Ever After

XXVI. Sunset

Tahimik akong napapalingon kay Ashley habang inaayos niya ang hugis bilog na tila teleskopyo para sa stargazing namin ngayong gabi.

"Ayan, tapos na!" masigla niyang sabi at lumingon sa amin ni Ariel. Nakaschedule kasi ngayong gabi ang stargazing namin lalo na at may meteor shower mamayang madaling araw.

"Kukuhanin ko lang ang sketchpad ko sa kwarto. I will draw everything that we will be watching," saad ni Ariel at umalis sa balkonahe.

Lumapit ako sa bilog na teleskopyo. Wala itong kahit anong lenses but you can see 20 times than the human eyes can see. It's magical, indeed.

"You look like it's your first timw using a magical telescope," natatawang usal ni Ashley habang pinagmamasdan akong manghang-mangha rito.

"Wala lang, it's just... so magical," mangha kong tugon.

Maya-maya pa ay dumating na si Ariel. May dumating ring midnight snack sa amin. Nagkwentuhan lang kami hanggang sa mag-ala una na ng umaga.

"Hoy, gising! Ayan na yung meteor shower," saad ko habang niyuyugyog si Ariel na nakatulog na ngayon habang nakadukmo sa mesa. Ilang beses ko pang inulit pero umuungol lang siya at tinutunggo ang kamay ko.

I just gave up and we watched the meteor shower without her.

"Kayo na pala ni Ethan." Napalingon ako kay Ash. I know she would ask it and she's hurt.

"Ash--"

"Hindi mo man lang sinabi agad sa bestfriend mo," ngumuso siya at bahagyang tumawa. But I know deep inside, she's hurt.

"I'm happy for you, Victoria. Naalala ko pa noon, palagi mo akong pinipilit na paglapitin kayo ni Ethan. But look at the two of you now, mas close pa nga kayo kaysa sa atin," saad niya at kumapit sa braso ko tsaka sumandal sa balikat ko.

I just stared at her. She's really a good friend to Victoria. I can feel that she's happy but saddened at the same time.

I want to tell ger that it was all a pretend. That Ethan did it just to save me from Avales. Pero hindi ko alam kung bakit parang may pumipigil sa akin.

Victoria isn't in the mortal world living as me. I can feel that she's here, watching me playing her role. Maybe, she's in a form of a flower or the wind? I don't know.

All I know is that she's stopping me to tell Ash the truth. Because she's happy seeing her bestfriend hurting like she was hurting when Ashley was the one Ethan chose.

But still, Victoria's mad because it's not really her that Ethan chose. It's me.

* * *

Kinabukasan ay nagtungo kami ni Nickolas sa palasyo ng Serim kagaya ng napag-usapan namin ni Ethan.

The knights immediately welcomed me and brought us to Ethan.

"Take a seat," agad niyang bati nang makarating kami sa isang kwartong puno ng mga paintings sa pader.

Umupo kami sa isang bilog na glass table na may tatlong upuan. In the table lies a chesspiece-like thing with symbols of the twelve kingdom of the Everland.

We will try to figure out all the five kingdoms that belongs to the dark organization.

Unang inilagay ni Ethan sa pulang bilog ang simbolo ng Kasem at sunod namang nilagay ni Nickolas ang sa Avales.

"Dalawa lang ang alam natin. There are still three kingdoms according to Rina's letter," sabi ni Ethan at lumingon sa amin. Agad naman akong umiwas ng tingin nang magtama ang mga mata namin. Geez, hindi pa ako nakakamove-on sa kahapon.