Fourth of October (Juntarsiego Series #1)

Chapter 38

Pumikit ang mga mata ko habang pinapakiramdaman ang sarili niya. I embraced him more as my chin rested on his shoulder as if getting a balance from that part of him.

Iyong isa niyang kamay ay nakapulupot na rin sa akin habang marahang hinahaplos ang buhok kong nakalugay. I don't know why I felt so important at this moment, yet so fragile because of how he held me gently as if I am a porcelain that is about to break.

The way his fingers brush my hair screams all the gentleness that I've never had for the past years. Hindi ito nagreklamo sa higpit ng pagkakayakap ko. We both remained standing until I felt the tears slowly coming down.

Crouching my feet, my hands gripped his shirt tightly. Nalukot na iyon sa pagkakahawak ko pero walang reklamong lumabas sa kanya. He let my body and chin rest.

He gave me an art gallery, the one I've been dreaming of even before.

Sa mga nagdaang panahon, tuluyan ko nang kinalimutan ang pangarap kong iyon. Who would have thought that someone will give me big things like this?

This is a big building! He put all my works here inside, kasama na roon ang nabili ni tito Gael dati. Nakakagulat pa rin dahil sa talagang pinaghirapan niya ito tapos mapupunta sa akin.

Marahan nitong hinahaplos ang buhok ko. Komportable sa naging posisyon, hinayaan kong magtagal sa kanyang balikat.

"I appreciated all your works. May mga natira pa naman sa bahay kaya medyo hindi pa ito iyong buo," bulong nito habang hindi ako gumagalaw mula sa pagkakayakap sa kanya.

His hand caressed my back softly. At ngayon, bigla kong kinalimutan ang kung anong mayroon ba kami.

Hanggang sa humihikbi ako ng tahimik at yumugyog na lang ang balikat, doon niya ako pinahiwalay sa kanya.

Too shy to show him my crying face, I diverted my face to all the works on the walls. Mukhang nabiyayaan yata siya ng mabilis na kamay kaya kaagad niyang hinawakan ang baba ko at walang seremonyang pinaharap ang mukha ko sa kanya.

He didn't ask any questions from me. Bumunot lang ito ng puting panyo na nasa kanyang bulsa saka tahimik na pinahiran ang mukha ko.

Tikom ang bibig, hindi mariin ang pagkakalapat nito ng panyo sa akin. I only looked at him while biting my lip to not cry hard in front of him.

"H-hindi mo na dapat ginawa 'to," nanginginig kong sabi. He didn't stop wiping my face.

Huminga lang ng malalim saka ako pinakatitigan. Everything blurred around us. Sa sandaling iyon, kahit alam kong dalawa lang kami ang narito, mayroong kakaibang nangyayari.

Like there's a hidden magic between us. Magic that made us close together without minding everything from here. The beauty of those paintings on the wall suddenly vanished.

"This is my dream. I should be the one who will work hard for this, not you, Jaeden." Humihikbi pa rin ako. I wiped the single tear that fell from me.

Iyong kanyang mukha ay nababakas ang masyadong pag-aalala. Though I can still see the hint of seriousness in it, it can never hide the slightest expression of care for me.

Binalik nito ang panyo sa bulsa habang inieksamin ang mukha ko. He's like waiting for another tear to fall and will wipe it again himself.

"Your dream will also be my dream. If you wish me to be jailed again, hell I would do it gladly for you."

"Ako dapat ang gumawa nito, eh. Hindi ikaw, Jaed." He nodded at my response.

"I understand you. I know that your parents' death is the reason why you didn't choose to build this for yourself. At... ako rin ang naging rason," pagpapapatuloy pa nito habang inililibot ang tingin.