LI
2027 Words
“I’m never crossing that bridge!”, she screamed for him to hear her.
Miguel stopped in the middle of the bridge when he heard what she said. They have already reached the end of the village before his new home and were already at the bridge that time. The whole place was covered with darkness except for both ends of the bridge where a single light bulb on each side offered a faint illumination for anyone crossing it in the middle of the night. She could not clearly see what’s under the bridge itself, but the sounds of the raging waters underneath them immobilized her with fear. Miguel turned around to face her.
“What, you’re gonna spend the rest of the night out here? All on your own?”
“You can go if you want. I’m staying here.”
“Come on, Helen. All you got to do is take a slow step forward, one after another. Don’t look down and you’ll be just fine.”
“I just . . . can’t do it. Please, Miguel.”
He sensed her fear from her shaking voice so he went back for her. Then, he turned around and offered her his back.
“What is that?”
“I’m gonna carry you. Come, we can’t stay here.”
She hesitated for she knew that his wound was still fresh.
“Are you sure about this?”
“Well, I just can’t leave you here all on your own. I didn’t take you from your house, shoved you inside that trunk and travelled hundreds of kilometers just to leave you all alone in the middle of this place. Now that we have come this far. You’re coming with me even if I have to carry you on my back. So come on and hold on tight.”
So she rode on his back and embraced him from behind as they started crossing the swinging bridge. The waters smelled of liquid sulphur after the torrential rains that hit the town earlier. But there was something in the air that rivaled the smell of sulphur and she was kind of enjoying it. It was the intoxicating smell of his sweat and masculinity and she let herself suffocate to its sweet scent. She was still riding him piggyback and was still deeply savoring his strong smell with her eyes closed when she noticed that they had already reached the other end of the bridge. He asked her then to get down on her feet for they had crossed it already.
“I think I just forgot how to walk. Can we just keep on walking like this?” she asked him jokingly.
“That would be some sweet idea. But I’m guessing that you will have to staple half of my body now when we reach the house. I could already feel one of my sutures getting loose.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry.”
He gently put her down on her feet. Then, she immediately raised his shirt to check his wound. Miguel felt a little uncomfortable as she held his shirt high and examined his wound. It was just a good thing that no one was around to see them, for it was almost midnight now. When she was satisfied, she let go of his shirt and gave his belly a light tap.
“I think you’re still good. Come on now. We better get to that house of yours before sunrise. I’m sure you also want a proper sleep after all those things. You have separate rooms, right?”
“Uh . . . I’m quite sure that could be arranged.”
“Quite sure, huh?”
“Yeah. I’m sure you’ll love the woman with me when you meet her.”
Upon hearing that, a dark cloud enveloped her face. Miguel led the way through the small sleeping village at the foot of the mountains. Then, he produced a flashlight to light their way through the dark forests leading to his new home. It was supposed to be a night with a full moon, but dark clouds hindered the moon from shining. Thus, the surroundings of the forest were pitch-black in darkness. The endless monotonous song of thousand cicadas deafened them and the chilling breeze of the night constantly blew in an attempt to freeze and stop them from their journey. But throughout all of these, Helen kept her silence, keeping the fear she was feeling inside. Miguel tried to hold her hand once but she avoided his touch, making him wonder what was wrong with her.
They have reached the bend where the makeshift earth ladder started and he was surprised to see that it was taken care of already. Whoever made the new stairs really made a subtle work. That was because he could see that the maker did not just replace the broken ones but all of its pieces instead. Miguel looked back at her and waited her for she was falling behind a little. When she reached his place, he showed her the dark silhouette of the house at the top of the stairs. But Helen just showed little interest to it. He tried to offer her some help in taking the stairs but she just said that she could do it on her own.
“This woman, when did you meet her?”
She has been so distant for quite some time so he was surprised to hear a sudden question from her.
“I met her when I came here. After Nadia . . . .“, his voice trailed off with sadness.
“So, it’s not yet long when you met. And it hasn’t been a year since she was gone. But here you are living with another woman already. Just incredible.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about this whole thing!”
“I don’t understand a word you are saying.”
“You know what, you don’t really have to! Let’s just go on and finish what we have started so that we can go on with our own lives.”
