Pulled from the Fall
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On the following day, a terrible news woke me. Mabilis ang pagtakbo ko pababa ng hagdan at ang mukha na puno ng pag-alala matapos maibaba ang hawak kong cellphone.

"Where's Francisco? I need him to drive me to the ranch." taranta ko nang masilayan si Leonora na kakapasok lang.

Nagulat ito at nataranta rin bigla. Before she understood what was going on, her expression was puzzled as she searched for him. "Hala! Kakaalis lang nila ni Señor!"

Napahawi ako ng buhok sa noo at bumalik sa loob upang gisingin sana si Pacholo ngunit na mataan ko naman si Jarvis na papalabas.

As he came near me, he carried his guitar strap on his shoulder and said, "Why?" in a concerned tone.

"C-can you drive me to the ranch? Francisco is not available and I'm sure Pacholo is hard to wake up." at panay kumot sa buhok habang ang isang kamay ay nasa bewang.

Tumango siya kaagad, "Okay, just calm down first." mabilis ang kilos nitong pumunta papasok sa pintuan ng garahe bago lumabas na may dalang susi.

"I can only drive automatic cars." aniya at itinaas ang susi ng Ford Fiesta ni Grandpa.

Wala akong angal na sumunod rito. I can drive but Ysmael would be worried if I do, lalo na ngayon na may hinihintay ito.

"What's happening?" tanong ni Jarvis nang mapaandar niya ang sasakyan.

Humigpit ang hawak ko sa cellphone at napahugot ng hininga. "U-uno...got into an accident this dawn. And i-it was a b-bad one..."

Naglakbay bigla ang isipan ko sa kung anong itsura ngayon ni Uno. Is he bleeding? Is he hurt a lot? Kaya niya kaya? Mas lalo lamang akong hindi mapakali sa iniisip bago ko naramdam ang palad ni Jarvis sa akin.

"Ysmael is a veterinarian just trust him. I'm certain he won't let you down, nor will he let Uno down." After a little pause, he asked himself, "Who was Uno again?"

I was able to suppress a laugh "That brown stallion was his mount. He considers Uno to be a priceless possession. That's why I couldn't help but worry about him too."

Tumango siya, "Bigay ba ito ng lolo niya?"

"No...it's the last thing he has from someone he loved that is already gone..." umawang ang labi niya doon at hindi na ulit pa nagtanong.

I kept my stare on the road and somehow felt calm the closer we are towards the ranch. I barely had a chance to catch my breath when we arrived since time seemed to be moving at a snail's pace. Hindi ko na nahintay pa si Jarvis at nauna nang pumasok sa loob. When I got inside the clinic doon ko nadatnan si Hailee na mukhang hinihintay lang ako.

"They've already had him under anaesthesia and are operating on him. As soon as Dr. Jaime came, I was instructed to give you this." sabay bigay sa akin ng isang marumi horseshoe.

Bigla akong nahinto sa paghinga at naluluhang tiningnan siya. She elbowed me gently and chuckled, "Natanggal lang iyan kanina. Don't worry everything is still intact."

Pinaupo niya muna ako at pinanghandaan. Because we're at the clinic, she could only give me food in a bag. Given that I skipped breakfast in favor of getting here, I opted for the sandwich and carton of milk. After I finished my food, pareho kaming nakaupo ni Hailee habang naghihintay na may lumabas mula operating room.

Sabay pa kaming napatayo nang biglang bumukas ang pinto. Upon realizing it was Kepter, Hailee sat down without even a second's pause, may pairap pa siya at halukipkip.

I heard Kepter simpered before fixing his gaze on me, "He's severely wounded but good thing your grandfather has the best and handsome veterinarians." ni hindi ko makuhang matawa sa pagkapilyo niya pero sapat na sa akin na marining iyon upang malaman na nasa maayos na itong kalagayan.

Ysmael followed after ten minutes. Mabilis siyang nag-disinfect ulit bago ako pinuntahan. Tahimik lang ito na naupo habang nakalagay ang dalawang siko sa binti at nakayuko. He was fidgeting with his fingers as his thoughts raced all over the place.

