In the Midst of the Crowd (Loser #1)

Epilogue

Epilogue

I shut my eyes and slumped my back against the car seat, my ears covered with headphones to keep me from asking my father why he had to go to church every morning before driving me to school.

Time isn't an issue. Maaga pa naman at hindi pa naman ako late.

But then, I could've slept longer in my bed if it weren't for his morning routine!

He would always wake me up two hours before my class, and we would spend around thirty minutes at the church. Hihintayin ko lang siya sa sasakyan hanggang sa matapos siya sa ginagawa. Kung papayagan lang ako ni Mama na mag-commute ay hindi na talaga ako para magpahatid pa. Ayaw rin naman ni Papa na mag-hire ng drivers para sa amin. Kaya niya pa naman daw kasi.

I don't know what's with him. Hindi naman palasimba ang pamilya namin.

"Stay here, Kobe. Papasok lang ako sa loob," he said right after the music in my headphones ended.

I nodded, not opening my eyes.

Narinig ko ang pagtawa niya. "I'm sorry, buddy. This is your Tito Dominic's favorite church. I'm just trying to practice his routine."

I opened my eyes lazily. Nagbuntong-hininga pa ako bago lumingon sa kanya. Tito Dominic was his close friend who died when I was young. We didn't have a lot of memories together, but I remember him being generous and friendly.

I slipped my headphones to the back of my neck and I pressed the low volume button on my phone to mellow out the next song.

"Why?" I asked him.

Muli siyang tumawa. He put his hand over my head and ruffled my hair. "Because that's what you do when you miss someone. You'll go to places they always visit and do things they usually do," he said, his smile widening. "One day, you'll understand what I mean."

He pinched my cheek lightly before getting out of the car. Pinanood ko ang paglalakad niya papasok sa simbahan.

Muli akong napasimangot. Hindi ko naman miss si Tito Dominic. Bakit nadadamay ang tulog ko?

The window next to me was half-opened, and the early morning mist made me want to sleep even more.

I breathed deeply. Finally, some inner peace.

I was about to lean back in my seat when I was disturbed and halted by a tiny but ear-splitting voice.

"Hello po, ate ganda! Bili ka na po ng sampaguita! Ten pesos lang!" said the small kid as she waved the white flowers arranged in a circle.

My brows furrowed. Can't she lower her voice?

"Please, pangkain lang po! Ako po ang gumawa nito kagabi!" dagdag niya pa.

I scowled even more as the woman to whom she was showing the flowers utterly brushed her aside.

Ang sungit naman no'n! She could've just told the girl that she wasn't interested! Bakit kailangan niya pang itulak?

Bumalik ang tingin ko sa batang babae at sumama ang loob ko nang mapansing parang wala lang sa kanya ang nangyari. Her innocent eyes were now snooping around as if she was looking for another potential customer.

"Kuya, magandang umaga po! Baka po gusto n'yo ng sampaguita. Sampung piso lang." She smiled, and heaven forbid, I had to blink twice to keep up with that.

Hindi rin siya pinansin ng lalaki, pero gaya ng nangyari kanina, parang wala lang iyon sa kanya. Sunod niyang pinuntahan ang ilan pang lumalabas sa simbahan ngunit kung hindi iniilingan ay itinutulak naman siya.