Opposite

Chapter 19

"Harlow!"

Tyson immediately rescued her when she fell down the ground. He asked for help, and fortunately a man passing by helped him.

They sent Harlow to the man's house. Ipinuwesto nila siya sa kama at doon ay ipinagpahinga.

Harlow wasn't waking up yet when the man asked Tyson what had happened. Tyson was about to speak when someone entered the room.

A woman ranging in the age of 40-50 appeared in there. Malakas ang loob ni Tyson na asawa iyon ng lalaking tumulong sa kaniya.

"Bago pala ang lahat, gusto ko munang ipakilala ang asawa ko," the man said as the woman sat beside him. "Siya si Lully."

The woman smiled at him and greeted him.

"At ako naman si Lupio."

"I am Tyson Faulkner, by the way."

They praised each other for having such good names. Afterwards, Lully asked Tyson if what would he like to drink.

Tyson asked for a coffee since the place was cold, and he needed it.

The woman left the room as soon as Tyson finished requesting. Wala pang ilang minuto ay nakabalik na rin naman ito sa kuwarto.

Tyson thanked the woman as he held the cup of coffee. As he sipped, he looked at Harlow. The lady was still sleeping. He was amazed seeing her long sooty eyelashes; she was still gorgeous even when asleep.

"It took us three days to arrive from here. I know she's so tired, so I gave him food that was also given to us by an old woman when we are still in the village of Nicolas Ulas," Tyson said. "Then, she just fell on the ground while eating. Maybe because she's so exhausted."

Lully and Lupio didn't speak.

"So I'm fortunate you helped us. Wala kaming tahanan dito sa Heallven, we don't even have foods to eat, binibigyan lang kami ng mga tao rito o 'di kaya'y kinukuha namin sa mga puno. We don't have money as well. We are still fulfilling our mission, hoping we could survive."

"Sigurado akong mapagtatagumpayan n'yo rin ang inyong misyon," Lupio said.

"Thanks, but how sure are you with that?"

"Kasi gaya ninyo, napagdaanan na rin namin 'yan ni Lully," sambit niya. "Syempre mahirap, pero kinaya naman."

"So do you mean-" Tyson placed his right hand to his cheek. "Do you mean all of the people in Heallven have experienced the same thing, the same mission?"

"Hindi lamang ako sigurado kung pare-pareho tayo ng misyon, pero bago ka kasi maging tunay na parte ng Heallven, kailangan mo munang matapos ang mga ipinapagawa sa'yo."

"Tama si Lupio," Lully said. "Saka hindi lamang kayo ang may misyon ngayon, dahil sa bawat araw na lumilipas, may nawawala sa tunay na mundo at may dumarating naman dito sa Heallven."

"Kung ang Heallven ang puntahan ng lahat ng mga namatay, edi sobrang lawak talaga nito?"

"Malawak, ngunit hindi kasing lawak ng iniisip mo."

"Huh?"

"Kaya nga may misyon, dahil may layunin."

"W-wait... I don't understand."

Lupio hemmed. "Hindi lahat ay nagtatagumpay sa mga misyon na ibinibigay sa kanila, kaya may kapalit iyon."

"Anong kapalit?"

"Hindi namin maaaring sabihin. Malalaman na lamang ninyo kapag nakarating na kayo kay Harra Granta."

"Harra Granta?"

The two didn't speak again.

Tyson's head was full of confusion for what he had knew. He wanted to ask many questions, but he obviously knew no one would answer him, or would let him hear the truth. Ngunit sa mga nalaman niya, isa lamang ang sigurado niya, kailangan nilang mapagtagumpayan ni Harlow ang kanilang misyon.

"At ang nangyari kay-"

"Harlow," Tyson said.

"Ah, Harlow," sambit ni Lupio. "Ang nangyari kay Harlow ay hindi lamang dahil sa pagod, kundi dahil na rin sa nakain niya."

"O-oh... what's with the food?"

"Marahil ay nakuha ninyo kay Protania ang pagkain."

"Protania?"

"Oo," Lully said. "Siya ang matandang bruha."

"But I thought all the people in Heallven are nice?"

The two didn't speak.

"Kakailanganin mo lang ng token para magising si Harlow. Handa naman naming tumulong ni Lully."

Lully nodded.

