The Fifth Son

Hachi

Hachi

~8~

 

“Sand? Sand! Uy Gising na s’ya!” buong pag-aalalang bulalas ng isang pamilyar na boses nang unti-unti ko nang imulat ang mga mata ko. Ilang mga tao ang agad na nagsilapit sa tabi ng kamang kinalalagyan ko. “Okay ka lang, Sand? May masakit ba sayo?” tanong ulit nung naunang boses na pagmamay-ari pala ni Kuya Kei. Katabi ng mukha n’ya ay ang mga mukha nina Kuya Jyu at Kuya Jei. 

“Sand! Sand!” agad na tanong ni Oka-sama nang makalapit na s’ya sa higaan ko. Halos mangiyak-ngiyak na s’ya habang nagtatanong sa akin. Parang gusto n’ya pa nga akong yakapin pero pinigilan lang n’ya ang sarili. Kasi naman may dextrose pa ako at lahat. “I’m so glad you’re safe. Yukata! Hontoni yukata.”At tuluyan na nga s’yang napaiyak. Kuya Jei and Kuya Jyu patted her back to comfort her while Kuya Kyu was just sitting near the window and just looking at us.

“Oka-sama, I’m fine. I’m not hurt thanks to Paolo..” Natigilan ako nang mabanggit ko ang pangalan ni Paolo. “Si Paolo!” bulalas ko. Dapat naman talaga akong mag-alala diba? I mean, he saved my life for heaven’s sake!

“Si Paolo?” balik na tanong ni Kuya Kei. Ay hindi, si Sand. Hinahanap ko ang sarili ko. Hindi ko kasi mahanap eh. Saan ko kaya nailagay. “Nasa adjacent room s’ya. Natutulog. Dumaan kasi s’ya sa iba’t ibang procedures.

“I’m so glad that Paolo saved you, Sand. I am really indebted to him. I don’t know what will I do if something bad happened to you,” ani Oka-sama habang pinapahiran ng panyo ang mga luha n’ya.

“Oka-sama, I’m in good condition now. We should be worrying about Paolo instead,” sabi ko kay Oka-sama.

Pinahiran n’ya ulit ang mga luha n’ya.

“I never knew that you and that Paolo kid are very close, Sand,” said Kuya Jei na nakatayo sa tabi ni Oka-sama. He was beaming a small smile as he looked at me.

Napayuko nalang ako. Hindi ko maintindihan ang actions ni Paolo. Minsan ang hirap n’yang basahin. Katulad nung pagliligtas n’ya sa akin. Nabangga pa s’ya. What were his motives when he saved me? Ano bang makukuha n’ya sa pagliligtas n’ya sa akin?

I am a cynic, I must admit. Whenever I smell the scent of flowers, I look for a grave. I don’t believe in genuine kindness. Such thing doesn’t exist. Everyone, just everyone, has their own hidden motives with their every action. Everyone is selfish in one way or another. We gain something that is why we do something. It’s the law of the world. It is a part of human nature. Our common selfishness allowed us to survive and also make us vulnerable to manipulations by people who can perceive our desires and needs. 

A person like me harnesses those hidden motives to clandestinely and subtly manipulate people. I am very much aware that I sound so evil right now but believe me, there’s no other way for me to tell this without sounding wicked.

Due to my hidden manipulative nature, I both detest and like people that are unpredictable, they’re difficult to manipulate and thus, are quite exciting to observe.An unpredictable person never fails to entertain me. But Paolo is a different case. Yes, he’s unpredictable but he annoys me more than entertain me. Naiinis ako sa kanya. Hindi ko s’ya maintindihan. Nabangga pa tuloy s’ya at nag-agaw-buhay. Why was he contradicting everything that I’ve known about him?

“Gusto ko s’yang bisitahin,” tanging nasabi ko at agad na sinubukang umalis sa hospital bed.

“Ingat ka, Sand,” pag-aalala ni Kuya Kei.

How ironic. Halos hindi man lang ako nagalusan pero mas nag-alala pa sila sa akin kesa kay Paolo. “I’m fine.” I took the IV infusion stand and started to walk towards the door of the room.