A friendship can either be too strong or too fragile, especially when one is so close to crossing the line.
Shine Alvarez had always been Lei Hidalgo's best friend. Ever since meeting her, Lei never had a day without her by his side or within his si...
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CHAPTER 12
LEI
Tinigil ko ang sasakyan sa tapat ng bahay nina Shine. Lumabas ako at inalalayan siya na makababa at makasakay sa wheelchair niya. She looked a bit sad while I was doing all these so I asked,
"What's wrong?"
Umiling si Shine. "Wala naman."
"Ano nga?"
Natawa siya nang mahimigan ang konting inis sa boses ko. She can't blame me, I've always been annoyed whenever she chooses not to share things with me. Huwag niya na lang ako tawaging best friend kung pang-display ko lang naman pala 'yun.
"Minsan hindi ko lang maiwasang maramdaman na ang useless ko," pag-amin niya. "I feel sad that I can't even walk on my own, but at the same time, I feel grateful because there are people like you who are willing to help me."
I lowered myself to meet her eyes.
"Pero kahit na gano'n, mas nangingibabaw pa rin sa 'kin 'yung feeling na nakakabigat na ako sa inyo," she continued. "I know you're gonna say that I'm not a burden because you love me, but still—"
"Shine," tawag ko sa kanya. "You're a burden we're willing to carry."
Her eyes began to moist. I smiled in understanding.
"Yes, mahirap. It's hard that we always have to be there to assist you, it's hard to see you and know that you don't remember us the way you did before, but we still stayed by your side and do all this work because we love you. Shine, you are worth the work it takes to love you. And know that we're doing this work for you because of our unconditional love," wika ko.
"Hindi ako magpapakaplastik at sasabihing hindi mahirap ang alagaan ka o ang mahalin ka." I swallowed back the tears. "Kasi mahirap naman talaga. Isang taon kaming hindi sigurado kung babalik ka pa... every waking day, we were hoping for your recovery... and when you finally came back, we were happy. Actually, 'happy' couldn't even cover what we all felt. All those months of waiting were worth it. All that work of loving you was worth it."
Shine sniffled and I continued.
"Oo, matrabaho ang magmahal. But guess what? You still deserve love and you deserve people who are willing to do the work to love you. Hindi ibig sabihin no'n na toxic ka o na hindi ka dapat mahalin... all love just takes work. And all of us are worthy of receiving that kind of love."
Napangiti ako nang bahagya nang makitang malayang umiiyak si Shine. She cried out all the feelings she's been holding back all this time.
Hinawakan ko ang ibabaw ng ulo niya at tinapik ito. "You're doing just great, Shine. Don't pressure yourself too much, okay?"
Tumango siya habang kinukusot ang mga mata. At that time and every time that I saw her cry, I've always wanted to hug her or even kiss her forehead. Hindi ko lang nagagawa dahil sa takot at hiya na nararamdaman ko.