Tyson then got the tokens inside his bag. Now it all made sense. Dahil sa nangyari, magagamit niya na rin sa wakas ang tokens. Pero, para saan?

"Magagamit natin ang token sa pagbili ng gamot. Sapat na ang isa."

So, Tyson gave Lupio a token.

Lully and Lupio decided to go themselves, at maiwan na lamang si Tyson para may magbantay kay Harlow.

Tyson didn't keep away his gaze from Harlow. He remembered himself not falling in love with any girl on Earth, maybe he would find love in Heallven. Hindi naman niya plinanong magustuhan ang dalaga, pero kusa niya iyong naramdaman.

Unti-unti na nga siyang nahuhulog...

Smile couldn't take away from his lips, naalis lang iyon nang maalala niya ang sinabi ni Harlow. May pag-asa ba talagang maging sila o wala na?

He was in the middle of his thinking when Lupio and Lully came holding a herbal medicine for Harlow.

They immediately placed the herbals on Harlow's nostril. Tyson however, was just watching them doing that.

"Kapag tumalab na ang amoy ng dahon, magigising din siya," Lupio said.

Tyson thanked them. Pagkatapos ay naiwan na siya sa loob kasama si Harlow dahil umalis ang dalawa sa kuwarto at nagtungo sa kusina para maghanda ng pagkain.

He went to the window and looked at the outside. The pink skies were turning dark blue, which means it was almost night. There were no stars from above, but there were glitters with different colors. Mayamaya ay nagsilabasan na nga ang mga iyon.

The Heallven is indeed beautiful at day especially at night. Tahimik na rin sa labas at unti na lamang ang mga tao. Well, it was better to stay home especially that it was so cold outside.

He wandered his eyes again from the window. Really, he wasn't used to see antique houses, but eventually he was liking it; he found them precious.

Living in Heallven hit different.

After some time, Lully came back and called him for dinner. Sumunod nga siya't nagtungo sa kusina. The table was filled with different cuisines that were unfamiliar to him, but he thought they were delicious.

As soon as he sat down, Lully served him foods while Lupio gave him a glass of water. He tasted the foods, they were good fortunately. Pagkatapos ay sinaluhan na rin naman siya ng dalawa sa pagkain.

They were busy eating when Tyson opened up something.

"Are you really husband and wife when you're still alive?"

"Oo," Lully smiled.

"Do you still remember the reason behind your death?"

"Noong una kaming mapadpad dito ni Lully, wala rin kaming maalala. Pero habang tumatagal, doon namin nalalaman lahat," Lupio said. "At hanggang ngayon, alalang-alala pa rin namin kung paano kami sumakabilang-buhay."

"Is it okay if I ask you how?"

"Syempre naman!" Lupio looked at Lully as if he was telling her to lead the story telling.

"Namatay kami noong kasagsagan ng giyera," Lully said. "Matagal-tagal na rin 'yon, siguro sampung dekada na rin ang nakakalipas. Tinamaan ako ng bombang inuhulog nila mula sa ere, si Lupio naman ay namatay sa bala. Dahil lalaki siya, obligado siyang umanib sa grupo ng mga sundalo."

"That was so tragic."

"Iisipin talaga ng iba na trahedya 'yong nangyari, pero para sa aming dalawa, blessing pa rin 'yon. Tingnan mo, kahit sa kabilang mundo, magkasama kami. Wala na akong hihilingin pa."

"Wala ho ba kayong anak noon?"

"Wala, hindi kami nagka-anak ni Lully," Lupio said.

"But anyways, you told me that was decades ago, then why are you not getting old?"

"Dito kasi sa Heallven, kung ano ang hitsura mong namatay, hindi na 'yon mababago."

"Oh," he said. "So should I be grateful for dying too young?"

"Nasa sa iyo na rin 'yan. May mga tao kasing nagluluksa pa rin dahil hindi nila nasulit ang panahon nila sa mundo."

"Ikaw ba nasulit mo?" Lully asked.

Tyson didn't speak. He stopped from eating as well. He remembered again his life on Earth. He thought his life was really wasted. Hindi niya nasulit ang buhay niya sa mundo dahil lumisan siyang hindi man lang naaayos ang relasyon niya sa kaniyang pamilya, lalo na sa kaniyang ama. But he wandered, did his dad cried when he saw him lying in the coffin?

There was silence. Even the mate stopped from eating. They guess they asked him the wrong question.

