Chapter 23

The Bliss

I thought I was just imagining it but Q is definitely avoiding me. I just couldn't ask him about it since he'll probably say I'm being touch and clingy. Hindi naman nakakatulong si Noren na natatawa lang sa isang tabi bigla, tila may nalalamang bagay na hindi ko alam.

I would have just let it slide but Quentin shoved my hands away when I accidentally touched him when I stumbled. In the end, my ass hit the floor while I gaped at him in shock.

Hindi ko alam kung anong pag-iinarte na namang ang nasa isip ng walanghiyang lalaki. Tahimik na lamang akong tumayo at pinagpag ang suot kong jeans bago siya sinamaan ng tingin. Nahihiya ako sa mga nagtawanang customer ng fastfood chain pero natuon pa rin kay Q ang atensyon ko.

Ano bang problema ng isang 'to?

Dati noong nasa pizza place din ako, ito ang dahilan kung bakit nahulog ako.

Paminsan, minsan ay kinakausap naman ako nito, hindi lang talaga ito nagpapahawak o nagpapalapit man lang. Laging may isang metro ang layo nito sa akin na para bang may nakakahawa akong sakit.

Or maybe he's sick and he doesn't want to spread it? But he's just being normal with Noren!

Si Noren naman hindi na ako tinatawag na Ate Wyna. What's up with that? I even went out of the way to tell him my nickname and he won't even use it?

Well, I'm not complaining since I don't like it anyways. Hahahahaha.

"Ayos ka lang po, Ate?" Noren asked but his face is twitching. He's obviously trying so hard not to laugh at me. "Nakakafall ba si Kuya?"

"Gusto mo bangasan kita?!" asik ko rito habang pinapatunog ang kamay ko. Parang tinakasan ito nang hangin bago tumakbo palayo.

"I-I'll just find a good spot!"

Binigyan ko ito ng ismid bago bumaling kay Q.

"Anong order niyo?"

"I'm sorry you fell."

For some reason, I wanted to just smack him in the face when he gives me that angelic expression.

"It's nothing." Iyon na lang ang sinabi ko. Bakit nga ba gusto ko siyang nahahawakan kahit na wala naman kami sa kama? Sex lang 'di ba? Palagi na nga akong nasa paligid niya, pati ba personal space niya kukunin ko pa? Who am I? Just someone he just knew and was forced to be friends with. "Anong order niyo?" Binalik ko na lang ang tanong dahil sa pananahimik niya.

"Burger." Tipid lamang ang salita nito kaya napabuntong-hininga ako. "I'll pay." Then he handed me a card.

I didn't argue anymore and just received it from him. Klaro naman kasi sa mukha nitong ayaw na nitong makipag-away.

"Stay close," I murmured as I eyed the other people in the fastfood. Masaya ang mga itong kumakain habang nagtatawanan.

Pakiramdam ko labas sa mood ng paligid ang mood ko.

Nakita kong tumango si Q at napakamot sa batok.

"C-Can I hold your arm?"

And now he's acting all shy?

Was his conscience moved when I fell on the floor because of him? Hah.

"Okay." Before I could even finish saying that, he was already holding my hand. Arm, huh? I dismissed what he did and just walked towards the counter.

Mainit at malambot ang kamay niya pero hindi ko ito pinisil. Hanggang ngayon ay hindi ko alam kung bakit weirdo ang kinikilos niya kaya ayokong gumawa ng kahit anong makakapagpalala ng nangyayari.

Some girls and guys kept on glancing at Q so I gave them a blank stare that made them look away. This guy can be the center of attraction anywhere. When people managed to notice the cane Quentin is holding, they gave us pitiful looks too. Sinasamaan ko na lang ito ng tingin.

"Wynfrost, galit ka ba?" bulong bigla ni Q kaya gulat akong napatingin dito.

"What?" My brows met in confusion. "I'm not mad at you."

