Fear To Eternity

12

Parehas silang naka upo pero ang layo sa isat isa. Nakaupo si sa kama niya at si Ken naman ay nakaupo sa couch. Naka cross ang mga braso nito at iniiwasan ang mga mata ni Zoe.

Napansin yun ni Zoe kaya kumunot ang noo niya at napatanong. "May problema ba?"

Umiling lang si Ken at hindi siya tignan. Kaya dahan dahang tumayo si Zoe pero agad naman siyang pinigilan ni Ken ng makita niya ito.

"What are you doing? Huwag kana tumayo bibigay lang yang mga paa mo. Alam mo namang nanghihina ang mga buto mo." Paalala ni Ken na agad tumayo at nilapitan siya para paupuin ulit sa kama.

Dahan dahan siyang pinaupo ni Ken at bago pa makalayo ito, she grabbed his arm.

"Anong meron? Bakit parang nagtatampo ka? May ginawa ba ako?" Pag uusisang tanong ni Zoe while pulling him closer.

Hindi umimik si Ken and averted his eyes away.

"So nagtatampo ka nga.. silence means yes.."

Hindi man aminin ni Ken pero kitang kita mo naman sa expression niya na nagtatampo talaga siya.

"Bakit nagtatampo ang baby na yan?" Pag aasar ni Zoe while poking his side.

Namula naman ang mga pisngi ni Ken ng marinig niya ito. "S-stop it." He tried to pull his arm away pero hinatak ulit yun ni Zoe.

"Sabihin mo muna kung bakit." Pangungulit ni Zoe habang hinahatak ang braso niya.

Napabuntong hininga nalang si Ken at sumuko. "Fine. I'll tell you na."

Ngumiti naman si Zoe at hinanda ang kaniyang sarili sa mga sasabihin ni Ken.

"It's true that nagtatampo ako and that's because you never ask me." Nakayukong sambit ni Ken.

"Ask you what?" Nalilitong tanong ni Zoe.

"About myself. Nakakatampo lang kasi parang wala kang pake sakin at feeling ko hindi ka interesting malaman kung sino ako, o makilala ako ng lubusan."

Nabigla naman si Zoe at agad na umiling. "Hindi yun totoo! I care for you! Ayaw ko lang maging uncomfortable ka. Remember when we first met? I asked you about yourself pero nainis kalang saakin, so I thought na hintayin nalang kita mag-open up about yourself when you're already comfortable."

He feels a wave of emotion as he realizes that she was willing to wait for him, to create a space where he can feel comfortable enough to share his past.

He realized that he had been so used to people not caring about him that he had assumed she was the same, and felt foolish now for jumping to that conclusion.

"I see.." He sighs in relief and looks at her. "Btw about that time I'm sorry for being mean." He feels embarrassed and regretful about how he acted when she first asked him about himself.

"Uy hindi! Okay lang ano kaba! Ako nga dapat magsorry kasi hindi ko inisip yung magiging reaction mo. Kakakilala palang natin pero kung ano ano na tinanong ko. I'm sorry being insensitive and inconsiderate.." kamot batok na tugon ni Zoe.

And as he processed all these emotions, he felt his heart warming up, felt the walls he built around himself finally crumbling down. And he felt a sense of vulnerability as he realized that he finally found someone he could open up to, someone who truly cared about him, someone who would not judge him, someone who would be there for him, for better or for worse.

He feels like for the first time, he truly matters to someone. He feels like he finally found the missing piece of himself, the missing light in his life.