Chapter Four
Tea
Ilang taon na rin ng huli kong makita ang mansion ng mga Deogracia. Their Spanish mansion is still as extravagant as I remembered, just older and with different colours. Maliwanag at punong-puno ng buhay. Naalala ko pa na kinatatakutan ko ito noon at ayaw na ayaw kong pumunta dito dahil talagang ang mansion ay nagbibigay ng hindi maipaliwanag na hilakbot sa akin. But now while standing in front of it, I laughed at my stupidity because this is one of the most majestic mansions I have ever seen.
"Is this now Light?" Tanong ni Leona Deogracia habang titig na titig sa akin, punong-puno ng tuwa at pagkamangha.
Thunder looks more like his mother but his mother isn't that tan, it's his father and I think he got a bit of his Spanish features from his father. Nakaabang na sila sa amin pagbaba pa lang namin ng kotseng sumundo sa amin. Wala nga lang si Thunder, ang mga kasambahay naman nila ay nakahilera sa gilid.
"You looked so beautiful, hija and I heard smart too. Siguradong pila-pila din ang mga nanliligaw na sa 'yo. May boyfriend ka na ba?"
Nahihiya akong ngumiti. Para akong isang bag o damit o alahas o sapatos na masusi niyang sinusuri kaya nagsimula na akong mailang. The only difference was those are expensive. And I don't even think that I'm even worth her attention.
"Sinabi mo pa, Leona. Minsan nga, pati kami nililigawan na rin. One time this kid, he even asked if he could marry my daughter." Mommy said which made them laugh.
Namula ang magkabilang pisngi ko sa sinabi ni mommy at pinagsisihan na sumama pa sa kanila do'n. Ayaw ko mang isipin ay pakiramdam ko ako ang magiging paksa nila sa gabing iyon.
"Thunder isn't here, we are sorry for that. Hindi na namin siya ma-kontrol. Minsan, hindi ko na rin alam kung ano ang tumatakbo sa isip ng batang iyon." Tito Zuriel sighs heavily.
"We've been there, Zuriel. I think we just need to be more understandable." Sabi naman ni daddy.
We ate our dinner in their grand dining area, served by their maids who were assigned to each one of us. For a moment, I missed this feeling. Like I'm a princess again but I immediately erased it. I don't want to feel that way because I know I will crave it.
They just talked about the past and just random stuff while I was silently eating, enjoying all the food in front of me. Magsasalita lang oras na kailangan. After we ate and talked, Leona offered tea in their entertainment room. I just excused myself and roamed around, I will not spend my time here listening to their conversations.
Maybe old talks are informational, but for now, I want to relax. Sa paglalakad, naagaw ng atensyon ko ang isang painting sa pader. It's a family portrait. Even in that painting, Thunder is already arrogant.
"Salamat talaga at wala ka dito kung hindi baka masira na naman ang gabi ko." Masayang bulong ko.
Ilang araw ko na ring dinadamdam ang sinabi ni mommy tungkol sa pagtu-tutor ko kay Thunder. Pero ano nga ba ang laban ko sa kaniya kung hindi ang pumayag na lang dahil hinding-hindi niya ako titigilan.
Lumabas ako at nakaramdam ng kaunting lamig dahil sa pagyakap sa akin ng panggabing hangin. I'm just wearing a Sabrina a-line dress na hanggang tuhod and mommy fixed my hair and put a little makeup on my face. Sumimangot ako ng makita si Thunder na bumaba sa isang kotse, naghiyawan pa ang mga lalaking sakay no'n bago iyon umandar paalis. Makakasalubong ko sana siya pero agad akong pumihit sa kanan.
"Tuan, where are you going?"
Ang hakbang ay naging takbo hanggang sa makarating ako sa hardin nila. Doon lang ako tumigil at ng lumingon ay hindi na nagulat ng makitang nakabuntot siya sa akin.
