My world, My Universe

Chapter 8

ANTONIA'S POV

"We are close." Heard she said. My return to the past was dulled.

I looked at her side. Her eyes focus on the road. Even when it is on her side view, you can see her natural beauty. Her face is almost flawless. A perfect face of a woman that you will really admire.

"The plane will travel about 30 minutes from Clark to Batanes. Our flight is at 3:30 pm, it's only 1 pm. About 20 minutes we are at the Clark airport." She said

Tumingin ako sa kanya.

"Pag dating natin sa clark pwede pa tayong kumain" Ang sabi nito

"Did you check your stuff? Maybe you forgot to buy something? There's a mall here." I heard she said.

"Yup nacheck ko na kanina. Wala nman akong gaanong kailangan eh maliban sa damit and underwear lang." Ang sabi ko na lumingon sa kanya.

Nakita kung ngumiti siya ng bahagya. Masaya akong nakikita siyang ngumingiti ulit.

I looked at her carefully. I thanked God because she did not let Michelle to fall into sadness and lack of will to live. SHe immediately returned to the world she was living in. But it's not just like before. Every time you look into her eyes, you will see sadness and loneliness.

"Oh, Baka naman matunaw ako niyan." Sabi nito sa malambing na boses at nakatingin sa akin na parang natatawa.

I suddenly swallowed when I heard what she said. I immediately took my eyes off of her and turned them to the outside of the window. I felt ashamed. I still feel like sinking into my seat during those hours. My cheeks are hot, and my breathing is tight. I heard a soft laugh. Knowing that she was laughing at me, "You're really embarrassing Antonia." I said to myself.

"We're here." She said while looking at me with a slight smile.

Michelle parked the car. We went down together. I crawled behind the passenger seat to get everything we bought from the compartment. She came to me and helped me. Our arms were tight and I felt like electricity running through my whole body. I suddenly moved away from her. She looked at me in surprise. "Sorry." I said to her while  looking away. She just smiled and took the other thing I was carrying from my hand. "Antonia! what's wrong with you?" I said to myself. I took a deep breath and tried to regain my composure. Carrying the things I approached her.

Nakita kung may kausap siyang isang matandang lalake.

"Mang Alex kayo na po ang bahala sa sasakyan. Tatawagan ko na lang po kayo pag pauwi na po kami. Salamat po" Dinig kong sabi niya.

"Let's go para makapag lunch pa tayo" Sabi nito sa akin.

Pumasok na kami ng airpoort

"Ann, where do you want to eat? She asked me.

"Anywhere is fine with me.? I answered. She just nodded and continued walking.

After an hour, we finished eating lunch.

"Have you told your parents how many days we will be gone?" She asked

"I forgot. Maybe later when we get to Batanes."  I said with smiling a little. What the hell is that I almost forgot to call them. It's a good thing she reminded me.

Maya maya pa nag tungo na kami sa departure area upang hintayin ang oras ng aming pag alis.

Kinuha ko ang cellphone ko sa bag upang icheck kung may mga messages or calls ako. Sa sulok ng aking mga mata. Nakita ko si Michelle na busy rin sa pag scroll ng cellphone niya. Maya maya pa humikab ito at nag unat ng katawan. Mukhang inaantok na ito.

"Ma'am umidlip po muna kayo. May isang oras pa nman po tayong maghihintay" Sabi ko sa kanya.

"Antonia, stop calling me ma'am. We're not at work. Just call me Michelle just like before." She said, looking and smiling at me.

Mula kasi noong mangyari ang paghihiwalay nila ng girlfriend nito naging malamig na ang pakikitungo nito sa kanya at sa ibang tao. Nakaramdam ako ng relief dahil sa sinabi niya

"Antonia. Thank you for everything you did for me. Thank you for not giving up on me when I was destroying myself." She said in a deep voice.

"I'm sorry if I treated you coldly. I was strict about many things. I wasn't a good boss to everyone, especially to you." She said with a plea.

Ngumiti lang ako.

"Hindi mo kailangan magpasalamat sa akin. Ginawa ko yon bilang kaibigan mo. Naiintindihan naman kita." Ang sabi ko na nakangiti. Tumango at ngimiti lang sya.