She grudgingly walked towards the house and left him looking dumb outside. Then, she waited for him to knock on the door as she turned her back and looked the other way. Miguel gave it three light taps and called for her. Then they heard someone shuffling inside.
“Who is it?”, Helen heard a soft voice from within.
“It’s me, Mikoy.”
She scoffed on hearing the name.
“Mikoy? Can’t you find a better word of endearment for yourself? Who is she, Mikay?”, she rudely said.
He chose to ignore what she said and waited for the door to open. A few moments later, they heard the sound of heavy chains being untied and unlocked from the inside. A loud scraping sound followed when she pulled open the door for them. Still, Helen did not turn to face her after that.
“It took you long enough.”
“Yeah. Literally blood and sweat just to get her here.”
“You must be Helen.”
“Yes. And you must be the woman?”, she asked her pointedly as she turned around.
Miguel and Inday exchanged baffled looks when they heard her. But she was astounded to see that the woman standing before them was already aging. She looked at him and tried to seek some explanation from him. But it seemed to her that he had no idea about anything.
“I’m . . . sorry. That was so rude of me. I’m Helen . . . Nadia’s . . . friend”, she stammered as she tried to hide her surprise and humiliation.
“Hi, Helen. How was the trip?”
“It was a little unexpected but I’m sure it would be more than worthy of the challenges we’ve faced. May I know you’re name, ma’am?”
“You can call me Inday, too, just like how he calls me. I am Miguel’s aunt.”
She looked at him, disbelief in her eyes.
“Your aunt? I thought you were living with a woman – “
“I do. She’s a woman, don’t you think?”
“I meant someone like Nadia . . . or me . . . or anyone.”
“You mean a new wife?”
Her silence confirmed his guess right.
“So that’s why you’ve been acting so weird before, huh? Were you jealous of my own aunt?”
“No I wasn’t!”, she blurted out as her face reddened.
Inday laughed at the two of them.
“I’ll just leave the two of you for a while to settle that thing as I prepare some hot chocolate for the two of you. I just hope that you two could fix that mess before the hot drink comes out.”
She went inside the house chuckling while a silent war was raging outside. Miguel and Helen waited for her to be gone before they faced each other again. When she was out of earshot, he returned his gaze to her.
“You were thinking that I have someone new living with me again, don’t you?”
“Something like that.”, she admitted.
“Were you angry with me because that would hurt Nadia if she could know or was there another reason?”
“It was the first one! What other reason were you thinking?”, she denied.
“Oh, I don’t know.”
It did not take long when Inday got out with two mugs of steaming chocolate drinks sitting on a plate. She placed them on the waiting table outside and called the two of them who had gone very silent when she appeared on the door.
“Is it settled already?”
“Yes, Tita. It was just a minor misunderstanding. It seemed Mikoy here was just assuming some random things before we got here. But it’s just pure nothing.”, she said as she took her cup.
Inday secretly looked at him to see if it was true but he winked at her and she knew instantly.
“Well, I’ll just leave you out here. I had a busy day today so I’ll get back to my bed and continue dreaming. I guess we just see each other tomorrow to continue all of this. It was nice meeting you, Helen. I bid you goodnight now.”
They both wished her good night and she was gone.
“So what now, Mikoy?”
“Will you please stop that?”
“Stop what, Mikoy?”
“That! Stop calling me that. Only her calls me that.”
“Why? It’s kind of cute, I think.”
Miguel got annoyed as she repeatedly called him by the name so he drank his hot choco in three big successive gulps and headed towards his room. She ran after him and grabbed his arm.
“Hey, wait! Don’t be such a baby! Where are you going?”
“I’m going to bed now. I’m gassed out already, if you didn’t know.”
“How about me?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean where am I sleeping?”
It was Miguel’s time to smile.
“You can come with me if you want.”
“But I thought you could arrange for two separate room? What happened to that?”
“You didn’t hear? Inday was tired too. So am I. Who’s gonna do that for you at this hour? You could come with me to my room. Or you could sleep here with the millions of mosquitoes. I just doubt if you would still have blood when you wake up tomorrow morning. It’s your choice, Princess.”
Helen was feeling helpless. She knew she had no choice. So she followed him sheepishly as he went to his room. Then she saw him looked at her with a smile on his face.
“Don’t worry. I don’t usually bite.”
- Writer