"Hello, Sir and Ma'am, what's—" Bumaling ang atensyon ko sa nakatao sa counter na babaeng nakatulala na kay Quentin. I squinted my eyes at her so she blinked a few times as if awoken from a three-second fantasy. "Hello, Sir! What's your order?"

"30 burgers. Dine in." Si Q agad ang sumagot at mariing pinisil ang kamay ko. "How about you?"

"A-Ah!" I hid how flustered I am by chuckling at the now glaring employee. Her expression was so bad that I wanted to bash her on the countertop but I was too focused on Q's hand. "G-Give us 3 b-buckets of fried chicken, 5 cups of rice, and 4 sodas."

"Ang dami yata ng order mo," puna ni Quentin. "Can your stomach handle that much?"

"O-Of course!"

Tumitig ako sa kamay naming magkahawak at parang napaso ako sa sobrang init na nararamdaman sa loob ko.

Shit! Holding hands pa lang nga matapos ilang araw mula noong huling nangyari sa amin pero heto ako at apektadong-apektado.

Did Quentin transform me into a sex addict?!

"Ehem. Bayad po!" The employee who took our order was almost shouting. I absentmindedly lifted my other hand to hand her Q's card.

Matapos ang ilang mga pagpapa-cute ng babae kay Quentin, umalis na kami dala-dala ang order number namin. The employee didn't even notice that Q never managed to see how she maniacally smiled and flipped her hair. Quentin would've freaked out seeing such a gruesome sight.

Now, where's Noren? He said he'd find a nice spot for us.

I still held Q's hand as I dragged him around the fastfood chain. Many people were staring at us since I'm obviously with a pretty guy whose beauty is almost beyond ethereal.

It took us a good 10 mins. to find Noren on the 2nd floor's balcony. Parang nakikipag-away pa ito kaya lumapit na kami agad.

"What?! Your seat? Come on, wala namang nakalagay na reserved! It doesn't even have your name on it!" Noren shouted at the top of his lungs so I sighed.

Hindi ko talaga alam kung bakit madali itong mapikon.

Nakaharap ito ngayon sa dalawang lalaking nakasuot ng parehong black duffel bag at at parehong damit. They were both wearing yellow sweatpants and yellow sweaters. They looked like twins with their similar crew cut black hair and orange cap. Even their shoes were the same white Nike rubber shoes. Iilang dangkal ang taas nito kay Noren pero hindi man lang kakikitaan ng pagkabahala ang lalaki.

"Noren! Why are you shouting?" sabi ko rito pagkalapit. Nagulat ito sa pagsulpot namin ni Q pero agad ding nakabawi.

"Ate, these morons said that it's their table when I got here first!"

"Mom?!" sabay na sabi ng dalawang magkatulad na boses kaya napalingon ako sa dalawang lalaking inaaway ni Noren. They were pointing at me with their fingers with widened eyes. "Mom, you look so young! Is that really you Mom?"

What the fuck?

"Who are you calling Mom your morons?!" singhal ko sa dalawa at inambahan ang mga walanghiya ng suntok. "I don't even know you! 23 pa lang ako mga gago! Wala pa akong mga anak na kasinglaki niyo!"

Naramdaman kong napakislot si Q sa tabi ko at binitiwan ang aking kamay. Kumunot ang noo ko sa kanya bago tumingin ulit sa mga gagong ginawa akong nanay nila.

Mom, really? Pinamumukha ba ng mga gagong 'to na magkakaanak na si Rondel at ako ay tatandang dalaga?!

"Mom, did you already disown us?" sabi ng isa sa dalawa. Kulay light blue ang mga mata nito kaya napakurap pa ako para masigurong mga mata iyon at hindi mga bola ng tubig.

"Mom naman. Hindi mo na ba kami mahal?" dagdag pa ng isa. His eyes were the darkest shade of blue that I thought they were black. Malalim ang titig nito kaya natulala ako nang ilang segundo.

Pero nagpanting ang tenga ko nang paulit-ulit na dumagundong sa utak ko ang sinabi nila.

