Wages Of Sin

Kabanata 22

Kabanata 22

Agad akong bumangon nang marinig ang boses ni Iko. Then I saw him waking me up, again. Napangiti ako.

It felt like a deja vu. Feeling ko, bumalik ako sa mga panahon na normal pa ang lahat. I'm here, inside the tree house, Iko will wake me up, and the day will goes perfectly fine. Maayos, normal.

But I know that it will never happen, not anymore.

Napatingin ako sa labas ng bahay. Tahimik ang paligid, as usual. Walang ingay maliban sa huni ng kalikasan. I shrugged.

Agad akong kumuha ng iilang damit saka bumaba mula sa tree house. I still have work to do.

Today is my 7th day para mag-ensayo. Means I only had less than 10 days left. Nakakakaba. Nakakatakot. I don't know why I felt it this way. I mean, who won't, right?

Magugunaw na ang mundo. And everyone is depending on me except for one person: myself.

Dumiretso ako sa batis kung saan ako normal na naliligo. This time, hindi ko hinubad ang saplot ko. I entered the stream with my clothes on saka sinimulang paliguan ang sarili.

"Good morning," someone greeted kung kaya't napalingon ako. I rolled my eyes.

"What is it this time?" I asked. Robin shook his head. Tumabi ito kay Iko.

"Goodness, you are taking a bath with clothes on?" he asked. I shook my head and ignored him.

"Geez, a girl is taking a bath and you're looking?" I questioned. "What the fuck, boy?"

Tumawa na lamang ito saka tumalikod. Hindi ito sumagot at naglakad papalayo. I shook my head when I saw him caress his head. Maybe it still hurts.

I suddenly remembered what happened when Wield got here.

...

"Levi, man! Bakit ka nandito?" Wield asked. He walks towards Robin. "May narinig akong parang mga nagsusuntukan, e."

Napansin ko namang umalis si Robin sa pwesto niya saka lumpit kay Wield. Inayos ko ang upo ko saka linisan ang tingin sa kanila.

"Wala namang ibang nandito bukod sa 'kin," Robin replied. "Ah! Maybe that was me. I was busy coaching myself."

I gulped. Would that curly-haired offensive trying hard funny man buy it? I won't say anything negative pero sana, sana talaga. Because I won't go back to that place full of pain ever again.

My heart is beating rapidly while I'm planning my escape. I wandered my eyes to find something that might help me.

"Where are the others?" Robin asked.

"Kasama ng babaeng si Thor," Wield answered.

Muntik na akong mabulunan. Is he talking about Thora? Babaeng si Thor? Hah! Hilarious.

"Have you seen that girl?" Wield asked. Biglang lumakas ang kabog ng dibdib ko. Is he talking about me?

"Not yet," sagot ni Robin. "I can't feel her presence here."

"Wierd," dinig kong bulong ni Wield. "Ferrous said she's more likely to be in the forest since she's into nature."

Hindi ko na narinig pa ang sumunod na usapan nila. I closed my eyes and tried to think. Napatingin ako sa paligid. Behind me, where I am currently hiding, is a huge tree. What if I'll climb it?

No, he might notice it. Hmm...

Napatingin ako sa baba nang may marinig na maliit na ingay. My brows creased when I saw a little creature. It's holding a nut which made me mystified.