Niyakap ko nalang ang isang braso niya at minasahe ang likuran. Kahit hindi niya man sasabihin ay ramdam na ramdam ko ang takot at sakit niya, ni wala man akong magawa para mawala iyon.

Pinakaramdaman ko ang paligid at hindi na muna nagtanong ng kahit ano tungkol kay Uno. I want him to find peace first kaya hinatid ko muna siya sa opisina. Pinagtimpla ko na rin siya ng kape, sinadya ko na tamisan para mabaling rito ang pansin.

Mabilis naman ang pagkurap niya pagkatikim doon at agad akong tiningnan na nakanganga. I couldn't help but chuckle as I wipe the corner of his lips.

"Masarap ba? That's the type of coffee I'd drink whenever I feel down. 80% milk and the rest is caffeine." ani ko.

Naitagilid niya ang ulo niya, "80% milk?—that's not coffee at all! That's milk!" natatawa niyang sambit bago ulit sumipsip sa hawak.

"Ayaw mo ba sa gatas?" I randomly asked he shook his head.

"I don't exactly dislike milk, siguro sa matatamis lang." inangat niya ito at may panghuhusga na tinitigan, "This isn't that bad at all...it gets tastier the more I drink it."

The pleasure of seeing his real grin once again may have had something to do with the happiness inside me.

Napailing nalang ako atsaka tinapik ang balikat niya. "So..." I started, still found it hard to start a conversation about Uno.

"About Uno?" He murmured as his fingers caressed my hair, before setting the cup down and luring me closer.

When he abruptly revealed what had transpired, I hadn't even had a chance to react. It was different from the last time I heard an accident in Hacienda Silverio. Kasi kung noon ay aksidente, ngayon naman ay sinadya. At nagkataon lang na wala sina Jigo sa rancho kagabi kaya pinasukan ng magnanakaw.

It's actually absurd dahil paanong magkaroon ng magnanakaw sa lupaing ito when it has a tight security? Then it dawned on me that even people you put your faith in may turn on you. Kaya naman mabilis na gumalaw sina Grandpa upang hanapin kung sino man ang pumasok sa rancho at nagtangkang pumatay ng mga kabayo.

Hindi lang si Uno ang nasugatan, may iba rin raw at lahat ng pinagmulan ng sugat ay gamit lang ang iisang sandata.

I could only cover my mouth when I smell the blood of the horses inside the barn. Biglang bumaliktad ang sikmura ko at ilang sandali bago may biglang pumalit sa isipan ko.

I immediately held Ysmael's arm when I felt like I was about to lose my balance. Mabilis ang kilos niyang inalalayan ako at inilabas doon.

"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..." taranta niya nang matandaan ang pinagdaanan ko.

Umiling ako at tumango, "It's fine...I should be used to this...it's really fine..." pilit ang tatag ko nang sabihin iyon.

Hindi niya na ako sinama pa para pumunta sa ibang kabayo at iniwan lang ako kay Hailee. I heard from Hailee that it was Kepter who first knew what happened dahil nagkataon raw na lasing itong umuwi at imbes na pauwi sa tirahan nito ay dumeretso raw ito sa rancho at doon raw biglang nawala ang kalasingan nito nang marinig ang iyak ng mga kabayo.

Nakuha ko pang matawa nang malamang siya ang unang tinawagan nito. That answers why she seemed so pissed of earlier.

"You should take a rest first." suhestiyon ko na ikinasang-ayon niya.

Later that day, Francisco was the one to fetch me kahit ayaw ni Ysmael. Pinilit ko lang siya dahil ayaw ko namang disturbuin siya sa trabaho lalo pa't hindi pa rin nila alam kung sino ang suspek. Isa pa, there are at least ten horses that needed attention, kasama na si Uno na ang may pinakamalalang nakuha.

"Just text me if you're already home, okay?" sabay halik ko sa pisnge niya mula sa bintana ng kotse.

