Blythe's POV
Am I real?
Do the words I speak before you make you feel.
Sinabayan ko ang kanta sa stereo habang nasa daan kami para sunduin si Dana. Night is driving while I was seated beside him.
That the love I have for you
Will see no ending?
Kinanta ni Night sa sumunod na linya habang nakatingin pa rin ng seryoso sa daan.
Well, if you look into my eyes
Then you should know.
That there is nothing here to doubt
Nothing to fear.
I sang with feelings. I held my phone up para makita kaming pareho ni Night sa camera. I am taking a video of us singing.
And you can lay your questions down
'Cause if you'll hold me.
Night slowed down since nasa tapat na kami ng gate kung saan naghihintay si Dana with two other people. She saw us at saglit ata itong nagpaalam sa mga kasama. Mga kaibigan siguro niya ang mga iyon.
We can fade into the night
And you'll know
Sabay naming kanta ni Night at the top of our lungs. Sakto namang bumukas ang pintuan sa likod ng sasakyan at pumasok si Dana. "What is happening here? May pa-concert?"
She seems to be in a good mood now. Hindi kagaya kanina nang ihatid ko siya. Ganun kami tuwing may alitan, we won't apologize for what we did pero maya-maya ay magkakasundo nalang ulit. It's like a silent agreement between us na 'okay na lahat kahit hindi natin pag-usapan.' That's how normal siblings are, right? Right?
"Ang ingay niyong dalawa, nakakahiya. Naririnig ko pa kayo sa labas sa lakas ng mga boses niyo," reklamo ni Dana.
2 minutes later...
The world could die
And everything may lie
Still you shan't cry
'Cause time may pass
But longer than it'll last
I'll be by your side
Kung kanina ay dalawang boses lang ang maririnig sa sasakyan, oh well. We just can't resist singing along to a good music. Tatlong feeling singer na ang naririnig panigurado ngayon ng mga tao sa labas.
Hanggang natapos ang kanta ay nagkatinginan kami at nagtawanan. Nasa kamay na ni Dana ang kaninang hawak kong cellphone dahil nag presinta siyang kumuha ng video.
"Ngayon nalang ako ulit sumaya habang nasa biyahe," biglang sabi ni Night.
Napalingon ako sa kanya. "Does my absence made you sad while you're on the road, brother? Awww, I feel so special," tudyo ko sa kanya.
"Don't flatter yourself. Kuya Oscar is not just a fan of singing while driving," depensa ni Night.
"Sus, dinamay mo pa si Kuya Oscar. Kung sana sinabi mo nalang na namiss mo ako, eh di mabilis ang usapan."
"Of course I missed you. All of us did but you're just stubborn enough not to let us know where you are so we could at least tell you that we miss you."
I scoffed at what he said, "Geez, I am only asking if you missed me. Ang drama na agad ng sagot mo."
"Masama lang ang loob ni Kuya kasi hindi siya ang sinasabihan mo ng mga whereabouts mo," Dana said from the back.
"Talaga? How true is that, Night?" Nilingon ko siya pero seryoso lang ito sa pag dra-drive. "Huy! Don't tell me masama talaga ang loob mo?" I poked at his cheek.
He swatted my hand pero naiwas ko iyon. I laughed a little dahil ayaw na ayaw niya ang hinahawakan siya sa pisngi. Ang cute talaga ng mga kapatid ko, sarap tirisin!
"Hey, I'm asking you." I continued to poke on his cheek.
"Blythe, I'm driving."
"Sabihin mo muna na ako ang pinaka maganda mong kapatid."
"Hey, no way!" Reklamo ni Dana.
Nilingon ko siya sa likod. "Bakit? May reklamo ka?"
"Kuya, ako paborito mong sister diba?" Tanong ni Dana kay Night.
"Paborito, oo. Pero pinakamaganda, hindi. Kasi ako yun. Diba Night? Night? Diba? Ha?"
"You two shut up!" Sigaw ni Night sa amin. Mukhang nagtitimpi ito. "Blythe, umakto ka namang nakatatandang kapatid kay Dana. At ikaw naman," he looked at Dana through the rear view mirror, "act your age. Di ka na rin naman bata. Ang kukulit niyo. No wonder Dad and Mum are getting old," litanya nito.
"Wooooooooow."
"Huwaw, matinde!"
Halos sabay na reaksiyon namin ni Dana. Ang OA lang kasi ng sinabi niya.
"Dad and Mum are getting old because that's how it works, Night. What do you expect of them? Benjamin Button?" Dana exasperatedly said.
"Are you acting like this because you think I don't trust you enough to tell you where I am? Or because you haven't had fun in years while traveling?" I asked.
