Niki knocked on Andy's door on Wednesday morning. Madalas kasi na ito ang nagluluto ng agahan. She got worried when he didn't cook breakfast that morning. If he was busy with work, he would have let her know.

"Andy?" tawag niya. The door was still locked. "Gising ka na?"

She pressed her ear against the door and knocked again. Kung hindi pa siya makakarinig ng reaksyon mula rito, she would use the spare key to open the bedroom door. Thankfully, she heard a soft thud from inside and the shuffling of feet. Maya-maya, umikot ang doorknob at bumukas ang pinto.

Andy was hugging himself with the weighted blanket he bought a few months ago. Niki knew it was heavy, but also comfortable to sleep under. Nakapatay ang aircon sa loob ng kwarto. There was no air circulating inside. Napansin din niya na nakapatay ang PC ni Andy. It looked like he just woke up.

"What's wrong? Are you sick?"

Tumikhim si Andy at tumango. Niki instantly felt guilty because she knew there was a chance that it was her fault. Being sick with the virus was the worst. It made sense that she was a carrier. She met with Jake and Jake got sick the following day. And then, a few days later, si Andy naman ang tinamaan ng sakit. She was feeling okay, but there were asymptomatic cases so she could still be infected.

Inalalayan niya si Andy hanggang sa makaupo ito sa gilid ng kama nito.

"Nagpaalam ka na sa work mo?" she asked, to which he replied by shaking his head. Sighing, Niki took his phone. Iniharap niya iyon dito para sa facial recognition. Then she looked for the app he uses for work. As expected, ang daming chats kay Andy. There were some missed calls and text messages too. "Sasabihin kong may sakit ka. Sino rito yung direct supervisor mo?"

Tumikhim si Andy. "Sir Gino," sagot nito.

"Okay."

To: Sir Gino

Hi, sir. This is Niki, Andy's housemate. He just woke up. May sakit po sya. I don't think he can work today. He can't even get up. I'll ask him to update you kapag umokay na sya.

She showed the text to Andy before sending it. Nang tumango ito, saka niya ipinadala yung mensahe.

Humiga muli si Andy sa kama nito. He looked like a big burrito wrapped comfortably inside his blanket.

"Do you want to eat something?"

"No."

"Okay, pero magluluto ako ng may sabaw. I'll check your temperature later. Saka kailangan mong ma-swab." Andy was given a few home test kits by his company a few months after he was allowed to work from home. It was not that accurate, pero wala naman silang ibang choice. Andy wouldn't want to be quarantined someplace else. He would rather do self-isolation.

"Do you want me to tell your parents?"

Tumango ito.

"Okay." Niki composed a message on his phone and read it before sending it to his mom. Wala pang five minutes after, tumawag na ang ina nito sa phone. "Hello po, Tita."

Niki walked out to the living room to talk to Andy's mom. She closed the door behind her so he could sleep. Si Ponkan naman ay sumunod din sa kanya, probably to get breakfast.

–

Andy woke up a few hours later. Masakit ang buong katawan niya, masakit ang ulo... his throat was dry and he was feeling sluggish all over. Napansin niyang hindi nabago ang posisyon niya mula kaninang humiga siya. So that meant that he didn't move while he was asleep.

Sleeping was great. He couldn't feel any pain while he was out. Pero ngayong gising na naman ang diwa niya, kung ano-ano na naman ang naramramdaman niya.

He pushed the weighted blanket off of his body and dragged himself off of the bed. Slowly, he made his way to the door and out the bedroom. He instantly noticed Niki in the kitchen.

"Hey... kumusta pakiramdam mo?"

He couldn't even answer her. Tuyong-tuyo ang lalamunan niya. Niki must have noticed that because she took a glass of water and handed it to him.

Pagkatapos uminom, saka niya idinetalye ang nararamdaman. "What are you cooking?"

"Nagluluto ako ng nilaga," sagot nito. She had her phone propped against one of the containers on the counter. A video of someone cooking the food was on screen. It was one of those edited videos na isang minuto lang ang haba tapos kusang naglu-loop unless you past it.

"Tikman mo nga 'to." Kumuha si Niki ng isang kutsarang sabaw at saka isinubo sa kanya pagkatapos itong hipan.

Andy frowned. "Walang lasa."

Bumuntong-hininga si Niki. "Maalat na 'to. Wala ka lang panlasa. Which means that you can tolerate my cooking." She pointed the spoon at him. "Which means wala kang excuse para hindi kumain."

"Kung di pa ako magkakasakit, di ka pa magluluto," himutok niya.

"Hoy. Nagluto ako nung Saturday!" depensa nito. "Anyway, sabi ni Tita painumin daw kita ng salabat. Kaso konti lang yung luya natin. Hindi naman ako makalabas kasi asymptomatic yata ako. Baka makahawa pa 'ko ng iba."