His shoulders slumped as he nodded in agreement before taping the top of the vehicle as a signal for Francisco to go. As the vehicle sped away, I worriedly glanced at him. Even though it was dark, the anguish in his eyes was still there for everyone to see. Gusto kong pawiin iyon but I know I couldn't do more than cheer him up. I mouthed I love you to him and he returned the sentiment, and until we reached the gate, all I could see was his shadow.

Papalubog na ang araw kaya medyo madilim na rin ang paligid nang magbyahe kami pauwi. It's normal for the surroundings to be quiet while I'm with Francisco, but today was an exception. I didn't know why, but I had the impression he was attempting to keep me from dwelling on the events of the day.

At first, we talked about how Grandpa reassigned them as William's guards together with a new employee and as for Leonora, she'll become Grandpa's personal maid dahil bukod sa magkasundo sila ay gusto ring makatulong ni Grandpa sa daddy ni Leonora.

"I heard about what happened...I'm glad that none of the horses died..." kalaunan niyang sambit na bahagya pang sinilip ako mula sa rear view mirror.

I could only smile sadly, "Ako rin...but it's just scary...you know." As I struggled to put into words what was running through my head, my lips parted, "A time would just surprise us with something unexpected, and that's what makes it scary. Alam mo 'yon, yung mga bagay na hindi natin alam kung maganda ba o hindi." napabuga ako ng hangin doon bago ko isinandal ang ulo sa sandalan ng inuupuan ko.

After that, he didn't say anything, and all I could hear were his shallow inhales. Ilang minuto ang lumipas bago ko narinig ang pagtunog ng cellphone ko. When I looked up the caller's name, I expected to find Ysmael, but instead I saw Beviene.

Medyo nanginig ang mga kamay ko na sinagot ito. There was silence between the line before I talked. Pero wala akong nakuhang sagot kaya tinawag ko siya ulit. My heart started racing, but I forced myself to be cool.

But a minute then two came but there was nothing but silence in her line. Doon na ako nakaramdam ng takot at narinig ko pang tinawag ako ni Francisco.

"Beviene! Are you there?! Come on, answer me!" may bahid na takot na rin ang boses ko.

My heart stopped beating when I finally heard from her, yet it was devastating and terrifying at the same time.

Pakiramdam ko ay nawalan ako ng lakas nang marinig ang hikbi nito. Mahina lang pero ramdam ko kung gaano ito kasakit at katakot sa kung ano mang nangyayare sa kaniya.

It took me seconds before I could muster up myself to ask her what was wrong. Ngunit bago pa man ako makabuka ng bibig ay bigla niya na lamang itong binaba.

I was dumbfounded as I just stared at the sky, my mind racing from all the horrors that had just occurred.

Takot. Iyon lamang ang naramdaman ko sa mga oras na iyon at kahit ano pang tawag sa akin ni Francisco ay wala akong kahit isang narinig mula sa kaniya.

I knew from the beginning that something was off about her but I didn't even take action, pinabayaan ko lang dahil sa pagka-makasarili. And now that I'm hearing it personally, all I could do was regret it.

I was terrified and scared. Biglang nanumbalik ang alaala ko sa lahat ng napagdaanan ko at hindi ko alam kung saan ako kakapit upang makaalis.

The last time I remembered, I had an escape from this.

Napakapa ako sa bestida ko at yukong pinakatitigan ang mga kamay na nakakuyom habang naramdam ang mga luhang isa-isang dumaosdos pababa ng pisnge ko.

I was on the verge of breaking—no, I was already breaking—and I was terrified. Just not until someone glued a phone in my ear and I heard a voice that brought back the sense in me.

"It's okay...I'm here...don't be scared."

Huminga ako ng malalim dahil doon. At nanginginig man ay nagawa ko pa ring ngumiti.

Right, it's a little cliché but Ysmael is always the one who could pull me back from falling. Kung noon man ay maghirap pa akong bumangon, ngayon ay kampante na. Lalo pa't alam kong mayroong mga taong hinding-hindi ako pababayaan.

I may not be able to fight my own battles but at least I have people who believe in me, people who are willing to fight with me.

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nyariina
9/26/'21