Ongoing pa rin ang after-party. Bumalik ako sa loob kasi gusto kong manghingi ng tulong.
Tito Ferdz and Tita Pia didn't act hysterical. Chill lang sila, na sa sobrang chill nila, mas lalo lang akong kinakabahan.
Nasa ospital si Clark.
Ang saya pa rin ng lahat. And there I was, crying like a lost kid looking for help.
Hinahanap ko ang barkada ni Kuya—o kahit si Kuya lang—pero hindi ko sila makita. Si Leo ang naiwan doon bilang groom saka si Calvin. Sina Kuya, hindi ko na alam kung nasaan.
Hindi ko na alam ang gagawin ko. Sa sobrang lito, sumuko na lang ako kahit wala pa akong nagagawang kahit na ano.
•••
It was in the news. But Tito Ferdz called the new agencies and the police to inform everyone na walang maglalabas ng detalye ni Clark on national TV.
Clark was overspeeding, and that was a traffic violation. He was driving along Magallanes when he hit a concrete barrier and the car collided with an empty shuttle na paparada na dapat sa terminal.
The investigators said that malala ang damage sa shuttle, at inareglo na 'yon nina Tita Pia. Nagbayad ng danyos, even sa barrier na nawasak, and sa lahat ng damage at abalang nangyari.
The doctor said wala namang severe injury si Clark maliban sa kailangang tahiin ang isang parte ng ulo niya na may malaking cut gawa ng nabasag na windshield. Ang dami rin niyang pasa sa braso, sa binti, sa likod, at sa tagiliran.
The collision was deadly, and the doctor said that if there had been no airbag with a sturdy component, Clark would probably have died at the time of the crash.
After so many years, I heard Tita Pia cry again. Tito Ferdz was trying hard not to cry.
Nasa ICU na si Clark and none of us knew why he was involved in such an accident where we all know na takot na takot siyang mag-overspeed because like what he always says, "Hindi ako si Patrick! Paano kung mamatay ako diyan?"
He's not a reckless driver kaya nagtataka rin sina Tita Pia kung bakit nag-overspeed ang anak nila.
Third day sa hospital, dinalaw namin si Clark. I could see the faces of his barkada, and they looked like they were mourning kahit hindi naman patay ang dinadalaw nila.
Bloodshot eyes, gloomy aura, and they even wore clothes with dull colors.
We never heard them talk. Kapag dumadalaw sila, ang tahimik lang nila. Sisilipin si Clark mula sa glass window, maghihintayan sa waiting area, then aalis isa-isa.
Lagi akong nasa hospital, nagbabantay. Kapag umuuwi ako sa mansiyon, ayokong makita si Mum. Maybe because seeing her face made me feel bad. Ayoko man siyang sisihin kasi hindi naman niya fault kung mag-overspeed si Clark, but I still didn't want to see her.
But I guess the world wasn't that huge after all. The dining table was depressing to sit at when I sat down in my usual dining chair.
Mum was there, but her eyes were pointed at nowhere, and she was spacing out. I could see the dark bags under her eyes and her chapped, pale lips.
"Mahal . . . kumain ka kahit kaunti lang," pakiusap ni Daddy.
"Hindi pa rin ba umuuwi ang anak mo?" walang buhay na tanong ni Mum.
Dad said nothing.
Three days, para kaming namatayan. Clark didn't die, but he wasn't responding.
Mum stopped working. Dad didn't let her work either. Everything was . . . inactive? Dead?
BINABASA MO ANG
AGS 4: The Best Man's Wedding
RomanceALABANG GIRLS SERIES #4 Sabrina Dardenne lives like a princess all her life, and the only wish of her parents is for her to marry the best man for her . . . sadly, that man is not her boyfriend Ivo. Clark Mendoza will always be the favorite son of h...
