Growing up in a well-known family, Celeste Aragon always lived in unending rules. And among all of the rules, there's one rule she should never violate: Never ever show her special ability to anyone. Her being illusionist should be a secret. But Cel...
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AFTER I ate breakfast, Mom stayed and cleaned the dishes I used. Matapos ang ilang minuto ay nagpaalam siya sa akin at lumabas ng kwarto. I was left inside, sitting on the bed and leaning on the headboard. Silence engulfed the room. Sa sobrang tahimik parang gusto kong magsalita out of nowhere. Sabi ni Mom bago siya umalis, magpahinga raw muna ako. But this room bored me. Wala ni isang bintana.
My gaze went to the door. Nasa labas pa kaya hanggang ngayon si Van? Ano ba kasi ang ginagawa niya roon? After much thinking, I decided to stand up. I had to use a crutch for my wounded leg to help me walk. I pulled the dextrose with me as I limped my way towards the door. Mom wouldn't like me going out right now but I couldn't care less.
As I opened it, there was Van. He was really there, sitting and leaning on the wall behind him. He had his eyes on his phone and was casually scrolling through it. His gaze lifted to me. Nangunot ang noo niya at napaayos siya ng upo. Halatang nagulat siya sa bigla kong paglabas.
"What are you doing there?" I asked, still standing by the door.
"I'm a nurse in this hospital, in case you forgot."
"You don't look like you're working." I stepped out and slowly closed the door behind me.
"Ikaw ang dapat kong tanungin. What are you doing? Shouldn't you rest first?" Tumayo agad siya at nilapitan ako.
Kinuha niya ang dextrose mula sa akin at sinamahan ako papunta roon sa upuang inuupuan niya kanina. He, then, sat beside me.
"Staying in that room bores me." The only thing that I said. Came next was silence. It was the awkward type of silence, like we both wanted to break it but we didn't know what to say.
"What happened to them?" I asked, breaking the silence.
"To Danyl?"
Tumango ako.
"Jail."
"They put them in jail? Why am I surprised to hear that?" I murmured the last line.
"Kidnapping. Assault. Coercion," saad niya.
Bakit parang ang tipid nyang sumagot? Nagtampo ba siya dahil sa paraan ng pakikitungo ko sa kaniya kagabi?
Another set of silence came between us after that. I could hear the faint noises of the nurses somewhere at the end of the hallway. I glanced at him and saw the remnant of his bruises from last night. May mga pasa siya sa mukha. I remembered how he had dried blood on his nose and lips. His face looked so messed up last night.
"The Amara girl did that to you?" I pointed the bruises on his face. "How come you let her bruised you like that?"
He let out a soft chuckle. "She's more of an expert on this kind of thing. Valfer had it worse, to be honest. I heard him puking blood."