Na dinugtungan ni Dana, "Or because you can't tell which sibling is your favorite because you have none? Or maybe it's you being single for a long time and it makes you frustrated that you can't even tell that people naturally grow old and not grow young, Night."
"It's me getting angry at your bickering when I clearly told you to shut up."
"Night--" I interrupted him.
"You're probably right, Blythe. I am mad at you for not trusting me with your life. I am your brother, for god's sake. Maano ba naman yung simpleng message na 'I'm alive, see you soon' but what did I get? Huh? What did I get? A big fat nothing!"
"Kuya--" it was Dana's turn to stop Night from his long-assed lecture.
"At ikaw naman Dana Faye, I asked you so many times, I even got you the gift you wanted, so you could tell me anything, just anything, kung nasaan itong magaling nating kapatid. Pero anong ginawa mo? You kept your silence. Akala niyo ba natutuwa ang Daddy at Mum na pinagkakaisahan niyo kami? What in the world are you both thinking?!"
"Night!/Kuya!" Sabay naming sigaw ni Dana.
"What?! What do you want say now?!"
"You missed the turn, you idiot!" I said.
He slammed the breaks. Mabuti nalang at naka seatbelt kami dahil kung hindi ay pare-pareho na kaming sumubsob sa harap ng kotse. At mabuti nalang din dahil hindi ma-traffic sa daan na to.
"Bawal ka mag u-turn dito. Just drive straight at liliko nalang tayo sa susunod na kanto." Sabi ko nalang.
He obliged without saying a word pero hiyang hiya siguro ito ngayon dahil sa kagagawan niya.
Walang anu-ano ay umalingawngaw sa loob ng sasakyan ang tunog ng cellphone ko na hawak ni Dana. Parang granada na tinapon niya iyon sa akin.
"Shoot, si Mum! Night, sagutin mo,"pinagpipilitan kong ibigay sa kanya ang cellphone.
"Bakit ako?! That's your phone, Blythe. Sagutin mo."
Lilingunin ko sana si Dana pero naunahan niya ako. "Don't! Even think about it."
Walang akong nagawa kundi sagutin ang tawag. Pero nilagay ko iyon in speaker phone. Mabuti nalang at naisipan ko iyong gawin dahil agad na bumungad ang malakas na boses ng aming ina. At least, pare-pareho naming narinig iyon.
"Wo sind sie?!" Mum shouted on the other line with her thick German accent.
I can't see it pero alam kong napangiwi kaming tatlo. Alam kasi namin na kapag ginamit na ni Mum ang German language ay ibig-sabihin galit na ito.
"Hey mum. Good evening, I miss you," I tried to make my voice sweet.
"Don't 'hey mum' me, Blythe. Nasaan na kayo? Kanina pa kami naghihintay ng Dad niyo,"
"Sorry mum, Night missed the turn so we have to take another route going there. Pero malapit na kami promise."
I look at Night at he looked at me wide-eyed. I just mouthed 'I'm sorry' at him.
"You better be telling the truth, young lady. You will receive the punishment of a lifetime kung wala pa kayo rito bago dumating ang mga Romano."
"What?! Wala pa naman pala sila diyan mum eh." Naiinis na sabi ko.
"It's not an excuse. Get here fast but tell Night to drive safe."
Then the line went dead. Binaba na ni Mum ang phone niya.
"That's mum for you. Always the punctual one." Dana commented.
"Agreed." Night said.
We just fell silent until Night finally made it to the next turn. Gumamit pa kami ng waze app para malaman kung saan dadaan dahil nga ibang ruta ang dinaanan namin. It took us some time to find the restaurant because of it.
Nang makarating kami sa destinasyon namin ay agad nag park si Night sa tabi ng sasakyan ng parents namin. They reserved a slot for us and I also noticed four other empty spaces beside ours. Must be for our dinner companions.
Now that I realized it, I will get the chance to see Gaia again after last night. I feel excited and nervous at the same time. Hindi tuloy maitago ang ngiti sa labi ko.
The receptionist ushered us to a private room where our parents are waiting. Taliwas sa inaakala kong galit na mukha ni Mum ay masaya itong sumalubong sa amin. She gave all of us a kiss on the cheeks at ang usual na motherly hug niya na akala mo ang tagal na panahon niya kaming hindi nakita.
Oh well, mothers.
Nilapitan ko si Dad and kissed him on his cheeks. "Hey, dad. Kumusta ang daddy kong kasing guwapo ko?" I playfully move my eyebrows up and down.
"Blythe, appropriate words please," sita ni Mum sa akin.
Sumimangot ako. Mas prefer ko pa rin naman talagang masabihan ng maganda pero inside joke ko kasi iyon kay dad simula nang mag-out ako sa sexuality ko.
