David’s P.O.V.
Mabuti na lang talaga at Physical Education ‘yong panghapon naming subject at may dala akong pamalit. Sa totoo lang ay wala naman talaga akong balak maligo sa swimming pool nila, masyado lang talagang pikon si Helena para itulak ako. Well, she must control her temper next time.
But in all fairness, I just loved to tease her! Akalain ko ba namang sa kaunting acting ko lang eh nakalimutan na niyang ako ‘yong number one swimmer sa school? Mahirap ding magpigil ng hangin sa ilalim ng tubig ha! Aahon na sana ako eh kaso tumalon ba naman siya sa pool eh may trangkaso nga siya? Pasaway talaga!
But I must admit, I took advantage of what she did when I realized that she would be doing CPR to me after a few seconds of acting lifeless. So, I continued pretending that I was still unconscious. I just didn’t know why but I was really fascinated by the taste of her lips. Hindi ko alam kung bakit parang gusto ko siyang halikan nang paulit-ulit. Nagsimula ang lahat nang ‘yon nang aksidente kaming magkahalikan at ngayon nga’y parang naging adik na ako sa mga labi niya.
What’s with her? Am I getting bewitched?
Just the sound of her voice calling me ‘Cristoff’ already sent shivers down my spine. How much more when she was near to me? Lalo na kanina, kulang na lang ay pagsawain ko ang mga mata ko habang natutulog siya. I was not getting used to be called Cristoff as no one had ever called me that nickname, but I wanted to declare from now on that only Helena had the right to call me that endearment.
Their mansion was really gigantic that even though she already toured me around, I still needed a maid’s assistance or else I would be lost. Nakakahiya rin namang maglibot mag-isa rito. ‘Yong CR nga nila, mas malaki pa kahit na triplehin ko pa ang kuwarto ko. Tapos napakalinis pa, pwede ka nang matulog sa lapag.
Pagkatapos ko ngang maligo at magpalit ng damit ay dumiretso na ako sa living room nila, dito ko na lang siya hihintayin. Tahimik lang akong nakaupo sa sofa nang mahagip ng paningin ko ang isang malaking picture frame.
Nilapitan ko ‘yon at seryosong tinitigan. It was a full-of-life canvas. Her father was wearing a black suit and tie. He was proudly seated with his cleft chin up, while Helena was smiling at his back. Her arms were wrapped on his neck and she looked very sympathetic. With a flower crown on her head, she was also wearing glasses while her green eyes seemed to be looking at me.
I focused on looking at her eyes and suddenly, I became uncomfortable. I felt that there was something wrong. I just couldn’t pinpoint what exactly it was.
Is this Athena? Helena’s dead twin sister? My eyebrows furrowed as I silently asked myself.
This would never be Helena! I was sure of it because even though they had the same green eyes, I could tell that there was still a big difference. Helena used to capture my heart everytime we were having an eye-to-eye contact, but I didn’t feel the same thing with the girl in this photograph.
It was the same feeling while I was browsing photos from Helena’s Famebook account—where I didn’t feel any connection at all. But why was it that the dead Athena’s account captured me most, the same way as Helena used to capture me in reality? And if this was Athena, why would her father display this instead of Helena’s photo with him?
I was confused. Is there something about Helena that I have to dig deeper?
“Kanina ka pa—” bungad ni Helena sa pinto ng sala… na natigilan din nang makitang nakatayo ako sa tapat ng malaking picture frame nilang mag-ama.
“Is that you, Helena?” I asked her while pointing at the picture.
“Y-Yes, why?” she asked while sitting on the sofa.
“Hmm… wala naman,” tugon ko.
Well, I wasn’t able to see that Athena in person so maybe… I was only hallucinating. It was too impossible and there was no point that her father would display the photo of her dead daughter instead of the one who survived the accident.
Scratch your thoughts, David! You’re just overthinking things!
“I’m glad na may dala kang pamalit. Sayang, I will let you borrow some of my clothes pa naman kung wala kang dala,” nakangiti ngunit sarkastikong sabi niya.
Mapag-trip-an nga ulit ‘tong si Helena. “You forgot na PE Class ang afternoon nating subject, malamang I have my spare clothes. Tsaka masyado ka na ba talagang makakalimutin? You are too young to become senile. O baka naman sinadya mo talagang itulak ako sa pool dahil ine-expect mong wala akong dalang pamalit, at matutuwa ka pa na makitang rumarampa ako nang nakahubad? Umamin ka na, Helena. Gusto mo lang makita ‘yong abs ko eh…” sabay ngisi ko sa kanya. Ngising alam kong kaaasaran na naman niya.
“Excuse me? For your information, Cristoff… I had seen a lot of half-naked boys sa dati kong school lalo na kapag may mga swimming competition and I must say, walang-wala ‘yong katawan mo sa kanila. Abs na ba ang tawag mo sa kung anong meron ka? It doesn’t even reach half of my criteria!” she snapped. She was trying her best na magtaray, pero halata namang pinipigilan niya lang ang tumawa.
Oops, that strikes my ego! Ayaw talagang magpatalo ng babaeng ito.
“Talaga lang ha? Kaya pala halos maglaway ka na sa’kin kanina, parang first time mong makakita ng katawan ng lalaki eh!” tumatawang buwelta ko.
Mukhang napipikon na naman siya kung kaya’t binato niya ako ng unan. Naging mabilis naman ako sa pagsalo nito bago ito dumapo sa aking mukha.
“Ha-ha, asa ka naman! Nagha-hallucinate ka ba, Cristoff? Mukhang ikaw yata ‘tong may sakit sa ating dalawa eh. Daig mo pa ‘yong nagdedeliryo dahil kung ano-ano nang lumalabas diyan sa bibig mo! I won’t see myself drooling on you even in my dreams! Magpa-check up ka kaya muna bago ka umuwi…”
Nginisian ko lang siya. “I love how you tease me with your rosy-white cheeks.”
“And I always hated you for being so annoying!” she responded with her eyes rolling.