Senseless Slate
ROLANDO
The doorbell rang and that was when I realized I had fallen asleep sitting up, my body rested against Natasha's bedroom door. Natasha still hadn't left her room, I supposed. If she did, nagising na ako nun.
The bell was insistent, impatient. 'Yong tipong tutunog ulit kahit hindi pa tapos 'yong three-second tune. Kaya nagmadali akong bumaba, and as I did, I checked my phone and learned it was already ten in the morning. Aling Linda would be at the market by now. But I don't think she'd ring the bell as so. This wasn't her.
Kung bakit hindi ko naisipang silipin muna sa pinhole kung sino ang kumakatok, ewan ko ba. Masiyado na akong pagod sa mga nagdaang araw. Wala na yata ako sa wisyo. And I was even pushed further into a frenzy when I beheld who my visitor was.
"I heard Dolores is dead." There was no regret in his tone. No remorse either. It was just a plain statement, swift and sure. I noticed his voice had gone a bit huskier since the last time I saw him; his eyes and forehead more crinkled with age and self-induced misery. His hair was fully black, shining and fixed in a way that made me guess it was a wig.
He was wearing a pair of khaki shorts, a polo shirt that showed his building paunch. Sa likuran niya, nakita ko ang nakaparada kaniyang lumang pulang BMW na inorder niya pa noon mula Amerika. Ginagamit niya lang ito sa mga hindi gano'ng importanteng okasyon sa pagkakaalam ko. Kung sabagay, hindi naman ako importante sa kaniya.
Hindi ko alam kung papapasukin ba siya, dahil kahit pa sabihin niyang tahanan niya 'to, tigas lang ng mukha ang tutulak sa kaniya na bumisita rito. I admit, may parte sa puso ko that wished he had changed. Pero mukhang hindi pa rin, at kung sa gayon, palalayasin ko siya.
I almost slammed thedoor shut in his face. But I knew better. If he wants something form me, I needsomething from him, too. Kaya nilakihan ko ang bukas ng pinto, stepping back aconsiderable good distance to let him in. He didn't deserve, and I wanted himto know by spitting, "At ngayon niyo lang ho naisipang bumisita?"
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The Missing Frame
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