Dancing on Thin Ice

Chapter 2

[Ash Gomez's POV]

I walked towards the dining table after Mom woke me up early in the morning. She cooked bacon and eggs for our breakfast and I groggily ate them with my eyes half-open. Inaantok pa ako pero she insisted on waking me up kaya I had no choice.

"After mong kumain diyan, maligo ka na at magbihis, ha. Mama Ruth will help you," she said while eating.

"It's still too early, Mom," I said as I sighed.

"May pupuntahan tayo ngayong araw. It's a surprise," she said as she winked at me.

It was as if the word 'surprise' was the keyword for me to get back to my senses as I looked at her with my eyes widened.

"Why didn't you say so?!" I said as I hastily ate the food on my plate because I just could not wait for what a surprise it could be.

I love surprises. It excites me to the bone.

Pagkatapos kong kumain ay bumaba an ako sa making upuan saka ako sinamahan ni Mama Ruth pabalik sa making kwarto. She opened my wardrobe at isa-isa akong pinakitaan ng mga damit na pwede ko suotin. I chose a plain black shirt and khaki shorts paired with white rubber shoes. Nang makapili na ako ng damit ay dumiretso agad ako sa banyo para maligo. Habang naliligo ay hindi ko maiwasang mag isip ng kung anu-ano. Pupunta ba kami sa arcade? Or sa park? Or maybe doon sa bouncyhouse na nasa loob ng mga mall? Lumabas na akong ng banyo saka nagbihis ng aking susuotin. I glanced at the mirror for one last time before going out to the living room. Mom was still in her room while Dad as already tying his shoelaces.

"Dad, dad, dad, where are we going to?" I asked him while squatting to meet his eyes.

He chuckled in response. "You'll know when we get there, Ash," sabi niya sa akin.

I gave him a smug look because I was already really curious about what my dad and mom is up to that they can't tell me. I patiently waited for mom to come down while playing mobile games. Lumabas na si dad patungo sa garage para ihanda ang aming sasakyan. Minutes after, mom finally went down the stairs kaya tumayo an ako sa making kinauupuan saka kinuha and kamay niya. I pulled her towards the garage para makaalis na kami ng bahay. I went back inside to hug Mama Ruth as she'll be taking care of the house while we are away saka ako bumalik sa sasakyan at umupo sa bandang likuran nito.

On our way to our destination, kinukulit ko sila kung saan kami patungo pero hindi talaga nila sasabihin kaya naman I gave up and just slouched on my seat.

"We're almost there, Ash." Mom reassured me.

Napabuntong-hininga na lamang ako nang napakalakas para marinig nila and they only chuckled at my gesture.

Moments after, nagsalita na si dad.

"We're here. Try looking outside the window, Ash, and tell me what you see," said Dad while parking and maneuvering the steering wheel.

I squinted my eyes and looked outside just to find myself dropping my jaw in astonishment.

In front of me was a huge sphere-looking building painted in dirty white. It was like an enormous igloo right in front of me. But what shocked me the most wasn't its size nor its shape, but the words pasted right on top of the building.

"Gomez... Skating... Dome..." I said each with emphasis.

I looked at them and they were both looking at me teary-eyed. I can't help but to scrunch my nose and become tear-eyed as well.

"Welcome to Gomez Skating Dome, Ash. Our skating dome," said Mom while wiping off the tears trailing down her cheeks.

"Am I d-dreaming?" tanong ko sarili ko habang pinipisil ang aking mga pisngi. Kulang na lang ay suntukin ko ang aking sarili just to prove a point.

"No, Ash. Your Mom and I planned this years ago back when we were still in Canada, and now here we are," said Dad as he parked the care right outside the main doors of the building.

Nauna akong bumaba the moment the car stopped and went to the doors. It was somehow hard to push kaya itinulak ito ng tuluyan ni Mom saka kami nakapasok tatlo sa loob. I stood there, frozen at where I'm standing at, after seeing the vast ice rink in front of me. There were bleachers on both sides while the rink was shaped like an oval at the center.

Unti-unti kaming lumapit sa baba saka ko tinignan ng malapitan ang yelo. Tood bad I didn'd bring my skating shoes with me kaya hindi na ako tumapak pa dito. Mom told me I should definitely bring it with me the next time na pupunta kami dito.

I hugged them both out of pure joy. Ngayon ay pwede ko na ayain sina Nathan at Kylie na dito kami mag-practice ng ice skating at hindi na doon sa mall.

This is definitely one of the best days of my life and I can't wait to have my first time skating in our own skating dome.

