I Could Fall

Chapter Forty-Three

A continuous knock woke me up from sleep. Umungol ako at bumangon. The soft knocks still came. Patay pa ang mga ilaw. Even the lamps were off and the curtain was covering the window that not a single sunlight was peeking through. What time is it anyway?

I glanced at the other bed and found my cousins, Celeste and Cassie, who were still sleeping. I can't blame them, 'cos they had a late night. Napasobra pa ata ang inom.

Kinusot ko ang mga mata habang naglalakad patungo sa pinto. Nang buksan ko 'yon ay medyo nawala ang antok nang makita si Atticus.

"Atti," I coarsely said, a bit surprised.

"Morning," he enthusiastically greeted. He looked so alert and fresh. Mukhang bagong ligo pa kumpara sa akin na kakagising lang. I probably have bed hair. "We're gonna snorkel, remember?"

Nanlaki ang mga mata ko at napasinghap. "I didn't set an alarm. Kakagising ko lang."

"It's okay. No need to shower. Just get changed. Baka iwan tayo ng bangka," sabi ni Atticus.

"Okay, okay. Wait," I said, panicking as I rushed back to the bedroom.

Nagmadali ako sa paghanap ng swimsuit at rash guard na isusuot. Hindi na ako nag-ayos ng mukha o kahit ano. I just washed a bit and brushed my teeth. I did all of that in less than ten minutes.

Atticus was excited in the boat ride. He wore the life vest just like what I wanted. We were brought to an island that's perfect for snorkeling. Sa mababaw lang kami pwedeng mag-snorkle dahil hindi sanay lumangoy si Atticus sa malalim.

Sa una ay medyo takot pa siyang sumisid pero nang magtagal ay naging kampante na rin at nag-enjoy. I never strayed away from him, just to make him more secured.

The water was crystal blue that I can clearly see the beautiful corals and different types of colorful fishes. I can only name a few, iyong mga nakita ko sa Finding Nemo. I even saw Nemo and his relatives!

Oras ang inabot namin sa pag-snorkel kaya nangulubot na ang mga daliri ko. My arms and legs were tired when we got back in the boat. I stopped training when I reached college so my endurance weakened. I used to last longer than this.

Pati si Atticus ay mukhang ubos ang lakas dahil sa walang sawang pag-snorkel. Pagod pa kami pareho kaya parehong hindi pa nag-abalang magsuot ng life vest.

"Did you have fun?" Atticus asked. Pulang-pula ang balat niya dahil sa pagkakababad sa araw. He looks cute.

I nodded and smiled. "Yeah."

"Tangina!" the boatman shouted of nowhere.

It happened so fast. The boat violently shook. In just one blink, Atticus fell to the water, causing a big splash. Nanlaki ang mga mata ko at napatayo kahit na umaandar pa rin ang maalog na bangka. Isa pang malaking alon ang humampas.

"Atticus!" I screamed and quickly stood up.

Muling nagmura ang bangkero at pinatay ang makina ng bangka para itigil 'yon. My body turned cold. Fear flooded me as I heard him shout for my name and desperately flail his arms. My eyes blurred with tears but that didn't stop me from diving in the water and swimming towards his direction.

Nang makalapit ako ay agad na kumapit sa akin si Atticus. His legs were still kicking and thrashing non-stop. My energy was still drained from the snorkeling activity that we just had that I barely had the power to keep us both afloat.

Pinilit kong lumangoy patungo sa bangka na patay na ang makina. The boatman immediately came to our rescue. He pulled Atticus first while I swam towards the other end of the boat to climb through the stairs.