The tranquility was just broken when the sound of a door being opened occured. They all looked where it came from.

From the door, there came out Harlow, holding her head and waist.

Tyson was so glad seeing her that he abruptly went to her and hugged her. When he realized he did it untimely, he get off her immediately.

"Sorry," he said, "I was just overwhelmed."

Harlow didn't talk. She looked not okay still. So, Tyson escorted her going through the table. When she was finally sitted, Lupio spoke.

"Ang bilis naman ng epekto sa'yo ng gamot. Nakakatuwa..."

"Pero kumusta na ang iyong kalagayan?" Lully asked.

Harlow took a deep breath as she closed her eyes. When she was ready to speak, she faced them. "N-nasaan ako?"

Then, they remembered she didn't yet know everything, so they told her what had happened.

As expected, Harlow was shocked. She thought maybe she was just exhausted but the mate told her about the food given by Protania. It had a pill that caused her to collapse. Gladly, the herbal medicine was effective to her; it healed her and waked her up that fast.

When they were done telling stories, they introduced themselves to her. Harlow introduced as well herself to them, and gave some gratitude.

Pagkatapos ay nagpatuloy na rin sila sa pagkain. Tyson could not take away his sight from Harlow. He was so glad she was safe. He would not forgive himself if something bad had happened to her especially that he was the one who offered him the orange. Somehow, he thought it wasn't all his mistake because the food didn't originally came from him, but to the old hag named Protania.

Really, he didn't imagine na mayroon pa lang ligaw na bruha sa Heallven. So next time, he would rather be careful that trust anyone they met.

Sa bahay nina Lupio at Lully nanatili ang dalawa. The couple was kind and trustworthy, they guessed, so they chose to stay there. Besides, isang linggo rin ang pananatili nila sa Willow Village at wala silang napipintahan kung sakaling umarte pa sila.

The first day of their second mission had started. Both of them were not actually that friendly, but they would try to, since they wanted to fulfill their mission. Isa pa, hindi naman siguro ganoon kahirap makipagkaibigan sa mga tao roon dahil mababait sila.

"How will we make friends?" Tyson asked. "Kailangan ba may bilang?"

The two were in the door of Lupio's house, looking at the outside and observing the people.

"I don't know," Harlow answered. "Siguro kahit ilan basta makipagkaibigan daw, wala namang naka-specify."

"So are you now ready?"

Harlow smiled. "Yes, I am."

That moment, they decided to go and make friends. Naghiwalay muna sila ng daan para mas marami silang maging kaibigan. Harlow went to the right path, Tyson went to the left.

Both of them approached people and help them sweep the road. Karamihan kasi ng mga tao sa labas ay naglilinis. Walang duda na maayos at malinis ang Heallven dahil masisipag ang mga tao.

Harlow helped a woman in carrying the trashes. Habang naglalakad at buhat-buhat ang trashcan, kausap ni Harlow ang babae, kaya hindi niya rin napansin na may pasalubong na nga sa kaniya, hanggang sa...

"Ops!" she said. "Sorry, sorry."

She dropped the trashcan and all the wastes in it were scattered. Tiningnan niya ang nakabungguan niya habang pinupulot ang mga kalat. Napansin niyang nadumhan ang damit na ito kaya pinunasan niya.

"Teka." The man removed her hands from him. "Hindi mo kailangang gawin 'yan. Ayos lang ako."

"S-sorry, hindi ko talaga sinasadya."

"Ayos lang," the man said. "Ako rin naman itong hindi tumitingin sa dinadaanan."

Harlow slightly bowed down her head. She was really ashamed of what she has done, pero mabuti na lamang at mabait ang lalaki. Bukod sa mabuti ang kalooban nito ay maganda rin ang panlabas na kaanyuan.

He had tousled dark brown hair, which was thick and lustrous. His eyes were a mesmerising deep ocean blue, flecks of silvery light performed ballets throughout. His face was strong and defined, his features molded from granite. He had dark eye brows, which sloped downwards in a serious expression. 

"Tulungan na lang kitang ayusin ang mga kalat," sambit ng lalaki.

Tinulungan nga siya nitong magligpit, pati na rin ng babaeng kasama niya. They were almost done cleaning up the mess when someone from Harlow's back spoke.

"Who's that man?"

She turned around and she wasn't mistaken. It was Tyson.