Kabanata 13
Entitled
I'm not kidding when I thought of buying the lot. Alam kong kung sakali ay may kakayanan akong bilin iyon. That place made me fall in love with its surroundings. Ni ngayon ko nga lang naisip na may gugustuhin pala akong pag gamitan ng pera ko na alam kong ikaliligaya ko talaga.
Maybe money does buy happiness.
Kahit paulit ulit ko kasing isipin, hindi ko pa rin alam kung paano ako makakasilip manlang sa mansyon sa hacienda. I'm still working on my plan to have my own place. Iyong hindi alam nila Tita. I want it all in one drop pero hindi pwede. For now I have the car. I need to plan for my next move. I need money of course, necessities such as clothes will be easy once I'm stacked. Then I need a place.
Do I need something that I can use for self defense?
Take it easy, Alicia. Isa-isa lang para sigurado.
"You seem to enjoy this place, huh,"
Trevante's voice pulled me out of my messy thoughts.
Tipid akong ngumiti sa kanya. Kanina pa kami nakatayo. I noticed him took a picture of the view earlier. Nanatili lang akong nakatayo, nakatanaw sa paligid at nag iisip.
"It's peaceful so I like it very much here."
"Hindi ka ba talaga taga cabanatuan?"
Nilingon ko siya. I had to stop some strands of my hair from covering my sight bago tuluyang naharap ng tingin si Trevante.
I thought about answering that. I don't know where my home is. I never felt the comfort of a home ever since mommy died. Literally speaking I am from cabanatuan but I don't know where home is.
Nagkibit balikat ako.
"Yeah. Naturally from Zaragoza..." I trailed off. Is it necessary to tell him that? "But since the university is far they told me to live here instead. We sold our house a few years ago..."
We sold our house here when I was a kid. Iyon ang totoo but I have to twist the truth and making it like we sold our home in Zaragoza. Sandali lamang natirahan ang bahay dito sa Cabanatuan noon dahil bumalik rin sa hacienda. So most of my memories are from the mansion.
"You sold it before your parents went abroad?"
Napahinto ako sa pag iisip. Muntik ko nang makalimutan na sa pagkataong ginagampanan ko ngayon ay may magulang pa ako na siyang mga OFW. Hilaw akong ngumiti at tumango sa kanya.
I almost went out of my character.
"But I guess having your own house is more practical than renting an appartment, don't you think?"
I bit my lip. He has a fucking point. I glanced at him and slyly smiled.
"Their money, their orders." Iyon lamang ang nasabi ko.
Isang oras lamang ang tinagal namin roon. Nang makatanggap ako ng text mula kay Shanna ay nakaramdam na ako ng lungkot. It's like waking up from a great dream.
Shanna: Hey Naomi. This is Shanna. Let's meet at caffenaited at 2pm. Save my number ;)
Napabuntong hininga ako sa nabasa ko.
"You need to go now?"
Nagtaas ako ng tingin kay Trevante. Tumingin siya sa cellphone ko bago tumingin pabalik sa akin. Tumango ako.
"We have a meeting for a project."
Pinagkrus niya ang braso sa dibdib. He looked down on me.
"Saan?"