Mom na naman?!

"Sabi nang wala akong anak!"

Napatili na ako dahil biglaan akong niyakap ng dalawang poste na para bang nanay talaga ako ng mga ito.

"Mom naman huhuhu!"

Umatungal ang mga ito na parang mga kalabaw kaya tinampal ko ang mga ito at tinulak palayo.

"Kakasuhan ko kayo ng sexual harassment!"

"Mom naman~ Bumata ka lang tingnan tapos kakalimutan mo nang may mga anak ka?!"

"Paano na si Solievo at Kuya Rove?"

"Pa'no na kami ni Sovieshu at Kuya Avicii?"

Wait, what? They're Avicii's siblings?

~

"So you're saying Wynfrost looks like your mother?" mahinahong tanong ni Quentin habang nakakunot ang noo.

Tumango-tango ang kambal habang titig na titig pa rin sa akin.

I gave them a glare but they were still giving me those puppy eyes. I then continued eating some fried chicken while listening to them.

Nakapalibot kami ngayon sa malaking pabilog na mesa sa balcony habang may nakaangat na malaking payong sa taas namin para hindi kami mainitan. Puno ang mesa ng fastfood pero ako lang ang kumakain dahil may lahi yatang pagkatsismoso ang lima. Pati si Belmond na kararating kanina ay naintriga sa sinabi ng kambal.

"Can you at least show us a picture?!" Noren said impatiently. "Maybe you're just exaggerating!" Ilang segundo lang ay sumisigaw na ito na parang baliw. "Holy shit! She does look like Ate Wynfrost!"

Tumaas ang kilay ko at inilahad ang aking kamay.

"Amin na," utos ko kay Noren kaya agad nitong binigay sa akin ang phone. Pagkatingin ko sa photo na pinapakita ng mga ito, tumambol ang kaba sa dibdib ko.

She...really does look like me even with some wringkles on her face. The only differences are her possible age and the color of her eyes. Dark brown ito.

"Are you wearing contacts?" one of the twins asked.

I shook my head and talked so that they won't jump into weird conclusions. Baka iniisip nitong lost sister nila ako o ano.

"My blue eyes aren't mine. It was transplanted to me since I used to be blind." Tinitigan kong mabuti ang mga mata ng dalawa."Nakuha niyo sa Dad niyo ang asul na mata?"

"Opo."

"I see. My eyes were originally colored dark bro—" Natigilan ako. Dark brown ang mata ng nanay nila at dark brown din ang mata ng kanilang Kuya Avicii. Hindi, hindi. Imposible.

"Ampon ka po ba sa pamilya niyo?" Tumalim ang tingin ko kay Noren na ngayo'y kinagat ang sariling labi para hindi na makapagsalita pa.

"Mom and Dad didn't say anything about a lost sister," sabi ng isa sa kambal sa kapatid nito. Tumango-tango ang isa at kumunot ang noo.

"Yeah, they didn't. Maybe she's our cousin?"

"We don't have a lost cousin."

"But what if we just didn't know we have a lost sister or a lost cousin?"

"You think someone stole her from our family?"

"Maybe she ran away from us when she was younger?"

"Baka doppelganger ni Mom?"

"Pwede rin. Or maybe plastic surgery?"

Sumasakit na ang ulo ko sa mga theory nila. I don't know how to get rid of these two. They would probably dig deeper if I can't make them shut up now.

But maybe, something from what they say is real? No. I should stop thinking about it.

"Okay, stop this bullshit." I said and returned the phone. "Maaaring coincidence lang na magkamukha kami ng Mom niyo. Nakita na rin ako ng Kuya Avicii niyo and he didn't strongly react."

Ngumuso ang dalawa at sabay na nagsabing "But Kuya's an amnesiac."

"Yeah right," I mumbled and stuffed myself with burger. "Just stop calling me Mom and stay away from me. Ang nanay niyo ang bigyan niyo ng sakit ng ulo."

