DEALING WITH THE DEVIL (Vander #1-COMPLETED)

78: I Want To Believe

“You did?!”

He grinned at me. “Yup. But I respect your decision sissy so kahit halos mabaliw na ang mga naghahanap sa’yo, I never gave them a hint. I know at some point you are stupid in making decisions but I know eventually you will realize how foolish you are.”

“Are you calling me stupid?!” nakataas ang isang kilay na tanong ko.

Tumango siya sa akin. “Yes, in fact I said it twice already.”

Pabirong tinulak ko siya palayo. “Get away from me.”

He chuckled. “So, are you back for good? Did the drug I give to bro Cooler worked?”

He supplied the drug? How traitorous!

“Ikaw?!”

He shrugged and tapped his chest proudly. “Sis hindi mo pa sinasagot ang tanong ko. Are you back for good?”

I sighed heavily. “Hindi ko alam.”

“Oh there you go again,” sabi niya at natampal ang noo. “Do you have any idea how many woman wants your husband? Sis, if I were a girl I would have snatched him from you. Man was thoughtful and kind. He spend every holidays with us because he said we’re his family kahit iniwan mo siya. And he knew pretty much about computer and stuff. Well, not really as good as my idol Apollo but still he knew enough! How could you... ah basta ang tanga mo.” He looked at me with so much distaste.

“John quota ka na sa panlalait mo sa akin,” I rolled my eyes at him.

“Dahil totoo naman,” pagpapatuloy niya. “How could science says men mature late than women, ikaw yata ‘tong hindi pa rin nagmamature.”

I made a face before throwing a punch on his gut. He made a groan at napangiwi sa sakit. Nilagpasan ko na lamang siya at umakyat sa hagdan. “I’m going to see Dad.”

Nang marating ko ang kwarto ni daddy ay kumatok muna ako bago pumasok sa loob. He was fed by her caregiver at agad siyang napangiti nang makita ako.

“My prodigal daughter,” bati niya at itinaas ang kamay.

Mabilis akong tumakbo papunta sa kanya at niyakap siya. My dad’s in a wheelchair and I felt guilty knowing his struggles for the past years. Naramdaman kong hinalikan niya ang buhok ko habang tumatawa siya. “You’re finally home.”

“I’m sorry dad,” sambit ko.

My dad just hugged me tighter. Walang sumbat, walang paninisi and it’s making me felt more guiltier than I should be. Bakit hindi ko namana ang tatag ng kalooban niya? Bakit naging duwag ako na harapin ang anumang maaring mangyari sa buhay ko? The answer I got is that I can take all hardships all by myself ngunit ayaw kong maranasan din iyon ng mga mahal ko. Unknown to me, no matter what you do, we tend to hurt people in every way. It’s just that you have to soothe the pain if ever you caused it.

Like how mom never left my dad when she learned he cheated at si Zero ang naging bunga niyon. She gave him a chance and dad has proven himself worthy of that opportunity she gave. Like how dad swore to dedicate the rest of his life to us, his children.

What I did was childish. Running away from problem is so childish and coward. I am still afraid of making disappointing decisions but maybe I’ll take the shot.

*** 

RYU

Delving into government secret projects and reading through the confidential files is just a normal thing to me. When you’ve been doing it since you teenage, it gets boring. The series of 1 and 0’s are just a routine. Codes to break were breakfast cereals and firewalls are milk.