Unreachable Zacharius

26

Chapter 26

Walang bakas ng luha ang aking mukha nang humarap ako sa aking mga magulang. I tried so hard to not look very miserable in front of them. Magaan ang pagbaba ko sa hagdan, parang hindi kagagaling sa iyak. Parang ayos lang kahit ang totoo, parang mamamatay na ako sa sakit na nararamdaman.

"Mag-iingat kayo sa byahe, Francisco," Tito gave my father a manly hug.

He turned to me and flashed his rare smile. Tipid akong ngumiti at ako na ang gumalaw upang yakapin siya. 

"Thank you, tito..." I whispered.

Kumalas ako sa yakap. Hinarap ko si Tita Leandra na kanina pa tahimik sa kanyang tabi. Nangingilid ang mga luha, she gently pulled my wrist and hugged me tight. Mabilis rin siyang humiwalay at parang natatarantang hinarap sina mommy.

"I-Isn't this too sudden, Catherine? P-puwede namang palipasin muna natin ang araw na ito. You can spend your night here. Para na rin makapag-usap sina Amber at Zacharius..." sumulyap siya sa akin pagkatapos ay si papa naman ang binalingan.

"O kahit pagkatapos na lang ng pananghalian. Kadarating niyo lang, Francisco," she pleaded.

Bigong umiling si daddy. "Isang oras lamang ang biyahe, Leandra. I'm sorry, but my daughter needs to rest from all of this."

"Pero, Franciso... bigyan muna natin ng pagkakataon ang dalawa na makapag-usap. Hindi pwedeng basta na lang kayong umalis nang hindi sila nagkakasundo. We can at least give them time to talk about some things." Tita insisted.

Huminga ako ng malalim. Hawak niya ang palapulsuhan ko na para bang ayaw niya akong paalisin. I forced out a smile and slowly slipped my arm from her hold. Napabaling siya sa akin.

Dinaluhan na siya ng asawa.

"We already talked, tita. Sa taas po kanina." I gently told her.

The mist on her eyes were now very visible. Parang isang kalabit na lang ay luluha na. Tito Alejandro's arm swiftly slipped on her waist. He whispered something on her ear. Tita magically calmed down a bit after that.

She sighed. Probably feeling the need to explain more, she then turned to mom and dad. 

"I-I'm deeply sorry for my son's sudden decision..." Aniya, nangingining ang boses.

Nakakaintinding tumango si mommy. 

"We've heard enough from Zacharius, Leandra and believe it or not, we totally understand his stand on this. I'm sure he made it all clear to our daughter, too. And honestly, it wasn't his fault that..." mommy cleared her throat and glanced at me. "that he married Amber Ylena for convenience. We pushed him into this and it was only his right to break free. We all know that my daughter has something deep for him. We all know that."

She emphasized the last four words. I bit my lower lip. Mataman akong tinitigan ni mommy bago muling inilipat ang tingin sa mag-asawa. Pumikit ako ng mariin at yumuko.

"And he admitted that it was one-sided, anyway. Sa harap namin ni Francisco. He admitted that the decision of the annulment was one-sided, too," Mommy gave a dramatic pause. "Which our daughter refused, I believe. But Amber managed to agree eventually kahit mahal niya ito. Please, let's give this to her. She wants to go home with us. Let her be."

Nag-angat ako ng tingin kay tita Leandra. Nadatnan ko ang marahan niyang pagtango bilang pag-intindi kay mommy.

"I understand. I'm sorry..." she said.