10 DEAD COUNTS

FONS ET ORIGO

UZIEL

Halos isang oras ang biniyahe ko pauwi ng bahay. Bukod sa traffic, there was this van driver na nakipag-away sa taxi na sinasakyan ko, because 'binangga' daw naming sya, which caused me a lot of time. Stressed from school, and the amount of homework they gave, I heaved a heavy sigh before stepping out of the taxi. "Salamat po, manong driver." I smiled, handing the old man payment through the window. "Pasencya na po kayo do'n sa driver kanina, ma'am. Hindi ko po akalain na susugurin tayo no'n." He apologized, scratching the back of his neck. I shook my head, remaining the smile on my face. "Okay lang po 'yon, hindi n'yo naman po kasalanan." Nginitian naman n'ya ako, at tuluyan na s'yang umalis.

I inhaled a huge amount of air, then opened the door. "Magandang gabi, mama!" I greeted, but no one was in the house. As usual. I sighed once again, tapos umakyat na ako sa kuwarto ko, ignoring the plate that was set on the table. What's the sense of dinner if you can't eat with your family, right?

I removed my backpack and it fell on the ground, while I plopped on my bed. The moon's light illuminated my room, as my eyes roamed. Biglang napatigil ng pag-ikot ang mga mata ko nang may mahagilap itong litrato, which was standing on my study table.

I reached it and looked at it, smiling. It was a picture of me, my mom, and my dad. Bata pa ako sa picture, at buo pa kami. Nagulat na lang ako nang mahawakan ko ang aking mukha, and it was wet with tears. Sniffing, I put the picture back on my study table and laid back down. Without even knowing it, I fell asleep, crying.

Kinabukasan, maaga akong nagising. It was Saturday. Kadalasan, tuwing weekends, I wake up at 2 p.m. Yawning, I stood up from my bed and folded the sheets. Once done, bumaba na ako para gumawa ng breakfast, and when I passed the dining table, may nakita akong isang envelope, tapos may sticky note itong katabi. I picked the note up, and it read:

Have fun!

-Mom

My eyebrows met when I picked up the envelope. Have fun? What does she mean by have fun? Opening the envelope, I saw a coupon. "50% off 2-day staycation at Hotel Denoument?" I read, and I flipped the ticket to read the details behind. One of my brows raised as a smile crept up my face. Ang sweet ni mama, maybe this is her way of saying sorry kasi hindi na sya nakakauwi ng madalas.

I put the coupon back inside the envelope and posted the sticky note sa ref. "I'll use that coupon later." I said to myself, at nilagay yung envelope sa ibabaw ng ref.

Pumunta na ako sa kusina para makapag-luto ng almusal, which is bacon and eggs. I turned on the stove, tapos nilagyan ko ng butter yung pan para hindi dumikit yung iluluto ko.

After cooking, nilagay ko na yung pagkain sa plato then I proceeded to eat. Niligpit ko yung plato ko pagkatapos kumain, at naligo na.

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I arrived at the hotel at exactly 2 p.m. It was crowded, nagsisiksikan yung mga tao sa pila. Bakit may pila? My eyes travelled papunta doon sa pinaka-umpisa ng pila. And I saw someone handing people their keys. So, that answers one question.

Making my way through the crowd, I bumped into someone at nabitawan n'ya ang bitbit na luggage. "S-sorry! Hindi ko sinasadya." I apologized.

I tried to help him pick up his luggage, pero he slapped my hand away, at napangiwi naman ako. Kahit mahina 'yon, malakas s'ya for me.

"Don't touch me." The person growled. Dal ana rin ng takot, umatras ako palayo do'n sa tao. Yawa, akala mo naman kasi susunggaban ako kapag tinulungan ko pa s'ya.