PABABA na ako ng hagdanan nang marinig ko si Gwen na nakikipag-usap sa isa sa mga maid na narito sa Mansyon.
"Did you wake him up?" Gwen asked the woman in a strict tone. Tumango kaagad ito bilang sagot sa kaniya, "good. Buti naman at ginagawa mo ang trabaho mo ng maay--"
I heaved a breath before stopping her to say such hurtful words, "babe. I'm here, already."
Napalingon kaagad siya saakin. She smiled immediately as if her mood just shifted. Ngumiti kaagad ako sa kaniya pabalik at hinalikan sa pisngi ng makalapit na ako.
"Good morning, babe! How's your night?" She asked normally. As if she didn't scolded someone early in the morning.
"It's good," sagot ko rito. Napasulyap kaagad ako kay Ate na pinagsasabihan ni Gwen kanina. I smiled at her politely, "good morning po."
"A-ah," dali-dali itong yumuko. "Good morning po, sir."
I guess that's her way on respecting me. Pero halatang hindi lang iyun dahil doon. Nang mapagtanto kung anong problema nito, kaagad akong napabuntong-hininga. She looks scared.
Sinulyapan ko kaagad si Gwen na kasalukuyang nakatingin kay Ate. Seriously, can't she be more polite?
"Theo nalang po Ate--"
"Babe, come on, stop that." Pigil bigla ni Gwen saakin. Huminga ako ng malalim at napalingon sa kaniya. She's obviously annoyed. But what's there to be annoyed to? "Can't we just go eat already?" she suddenky asked.
Napabuntong-hininga ako habang nakatitig sa kaniya. Ilang saglit pa ay wala akong ibang nagawa kundi ang mapatango, "yeah. Right. We should do that."
She nodded. Sinimulan kaagad namin ang paglalakad papunta sa dining room. I'm sure I just ruined her mood and I don't really like that. Kaya kahit na alam kong may mali siyang ginawa at pagsabihan siya, tumahimik nalang ako. I don't want to fight this early in the morning.
We silently walked towards the dining room. Nauuna siyang maglakad saakin kaya naman kaagad kong nilakihan ang hakbang upang magkasabay kaming dalawa. To lift her mood even a bit, I tried to hold her hand. Napabuntong-hininga ako, mabuti nalang at hinayaan niya ako doon.
Glancing at her as we walked, I can't help but to shake my head. Napangiti nalang din ako. Sigurado akong mamaya, ngingiti narin siya. She can't really be mad at me for a long time. Well, she actually can. Pero hindi naman ganoon kalaki ang ikinainis niya ngayon. She'll let it pass I'm sure.
I keep glancing at her while we walk. Ngunit habang mas lalo kaming napapalapit sa dining room, unti-unting nakukuha ang atensyon ko sa mga boses na nanggaling sa loob. My eyebrows furrowed as we hear two familiar voices talking.
"M-masarap ba? What do you think? Papasa kaya to sa kaniya?" tanong ng isa na para bang natataranta na sa loob.
"Oo nga! Masyado kang nagpapanic, eh. Kinakabahan tuloy ako," biglang sagot ng isa pang may pamilyar na boses.
My eyebrows furrowed even more. Hearing those small voices, I can't think of anyone but those two. Hindi ko mapigilang isipin kung anong ginagawa nila sa loob. I'm guessing it's about cooking since they're in the dining room. At nang tuluyan na kaming nakapasok sa loob, tama nga ang hinala ko.
It's Mae who's biting her lips like she's nervous and Johanna who's getting the plates like she's in a ruckus right now. Napataas kaagad ang kilay ko habang nakatingin sa kanilang dalawa. Hindi ko alam kung matatawa ba ako o masisiyahan sa mukha ni Johanna ngayon. She's seriously putting a lot of effort. Not to mention, she's wearig an apron right now. Mukhang siya mismo ang nagluto.
While staring at her, I heard someone sighed harshly. I looked at that person. Napairap kaagad si Gwen habang nakatingin sa kapatid niya.
When I saw how Johanna looks right now, I thought Gwen would seriously be happy for it knowing that she cooked for her. Having a sister who prepares the food for you is quite good, right? But instead of seeing that happiness, she just looks more annoyed. Para bang mas lalo lang nasira ang mood niya.
"Come on, Gwen." Inunahan ko na siya kaagad bago pa siya makapagsalita. Kahit na hindi niya man sabihin, alam kong may balak siyang umalis. I don't want her to walk away from her sister. "Let's eat already," sabi ko kaagad dito.
I smiled at her. Ako na mismo ang humila sa kaniya papalapit sa kanila Johanna na mukhang nagulat nang mapansin kami. They immediately stood straight, as if their commander just arrived. Ilang saglit pa ay tinanggal ni Johanna ang apron niya, tinulungan naman ito kaagad ni Mae.
After doing all of that, Mae bid her goodbye. Sigurado akong sinadya niyang umalis upang hindi magalit si Gwen. I doubt Gwen would let her stay with us during breakfast.
"Uh, good morning!" Johanna greeted actively. At kahit na alam kong hindi ako ang sinabihan niya nun, hindi ko parin mapigilang mapangiti habang pinaghihila ko ng upuan si Gwen.
"Yeah," Gwen lousily answered as she sat in the chair. "Good morning."
Nawala kaagad ang ngiti ko dahil doon. Ngunit imbes na magsalita, huminga nalang ako ng malalim at naupo sa upuan. I glanced at Johanna later on. Naupo narin ito sa bakanteng upuan na nasa harapan namin. Halatang disappointed siya sa narinig mula sa kapatid.
Damn it. Why can't they be like normal siblings? It's seriously frustrating me, right now.
