Heshiena's Point of View

As usual ako na naman ang nauna sa loob ng classroom. Isang araw na ang nakalipas nang mangyari ang aming fight examination. At hanggang ngayon usap-usapan pa rin ng karamihan ang nangyari sa akin sa araw na 'yon.

There are some who are worried, but the majority of them are all negative.

Ang pagpasok ko nga rito ay lahat ng atensyon nila napupunta sa akin. Kapag dumadaan naman ako sa harapan nila, rinig na rinig ko pa ang kanilang bulung-bulongan. Masakit oo. Pero sanay na ako. Kasi hindi naman na bago sa akin ang ganitong sitwasyon.

Kahit na sa mortal realm, nararanasan kong pag-uusapan ng buong campus.

I scoff sarcastically. Walang bago. My lips started to tremble. And I was quick to bit my lower lip to restrain myself from bursting out in tears. Muli na namang nanikip ang dibdib ko. Napunta man ako sa bagong reyalidad, pero hanggang dito sinusundan pa rin ako ng kamalasan.

Napasinghap ako nang makaramdam ako ng mga presensyang papalapit dito sa classroom. Kasing-bilis pa sa alas kuwatro akong napapunas ng isang butil ng luhang bigla-bigla na lamang bumagsak.

Rinig na rinig ko pa ang boses ni Ace na paparating.

Nahinto lamang ang tawanan nina Ace at Fuego nang makita nila ako. Mas lalo akong nanliit sa sarili ko. Nang dahil sa akin, naapektuhan na rin sila. Tila ba'y ako pa ang naging dahilan kung bakit hindi na makakangiti sila nang malapad katulad ng dati.

And I felt shit. It is an unpleasant feeling. Napalunok ako ng laway nang nagbabadya na naman ang luha sa aking mga mata. Ayoko ng ganitong pakiramdam. Nakakapagod. Nakakapanghina. Nakakawalang gana. Ang sakit sa puso.

Sakit na tagos hanggang kaluluwa ko.

I inhaled heavily and exhaled the pain out of my chest. Ngumiti ako kay Chry nang dumaan siya sa harap ko. Her eyes grew wider when she saw me smiled, but was quick to retreat by making a sour face. Napayuko ako.

She clicked her tongue.

"Stop smiling like that," she coldly said. "I hate it when someone pretends in front of me as if nothing happened," she added. "You don't have to do that. You don't have to blame yourself. You're allowed to be sad," pahabol pa niyang sabi.

Tuluyan ng bumuhos ang luha ko sa mata. Ayoko mang humahagulgol sa harapan nila, pero hindi ko magawa. Mavros is the first person to rushed towards me and give me a tight hug.

Sumunod naman ang iba. Napatawa ako ng mahina nang sinabayan ako ni Ace sa pag-iyak. Tumingin ako kay Chry na naka-cross arm sa kaniyang upuan, habang nakatingin lang sa amin.

Ang swerte ko.

Ang swerte ko dahil may mga taong ganito na nakapaligid sa akin. Muli na naman akong napaluha. Hindi dahil sa lungkot, kundi dahil sa saya ng puso ko. Napahiwalay kaming lahat sa yakap nang biglang pumasok si Miss Meriam.

Ang aming history teacher. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw she smiled. But continue to pretend that she saw nothing. Inilapag niya muna ang dala-dala niyang libro sa lamesa bago kami tapunan ng tingin.

"Heshiena." Napaayos ako ng upo nang tawagin niya ako. Tumango kaagad ako bilang tugon sa pagtawag niya sa 'kin. "Be strong, okay?" she said.

Mabilis din ang pagtango ko sa sunod niyang sinabi. She smiled when she saw my response. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw Blaze raised his thumb finger with a sweet smile plastered upon his lips. Tinunaw na naman ang puso ko.

Ibinaling ulit ni Blaze ang kaniyang buong atensyon nang tugunan ko siya ng isang tango.

"Okay!" Miss Meriam exclaimed. "We have two topics for today. First, Trojan War, and second, we will be listing down few of mythical creatures." Nanabik kaagad ako nang marinig ko ang paksang tatalakayin namin ngayong araw.

"The Trojan War was the 10-year long conflict between the city of Troy and the armies of Greece, led by King Agamemnon of Myceanae," she started. "How the deities involved with this war? Well, it started during the marriage of Peleus and Thetis," sagot niya sa kaniyang sariling tanong.