Weeks passed and I would spend my weekends skating inside the dome all day. During weekdays ay hindi ako pwedeng pumunta doon dahil mayroon along mga assignments or kaya quizzes the next day kaya kailangan ko mag-aral sabi ni Mom at Dad para hindi ko mapabayaan ang studies ko. Ganoon ang setup namin the past few weeks. Weekdays are for schoolwork while weekends are intended for skating. Ilang beses ko na ring nakasama dito sina Kylie at Nathan as tuwing bumibisita ang pamilya nila sa dome.

"You can spread out your arms like this to balance yourself while standing," I told them both habang inaakto ko ito.

Nasa bandang gilid kami ng rink tatlo para makahawak sila sa railings while I teach them the basics in ice skating. Ang mga itinuturo ko sa kanila ay ang mga itinuro rin ng mga magulong ko noon nagsisimula pa lang ako matuto nito.

"This is so hard!" said Kylie as she gave up and sat on the icy floor.

"You'll never get better unless you try and try, Kylie. Sige na, stand up," sabi naman ni Nathan sa kanya while his feet were wobbling hard trying to balance himself.

I nodded at him and looked at Kylie as she hopelessly pushed herself from the floor para makabangon ulit.

"I've been trying for many times already pero palagi naman akong natutumba. Pwede ba ako gumamit ng parang tungkod habang mag-skate?" she asked while I held her hands to make her stand.

Natawa na lamang ako sa kanilang dalawa dahil nakikita ko mismo sa kanila ang sarili ko back when I was still learning the basics. My Mom would comfort me every time I fell on the ground and hurt my buttocks. I cried several times out of frustration but perseverance was what kept me from practicing. I cannot say I am the best among the children here in ice skating, but I can say I have improved and far better than years ago.

Everytime before we go home, I always tell them to watch videos on the internet about ice skating so that the next time we practice, they can apply what they watched, especially the basics.

Right now ay mag-isa lamang ako this day dahil hindi available ang mga pinsan ko para makagala dito sa dome. Apparently, they had prior plans with their own families kaya nag-iisa ako ditong nagpa-practice sa ibabaw ng yelo. Nakikita ko sa mga competitions an maraming stunts ang gingawa ng mga athletes, spcifically 'yung tatalon sila from the ground and then spin midair then gracefully land back on the ice. I've never tried one of those since Mom and Dad doesn't allow me yet. Sabi nila baka masugatan ako kapag ka tumalon ako mula sa yelo. They said that I can only learn to do stunts the moment I had already mastered the basics kaya hindi lumilipas ang weekend na hindi ko nalilibot ang buong skating rink while doing basic gliding techniques.

I glanced at the bleachers at nakita ko na may lalaking naglalakad sa itaas. An adult. I squinted my eyes even more to get a good look at him pero hindi ko siya mamukhaan at tanging ang dala niyang walis ang nakikita ko.

"Who is that-" biglang naputol ako sa pagsasalita nang ibinalik ko sa harap ang aking mga mata at nabangga sa kung sino man ang naroon.

I almost landed face flat kung hindi ko agad natakpan ang mukha ko sa pagkatumba. I writhed in pain habang iniinda ang sakit sa aking tuhod as it hit the floor. I shifted my gaze to whoever was I bumped into and saw a pair of eyes looking at me with pure worry.

Nauna siyang tumayo sa akin at saka niya ako tinulungan.

"I'm sorry. H-hindi ko sinasadya," sabi niya as he grasped my right arm with both of his hands para itayo ako.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about it," sagot ko naman sa kanya habang pinapagpagan ang dumi na nasa damit ko.

Now that I realized something, it was the first time I saw a kid like me inside this dome. This is exclusive to family members and relatives only, so why is he here? Or is he our relative? Am I missing something?

I looked at him from head to toe saka ko ibinalik ang paningin ko sa mukha niya. He's a little bit taller than me, and I am sure I have never seen him before kaya sigurado akong hindi namin siya ka anu-ano.

While I was still busy studying him ay bigla siyang nagsalita.

"Um, what's your name?" He asked while looking at me straight into the eyes.

"You can call me Ash," sabi ko sa kanya.

He then flipped out a small notebook and wrote my name down on it.

"You," I pointed at him. "What's yours?" tanong ko sa kanya.

He first closed his notebook and put it back in the pocket of his jacket before answering.

"Kalix," he simply said as he held out his right hand. "Nice to meet you, Ash," sabi niya.

I stared at him for a moment before taking his hand into mine. "Nice to meet you too, Kalix," I replied.

I guess that makes him my new friend.