"Ah, nasaan nga pala sila Tita at Tito?" I asked Gwen while in the middle of putting food in my plate. Napasulyap pa ako kay Gwen matapos iyung itanong. Ngunit nagkibit-balikat lang siya habang kumakain, "hindi ko alam kung nasaan. They're already gone when I came down." She answered.
Napatango-tango ako. Hindi na sana ako magsasalita matapos marinig na wala siyang alam. Ngunit bigla nalang nagsalitang muli si Gwen, "maybe Johanna knows."
I blinked, totally not expected that from her, "huh?"
Napatingin ako kay Johanna. Kagaya ko, ikinatigil niya rin ang narinig mula sa kapatid. Ilang saglit pa ay nagsalita ulit si Gwen. But this time, she raised her head and looked at her directly.
"What I'm saying is that maybe she knows where they are." Diretso niyang sabi sa walang emosyong boses, "she's actually the one who knows more of them."
I stilled. Hindi kaagad ako nakapagsalita. I definitely didn't saw that coming. Ilang saglit pa ay napabuntong-hininga ako. I was about to say something when Johanna suddenly talk.
"Nasa palayan sila," sagot nito. Napatingin kaagad ako sa kaniya. She's looking down at her food, "sabi nila doon na daw sila kakain kasama ang mga magsasaka."
"Tsk," Gwen shake her head, as if that's a bad thing. "They didn't change. Still eating with those kind of people."
Nag-angat kaagad ng tingin si Johanna dito. "Wala namang problema sa ginagawa nila," sagot niya habang nakakunot ang noo.
Natigilan kaagad si Gwen. Later on, she looked at Johanna sharply, then suddenly rolled her eyes. "Of course, you'll say that. You're just like them, right? You're actually the good one, like what they always blabber endlessly. Tsk. As if letting you in isn't enough."
My eyebrows furrowed after hearing that. Hindi ko maintindihan kung anong ibig sabihin ng huli niyang sinabi. But what I know is that this is getting seriously bad.
"Gwen--"
"Enough." Sabad ko sa usapan nila at halatang ikinagulat nila iyun. They both looked at me, totally surprised. And all I could do is to sigh at them. Seriously, why are they like this? "Walang mangyayaring maganda kapag nagpatuloy kayo. If you can't talk with each other properly, then just keep silent."
Hindi ko na napigilan pa ang sariling sabihin iyun sa kanila. I'm not that type who steps on other's game. Pero hindi ko maiwasang mairita dito. Sanay ako sa relasyon namin ng kapatid ko na kahit nagbabangayan, malapit parin sa isa't-isa. We can't even talk like this. And seeing them right now, as well as hearing them say those craps to each other, seriously frustrates me.
Sigurado akong malaki ang pinag-aawayan nila. But how can they fix it if they're like this?
MATAPOS ang breakfast, kaagad kaming nagpasya ni Gwen na simulan ang paggala sa Hacienda. We're both quite as I drive in the middle of the small road towards the flower garden. At wala akong ibang maisip na sabihin dahil alam kong sirang-sira ang araw niya.
After stopping them both, Johanna decided to leave us. Hindi ko masasabing mali ang ginawa niya dahil tama lang din na magkalayo muna silang dalawa sa mga oras na iyun. I seriously thought they'll gonna end up grabbing each others hair like how Gwen usually does when she's fighting another woman. Kung ganoon nga ang nangyari, sigurado akong papagitna na naman ako kagaya ng palagi kong ginagawa sa tuwing nakikipag-away si Gwen.
But it's a relief Johanna walked away. That still helps on calming both of them. Ngunit kahit na ganoon, nasira parin ang araw ng dalawa. I don't even know if this day's gonna be exciting. Napabuntong-hininga ako. Looks like my day's ruined, too.
Sinubukan kong iwaksi ang mga iyun sa isipan ko. But that thought really stayed in my mind as we got into the flower's garden. I can't help but to sigh minute by minute because of that. Akala ko mas lalo lang masisira ang araw ko ngayon. Ngunit nang makita ang kagandahan ng lugar, medyo gumaan ang pakiramdam ko. Mabuti nalang at kalmado ang paligid. Sa ganda ng mga bulaklak hindi ko maiwasang mapangiti.
Lumabas kaagad kami ni Gwen sa kotse. We silently walked together, towards the small bench under a not so big tree. Umupo si Gwen doon habang hindi nagsasalita. I sighed as I looked at her. If she's like this, I can't do anything. Sigurado akong mas magagalit lang siya.
"Babe, I'll just take pictures, okay?" Mahinahon kong tanong sa kaniya. Napatingin siya saakin at tumango, "okay."
Huminga ako ng malalim. Inihanda ko kaagad ang camera na nakasabit sa leeg ko. Ilang segundo lang ang lumipas, nagsimula na akong kumuha ng mga litrato ng bulaklak.
There are a lot of it. Such colorful flowers are planted everywhere this area. Pinapagitnaan ng mga bulaklak ang kinauupuan na bench ni Gwen. Sa gilid naman nito, may maliit na daang bermuda kung saan kami dumaan.
Nasa gitna ako ng daan habang kumukuha ng litrato para sa ibang anggulo ng flower garden. Nang maitutok ko kay Gwen ang camera, kinuhanan ko kaagad siya ng litrato habang nakatingin siya sa kawalan at pinapagitnaan ng mga bulaklak. Matapos makuhanan ng litrato, I stared at it for a while before releasing a sigh. Ibinaba ko kaagad ang camera na hawak.
Tahimik akong lumapit sa kaniya sabay upo sa tabi nito, "hey. You look good in here." I said, thinking that it'll lighten up the mood.
Napabuntong-hininga siya. Ilang saglit pa ay nilingon niya ako. I thought she's going to say she wanted to see her picture. But what came out from her mouth made me froze.
"Do you like Johanna?" She asked, seriously.