Apricity

Chapter 2

Thanks

"San sila?" salubong ni Adea pagkaupo sa tapat ko.

I sipped on my smoothie before answering.

"Sinundo ni Cal si Rae from her ballet class."

"Aysen?"

"He's helping Elcid serve the customers,"

Lumibot ang tingin niya. My eyes unconsciously did the same. Naabutan kong naghahatid ng order sa isang table si Aysen habang abala naman sa counter si Elcid.

"Si Davion tulog pa ata-" naputol ang sasabihin ko nang tumunog ang chime sa glass door.

"Oh, he's here."

"Speak of the devil and he shall come,"

Davion went straight to our spot. His hair is kinda messy yet damp in a striking way. It was halfway dry and wet from the shower. 

He reached for my drink as soon as he sat beside me.

"I won't stay for long. May lakad ako." aniya matapos ilapag ang baso ko.

He even checked his watch right after.

Napairap si Adea. "Walang nagtanong."

Davion's lips parted. Sasagot pa lang sana siya nang lumapit si Elcid sa lamesa namin.

Naglapag siya ng inumin para sa dalawa. He also took the tray left from earlier and sat on the vacant chair. Aktong kukuha si Davion ng plastic straw sa gitna ng table nang tampalin ni Adea ang kamay niya.

"The f**k?"

"Nasan metal straw mo?"

Daviod gave her a dead beat expression. "Hindi ko dala, okay? Stop being such an eco-freak,"

That's what they call Adea for being very solicitous with nature. Tuwing pasko ay halos puro environmental-friendly gifts ang natatanggap namin mula sa kanya. Before, I wasn't very mindful with these kind of stuff but her ways somehow encouraged me to do the same. Binigyan nya kami ng assorted set of metal straw kaya't sinisiguro kong lagi kong dala ang akin.

"Here," nilabas ko ang isang extra mula sa bag at inabot iyon kay Davion para hindi na sila magtalo. 

Inirapan na lamang sya ni Adea. She turned to Elcid and leaned forward.

"Kumusta si Tita?" 

It took him a while to answer.

"The extreme medication is taking a toll on her body.." aniya. "Sabi ng doktor ay maaaring ganoon talaga lalo pa't hindi sanay ang katawan niya,"

It was six months ago when Elcid's mom was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Apat na buwan lamang iyon makalipas ang pagkamatay ng daddy niya dahil sa plane crash. Weeks and months following the findings on her mom, Elcid completely gone MIA in all the social ganaps.

He basically camped-in at the hospital. Sa buong confinement ni Tita Grace sa ospital ay halos doon na rin tumira si Elcid. It was just school and hospital for him. He totally deserted his personal life. 

Palagay ko'y naging mabigat para kay Tita Grace na makita sa ganoong sitwasyon ang anak niya kung kaya't kamakailan ay kinumbinsi niya kaming piliting sumama sa bakasyon si Elcid. Our short Siargao trip was her idea.

Akala namin ay tuluyan nang magiging maayos ang lahat ngayong ni-release na si Tita mula sa Ospital ngunit mukhang hindi pala ganoon.

"Where is she?" ani ni Davion. "Upstairs?"

Elcid nodded. "Yes. With Aria."

Malaki ang Java Shop na pag-aari nila Elcid. Tita Grace used to run this business just for fun. Ngunit mula nang mawala si Tito Emil na siyang pangunahing bumubuhay sa kanila ay ito na ang naging primary source of income nila.

The insurance and other assets left by Tito Emil all went down the drain after what happened to Tita Grace. It wasn't enough to account for all the maintenance and cure considering her condition.

"My dad's nagging at me for your choice, Elcid. Aniya'y hindi ka raw dapat namin hinayaan sa mga desisyon mo. He doesn't think that selling the house and living in the shop is a wise idea." Adea sighed. "You know what, pwede namang samin muna-"

"We all talked about this already." he calmly said. "Malaki ang space at bakante naman ang ikalawang palapag. Isa pa, it's not as if we moved far away. Sa labas lang mismo ito ng Village kaya't wala pa ring magbabago.."