"Are you telling me na guwapo ka at hindi maganda?"
Those are his first questions after niya marinig na bisexual ako. And since then, I would tell him na ako ang guwapo niyang anak. Night didn't mind being the second handsomest tho, lol!
We talked for a little as family at siyempre si Night na naman ang bida-bida dahil siya ang pinaka maraming ganap sa kompanya. So I excused myself for a while and went to the comfort room.
I took my time fixing myself at nang pabalik na ako ay may ibang boses na akong naririnig mula sa VIP room.
Kumabog ng malakas ang dibdib ko nang makita ko ang pigura ni Gaia na papasok doon.
I walked briskly pero bago pa ako makapasok ay isang kamay ang humila sa braso ko.
"Hey, rebel."
Nakangising mukha ni Hali ang nabungaran ko. I smiled back at her. "Hey, Hal."
"Did you like the little present I gave you this morning?"
"Uh, yeah. Pero hapon na nung makain ko. Tanghali na kasi ako nagising." Paliwanag ko sa kanya.
"It's fine, basta nasarapan ka."
I can't help but blush at the term she used. At ang sexy kasi ng pagkakasabi niya kaya parang biglang uminit ang pakiramdam ko.
"Sinong nasarapan?"
Here comes another gorgeous human being! My mind alerted me.
I turned around and saw Skye slowly walking towards us. Unlike her playful aura this afternoon, she radiates seriousness lalo na nang mapadako ang tingin niya sa kamay namin ni Hali na magkahawak.
What? When did she held my hand like that?
"Nothing sis. I was just asking this rebel here kung nagustuhan ba niya iyong bigay kong cake kaninang umaga. Nagustuhan mo naman, di'ba?" She asked me.
"Y-yes." I stammered.
"Not as much as I liked the way I met her this afternoon. Right, Layla?"
No one calls me by my second name. But surprisingly, it felt good when she calls me by it.
"About that, I apologize again." I said.
"Hun, why would apologize of something good?" She smirked.
Naningkit ang mga mata ko. "Stop objectifying me, Skye." Ginantihan ko ng ngisi ang ngisi niya.
"Uh, excuse me. What exactly are you two talking about?" Hali asked.
Hinila niya ako palapit sa kanya at lalo pa niyang hinigpitan ang pagkakahawak niya sa kamay ko. What is happening now?
"It does not concern you anymore Hal. And besides, that moment was ours, and ours alone. Right Layla?" Skye eyed me like she was telling me not tell Hali what happened. But of course, I wouldn't let her boss me around.
"It's nothing much Hal, don't worry. She just saw me almost naked." Straight na pagkakasabi ko na parang wala lang iyon sa akin.
Exaggerated na suminghap si Hali dahil doon. "You what?! Skye, you little piece of--"
"Awesome? I know. It was just an accident tho. So if you feel offended by it," she smiled apologetically this time, "I'm sorry, Layla."
So they know how to apologize after all. "No biggie. I felt embarrassed, not offended."
"With a body like that, hun, you should be proud." Skye said.
I smiled at her remark. Di naman ako nagkukulang sa compliment na natatanggap pero bakit kapag galing sa kanya parang sobrang overwhelming?
Sobra na, over pa. San ka pa?
"Tsk, huwag ka masyado lalapit kay Skye, pervert yan," babala ni Hali sa akin.
"Hey, no fair!" Sita naman Skye kay Hali.
Mukhang mag aaway pa ata ang dalawa pero biglang lumabas ang taong kanina ko pa gustong-gustong makita. And I instantly felt warm like a child seeing her favorite person.
"Wala ba kayong balak pumasok dito?" Seryosong pagkakasabi ni Gaia.
Just like Skye, dumako ang tingin niya sa magkahugpong mga kamay namin ni Hali. Tumaas ang kilay niya dahil doon kaya agad ko tuloy binawi ang kamay ko mula kay Hali na ipinagtaka naman ng huli.
"Gaia." I beamed at her. I am just so happy to see her.
Pero hindi ko ine-expect ang sumunod na sinabi niya. It made me irritated.
"Kung may balak kayong maglandian, puwedeng gawin niyo nalang mamaya? May ibang tao na naghihintay sa inyo dito."
Wow. Just wow. Di ako tanga para hindi malaman na inaakusahan niya akong malandi. Should I get offended?
Skye gave me a wink and went inside. Hali gave me quick kiss on the cheek and also went inside.
And Gaia? Gaia gave me a furious look while I just look and smile at her.
Awww, is she mad?
Omg, is she jealous?!
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Ps. "Wo sind sie" in German is "Where are you?"