"B-But!"

"We'll sue you for harassment if you won't stop. Even though you're my friend's brothers, I won't tolerate you when you'll try to invade someone's privacy." May pagbabanta sa tono ni Q kaya napakagat-labi ako. He looked like he was just containing his anger. I don't want to think he's mad at them for hugging me earlier. Maybe his anger stemmed from having our lunch ruined? "This will be the last time you'll talk about this lost sister nonsense, am I clear?"

The twins sighed and muttered, "Okay. I'm sorry."

"Oh, no problem!" masaya kong sabi para pagaanin ang paligid. It looked as if there were dark clouds hanging above all of them, except Belmond who looked like he didn't know if he's gonna eat or not. Ito ang katabi ko kaya tinapik ko ito sa balikat. "Kain na tayo?"

I glanced at Q who's two chairs away from me and inwardly sighed.

What's wrong with that guy? I remembered how he just let go of my hand a few minutes ago. Well, it's not really a big deal. I-I was just surprised! Yeah, that's it.

"Oh, by the way," sabi ng isa sa kambal. Kumislap ang light blue nitong mga mata at tumingin sa akin. "We haven't properly introduced ourselves. I'm Sovieshu Sondery."

"And I'm Solievo Sondery," the one with the darker eyes said. "And you are?"

"Wynfrost Wenf—" My lips automatically responded to that question but I managed to stop right there. I'm glad Avicii didn't get it last time. Maybe he's an amnesiac after all? I smiled at his brothers whose eyes were expectantly waiting. "You can call me Wynfrost."

"Oh cool name!" sabi ni Sovieshu. "It sounds like it came from that fantasy game!"

"Oh yeah! I remember the name Wynfrost! It's from the game The Eyes of Winter, right?"

Tumaas ang kilay ko at napahigpit ang hawak ko sa burger.

"H-Have you played that game?"

"Of course! Sovi and I are into indie games," nakangiting sabi ni Solievo at natawa. "It's much fun than those games Kuya Avicii plays."

"Kuya Avicii never liked the games our father made," ani Sovieshu. "Kaya kami ni Soli ang laging binibigyan ng kopya nina Papa."

"Your parents must be a total fan," mangha pang dagdag ni Solievo. "I mean, Wynfrost was the name of the blind character in the game! I think there's a twist at the end, right?" untag nito sa katabi.

"Yeah, it turned out her life was a lie! She was discarded by her own parents so she was taken under the wing of their branch family!"

"Then it turned out, her real parents knew of her life but was too afraid to take a step!" Solievo clapped his hands. "And then, and then when her  step-parents got into an accident, she asked for their help!"

"I think they reconciled in the end and lived happily ever after!" Then the two looked at each other and raised both their hands. "Hurray!"

Fucking cute but hell. I felt so naked hearing the story from them.

"Y-Yeah but that's just one of the paths."

"Oh? Which path did you take then, Wynfrost? Oh my fucking hell, Sovieshu!  It sounded like I was really talking to the character!"

"Yeah, me too!" They chuckled and looked at me with glittering eyes. Parang sumakit naman ang dibdib ko sa kainosentehan doon. "So what was the path you chose?"

"The C-Crazed path." My voice shook.

"What? That's like very hard to come by, right?" Nagtanungan ulit sila.

"Yeah, too complicated. That's why we never chose it. But the other gamers said in a review that what happened was Wynfrost knew the truth in the worst way. Her parents were trying to sell her to her real parents in exchange for money. She rebeled and went crazy but then in the end she learned her step-parents got into an accident looking for her. So she ended up killing herself."

We all went silent after that.

"It's just a game," biglaang sabi ni Quentin kaya napatingin kami sa kanya. He glanced at me at gave me a kind smile. "It's just a game."

Pinilit kong mapangiti dahil doon.

"Y-Yeah." The beeping sound of the monitoring equipment in the hospital bounced in my ears. "It's just a game." I looked down at my hands and grinned secretly.