I was born to love you

19. His version of everything

Parang napakabilis ng mga pangyayari. One moment I was in a heated confrontation with Zeus and now he's inside the emergency room and he's bleeding. The doctors - yes there were three doctors attending him. Naiiyak ako. Hindi ako dapat nag-aalala dahil galit ako sa kanya but I was feeling worried. Naiiyak ako. Hindi ko alam kung anong gagawin ko. Nakasilip lang ako habang nasa loob siya ng emergency room. Noon ako bumaling sa aking gilid. Nakita ko si Hera at Hades na nakaupo sa waiting chairs. Hawak ni Hera ang kamay ni Hades at hinahaplos ang balikat ng asawa niya. Hades was just looking at me with his amber eyes. Punong-puno iyon ng galit at pagkamuhi.

"What is happening?" Nagawa ko pang itanong at lumapit ako sa kanila. Hades stood up. Sumunod naman si Hera. Hawak pa rin niya ang kamay ng asawa niya. Para bang pinipigilan niya ang anumang gustong gawin ni Hades. He's too mad.

"Hades, calm down..." Bulong pa ni Hera. Hades looked at my cousin. Nakita kong napalunok si Hera habang titig na titig si Hades sa kanya. Binitiwan ni Hera ang kamay ni Hades. Para bang takot na takot si Hera sa asawa niya ngayon - isang bagay na hindi madalas mangyari.

"Hades..." Muling tawag ni Hera. Tila ba napakaliit na ng boses ni Hera. Lumapit sa akin si Hades at nakipagtitigan sa akin. He seemed so mad. Napalunok ako.

"When we were kids, Zeus used to be my puppy. Kung anong gawin ko ginagawa niya. He didn't had any identity when we were younger but as he grows up..." Huminga nang napakalalim si Hades at ngumiti habang nakatingin sa loob ng emergency room. "may nakikita akong ugali sa kanya na kahit kailan ay hindi ko nakita sa kahit na kanino. It was surprising." He sighed again. "When Athena was born, Zeus told me that he will take care of our sister with all that he has. He will make sure that Athena will never get hurt. Noong seven years old si Athena, nawala siya sa mall. Ten years old lang si Zeus noon pero hindi siya bumalik hangga't hindi niya nakikita si Athena and when he found her, he took he by the hand and never let go of her hand. Noong fourteen years old si Zeus, nagbakasyon kami sa Tagaytay. We had a rest house in there and suddenly Zeus went missing."

Hindi ko alam kung bakit sinasabi sa akin ni Hades ang mga bagay na ito. Hindi ito ang sagot sa tanong ko. Hindi ito ang hinahanap kong dahilan kung bakit nagkakaganito si Zeus.

"You know where he went?" Tanong ni Hades sa akin. He grinned. "He fell of a cliff. We didn't know. We looked for him. on the third day, we found him eating fried chicken in the kitchen. Madumi siya, marungis, mabaho, sugatan but he had that smug smile on his face - it was like he was telling us - our family - my dad that he survived." Huminga na naman siya nang malalim. Hindi ko alam kung bakit ako naiiyak.

"Naalala mo ba noong nakaraang araw, Gianna, when I asked you why Superman did risky things for Louise Lane?" He asked me again. Oo, natatandaan ko iyon. Hindi ko nga alam kung bakit niya tinanong iyon sa akin. Ang alam ko lang, nawawala siya sa sarili niya or maybe it was because he's bored and he thought of random things.

But clearly - hindi iyon ang gusto niyang iparating sa akin. I bit my lower lip.

"That was me trying to figure out why Zeus did things for you - why he sacrificed things for you, Gianna. I don't think you deserve his unselfishness."

My mouth parted. What unselfishness? Si Zeus? Unselfish? Siya na yata ang pinakamakasariling taong nakilala ko. Wala siyang inisip kundi ang sarili niya, wala siyang ibang mahal kundi ang sarili niya kaya bakit sinasabi sa akin ni Hades ngayon na unselfish si Zeus? I shook my head. Tumaas ang kilay ko.

"You must be kidding me. Si Zeus, unselfish?" Tanong ko sa kanya. "Fuck you, Hades! Iniwan niya ako sa simbahan sa araw mismo ng kasal namin. Paano mo ipapaliwanag iyon?!" Naiiyak na naman ako. Everyone was taking Zeus' side. Paano naman ako?!