Fleeting Moments

Chapter 19: Call

"Who's that?" Tita seemed bothered, but she remained calm. She was not holding Raiko. She probably left him inside with one of the househelps.

Ilang saglit lang ay may tumalsik mula sa bintana ng sasakyan. Ryo pulled a strap, then a camera came flying outside and dropped to the ground. My shoulders jumped at the sound of it. Their driver picked it up, showing it to Tita. Nakita ko agad ang mga basag na parte n'on dahil sa pagkakalaglag.

"Bring it inside," Tita said. The driver walked past me to do what he was told.

I fidgeted with my fingers, scared. Ryo was not exactly the goody two shoes, pero bihira siyang mapaaway. The last time I saw him this mad was when a thief barged into the apartment. Nasaktuhan na kaming dalawa lang ni Ryo ang naroon noong gabing iyon. He caught the thief in the room while I was sleeping, but he got his arm slit by the thief with a knife. Ryo received an earful from his mother afterwards.

Tito was finally able to pull Ryo away from the driver's window. Upon seeing his mother, Ryo calmed down. Saka lang ako nagkaroon ng lakas ng loob na lapitan siya. He was red with anger, his neck and forehead drenched in sweat.

He pulled himself out of Tito's hold, a little too harshly. Sinamaan siya ng tingin ng ama dahil doon.

"Umayos ka, ha. Tatay mo 'ko," Tito warned. Ryo's lips twisted. He took a glance at his mother, who was talking in a surprisingly composed manner to whoever was inside the car, before carefully tugging my arm with him inside.

"Ano 'yon? Sino 'yon?" I asked. I stopped walking, forcing him to stop, too. He groaned as if he didn't want to talk about it. I clicked my tongue and stared at him hard. His eyes eventually softened as his whole body started to relax.

"Sa taas tayo," aniya. His hold on my arm went down to my hand, and that shut me up. He picked up my laptop with his free hand.

Umakyat kami sa kuwarto nina Tita. Raiko was on the bed with one of their househelps watching over him. I got my laptop out of his hold, so he could carry Raiko to our room.

Our clothes were neatly folded on the table. Nagsisimula na kaming mag-empake para sa pag-alis papunta sa amin.

I'm not sure how long we will be staying there. Baka umabot nang ilang buwan dahil sigurado akong hindi papayag si Ryo na umalis hangga't hindi sila magkasundo ni Tatay. Unless may anghel na sumapi sa tatay ko, imposibleng isang linggo lang, okay na sila ni Ryo. It would take at least a month.

Hindi ko muna siya kinausap. He was on our bed, carrying Raiko close to his chest. It was a little past Raiko's bath time already kaya hinanda ko muna ang mga kailangan para doon habang hinihintay na lumamig ang ulo niya.

"Sino 'yung nasa labas kanina?" tanong ko pagkatapos.

Ryo sighed heavily. He stood up, carrying Raiko with him as I checked the water's temperature. "'Di ko alam. Nagpi-picture."

He carefully placed Raiko on the blanket I laid out. I've been bathing Raiko ever since. Lagi lang siyang nanonood, o taga-abot ng mga bagay na kailangan ko. He never told me that he wanted to try to do it himself, but of course, I know that he's been wanting to do that.

Usually, Raiko would burst out crying once he's laid at the blanket. I could not fight the urge to smile at Ryo's attempt to distract him, speaking random syllables in a sing-song manner while softly poking Raiko's thighs, arms, and cheeks. Mukha namang effective.

He looked at me, as if asking for permission. Tumango ako at ngumiti kahit hindi naman na niya kailangang magpaalam. His eyes lit up in eagerness. I reached for the cotton balls while he continued singing random syllables.