She crossed her arms. She then clicked her tongue.

Kasunod nito ang pag-iling ng kaniyang ulo. Nakapikit pa ang kaniyang mga mata habang ginagawa 'yon. Nang iminulat niya ang kaniyang mga mata ay tinignan niya kami isa-isa.

"It was prophesied that the Nereid Thetis, were she to ever conceive, would give birth to a son who would become even greater than his father. Upon receiving word of this, Zeus and Poseidon, both who had previously tried to court Thetis, arranged for her to be married to a mortal man instead," panimula ni Miss Meriam sa kuwento. Me, on the other hand, still couldn't believe what Zeus and Poseidon feared the most.

They are afraid that their kids might be greater than them.

At hindi rin ako makapaniwala na ang ideyang ito na galing pa kay Ouranos ay nakakaapekto pa rin sa kanila. Ang takot na baka mapatakwil sila sa kani-kanilang trono sa kamay ng kanilang sariling anak. Bigla na naman akong pinanghinaan ng loob.

Ito ba ang rason ng sarili kong ama dahilan para itapon niya ako?

"They set their sights on the mortal hero Peleus, who had joined Hercules on the latter's expedition to Troy and sailed with Jason as one of the Argonauts." Sa pagkakatanda ko si Jason ay anak ng Hari ng Iolcos at ang asawa ni Medea. "Peleus was instructed to ambush Thetis, and once he had her in his grip, to bind her tightly, as she would try to escape by changing shape. Natagpuan ni Peleus ang nymph na nakahiga sa dalampisagan. And as instructed, he took hold of her―Thetis herself took on a variety of different forms, including that of a lion and serpent," patuloy pa ni Miss Meriam.

Naglakad siya paikot-ikot sa loob ng silid-aralan. Habang hindi binibitawan ang kaniyang mga tingin sa aming mga mata.

"Ano'ng sumunod na nangyari?" she asked the class.

Before she could call a name, Blaze stood firmly. "Nang makita ni Thetis ang kaniyang sarili na hindi makatakas sa pagkakahawak ng bayani, napasuko siya at pumayad siyang pakasalan ito," sagot niya sa tanong ni Blaze.

Nakakahanga talaga sa pagiging anak ni Athena. I mean, his children were given the ability of photographic memory. Ibig sabihin, lahat ay hindi nila makakalimutan.

"That's correct." Nakangiting saad ni Miss Meriam. "The wedding was held atop Mount Pelion, home of the immortal centaur named Chiron," she continued.

Napasinghap ako nang banggitin niya ang pangalang Chiron. Napangiti ako dahil dito. At mukhang napansin naman ito ni Miss Meriam nang makita ko siyang ngumiti rin.

"All of the gods and goddesses were invited to attend, except!" Napaigtad ako sa aking kinauupuan nang biglang tumaas ang boses ng aming guro. "Sino'ng diyosa ang hindi inimbitahan?" muli niyang tanong sa klase. "At bakit kaya?" pahabol niyang tanong.

"Eris, Miss," Violeta was the first one to answer. Tiningnan siya ni Miss Meriam. Tila ba'y naghihintay sa kasunod niyang sagot. "Because she is the goddess of discord. They want the wedding to be peaceful," she said.

Tumango si Miss Meriam nang makuntento siya sa sagot ni Violeta.

"In revenge, during the wedding party, Eris tossed a golden apple into the room, marked "for the fairest" on it, leading to a quarrel between three goddesses who had laid claim to the apple," muli na naman niyang patuloy. Naglakad siya sa gitna ng classroom. Tila naghahanap ng sasagot sa paparating niyang tanong. "Mavros, dear. Sino-sino'ng mga diyosang ito?" tanong niya nang lumagpas siya sa akin.

I heard Mavros heaved a sigh before responding. "They're Athena, Hera and Aphrodite." Tila walang gana niyang sagot.

Miss Meriam only hummed after she heard his response. "The three goddesses have asked Zeus who's the fairest, but he declined to answer. Zeus, not wanting them to get angry, he then ordered Hermes to find someone to judge them." Muli siyang naglakad pabalik sa lamesa niya.

"Sino ang nahanap ni Hermes?" kaagad na tanong niya sa klase nang makabalik siya sa lamesa.

