POSSESSIVE 23: Thorn Calderon

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 5

BILANG CHEF, sanay na si Thorn na napapaso. Hindi na 'yon big deal sa kaniya. Pero sa pagkakataong 'yon, hindi niya matanggap ang pagkapaso niya dahil sa katangahan niya. What was he thinking letting his hand slip and touching the hot pot carelessly? Wait... was he even thinking? Because if he could remember clearly, his mind was blank at that moment.

And that was all because his wife faced him, and their faces were in close proximity. His mind went blank instantly, together with his lungs. Yes, his lungs went blank as well because somehow, in that few seconds that his wife's face was close to his, his lungs didn't function well—he stopped breathing.

And because he was burnt twice, literally, he had to rest from cooking for a few days because the second burn got his fingers good. At dahil hindi siya makapag-distress gamit ang pagluluto, gusto niyang maghanap ng ibang mapaglilibangan para mawala sa isip niya ang asawa na hindi niya alam kung paano ito mag-isip.

With that thought, Thorn found himself in Lysander's barn. At dahil doon muna pansamantala tumutuloy si Vasquez dahil under construction na naman ang bahay nito, nag-inuman silang dalawa hanggang sa isa-isang nagsidatingan ang mga kaibigan nilang hindi alam ni Thorn kung wala talaga itong mga trabaho o naroon para maki-tsismis na naman sa paghihirap niya.

Knight and Shun were present, not shocking. Titus and Phoenix were present as well. May inasikaso raw ang mga ito at dumaan sa barn nang malamang nandoon siya, siyempre, para maki-tsismis. Iuhence was present as well and was busy relying everything to Lysander who was still awake even though it was already midnight in Seattle.

"Anong nangyari sa 'yo?" tanong ni Phoenix nang makita ang nangyari sa dalawang daliri niya.

Thorn shrugged while drinking beer from the bottle. "Katangahan."

"Naubusan ka na ba ng ingredients na pati daliri mo niluto mo na?" tanong ni Knight na umupo sa tabi ni Shun at sumisilip sa laptop ni Shun para tingnan kung anong ginagawa nito.

Thorn sighed. "I don't even know what I was doing."

Titus frowned. "What happened to you? Bakit para kang pinagsakluban ng langit at lupa? Ano na naman ang sinabi ng asawa mo?"

No need to ask. They already knew that when Thorn was like this, it had something to do with his wife.

Thorn blew a loud breath before looking at his friends. "You're all married except for this shit head here." Tinuro niya si Reigo na tahimik na umiinom ng beer. "I have a question for all of you."

Lahat ay napatingin kay Thorn at nakinig. Kahit si Shun ay tumigil sa ginagawa sa laptop nito para makinig sa tanong ni Thorn.

"Ah... what does it mean when your mind went blank because your wife was near?" Thorn asked while staring at the air.

No one answered, but they were looking at Thorn with smiles on their faces.

Thorn asked again, "What does it mean if your lungs stopped working as well because your wife was so close?"

Everyone was now chuckling and shaking their heads.

"What does it mean when you became an idiot and burned yourself just because your wife suddenly said something... sweet?" When no one answered, Thorn asked again, "What does it mean when your wife is always on your mind because of how bizarre she is?"

Iuhence sighed. "Even though I know the answer to that, I don't want to answer it."

Shun nodded, agreeing to Iuhence. "It's best if you searched the answer yourself."

"Dapat ikaw mismo sa sarili mo ang makaalam," dagdag ni Titus. "It's no use hearing the answer from us. It wouldn't be genuine."

Tumango si Phoenix. "I'm sure you'll find the answer sooner or later."