Hindi pa tumitilaok ang manok ay mulat na ang aking mga mata. I wasn't able to sleep very well. The house and the rough bed still felt strange and very foreign. Namamahay ako. Nilingon ko naman si Kye na kasalukuyang malalim ang tulog. I chuckled a bit when I heard his little snores.
Hinawi ko ang humaharang na hibla ng buhok sa kaniyang mukha. His delicate features brought me to the past, how I strived hard so badly just to see him in this kind of situation. But I'll strive harder this time. Gusto kong lumaki si Kye na walang kinakaharap na problema. I want him to live a comfortable life and, in the process, achieve his goal just like any individual.
Pinangako ko kay mommy na aalagan ko si Kye bago siya mamatay. Walang kahit anong makapipigil sa 'kin para gawin iyon. Despite of raising him alone, I know for sure, the sun and the moon as my witnesses, everything will come to its rightful places.
I have plans in my head. Lahat ng iyon ay para sa ikabubuti ni Kye. At para na rin sa sarili ko. Sa loob ng mga nakalipas na taon ay nagbago ang pananaw ko sa buhay. Marami akong napagtanto.
Life is a cruel teacher. A cruel teacher who loves to give a test first, then the lessons after. Through the years, it has been killing parts of me. But the cruelty won't stop me from doing something incredible with what's left of me.
Myself as the gun, Kye as the bullets. As we pull the trigger towards the ferocious and wicked life, we can overcome it.
Hinalikan ko ang noo ni Kye. His forehead wrinkled a bit. Binalot ko siya ng kumot para hindi siya lamigin.
I stood up and went to the bathroom. Pagkatapos ko roon ay sinuot ko ang uniporme na inabot sa 'kin ni Manang Lolita kagabi. It didn't fit that well. Kapag naglalakad ako ay bahagyang umaangat ang laylayan. Muli kong naalala ang istriktang mukha ng ginang. Mas pipiliin ko na lang isuot ito kaysa ipilit pa ang gusto ko.
She's...quite...scary.
Tinahak ko ang daan palabas ng silid. The main reason why I woke up this early is to roam around the mansion to familiarize myself with the new environment I've settled with. And upon touring around, the mansion was too grand and imeldific. The red-brick victorian exterior reminded me of the mansions that I had seen from the televisions and magazines—meron kami noon. Pero masasabi kong hindi ganito ka-garbo.
Tiningala ko ang malaking painting sa living room. It caught my attention when I walked in—portrait ito ng isang pamilya. But in this case, ang mga taong naroroon ay hindi gano'n kayaman tingnan. Isang ginang na sa tingin ko ay ang tumatayong ina ay nakangiti habang nakaakbay ang lalaking masasabi kong ang asawa nito. And between them is a little boy, smiling from ear to ear.
I could see from their status that the cruelty of life also played with them. Kitang-kita iyon sa painting dahil napapalibutan sila ng maliliit at dikit-dikit na bahay. But what sets them apart from others was their smile amidst of that.
Tumagal ang titig ko sa bata. Hindi ko namalayan na nakatulala na pala ako roon.
"Malaki ang painting na 'yan, mahahalata kapag ninakaw," biglang saad ni Manang Lolita sa tabi ko dahilan para mapatalon ako sa gulat.
Agad akong umiling sa kaniyang paga-akusa. "Hindi ko po nanakawin, Manang."
She scoffed. Gumulong ang kaniyang mata at tumalikod sa 'kin. May hawak na timpladong kape ang matanda. Sa kaniyang pagtalikod ay agad kong napansin ang halos mamuti niyang buhok.
"Linisan mo ang buong mansyon. Pagkatapos ay diligan mo ang hardin. Ayusin mo lang na kapag nilandas ko ang aking daliri ay wala akong makitang kahit na anong alikabok," utos nito. "Unang araw mo 'to at sa oras na may gawin kang hindi tama, maaring huli mo na rin."
BINABASA MO ANG
Under His Hoodie
Humor(Published under Pop Fiction) Hellary Angeles was head over heels for her long-time crush, Neo. And her obsession with him reached the point where she moved to the school where he transferred. But that new school had a myth - if a student talked t...