Blei raised her hand to answer. Miss Meriam nodded at her. Tumayo muna siya mula sa pagkakaupo bago sumagot.

"Paris of Troy, Miss."

Tumango ulit si Miss Meriam. At pinag-krus niya ang kaniyang mga braso. "Paris was the son of the King of Troy, King Priam. Upon his birth, King Priam received a prophecy about how when Paris grew up, he would cause the downfall of Troy," she paused for about couple of seconds to regain her breathing.

"The oracle who have the prophecy urged him to kill Paris right then and there, but, King Priam didn't have the heart to do so. Kaya, nakaisip siya ng solusyon, imbes na patayin si Paris, ipapadala niya ito sa malayo para maging pastol. Little did he know, dapat niya pala itong pinatay," she continued.

We heard her deep sigh before choosing to continue the lesson.

"Hermes eventually found Paris, and chose him to judge the goddesses. Zeus then sent Athena, Hera and Aphrodite down to Paris, so he would judge which of the goddesses was the fairest and which of them would receive the golden apple," she said.

Muling naglakad si Miss Meriam at umikot papunta sa kaliwang row. Kung saan nakaupo sina Fuego, Zuki at Erin. Huminto siya sa harapan ni Erin na kaagad na tinablan ng kaba.

"Each of the goddesses tried to persuade Paris to pick them by saying that if he picked one of them, they would reward him with a gift," muli niyang sabi. "Fuego, ano'ng in-offer ni Hera kay Paris?" tanong niya. "Zuki for Athena and Aphrodite for Erin," pahabol niyang sabi.

"Hera offered him the ownership of Asia Minor, Miss," Fuego answered confidently.

Tumango si Miss Meriam dahil dito. Pagkatapos ay tinapunan niya ng tingin sina Erin at Zuki. Hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa rin humuhupa ang kaba sa mukha ni Erin. Tila ba'y hindi niya alam ang isasagot.

"Nag-alok si Athena na bigyan siya, ang kaniyang pamilya, at ang Troy ng maraming kasanayan sa pakikipaglaban na magpapahintulot sa kanila na madaig ang kanilang mga kalaban sa digmaan kung siya ay mapili, Miss," sagot ni Zuki sa assigned question niya.

Ibinaling ni Miss Meriam ang kaniyang tingin kay Erin.

"I'm sorry, Miss. Hindi ko po alam ang sagot," natatakot niyang sabi.

Miss Meriam just nodded. Nagpakawala ito ng buntonghininga bago umalis sa row nila. But before she could call a name, Violeta raised her hand to answer. Tinanguhan niya ito bilang senyales.

"Aphrodite offered to give him the most beautiful woman alive, if she was picked by Paris," sagot ni Violeta sa lugar ni Erin.

The teacher cleared her throat before continuing. "Paris thought that both Hera and Athena's gifts to him weren't great because at the time his family and Troy were not at war. Gayunpaman, ang pangako ni Aphrodite tungkol sa pinakamagandang babae sa mundo ay nakikita niyang bilang pinakamagandang regalo na maari niyang hilingin."

"Tinanggihan ni Paris ang regalo nina Hera at Athena. He declared Aphrodite was the fairest and rewarded her with the apple. Ito ay nagpagalit kina Hera at Athena dahil pareho nilang hindi nagustuhan si Aphrodite, naisip nil ana ang kaniyang regalo ay hindi patas. And that a mortal such as Paris was a poor choice for judging who the fairest was."

Kahit na nagku-kuwento lang si Miss Meriam, tila'y ramdam na ramdam ko ang galit ng dalawang goddess na hindi pinili.

"Angrily, they transformed into their godly forms and ascended together to Olympus, which left Aphrodite back with Paris on the earth. Paris said that he would've picked them to prevent them from becoming angry." A sigh escape from our teacher's lips. "Aphrodite, however, rejoiced in the fact that she was now the fairest goddess and told him that he should rejoice as well, for he would be given the hand of Helen, the most beautiful woman on earth," she continued.

Miss Meriam looked at us with her intense eyes. Dahilan upang pati ako matakot sa susunod niyang sasabihin.

"Little did Paris know, that there was a problem . . ." she teased us with the continuation, "si Helen ay may asawa na, ang Hari ng Sparta, si Menelaus," she added.

Let me guess, this is when the war sparked.