Kahapon lamang naghakot ng gamit sila Elcid ngunit ramdam ko na agad ang kaibahan sa Calle Nueva. No matter how much we try to convince him, he just won't ever budge. Somehow, I understand his choice and reasons. I trust him as well as his plans.

Kinailangan niya rin kaming iwan kalaunan dahil sa pagdating ng mga bagong customers. Cal eventually arrived too after he dropped off Rae at the Famini's.

For a moment, Aysen was also able to join us in the table while Davion has to leave because a girl came to... well.. pick him up, I guess?

"Bro, parang iba kasama mo nung nakaraan ah?" pahabol na panunuya pa ni Cal habang papalabas na si Davion at ang kasama nitong babae na mahaba ang buhok. "Parang maiksi ata buhok nun?"

Davion threw his middle finger at him without facing our direction. Nakita ko pa ang tila nanlilisik na tingin ng babae kay Davion.

"Seryoso?"

Cal chuckled. "Oo,"

Akala ko joke lang.

"Anong gagawin natin? I can't sit still without doing anything for Elcid." Adea said. "I mean.. moving to another place is one thing but... dropping out of school?"

I sighed. "Yeah.. it's something Elcid would least likely to do,"

"Exactly. We all know how passionate he is with his studies. He got some serious goals, specifically this year. And all of those would be halted, kung hihinto sya sa pag-aaral."

Hindi mapigilan ng isip ko na sumang-ayon sa mga sinabi ni Adea.

Elcid is a student leader. Mula pa man noong high school hanggang ngayong nasa kolehiyo na. This year, he was supposed to run for Presidency. Despite being just in his third year as a BA Public Administration student, I know he got what it takes to win over the fourth year-runners. He has the heart for public service.

"What can we do? Hindi niya na tinatanggap ang mga alok natin.. He keeps on refusing this time," wika ni Cal.

Bumuntong-hininga si Adea. "He doesn't want to burden us anymore. He thinks we've done more than enough for him,"

"Kung ganon.." ani ni Cal. "Wala na ba talagang paraan para matulungan natin sya?"

Tahimik si Aysen habang tila malalim ang iniisip.

"Meron," aniya.

We all turned to him.

"If he won't accept financial help, then what we'll give him is physical support."

Kumunot ang noo ko.

Inangat niya ang tingin sa amin.

"We have to help him in a way where he won't feel indebted." he said. "A way where he won't owe us anything cause the money generated would purely be from his hardwork— and... just a little bit of our participation,"

Lito pa rin kami kung paano iyon isasagawa ngunit iyon na ang napagkasunduan bago kami maghiwa-hiwalay. I hugged them goodbye with that thought in mind. We all agreed to think of a way on how we can help Elcid earn money without it coming from our own pockets. Iyon ang naging assignment namin sa araw na iyon.

Hininto ko ang makina ng sasakyan nang makarating sa tapat ng bahay. Habang binubuksan nila manang ang gate sa driveway ay dumapo ang tingin ko sa kabilang dako ng kalsada.

A white truck was parked in front of Elcid's home. Mukhang naglilipat na ng gamit ang bagong titira doon.

Nahagip ng mata ko ang isang matangkad na lalaking nakaputing t-shirt. Likod niya lamang ang nakikita ko habang nagbababa ng ilang kargada.

Broad shoulders. Medium-tanned skin. Jet-black hair. It was disheveled yet ravishing. Arms are toned but not too ripped.

Natapos niya ang pagdiskarga ng mga bagahe. He was about to turn his body when I heard a knock on the side of my windscreen.

Naabutan ko roon ang kasambahay. Ibinaba ko ang car window upang marinig sya.

"Einj, okay na."

Tumango ako at ngumiti.

"Thanks, Manang." wika ko saka minaneho papasok ang kotse.