wouldn’t even stopped until she could haunt me down. How did she even manage to enter our life that easily? Simula nung dumating siya ay wala na siyang ginawang tama. And here’s my dad who’s blinded by that woman. I’m just tapping the screen of my phone while looking outside. Binalot ko ang sarili ng kumot at umupo sa sofa. Hindi man lang ako makaramdam ng antok. I saw Wayde outside, talking with someone over the phone. Tanging ang glass panel lang ang naghihiwalay sa amin kaya kitang-kita ko siya sa labas. Bumuntong-hininga ako at sinubukang ipikit ang mga mata. Ilang segundo palang ang lumipas nang marinig ko ulit ang pag-ring ng cellphone ko. I gritted my teeth and didn’t even glanced at the caller’s name. Dahil alam kong iisang tao lang naman ang gagawa nun. “Where the hell are you?!" Gusto kong i-rolyo ang
Napangiwi ako nang makita ang puting damit ko na nagkulay pula. I'm washing the clothes but the stain won't go away. Naka-ilang lagay na ako ng sachet na panlaba pero hindi pa rin matanggal-tanggal iyon."Ano ba yan!" reklamo ko at inilapag ko ang damit sa bath tub at tinignan ang kamay ko. Nangungulubot na rin ang mga kamay ko sa pagbabad sa tubig ng matagal. The advertisement in the tv is a scam! Ang sabi nila'y mawawala ang stain sa damit kapag ginagamit yung brand nila. But it turns out scam."What the hell?" napalingon ako kay Wayde na kakapasok lang sa shower room.His eyes darted on the bathtub filled with water and my clothes. To the open sachets of laundry detergent that was scattered on the floor. Napadako rin ang tingin niya sa basang-basa ko na damit.Halang akong ngumiti sa kaniya at gustong ilublob ang sarili ko sa bath tub dahil sa kahihiyan. If only I could kick him out of the room for him not to see the mess I made."Uhh, I can explain." I bit my lower lip and actual
"What do you mean?" aniya habang ang mga mata'y nakatuon sa hawak ko na brush. This is frustrating as hell. Pa-urong sulong lang ang ginagawa ko at hindi ko pa alam kung tama. I sucked at this kind of chore. Ipagawa na sakin lahat basta wag lang talaga ‘to. "I mean, you just met me. Well, I thought your intimidating at first, but that was just at first so don't worry," pagkwekwento ko pa. Lumingon siya sa'kin, "Hmm, is it bad helping you?" Marahas akong umiling, "No! Don't misinterpret it ah, pero ito," tinuro ko ang nilalabhan namin. "These are all new to me. Someone like you helping me from the very first place. It was… new. It’s just unusual for me because I’m not used to seeing that value to those people that surrounded me before.” "I'm helping you because I want to, Celestia. Naninibago ka dahil hindi na ito ang dating nakagawian mo, and there's nothing wrong with it." Seryoso niyang saad. That made my heart flutter for a moment. "Alam kong ilang beses ko ng sinabi 'to sa
"Woah, your dues are hell." kumuha ako ng coco crunch habang binabasa ko ang mga schedules ni Wayde.Ipinatong ko ang isang paa ko sa upuan ko habang hawak-hawak ang isang folder.Minsan pa akong napapangiwi nang makitang fully loaded ang schedule niya bawat araw. Just how hardworking can he be?"That's why I need to double time.""You should hire two secretaries if necessary. I mean not just a concerned citizen speaking. The stocks are well distributed and I can see that your company is doing good in the past months.Sooner or later, you will need workers to work for you. And by that, it means that your work would be piled up because of that." sabi ko. Nakatingin pa rin ang mga mata sa binabasa.Inilapag ni Wayde ang reading glasses sa lamesa at sumandal sa upuan. "You're an analyst now, huh?"Napanguso ako. "Hindi kaya, pero it's better if you have two secretaries you know."May sumilay na ngiti sa labi ni Wayde at hinarap ako. "Would you be eligible, then?""Sorry, I'm too expensiv
When we went out from his car, napaawang ang bibig ko sa nakita. I glanced at Wayde who’s talking to his staff. I knew that he is well-off in life pero hindi ko inakalang ganito kalaki ang pinamamahalaan niya.Kahit noong tinanong ko siya tungkol sa negosyo ay mukhang hindi pa ito interesado na pag-usapan ang yaman nito.When we entered, shocked and confusion were plastered on Wayde’s employee. But Wayde just greeted them and walked as if he was used to it. Alam kong para sa akin ang mga ekspresyong iyon.Sabay kaming naglakad papunta sa office niya. He was fixing his watch when his secretary approached him. Kaagad kaming napatigil. Akala ko’y si Wayde ang sadya niya pero lumingon siya sakin at ngumiti.“Good morning, ma’am. Do you want a coffee, tea or juice?” bumati ako pabalik.“Huwag na, I already consummed something before we went here.”Napakunot ang noo ko nang makitang nakatitig lang ang sekretarya niya sakin. Narinig ko ang pagtikhim ni Wayde na kaagad nakaagaw sa atensyon
“The rebel daughter?” nanliit ang mga matang tinignan ko si Mr. Xiao. He was just maintaining his grin and looked so much interested in my life. How dare he. “Aren’t you married, hija? Why are you with him? You know that this would cause a big scandal right?” Ramdam ko ang lahat ng titig nila sa akin. I felt uncomfortable. I saw Wayde shifted his position and closed the clipboard loudly. The room is filled with silence and he caught all of our attention. Kaagad siyang tumalima at sinuyod ang tingin sa mga kasamahan. Tumiim ang bagang nito at mukhang pinipigilan lang ang sariling sumabog. Ang kanina nitong maamong mukha ay nagmistulang mapanganib. His face darkened and threw sharp gazes at each one of the board members. "You are here for your business proposals, right? Let's stop interrogating Ms. Vircacel and let’s stop this nonsense meeting.” He gestured to his secretary and he immediately handed some document to