Loving Persephone

Chapter 42: Summer

I rolled down the window and closed my eyes. Dinama ko ang bawat pag-ihip ng hangin sa mukha ko. The wind's blowing my hair backwards but it was refreshing at the same time.

"Ayos ka lang ba, anak?"

Idinilat ko ang mata ko at nilingon si Dad na kasalukuyang nagmamaneho. He asked me to go with him to Forsyth. I was hesitating at first but when I asked Mom about it and she agreed, tuluyan na akong nakumbinsi na sumama. I'll stay there for the whole weekend. He said his wife wants to meet me as well as his son.

"I'm fine, Dad."

I couldn't help but wonder if meeting them will turn out good. I wonder if I can adjust easily. Mabait naman daw ang asawa niya at makulit din ang kapatid ko. He assured me that it'd be good but there's still a part of me that remains doubtful.

"Forsyth is nearly a 3-hour drive. Matulog ka muna kung gusto mo," aniya sa'kin.

I shook my head and swiveled my head back to the window.

"I'm fine." Mas gusto kong panoorin ang mga nadadaanan naming tanawin kaysa matulog. I've never been to Forsyth. This will be my first time.

Dahil sa pagsama ko kay Dad, hindi ako nakasali sa batch outing namin. Ayos lang naman sa'kin dahil hindi naman ako interesado na sumama.

"Malapit na ang birthday mo. What do you want to have?" biglang tanong ni Dad dahilan para ibaling ko ulit ang tingin sa kanya. "I've missed 14 years of your birthday, gusto kong bumawi ngayon."

"You don't have to," I said. Sapat na itong ipinapakita niya sa'kin. Sapat na na narito siya bilang ama ko. Noon lagi kong iniisip kung anong feeling na may kasamang ama tuwing family day, na may amang mapagsasabihan ng mga sama ng loob, na may amang poprotekta sa'kin sa mga bully, na may amang mag-aalaga sa'kin kapag may sakit ako. Having him here with me made me stop questioning. Having him here with me was already a dream come true.

We arrived at Forsyth after less than 3 hours of driving. Hindi ko inakalang ganito pala kahaba ang binabyahe niya para lang mapuntahan ako sa bahay. It's very inconvenient on his part.

The car slowed down and eventually came to a stop at a white two-storey house. Hindi gaanong kataasan ang bakod na nakapalibot sa bahay kaya kitang-kita ko mula sa bintana ang structure na nakapaloob dito. A woman in uniform opened the gate for us. Dad then motioned his car inside. Ipinasok niya ito sa garage atsaka pinatay ang makina.

"Let's go," aniya sa'kin.

He opened his door and I opened mine. Hinintay niya akong makalapit sa kanya bago kami naglakad papasok sa loob.

I followed my father as we made our entrance to the sala.

"Maupo ka muna, anak," Dad told me.

I sat down and saw a woman emerging from the kitchen. Sinalubong siya ni Dad ng halik sa pisngi. There was a little kid tailing behind her at iyon naman ang sunod na binalingan ni Dad. The woman is probably 35-40 years old. Itim ang buhok niya, maamo ang mukha and she's 4 inches shorter than my Dad. The kid, on the other hand, got more of Dad's features than his mother. Nakuha niya ang mata at shape ng mukha ni Dad. He's almost like the childhood version of him. He was giggling when Dad scooped him up. Napangiti ako habang pinapanood sila. So, this is his family.

"You must be Percy!" anang babae sa'kin sa paglapit niya. She smiled at me. "Totoo nga ang sinabi ng Daddy mo. You're beautiful."

"Saan ba nagmana?" Dad chimed in proudly.

The woman chuckled and turned to me again. Kinarga ni Dad ang batang lalake at inakbayan ang asawa.

"Percy, this is my wife, Camia and your younger brother, Theus."