Lullaby

026

snow
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Steilah

Nakakainis, isa nalang at masusuntok ko na talaga siya.

"Steilah easy, baka mapatay mo na yan" napairap naman ako sa sinabi ni Leirand. Ano ba ginagawa niya dito?

"Tumigil ka Leirand huwag mo ko inisin baka ikaw yung patayin ko eh" umakto naman siyang patay. Gago talaga ang isang ito.

Napairap na naman ako ng tumawa siya. Wow ang plastic talaga. Bakit ba kasi ang bait nitong si Synver? Kahiy huwag na ako at si Leigh nalang ok na basta wag lang yung Snow na yan.

"Steilah samahan mo muna ako sa library" aayaw sana ako pero mukhang nakalimutan na ata ako dito ni Synver. Kakain daw muna kami tapos ito nag uusap sila nitong Snow.

"Tara na, after natin sa library kumain tayo Hixiel ah. Mahirap basta gutom. Naiinis kahit konting issue" tinawanan niya lang ako at nauna ng lumabas.

"Sabihin niyo na nag library lang kami" tumango lang si Leirand at nag eedit ulit ng video.

"Hintayin mo ako Hixiel tang ina" bago pa ako makaalis sa room tinignan ko muna sila Snow at Synver.

Maga parin yung mata nito, dapat iiyak pala ako? Para naman ganun din mag alaga si Synver. Sana ol caregiver.

"Ano na Steilah tara na nga ang tagal mo naman. Alam ko nagseselos ka, ikain mo muna yan kaso bago yan isasauli ko lang ito" napairap ako sa sinabi ni Hixiel. Am I obvious? Sana hindi  napansin ni Synver yun.

Tahimik akong sumunod kay Hixiel na kinakausap yung librarian. Ang dami ngang librarian dito na nagkalat sa library in case if may mga gagong mang gugulo.

"Hixiel mag ikot ikot muna ako just missed me a call at pupunta agad ako dito" tumango lang siya at nakipag usap ulit sa librarian. Hixiel might not be looking smart but she really does smart.

As I entered one of the isles of bookshelf. My hopes of just browsing through the books without attracting the attention of a well-intentioned but usually annoying librarian or students on duty.

to be honest I hate to be bothered while perusing the shelves kasi hindi naman ako hihirap gusto ko lang magtingin tingin. But upon closing one of the shelves and getting my first glance at the shelves and book itself, I decided na to borrow something here. I don't know siguro mag bagong buhay na ako. I was more likely to have to search out the proprietor myself if need be.

Basta weird yung pagka arranged ng library however it's also pleasing to the eyes.

This library was hard to get used to, and even more difficult to understand.  While bookshelves covered nearly every wall from floor to ceiling, they were all completely empty.

The only volumes I could see were the twenty or so that were displayed on a long wooden table in the middle of the room, along with just a few more that were on what I supposed passed for the counter where some business was transacted.

As I crossed to the next isle to look at the volumes on the table, I noticed how dim the lighting was, and how old everything seemed to be. Hindi naman ako madaling matakot. Siguro kung nandito si Rhesia matatakot din ata ako. She spreads her cowardness to us pero kung horror lang if it's about detective related she's one of the bravest.

This building had housed some sort of shop for a long time, and the wood and fixtures were definitely showing their age.  It was just the kind of shop that I loved to find. I love old and vintage things. Siguro tama nga si Leirand masyado akong old fashioned but that what makes me who I am.

In my search for rare and unusual books, I find in Hixiel's collections like this one usually hold the greatest treasures.

All of the books were bound in leather, which was very encouraging to me.  While leather does not necessarily mean a rare or valuable book, it certainly piques my interest at dahil iyon kay Hixiel. Lagi akong naka tambay sa kwarto niya eh. I traced my fingers along the surface of the books admiring the craftsmanship of the leather bindings and the titles etched in them.

“May I help you?” a voice asked at mukhang mahimatay ako sa gulat.

I turned very quickly and nearly spilled several of the books off the shelves. Hindi ko na kasalanan kung nahulog talaga ng tuluyan yung mga libro.

“Please be careful, Ma'am. Be careful po na hindi kayo makatakot ng mga students” sabi ko sa matandang librarian na gumulat sa akin. Ngumiti lang ito at nagsalita.

“These books are quite valuable.”
sabi nung librarian, dressed in a black and white uniform dress that was probably as old as she was.  Malapit na makalbo, and slightly hunched over, she looked every bit the books.

“Sorry,” I said as I straightened the books. Nahiya na rin ako kasi parang ang bastos ko kasi di ko man lang siya napansin. “I didn’t hear you come up behind me.”

“That’s quite alright, dear,” she said as she extended her hand to tap my shoulder. 

“My name is Wishaw Gilcre, the head librarian” head librarian? Ok gaga ang bastos ko. Nag mano ako at ngumiti.

“Pleased to meet you,” I said, shaking her hand.

"Steilah Aurona po"

“Enjoy looking for books” umalis na yung librarian kaya nagpatuloy na ako sa pag titingin. Ang tagal naman ni Hixiel.

I wasn’t long into examining the books on the shelves when I started to notice a pattern in the subjects of the books.  Each of them seemed to deal with what I would call the darker side of humanity. 

There were many volumes about murders, torture in the Middle Ages, and several volumes about famous or should I say infamous crimes and their perpetrators.  While I never held much esteem for this genre of literature, I must admit that, rather ashamedly, I was curious about the contents of these books.

I'll try borrowing one of this. Baka kung hindi ko magustuhan edi ipapabasa ko nalang kay Rhesia si Hixiel mga horror gusto nun eh. Ako naman sa tragic ending na love story kaya ganun din yung love life ko.

Napatigil ako ng may marinig akong umiyak. Pota? Walang ganyanan hindi naman sa natatakot ako pero parang ganun na nga.

Nagdahan dahan ako at sumilip silip dito sa bookshelves. Seriously I'm not Rhesia to do this but I'm starting to get curious.

I felt good- putang ina ano ginagawa niyan dito?

"Hey say something. I said mahal kita. Come on huwag mo ako titigan lang. I need answer" pilit kong sinilip yung kausap ni Snow. Fuck don't tell me si Synver ito? Bakit ba kasi ang bait mo gago.
Ang dami tuloy nagkakagusto sa iyo- bakit ba ang easy to get nitong Snow. Bago palang siya ah.

"After all what happened to us? Ang saya pa natin kanina pero bakit ganito ka. Answer me" umiyak na naman siya. What the hell? I hope I'm wrong.

Pilit kong umusog para makita sila ng tuluyan peor nag vibrate yung phone ko and saw Hixiel's missed calls. Followed by text. Kanina pa pala ito nag missed call?

'Where are you? Nandito na kami sa canteen ni Rhesia and Synver's team will be here in a minute'

Really? Tsk, tinignan ko ulit sila Snow pero wala na yung kausap ni Snow at naiwan siya mag isa.

Nagmamadali akong tumakbo para makita yung lalaki pero nakita ko si Huero?

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