"This will take us to the middle part of the sea where we are going to snorkel." ani Rashi saka na sumakay. Tinulungan niya kaming lahat na makasakay at nang masigurong kumpleto na kami ay pinaandar na ang bangka.
"You're pregnant?" tanong sa akin ng isang babae. She has ginger hair and blue eyes. She's pretty and she looks nice too.
"Yeah. 4 months pregnant." sagot ko. Ngumiti siya sa akin saka lumingon sa kasama niyang lalaki. He's a little tan and has jet black hair.
"I'm Corrie by the way and this is my fiancé Jesse." pakilala ni Corrie sa akin.
"My name's Julie and this is my boyfriend, Elmo." sabi ko naman sabay pakilala kay Elmo sa kanilang dalawa. Nginitian sila ni Elmo saka pa nakipagkamay.
"You guys aren't married yet?" tanong ni Corrie. Hindi naman ako sumagot at ngumiti lang. "Well, I just thought that you're married already. You act like your married." she said.
"We aren't yet. But we're planning to get married soon." sagot ko.
"But you're already pregnant." aniya.
"Yeah. But we're both busy with work so we don't have the time to plan things about our wedding."
Tumango si Corrie saka niya hinawakan ang kamay ko.
"I can see that you'll be a great mom. I hope when I get pregnant, I'll be just like you." aniya.
Hindi ko alam ang isasagot ko kaya napangiti na lang ako at napatango. You don't get to meet people who would say such wonderful things like that. Especially if it's your first time to meet each other. We're not even friends pero sa nga sinabi niya ay parang tumaba ang puso ko and I can feel Boomboom swimming in my tummy.
"Asawa..." napapitlag ako when Elmo whispered in my ear.
"Hm?" I asked.
"I miss you." bulong nanaman niya. Natawa ako saka napalingon sa kanya raising an eyebrow in the process.
"Magkatabi lang tayo and yet you missed me?"
"Yes." he admitted. "I miss you everyday." dagdag pa niya.
I kissed him chastely on the lips saka ko sinandal ang ulo ko sa balikat niya.
"I missed you too, asawa." sabi ko saka ko kinuha ang kamay niya and kissed his knuckles. I felt him smile when he kissed my hair saka niya sinandig ang ulo niya sa ulo ko. "Boomboom misses you too." I whispered.
"I miss the little guy too." sagot niya naman saka pa hinawakan ang baby bump ko. "I can't wait to see him. If only I call pull the days to your due date para makita ko na siya gagawin ko. Kaya lang di ko kaya eh. Ang bagal ng takbo ng araw. Parang nang-aasar pa." dagdag niya.
We stopped in the middle of the sea at pinasuot na sa amin ni Rashi ang oxygen tanks namin at flippers. After that ay sinabihan niya kami kung paano ang tamang pagddive mula sa bangka.
If the island of Maldives is a Paradise I think what lies beneath the sands is a whole different world. You could see the colorful reefs moving and colorful fishes that swims beside you. Turtles can be seen from time to time and even manta rays. I was scared at first but Rashi signaled us that it's safe to touch them. The turtles were even swimming towards us as if inviting us to play with them. Nakita ko sina Corrie and Jessie na masayang nakikipaglaro dun sa manta ray and I smiled. Ang cute kasi nilang dalawa. You can see just by the way Jesse holds Corrie by the waist that he loves her so much. Kahit may goggles silang suot at snorkeling equipments ay mahahalata ang mga ngiti sa labi nila. I looked around for Elmo and I spotted him engrossed with swimming with one of the turtles. Nakahawak siya sa magkabilang paa nito and they're swimming in circles. Parang yung napapanuod sa mga movies. I swam towards them and Elmo stopped to assist me in holding the turtle. Natuwa ako nang magkusa ang pagong na lumangoy papunta sa akin. Hinawakan ko rin siya sa magkabilang paa and we swam. Then after a few minutes ay tinawag kami ni Rashi using hand signals. Lumapit kami sa kanya and he showed us his underwater professional camera. Nagtabi-tabi kami nina Elmo, Corrie and Jesse at kinuhaan kami ng picture ni Rashi. After that ay umahon na kami.
