The Sleepwalker Syndrome

chapter thirty | girl fight

"Shh! Shh!" bulong ko agad sabay yakap sa kanya nang mahigpit, halos magbungguan pa ang mga ulo namin.

Narinig kong suminghap si Masha at kasabay nito ay naramdam kong parang matutumba na siya kaya dali-dali akong dumikit sa dingding at hinila siya pababa sa sahig. "S-Stay still. Shhh!"

Umalingawngaw ang isang malakas na kalabog, tila ba likha ng pagbagsak ni Tita Letty ng mesa. Masha and I both flinched but went on to just hug each other tightly in the dark.

Sa gitna ng dilim, rinig na rinig namin ang mga yapak ni Tita Letty. Tila ba nalilito siya, hindi alam saan pupunta. Maya't maya siyang may naapakan o nababanggang kung ano. Sa takot na baka dumiretso siya sa akin, maingat akong sumandal nang todo sa dingding. Umasa na lang ako na sana naramdaman ni Masha ang ginawa ko at nakigaya rin.

Gusto kong magsimulang gumapang palabas ng silid, kaso hindi ko alam paano masasabi kay Masha ano ang plano nang hindi kami natutunugan ni Tita Telly. Habang nag-iisip, laking gulat ko nang bigla na lamang lumiwanag ang paligid.

"Tangina," sabay naming bulalas ni Masha, parehong nakatingala sa maliwanag na bumbilya.

Sumiklab ang matinding galit sa buong pagkatao ko. 

There was only one way for the light to come back like that. 

Sa sobrang galit dahil sa napagtanto, parang gusto ko na lang magwala at lumaban kay Tita Telly. Sa huli, wala na kaming laban kung ang traydor ang mismong may kontrol sa buong bahay.

"Jordan, takbo!" Wala sa sarili akong napatayo at napatakbo nang bigla akong kinaladkad ni Masha. Masyado akong galit para makapag-isip nang maayos. Namalayan ko na lang na tumatakbo na kami sa gitna ng hallway at hawak niya sa kabilang kamay ang isang billiard stick.

"Keep your head down!" Masha screamed and I just followed unconsciously. Moments later, I heard glass shattering and saw bits of spark falling down on us. Binalot kami nang dilim, ngunit may liwanag pa rin kaming naaninag dahil sa iba pang mga bumbilya sa hallway, pero ang lahat ng ito'y isa-isang hinahampas ni Masha sa pagdaan namin.

As Masha fiercely smashed every light bulb we passed by using the billiard stick, I couldn't help but be amazed at how much of a badass she grew up to be. Honestly, I never thought she had it in her. I thought she was more of a princess rather than a fighter—how wrong was I.

It was cool to see Masha act like a madman, but I had to stop her. It was only slowing us down, and we couldn't afford to slow down anymore because I was starting to see the dumbwaiter at the end of the hallway.

"Isa lang ang kasya at mas mabilis kang tumakbo! Masha, mauna ka na! Bilis!" sigaw ko, umaasang makikinig si Masha at hindi magdadalawang-isip na mauna. Masakit aminin pero mas mabilis talaga siyang tumakbo kumpara sa akin.

"Ano?!" Agad napalingon sa akin si Masha, bakas ang gulat at kalituhan sa mukha. She had little cuts all over her face, some were even bleeding. As much as it broke my heart, we had to carry on.

"Bilisan mo nang makaalis din agad ako rito! Mas mabilis ka sa 'kin! Takbo!" giit ko, wala nang kontrol sa pananalita dahil sa taranta. 

Hindi ako binigo ni Masha. She looked at me with so much fear in her eyes, but in the end, she ran. She ran like hell to the dumbwaiter without even looking back. It was as if she was ready to leave me for dead just to save herself and I couldn't help but feel like a proud mother hen. That's my girl! Run like hell!

I ran after her, and as expected, she was way faster. By the time she reached the dumbwaiter, she turned to look at me and opened its door. I smiled and nodded, waiting to see her hop inside, but it didn't happen.