Zephyr Strings

Kabanata 5

"Please... help me fix this," I said, unable to look at him straight.

Umawang ang kaniyang bibig. Kinagat ko ang aking labi nang manginig iyon habang nakatingala sa kaniya. Malamig ang kaniyang mga matang nakapukol sa akin. It feels strange to be alone with him in this place.

But I need his help.

"You have a guitar, but you can't replace the strings yourself—"

"No! I don't want to replace them!" I cut him off frustratingly.

"Then what do you want me to do?" He scowled as he threw a glance at the guitar.

"Can you reattach the strings?" I asked nervously.

He flicked his head. Muntik na akong umatras nang maglakad siya at bumaba sa stage. Kumalabog ang aking puso nang kunin niya ang gitara sa aking kamay at seryoso iyong tiningnan.

"You think about impossible things..." He said, and to my horror, he yanked the strings!

"W—What the hell—"

"Do you really know how to play this thing, Velarde?" halos patuya niyang tanong.

Hindi ako makagalaw habang nakatitig sa strings na nasa kamay na niya. Awang ang aking bibig at halos manginig na ang kalamnan.

I came here to ask him to mend the strings, not severe them!

"Once the strings are broken, you only have one choice. It is to replace them."

Gulat akong napatingin sa kaniya. His hazelnut orbs are dark. Muli akong napalunok.

"You can never mend things that are already broken. You need to have replacements." Aniya sa malalim na boses at nagtungo malapit sa speaker.

Nakita kong kinuha niya ang pliers na naroon. He cut the remaining strings, and I can feel my heart slowly breaking as he cut those without looking at me.

"Strings are the most vulnerable part of a guitar; that's why they are replaceable. You can break them anytime. Because at the end of the day, they are easy to replace." Casimir muttered while rummaging through the box near the drum set.

I don't know why but I can't speak. Dapat kinuha ko na ang gitara sa kaniya mula no'ng hinila niya ang strings. Ngunit hindi ako makagalaw. Sinundan ko siya ng tingin at naupo siya sa dulo ng stage.

"If there's an important thing in a guitar, it is the sounds it makes. Strings are all the same, unlike the sounds it brings in," he said like he was talking to himself.

The sounds it makes...

Hindi ko namalayang dahan-dahan na pala akong lumapit sa kaniya. I sat beside him and watched him stretch the new strings. I can't swallow. Is this okay? To let him replace the strings?

"Keeping the rusty strings is like taking away the life of a guitar. You strip its soul off."

Umawang ang aking bibig at napatitig sa kaniya nang i-angat niya ang malalalim na mga mata sa akin. I don't know. But for some reason, his words are making sense and his eyes are slowly making me less emotional about the strings.

"Should I put new strings or let this guitar be useless?" He raised a brow.

I bit my lip. Lalong bumilis ang tibok ng aking puso nang bigla siyang ngumisi at sinimulan na ang pagpapalit ng strings. I watched him do it. Mukhang sanay na sanay siya dahil mabilis ang galaw niya.

He cut the ends of the strings and strummed them one by one. He even tuned them. I lifted my eyes to him. Bahagyang magkadikit ang kaniyang mga kilay habang tinotono iyon.

He strummed them again, and my heart almost burst out when the familiar tune of the guitar inoculated my ears. The sound of it was the same as the sound Fadia made. New strings, but the same sounds.

Tears began to puddle in my eyes while watching Casimir strum the guitar. Seeing him play with it is like seeing Adi in front of me right now.

"I tuned it already. P'wede mo nang magamit 'to..." Unti-unti siyang natigilan nang i-angat niya ang kaniyang tingin sa akin.

I lifted my blurry eyes to him. His lips parted, and I felt like he was going to run. Suminghap siya nang hawakan ko siya sa braso nang mahigpit, takot na bigla siyang umalis.

"Casimir, can you play another chord?" nanginginig kong pakiusap.

"What?" taka at halos pabulong niyang sabi. "You can play guitar, right? Why don't you do it?"

Umiling ako. "I can't..." as of now.

"Then whose guitar is this?" Aniya at malamig na nagbaba ng tingin sa gitarang hawak.

"Just one chord, Casimir," I said instead of answering him.

He gritted his teeth. Mukhang hindi siya sang-ayon sa gusto ko. But then he placed his fingers against the strings. I watched him strum the guitar with a serious and stern expression etched on his face.

I can feel my heart beating wildly while listening to the sound of Fadia's guitar. It feels good and nostalgic. Para akong binabalik sa nakaraan. I looked at Casimir.

He's a guy, but he reminds me of Adi right now. The way he strums the strings with serious eyes, it feels like Fadia is in front of me, playing like she usually has in the past. It's a guilty pleasure to see him play.

I'm so happy right now that I can die.

"Thank you..." I said silently.

Tumigil si Casimir at inangat ang blangkong mga mata sa akin. I smiled at him. I'm so happy. Parang bula na nawala ang lahat nang nakapasan sa akin nitong mga nakaraan. I feel much better than expected.

"If we're finished, give me your hand," aniya.

"Huh?" nabura ang ngiti ko.

Nilapag niya ang gitara at tumayo. Lumapit siya sa sink at may kinuha sa cabinet nito sa bandang itaas. Bumalik siya sa akin, may hawak nang box ngayon.

"Your right hand, show me..." He seriously said as he kneeled in front of me.

Kahit na nagtataka, ginawa ko iyon. Binaliktad niya iyon upang maharap ang aking palad. Doon ko lang natanto na may sugat nga pala ako roong napabayaan ko!

"Did you even clean this? The strings were rusty. You should've treated this immediately," he said, already aware that these cuts were from the strings.

Hindi ako nakasagot. I almost forgot about my wounds. Ngayong nakikita ko na ang mga ito, doon ko lang naramdaman ang hapdi.

Casimir lifted his eyes toward me. My heart skipped a bit when our eyes locked on each other. Binagsak niya ang tingin sa aking sugat matapos ng ilang segundo.

"You're still stupid; nothing changed." He murmured as he started attending to my wounds.

I can't help but smile. He remembers, huh?