Holding on to His Promises

Chapter 29: As Long As I Live

My parents went back to America again. Naiwan ako muli sa Pilipinas dahil kailangan kong magtake ng board examination para matupad ko ang pangarap ko na maging licensed pharmacist. I needed to enter a review center.

Where are u now?

I received a text message from Dylan. We both decided to go to hacienda to visit Lolo Max and to have a vacation there.

Binitbit ko ang bag ko at lumabas ng bahay namin. Nilock ko ang gate bago ako lumipat sa bahay nina Dylan. This time, only Dylan and I were leaving together with their family driver who would take us to the hacienda. We would have arrived there before lunch time.

Our trip took hours. The hacienda was still the same, but the workers increased. Everybody was busy, because they were harvesting crops. Lolo Max approached us when he heard our arrival.

The helps assited us and carried our baggage, taking them to the guest room. We followed them. I was about to walk into the room when Dylan grabbed my hand to stop me.

"I'm going to visit Whitey. Do you wanna come with me?"

"Sure." I'd love to see the stable again.

"We'll leave after lunch."

He let go of my hand and went straight to his room.

***

I was wandering my eyes around while Dylan and I were riding a horse, taking the way to the falls where we had gone before. The green trees on the both sides of the road were refreshing my eyes and mind.

"The air is so relaxing!" I exclaimed. "I wanna live here forever."

"Kirby said that too." Dylan said letting out a chuckle. His voice was coming from behind because he was behind me.

"Speaking of Kirby, I miss him. Where is he? Until now he doesn't know about us. I never had a chance to tell him when he attended my debut."

"Haven't he seen my tweet about you?"

"He doesn't have a twitter."

"Oh... yeah. I forgot."

"I'm sure he will be surprised."

Nang makarating kami sa falls, may naabutan kami roon na ilang mga tao. Tila dayo sila rito dahil base sa kutis at porma ng mga ito, hindi sila taga rito. Mukha silang mga taga syudad katulad namin.

"Nagpapapasok ba kayo ng outsiders dito?" I asked Dylan.

"Yes. This falls is actually a tourist spot."

"Mayroong fee?"

"Of course. This is a private place."

Umupo ako sa may malaking bato roon habang inaayos ni Dylan ang mga gamit namin. Pinagmasdan ko ang mga babaeng naroon na nakasuot ng two-piece swimsuit. They had a nice body shape and color of skin. While on the other side, there were some men and lovers. Nakakapanibago dahil kami-kami lang dati ang narito.

"Let's change now," Dylan told me.

He held my hand and took me to the shower room. "I'll just wait for you there," ani Dylan at dumiretso sa men's shower room.

Nang masuot ko ang itim na one-piece swimsuit ko, napansin ko ang pulang marka sa may braso ko. Dahil maputi ang balat ko, kapansin-pansin iyon, ngunit kaunti lang naman. It was a little bit itchy when I touched it. "Rashes," I mumbled. Naalala ko ang sinabi ni Dr. Fernandez sa akin na isa ito sa mga symptoms ng Leukemia.