Started With a Goodbye

CHAPTER TWO

One week passed by. Seven days. One hundred sixty-eight hours. Ten thousand and eighty minutes. Six hundred four thousand eight hundred seconds since I last felt alive.

Madalas kong nakikita si Isaac sa University maging sa kaniyang condo.

Dahil palagi akong nakasunod sa kaniya. Kung saan siya pumupunta, do'n ako.

Gusto kong siyang kausapin. Gusto ko siyang yakapin ako. Hindi ba siya nalulungkot sa sitwasyon ko ngayon? Hindi man lang ba ako sumagi sa kaniyang isipan? Kasi kung ako ang tatanungin, palagi siyang nasa puso't isipan ko.

It's so unfair that he gets to do the things he loves without having to think about his broken heart. Samantalang ako, tatlong araw pa ang nakalipas bago ako nakalabas ng bahay.

And every day I would spend an hour or more, waiting outside his condo. Just like on Wednesday, three days ago.

"Rina? Si Dylan 'to. Kumain ka naman, oh? Ilang araw kanang nakamukmok d'yan sa kwarto mo. Ilang araw ka na ring hindi pumapasok. Alam kong mahirap ang dinadaanan mo ngayon pero huwag mong sarilihin kasi nandito ako, nandito kami ng mama mo para tulungan ka. Please, Rina? Lumabas ka na. Nag-aalala kami sa 'yo," sabi ng matalik kong kaibigan sa kabilang panig ng pinto.

After a couple of minutes of trying to convince me to go outside, they got tired and left. 

I was rotting on my bed. The curtains are closed, the lights are off, and the doors are locked. And I didn't even know what time it was or what day it today. Madilim man ang paligid ngunit alam kong makalat ang aking kwarto. I haven't even bathed for I don't know how many days anymore.

I pulled my blanket off my face and grabbed my phone from my bedside table. I turned it on, pero katulad ng dati ang wala pa rin akong notifications galing kay Isaac.

Pagkatapos kong magpalipas nang ilang minuto ay tumayo na ako para paandarin ang ilaw. Natumba pa ako dahil sa biglaang pagtayo ko. My head is so dizzy na hindi pantay ang aking paglakad patungo sa aking closet.

Looking around my room, I saw the necklace Isaac gave to me one month ago, on our fifth anniversary. It was a golden locket and inside was a picture of us.

Nagsimula na namang lumuha ang aking mga mata. But I was eager to get out of my room, so I tried my best to not cry like a baby again. I have my friends and my loving mother beside me. I am sure they will help me heal.

I took a warm bath first before I began to clean my room. Almost two hours bago ako natapos sa paglilinis. At sa paglabas ko ay bumungad sa akin ang aso namin na si Kandrik. I sat down to pet him. He licked my fingers.

Narinig kong parang may naghuhugas ng pinggan sa ilalim kaya ay tumungo ako sa kusina upang tingnan kung sino ang naroon. When I arrived at the kitchen, I saw my mother washing the dishes silently.

Dahan-dahan akong tumungo sa kaniyang likuran upang yakapin siya.

"'My. . ." I got teary-eyed when I heard her little sobs.

"Rina, anak." We spent a good sixty seconds hugging each other. "Buti naman at lumabas ka na. Gutom ka ba? Teka, iinitin ko lang 'yong chicken curry, ha?" Tumango ako sa kaniya.

My loving mother made my situation more easier. Siguro kung wala akong ina na katulad niya ay masasabi kong hindi ko kakayanin. Mommy has always been beside me ever since my Dad died. She was with me during my good and bad days. Kahit na alam niyang ako ang may kasalanan ay sa akin pa rin siya kumakampi. Sa tuwing ako naman ay nalulungkot ay nilulutoan niya ako ng paborito kong chicken curry. I love my mother so much that I would do everything to let her stay by my side forever.