DUCANI LEGACY SERIES 11: Kali

Kabanata 8

KALI was so fixated on his phone when his cousin, Keison walked into their grandparents' house. Halatang kagagaling lamang nito sa morning jog nito dahil basa pa ng pawis.

"Where's grandma, Kali?" Keison asked.

Binato niya lamang ito ng sulyap saka niya ibinalik ang atensyon niya sa kanyang phone. "Hinaharot ni Lolo sa kusina."

Sinilip nito ang kanyang phone. Nang makitang nagtitingin siya ng dating apps sa kanyang app store ay binatukan siya nito.

"Knock it off. You won't find your Khallisa in those apps," asik ni Keison sa kanya. Palibhasa ay isa rin itong hopeless romantic.

He groaned while massaging the back of his head. "It's not for me, alright?" He sighed. "Do you know which app is best for gay people?"

Nalukot ang noo nito. "Is Kahel gay?"

He scoffed. "Bloody hell. My brother would never give up p*****s for dicks." He moistened his lower lip. "I'm asking for a friend of mine. You know? Just wanna be like Khalid and play Cupid."

"Ba't naririnig ko na naman pangalan ko? I've always been labeled as the most nosy pero ako 'tong laging napagchichismisan sa pamilyang 'to?" asik ni Khalid na kapapasok lamang ng tahanan.

Kali wouldn't be surprised if their other cousins would also come over to their grandparents' house. Madalas naman talaga silang sumugod doon tuwing oras ng almusal.

Keison smirked. "He wanna ask about your recommendation for a gay dating app. We know you're an expert when it comes to stuff like that."

Naningkit ang mga mata ni Khalid. "Have you seen my last MMA fight, hmm?"

Keison laughed. "Pikon. Umuwi ka na nga ng Isabela. Kailangan mo na mga stress balls mo."

Umiling-iling na lamang si Kali nang layasan sila ni Khalid sa sala. Sa kusina ang tungo nito kaya siguradong magsusumbong ito sa kanilang lola.

Bumuntonghininga si Keison nang mapigilan nito ang sarili sa pagtawa. "Anyway, you shouldn't resort to dating apps if you wanna play Cupid for your friend, Kali. That's kind'a dangerous." Tinapik nito ang balikat niya. "I'mma go to the kitchen and save our asses."

Kali slouched on the sofa. Ibinalik niya ang kanyang atensyon sa screen ng kanyang phone. Maybe Keison has a point. Delikado nga naman kung sa dating app lamang makikilala ni Eldritch ang idi-date nito.

He thought about things until he came up with something. He's a psychologist. Maybe he can study the guys first before introducing them to Eldritch. In that way he would be sure that Eldritch wouldn't end up in some serial killer's hands.

He smirked before he finally downloaded the app with the most number of good reviews. Inilagay pa niya sa kanyang bio na nag-download lamang siya ng app para sa kanyang kaibigan.

"That'll do," Kali murmured to himself before he finally stood up.

Ibinulsa niya ang kanyang phone saka na nagtungo sa kusina. Their grandparents were already feeding his cousins. Nang makita siyang pumasok ay kaagad siyang ipinagsandok ng kanilang lola Khallisa.

"Why don't you just eat at the dining room?" suhestyon ng kanilang lolo Khalil.

"Sus! Pinapalayas mo lang kami rito, Lo nang masolo mo na naman si Lola, eh," biro ng kanilang pinsang si Keegan na kanina pa naroroon.

Umalingawngaw ang kantyawan sa kusina. Nakisali rin si Kali sa biruan ng kanilang pamilya. They teased their grandfather but their old man would just end up teasing them back while hugging their grandma from the back.

Napangiti si Kali habang pinanonood ang kanilang lolo't lola. He wants that kind of love, too no matter how cheesy that may sound . . . and he wants that, too for the people whom he knows are worthy of an everlasting love.

Gaya ni Eldritch . . .

They were in the midst of teasing Khalid when his new app made a notification sound. Keegan was the first one to give him a questioning look as if he knows what kind of app makes such notification sound.

"Ba't may Grindr ka?" Keegan asked.

Napakurap si Kali. "You know what that is?"

