He's My Cousin!

[Ch.22] Mended Gap

Warning: Lame update ahead.

 

[Ch.22] Mended Gap

// Paolo's Point of View

"Oh, ano nga po ulit yun Tita?" tanong ko. We were talking about random things but my thoughts seemed to have been left in Manila... to her. Our last talk on the phone flashed back into my mind. Aya seemed ok without me. Maybe, I'm not really that important to her. Nah! Why am even thinking about her?! I'm here in Vigan at ang utak ko ay dapat narito rin.

Pero itanggi ko man, araw-araw, oras-oras, minu-minuto, sigu-sigundo siya pa rin ang tumatakbo sa isipan ko. Kung nakakain na ba siya, kung naihahatid ba siya ng maayos ni Knave sa bahay nila Ella, kung hindi ba masyadong malakas yung aircon pag natutulog siya, kung hindi ba siya nalilipasan ng gutom... lahat yun iniisip ko lagi. Lahat iyon dinadaladala ko dahil sa pag-alala ko sa kanya, kahit na wala man lang kasiguraduhan na inaalala niya rin ako.

"Hijo, sabi ko naalala mo pa ba si Yssa?" Inulit ni Tita Lorraine ang kanina atang tinanong niya sa akin. Hindi ko pa rin maiwaglit sa isipan ko si Aya. Our last phone talk was really devastating for me. Hindi ko alam kung intensyon niya iyon o hindi, pero ipinamukha niya sa akin na hindi ako importante para sa kanya. Na wala lang ako. I felt like I was abandoned.

"Yung kababata namin? Yeah, I do remember her, Tita. Where is she? It's been a very long time since I last saw her." I could remember Yssa. Ysabelle. She was a childhoold friend of ours. I remember her long silky hair that runs down to her waist. She was a cute kid, it made me smile to recall our childhood days, those days that I was with Aya and worries nothing about... those days when we were still kids and know nothing about what others might think IF we feel an unexplainable thumps in our hearts that have gone beyond a normal love for a relative.

"Ang alam ko somewhere in QC na siya nag-aaral pero bumabalik siya rito pag summer. So, she's here right now," siguradong bulalas ni Tita Lorraine. I'm not really that interested to see Yssa. Scratch that, I want to see her, of course! It's been a long time since we last met and I wonder how she've grown up into a young lady.

"Oh, I might visit her some other time, medyo madilim na rin. Nga po--" I wasn't able to continue what I was about to say because my phone rang. I excused myself to Tita Lorraine and headed straight into my room which was just a few meters from the entertainment room. It was an unregistered number, I decided to answer it for it might be an emergency call.

"Hello," I said but no one answered on the other line. Instead, I heard a familiar voice. It was Knave. "What was that for?" Parang may iba siyang kausap, hindi kasi ganun kalakas at kadirect yung boses niya sa tawag na iyon. "Copine," he called. Copine... it's the French word for sweetheart. Yeah, that's it if my memory does worked right and I knew, he calls Aya that way.

"Ian's my boyfriend." It was her voice. My hands began to tremble in an instant. I don't know. Niyukom ko na lang ang kamao ko. I guess, it was intentional. Tinawagan ako ni Knave para iparinig sa akin ang pag-uusap nilang iyon. Pero paanong si Aya at Ian? Hindi ba't wala si Ian sa Pilipinas? Anong ibig sabihin ni Knave sa 'what was that for' na iyon? Bakit? Bakit kailangan maging ganun. Bakit hindi niya man lang sinabi sa akin? Ito ba ang dahilan kung bakit hindi man lang niya ako tinatawagan o tinetext man lang? I was having a heavy feeling at that moment. I've got so many questions in my mind that were bombarding me.