"It's okay. Damihan mo na lang siguro ng paminta yung nilaga. It may have the same effect as the ginger."

She looked at him like he just said something absurd, clicked her tongue, and sighed.

Andy went to the bathroom to freshen up and when he got back, he sat in the small dining area and watched Niki cook. Makalat sa kusina. Ilang kaserola ang nakalabas. It looked like Niki tried cooking in a smaller pot before getting the bigger one dahil hindi nagkasya ang niluluto nito. On normal days, the mess would drive Andy crazy, but he could care less about it right now. He was not feeling well enough to mind it.

Ponkan was sitting on the floor next to Niki. Nakatingin ang pusa sa kanya habang iwinawasiwas ang buntot nito. Ponkan momentarily averted his gaze when Niki called out to him. Binagsakan nito ng maliit na piraso ng karne si Ponkan.

While Ponkan was eating the piece of meat, Niki put a few scoops of the soup into the bowl she was holding. May mga kasama iyong piraso ng karne at gulay. Andy guessed that they were cooked in different times since they have different sizes. May malaking patatas na parang hinati lang sa gitna. Tapos may maliit naman na animo'y panglahok sa corned beef.

"Gusto mo ng rice?" tanong nito.

Andy nodded. He had no appetite and it would probably be easier to just drink the soup, pero sabi ni Niki ay maalat iyon. Baka naman magkasakit siya sa bato kung hindi niya hahaluan ng kanin to reduce the saltiness.

Unang kagat pa lamang ni Andy sa karne ay alam na niyang kulang pa iyon sa luto. It was still a bit tough.

"Maganit pa?"

Tumango siya.

"Bakit si Ponkan nakain nya?"

"Pusa ba 'ko?" he retorted.

Niki clicked her tongue. "Sige. Gulay na lang muna kainin mo."

"Si mama naglalagay ng stainless na utensil sa nilaga para raw mas mapabilis yung paglambot ng karne," sabi niya.

"Talaga?" Niki reached out to the utensil organizer and took out a few spoons and forks. She dumped about five of them into the casserole.

"Isa lang kasi," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Damihan na para mas mabilis lumambot," dahilan nito.

–

Andy fell asleep again after that. Naalimpungatan siya nang ilang beses. Niki entered his room a few times to check on him and get his temperature. Tapos pinilit din siya nitong kumain uli at uminom ng gamot.

He was still feeling sluggish the following morning, but he grew restless because of the chats at work. Ang dami raw errors sa ginawa nilang system. He just had to check his computer because he was the lead on this project. He didn't want to let his team down.

"What are you doing?!"

He blinked slowly and turned his head towards the door. Nakabukas na pala iyon, hindi niya napansin. Nakapamay-awang si Niki.

"I'm just checking my emails..." Niki walked towards him in big strides and pulled his swivel chair away from the computer setup on the table. "I just want to check–"

"Ikaw lang ba ang employee sa company ninyo?"

Umiling siya.

"Tagapagmana ka ng kumpanya?"

He frowned and said, "No."

"Then you have no reason to work today."

"But–"

She shushed him. "You need to rest, Andy! Or else mag-aalala si Tita Andrea. Kapag nag-alala yun, baka maisipan nun na lumuwas. Gusto mo yun? Matanda na si Tita. Baka mahawa pa yun ng sakit dito."

Bumuntong-hininga siya. "You don't need to use my mom to guilt-trip me, Niks." He stood up and went to his bed. "Ang sakit na kasi ng likod ko kahihiga," reklamo niya.

"E, di tumagilid ka," pabalang na sagot ni Niki.

Andy sniffed as he raised the blanket up to his chin. The weighted blanket felt like a cocoon. Mabigat. Malambot.

Yumuko si Niki para pakiramdaman ang noo niya. Their eyes met for a brief moment. Mukhang nag-aalala pa rin ito sa kanya.

"How was Jake?" he asked.

Kumunot ang noo nito. "How would I know?"

"You didn't ask? Di ba may sakit sya?"

"Yes. At nahawa nya ako tapos nahawa kita. I'm mad at him for risking both our lives," inis nitong sabi. "Kumusta pakiramdam mo? Wala ka pa ring nalalasahan?"

"I haven't eaten yet."

"Di mo nalalasahan yung laway mo?"

"Ano bang lasa ng laway?"

Niki rolled her eyes. "Fine. Magluluto ako. Gusto mo uli ng may sabaw?"

"Can you order takeout? Baka kasi yung luto mo yung walang lasa."

Niki slapped his arm.

"Joke lang," he said with a sheepish smile. "Alam ko namang maalat kang maglut–aray!"

Sinapo niya ang noo na pinitik nito. Niki pulled the blanket higher to cover his mouth. "Shut up and sleep. I'll wake you up kapag may pagkain na."

"Okay."

"If I see you near your computer, kakalasin ko yang setup mo," pagbabanta nito. "And I will hide all the cables."

"Okay, okay!"