Bad Times at Sunrise (La Fortuna Series #3)

Kabanata 17

Kabanata 17

Love

"Don't you think we need to get out of here?" Ico asked in the middle of our dance.

I looked around before nodding. "We should."

Dahil abala sa sari-sariling pag-uusap sina Lola ay 'di nila napansin ang pagtakas namin sa dance floor. Naglakad kami palabas at tumigil sa terasa. Humilig kaming dalawa sa railings, bahagyang natatawa. We were facing the entrance so we watched the sea of people on the dancefloor. They were oblivious of our escape.

"So... you're Aurora now?"

Mabilis akong tumango para maagapan ko ang sariling magdalawang-isip pa, lalo na't siya ang kausap ko. With him, I always felt this pressure of being the best person I could be. Lying to him made my gut twist.

"Ah, oo." Bahaw akong ngumisi, 'di nakatingin sa kaniya. "Alam mo naman siguro ang history ko 'di ba? I'm an orphan."

He nodded. "But you aren't now."

"Ang hirap nga lang paniwalaan." Mapakla akong tumawa bago siya tuluyang nilingon. "Ikaw, naniniwala ka ba?"

"Ba't naman hindi?" Tinaasan niya 'ko ng kilay. "If there's one thing I learned during our pretend relationship, it's that I should never doubt a Sunny Vega. You're straight-forward. And you always mean what you say." He paused, his eyes curious. "Why? What's the matter?"

I shrugged. "Wala naman. Naninibago lang siguro ako."

"Why would you? It's only your name that changed."

Maybe for him, but for me, everything changed. My status. My priorities. My life. Natatakot akong sa dami ng nagbabago, baka pati ang sarili ko'y magbago rin. Hindi ko na maipagmamalaking totoo ako kasi ngayon, isang malaking kasinungalingan na ang buhay ko.

So this was what being rich entails, huh? This was what you ought to lose to grasp this life.

Malungkot akong ngumisi. "I'm just scared. Kilala mo naman ako, 'di ba? I'm not," I looked down at my elegant dress before staring back at him, "this... Paano kung 'di ko mapanindigan ang pagiging isang Aurora? Paano kung 'di para sa 'kin ang buhay na 'to?" Umiwas ako ng tingin. "What if I fail at being who I'm supposed to be?"

"Everyone does," he whispered, but enough for me to hear, "at least at some point. Just think of it as a chance to start anew, Sunny. You've always been a girl destined to do great things." Ngumiti siya. "You settled for less before, now you don't have to."

Napaisip ako sa sinabi niya. All the hardships we went through before played on my mind. 'Yong mga pagkakataong binababa ko ang sarili ko kahit 'di ko gusto. 'Yong mga pagkakataong nababastos ako dahil kailangan ko ng pera pero wala kami no'n. Maybe Ico's right. This was the world giving me a chance to right my wrongs. I could be someone I always wanted to be now.

"Can I still call you Sunny, though? Hindi ako sanay na tawagin kang Aria," he said, bemused. "'Tsaka 'di rin sa 'yo bagay. Aurora's too princessy. You hate that crap, right?"

Natawa ako. "Sunny's fine."

Natawa rin siya. The air around us became comfortable as if we were always like this. We started on the wrong foot but being here with him, I thought fixing things up was a good idea. 'Di bagay sa 'king nagtatanim ng sama ng loob. Mas gugustuhin ko pang makipag-rambolan sa kaniya kesa 'yong kinikimkim ko ang nararamdaman ko.

"Masaya akong napatawad mo 'ko agad," aniya. "I thought you'd judge me for what I did."

"I don't judge people on their mistakes."