Keegan was caught off-guard. Napaangat ito kaagad ng dalawang kamay nang ibaling ng lahat dito ang kanilang mga tingin.

"Hey, hey, it's not what you think!" defensive nitong sabi bago nagpaliwanag. "I knew about it because someone I know uses it, alright?"

Keison sighed. "Kali isn't gay, people. Chill. He just downloaded it for a friend." Itinuro siya ni Keison gamit ang hawak nitong tinidor. "I told you, it's not the safest option."

Hindi na lamang siya nagkumento. Inubos na lamang din niya ang pagkain niya saka siya nagpaalam na uuwi na. He still has time to play with Noa. Nasa tahanan nila ngayon ang bata dahil hiniram ng mga magulang niya.

Habang naglalakad pauwi ay binuksan niya ang dating app niya. Several gay and bisexual members of the app had sent him messages, showing him interest.

Kali smirked. Marami roong successful na tao. Looks like it wouldn't be hard for him to find Eldritch a worthy boyfriend.

He started responding to those he thinks would be a great match for Eldritch. Dalawa roon ang nag-agree na makipag-meet sa kanya.

Not that he doesn't think Eldritch could pull someone on his own. May itsura ito. Matangkad. May kaputian ang balat at mayroong maamong mukha. He's smart, too and definitely a good person. Maybe Kali just wanted to make sure that Eldritch wouldn't end up with a douchebag. That's all.

He stopped taking his steps when he realized something. "Maybe I should ask E about his type?" he murmured to himself.

Nagpunta siya sa kanyang messenger app at nag-chat kay Eldritch. Hindi naman nagtagal ay nag-reply ito kaagad.

Eldritch: Bakit po, Sir? Para saan?"

Kali clicked his tongue while thinking of an alibi. Baka mahiya sa kanya si Eldritch kung malalaman nitong nag-download siya ng dating app para rito.

He sighed before typing his reply.

Kali: Wala lang. Gusto ko lang sanang malaman. Friends naman tayo, di ba? You can tell me.

Ilang beses itong nagtipa at nagbura ng reply. Hindi tuloy siya makahakbang dahil titig na titig siya sa tatlong tuldok na gumagalaw sa tabi ng profile picture nito.

Kali heaved a sigh when Eldritch didn't respond. Akala niya ay wala itong balak sumagot kaya ibinulsa niya na ang phone niya't muling naglakad pauwi. Ngunit nakakailang hakbang pa lamang siya ay tumunog na ang phone niya. Nagmamadali niya iyong dinukot sa kanyang bulsa para basahin ang reply ni Eldritch.

Eldritch: Mabait. May sense of humor. Maaalalahanin sa iba. Supportive na tao. May lambing sa katawan. Appreciative. Handang ipagtanggol ang iba.

Wala sa sariling ngumisi si Kali. "Mabait naman ako. May sense of humor. Maaalalahanin din daw at malambing. Supportive? Appreciative? Kayang makipagsuntukan para sa kanya?" He scoffed. Wala pa rin sa sarili. "Ako lahat."

Napawi ang kurba sa kanyang mga labi at ang mga mata niya ay bahagyang nanlaki nang may napagtanto. Lumunok tuloy siya saka muling nagtipa ng chat para kay Eldritch.

Kali: Parang ako ba?

Muling tumahimik ang kanilang conversation ng ilang minuto. Naestatwa na naman tuloy siya sa kanyang kinatatayuan. Nang hindi nakapaghintay ay muli siyang nagtipa ng chat para rito.

Kali: Uy, bro okay lang kung parang ako. Walang malisya sa'kin.

He watched the three dots moved for nearly a minute. Nang makita ang reply nito ay biglang bumilis ang t***k ng kanyang puso sa hindi niya maipaliwanag na dahilan.

Eldritch: Oo. Yung sana kagaya mo.

Wala sa sarili siyang ngumisi habang nakatitig sa reply nito. "Hay, Eldritch. If only I wasn't straight, tangina, liligawan kaagad kita."

Napakurap siya nang napagtanto ang nasabi. Teka, bakit niya ba iyon nasabi sa sarili niya?

He sighed then rubbed his chest. "Kaso straight ako." He found himself swallowing the pool of saliva in his mouth. "Tama, straight ako . . ."