Aligning the Stars (GXG)

VIII - Hide and Seek

Astrea

"When is your birthday?"

I've been trying to ignore Tatum who doesn't have anything to do but bother me all day long. Vacant namin ngayon kaya tambay na naman kami sa Bloom Garden.

"Astrea, sige na. Just share something." She pouts and crosses her arms, "Ilang araw ka na bang nananahimik? After you walked out on me do'n sa Rockwell Plaza, it seems like you're quiet than usual."

I sighed as I placed my laptop down and looked at her, "Why do you need to know?"

"Duh." She rolled her eyes, "Para ma-celebrate natin."

"I don't celebrate my birthday."

"Because?"

I shrugged, dismissing birthdays as mere markers of time, "It's just another day, another year tacked onto the age count – nothing special."

Her mouth gaped open as if she can't believe what I just said, "Wow.. you surely have a rough childhood."

Napatigil ako sa sinabi niya.. mukhang napansin niya ata dahil napakunot noo ito.

That's one of the reasons.

I stopped celebrating my birthday after what happened to my family, what's the point? They're not here with me. I always hear people saying that they pity me dahil pagkapatak ng alas dose ay magbi-birthday ako na wala ang mga magulang ko. Tita Sandra tried to fill that spot, but no matter what she does— it won't ever feel the same. I don't have anything to look forward to when my birthday comes. Even holidays feel like a burden to me.

"I do have a rough childhood. Maybe that's why." It was supposed to be a whisper but she heard it perfectly, nakita ko sa mukha niya ang pagsisisi and that made me wish I didn't say that.

"Astrea, pasenya na. Hindi ko alam-"

"It's fine." I averted my attention on my laptop and shrugged my shoulders. "It's in the past anyway. I don't really care about it."

Muli itong nanahimik at sa pagtingin ko sa kanya ay halata pa din na puno ng pagsisisi ang mukha niya, kaya sinarado ko na ang laptop ko sabay hinarap siya ng maayos.

"I mean it, Tatum. You don't have to feel bad about me. Hindi mo naman alam kaya okay lang."

She nods her head softly, "I'm sorry."

I ruffled her head gently before I stood up, "Let's go. Pupunta muna ako sa LAC dahil may ipapasa lang akong form, hatid na kita sa building mo."

Ngumiti siya sabay tayo din sa kinauupuan niya.

"January 20.." I said to her, "That's the date of my birthday."

Nagsimula na akong maglakad at iniwan siya na nag-aayos ng mga kagamitan niya, halos hindi ito magkaundugagang sumunod sa'kin and even asked few more questions which I didn't answer in the end.

Once she was in front of the PolSci department, she said her goodbyes while I immediately went to our building dahil nando'n ang office ng LAC.

But when I arrived there, I was expecting one of the officers to be inside but saw Professor Del Mundo who was seriously signing some papers. Ilang araw ko na itong hindi  nasilayan simula nung nakita ko sila ni Khione sa Plaza. Akala ko nga ay absent siya but by the looks of it, maybe she's busy with the Org dahil sa dami ng papeles na nakatambak sa desk, next week na kasi yung Foundation day, ito siguro ang inaasikaso niya dahil parte kami sa pagdedesinyo ng main stage together with the other assembly committees sa University.