Tinalikuran ko siya at binalingan ang pagpipinta. My anger is building up at ayoko nang madagdagan pa.
"Umalis ka na. Kung nagagalit ka dahil hindi kita kinakausap o kung iniiwasan kita, ang babaw ng dahilan mo. Hindi ba sapat ang accounting student na laging nakabuntot sa'yo?"
Wala akong narinig na sagot, hanggang sa itanong niya ang bagay na hindi ko inaasahang malalaman niya.
"Totoo ba talaga? Yung pagkatanggal ng isang professor maging y-yung mga parusa? T-tapos yung pagpapakulong? P-pati yung bagay na yun n-nagawa mo 'yun kay Sheena?"
"Sinabi ba sa'yong lahat ni Professor Jed? Kaya ka ba andito para pagsabihan ako?" I start stroking the brush again on the canvas.
"B-bakit mo yun g-ginawa? L-lalo kay Sheena! P-paano mo naatim g-gawin yun?!" she yelled. Hindi ko siya sinagot at pinagpatuloy ang ginagawa ko.
"Oo, m-may mali silang g-ginawa pero... b-bakit... h-hindi g-ganiyan ang pagkakakilala ko s-sa'yo..."
"The devil was once an angel... so trust no one. But don't get me wrong, I'm just taking back something from them. Walang nagbago sa akin, I'm following my principles and you wouldn't understand anything about it... kaya huwag ka na lang mangialam..."
I felt her hand grabbed my left arm, forcing me to face her. Umiiyak na siya sa harap ko.
"M-mali to Eve... m-mali 'tong nagawa mo... can't -you see it? N-naghihiganti ka! A-anong mapapala m-mo?! It's t-turning you to a d-different person?!" she exclaimed and it gets into my nerves. Wala nga siyang naiintindihan! Walang kahit na sino ang nakakaintindi ng gusto kong mangyare.
"So long that they will suffer, wala akong pakialam dahil nararapat lang sa kanila. Don't you get it? HINDI AKO ANG MAY MALI, SILA 'YUN." I swing my arm on her grip kaya't nasagi ko ang canvas dahilan para matumba ito, but I wasn't expecting that the end tip of the paint brush that I'm holding will scratch on Darlene's left cheek. I only intend to remove her grip on my left arm.
She cried even more while covering the scratched part on her cheek. Bigla akong natauhan at humupa ang galit na kanina ko pa nararamdaman.
"A-are you okay? I-i'm sorry I didn't m-mean to---" hahawakan ko sana ang kamay niya na nasa pisnge niya but she tapped my hand away. The wound that was bleeding is now exposed in front of my eyes.
At ang kaninang hawak niya ay ngayon ay nasa sahig na. It's a lunch box and the content scattered on the floor. My eyes widen because now, I realized, she's the one who's been sending me food. Sa kaniya galing ang adobong laging nakalagay sa harap ng pinto ng apartment.
"Darlen---" hindi ko natapos ang pagsambit sa pangalan niya, because she slap me hard on my left cheek. I was left dumbfounded and I feel the sting coming from it. Ang malakas na sampal na 'yun ang umalingawngaw sa loob ng art room kasunod ng mga paghikbi niya.
Para akong natauhan. I'm staring at her while she's weeping. The way she cried made my heart ache. I only realized how broke she is right now. I'm aware that she's been hurting yet I ignored and didn't give a d*mn. I've been clouded by my anger and I wasn't paying attention.
Now, all I wanna do is wipe her tears using my fingertips but when I attempted to, she gave another slap and this time, on my right cheek.
Pareho kaming tahimik ng ilang segundo. I don't have words to say after what happened, but soon after, she compose herself and wipe her own tears.
"Gaano ba kataas ang prinsipyo mo? What kind of intellect do I need to have just to understand it? What kind of logic does it have para hindi ko maintindihan?" she seriously asked but I looked aside while still touching my cheek.
"You know what? Wala ka ring pinagkaiba sa kanila, sa mga taong gusto mong paghigantihan. Pare-pareho kayo... I--i think I'm mistaken about y-you. Don't act like y-you know everything, Eve..." aniya at tumalikod na sa'kin.
"Wait... D-don't leave..." I hold her right hand, stopping her. My voice cracked because of something that's building up inside me, and it's painful. I can feel the sensitivity of my body again... which means that...
"Nga pala... pakilinis na lang 'yan at pakitapon, tulad ng lagi mong ginagawa..." and by that, binawi niya ang kamay niya at dali-daling lumabas at isinara ang pinto.
This sensitivity that I hate the most, because it means that I will cry.
Naikuyom ko na lamang ang mga kamao dahil sa tuloy-tuloy na pagdaloy ng luha mula sa mga mata ko. I started c*ssing because it won't stop, and I'm sobbing making my shoulders shake.
My vision is blurry as I gazed at the spilled food on the floor. I knelt down at inisa-isang pulutin ang hiwa ng mga manok at ibinalik ito sa lagayan. I bit my lips while staring at it, I didn't even had a chance to taste it.
I sat on the floor and started to look at it while shedding tears. The way Darlene looked at me is like she won't forgive me...
Inabot ako ng magdamag sa loob ng art room. It's already morning at maliwanag na sa labas. The sunrise can be seen outside through the window and I can feel its gentle rays on my face as I'm facing it, while lying on the couch.
The room is a mess. I haven't fix the stand that fell from last night and also the canvas, acrylics and the paint brushes. I feel sick again, and added to the thoughts, especially with Darlene. Overthinking is a murderer indeed.
My phone suddenly rang. Agad kong kinuha ito sa bulsa ng pants ko at sinagot. It's my errand runner, telling me that something bad happened. Marami na ang nangyareng hindi maganda at may panibago ulit akong iisipin.
I sat and about to stand ng may maapakan akong bagay. I looked down then noticed that it was a plastic, and there's something inside it. Agad ko itong pinulot at binuksan para tingnan ang laman.
It's a simple paint brush, at mayroon itong kasamang puting papel na nakatupi. I opened it and it's a letter. Binasa ko ang laman niyon. Ang buong akala ko ay tapos na akong umiyak, but after reading the content, I failed to refrain myself from crying again.
It's from Paolo, and the paint brush where the letter was attached was his late birthday gift for me.
End of Chapter 29:
The Present
STAI LEGGENDO
PAINTED CANVAS (Under Revision)
Teen Fiction[Soon to be Published] BLURB Eve I. Meneses, a principled fourth year Architecture student and an artist who started hating people after what happened two years ago which changed his outlooks in life. The loathing in his heart created an overwhelm...
Chapter 29: The Present
Comincia dall'inizio
