Arlene's Point of View

“Arlene, this is my daughter,” aniya kasabay nito ang pag-wave sa 'kin ng cute na bata. I waved back at her.

I hate to admit this but I have a soft side towards children. Mabait ako sa lahat ng bata. Hindi ko alam kung bakit pero minsan mas gusto ko pa silang kasama kaysa sa mga adults.

Maybe because they are innocent unlike the adults who have a lot of bullsh*ts

“Hello, baby girl!” I said, yumuko pa 'ko nang bahagya para magpantay ang aming mukha.

“Hello po Tita ganda!” she grinned. Lumitaw ang ngipin niyang kulang-kulang. Napansin ko rin ang tuhod niyang may sugat. She's a typical kid, baka nakuha niya sa paglalaro sa labas.

“Gusto mo?” I asked her, she looked at the husky stuffed toy that I'm holding. She immediately nodded her head and snatched the stuffed toy. I just smiled at her as a response.

“Arlene, this is my husband. Denver,” Irene said.

Denver stretched his hand for a handshake. I accepted his hand. We made a handshake.

“Denver Fernandez. It's nice to finally meet you,” aniya.

“Arlene Rivera. The sister of your wife,” I answered.

When I was about to let go of his hand, he held it tighter. I swiftly raised my right eyebrow. He just plastered a smile on his face as a response.

“Pwede ba 'kong manghingi ng pabor, hipag?” tanong niya. Hawak-hawak niya pa rin ang kamay ko at parang walang balak na bumitaw.

Hipag? ew! what sh*tty word. Sana sister-in-law na lang ang tinawag niya sa 'kin kaysa sa word na 'yon.

“What kind of favor?” I asked. I quickly pulled my hand. Napakamot na lang siya sa kanyang ulo dahil sa ginawa ko.

Ngayon lang kami nagkakilala tapos nanghihingi na agad siya ng favor?

“May gagawin lang sana kami ni Irene, pwede bang pakibantayan si Stella?” Nahihiyang sabi niya. We all glanced at little Stella playing with her new stuffed toy that I caught earlier. I faked a smile.

“Sure, no worries.”

“Great.”

- - -

“Tita ganda! Nasaan po sina Mommy and Daddy?” nagtatakang tanong ng bata.

“Baby girl, may ginawa lang sila.”

It's shocking that the child is comfortable to be with me. Her parents just instructed her to behave while they are away and she followed it.

We are eating a french fries here, at the food court. Nakakatuwa siyang pagmasdan, nilalapit niya pa ang pagkain sa bibig ng husky na parang pinapakain.

“Baby girl, how old are you?” I asked.

“Malapit na po akong mag-seven po Tita, punta po kayo sa birthday party ko po Tita.” She said while grinning. Bungi talaga siya, six years old yata ang edad kung saan napapalitan ng permanent teeth ang mga ngipin ng bata. I'm not sure.

When I was about to ask her another question, something captured her attention. This is the first time I saw her smiling like that to something. May nginingitian siya sa likod ko.

Lumingon ako para tignan kung ano ang tinitignan niya. Hindi pala 'ano' ang tamang salita kundi 'sino'. Someone caught her attention. Ngayon ko lang napansin na hindi lang basta ngiti ang pinapakita niya. It's a flirty smile.

Ang aga-agang kumekerengkeng ng batang ito.

The little boy is also staring at her. He also have a flirty smile. Para silang na-love at first sight sa isa't isa.

Ang bata pa nila pero marunong na silang ngumiti nang gano'n.

After a few seconds, their eye contact stopped. Inaya mag-picture ng isang babae 'yong batang lalaki. I assume that its his mom.

I snapped my fingers in front of little Stella. Para siyang nagising sa realidad dahil sa ginawa ko. She looked at me and all of a sudden, she giggled. I just chortled.

“Why are you lookin' at the boy behind me?” I whispered.

“Ihh, Tita ganda. Ang cute niya po kasi.”

I shook my head while having a half smile. I have to think fast. I need to convince her to stop having a crush on that little boy.

“Baby girl, mahilig ka ba sa mga fairy tales?”

“Yes po Tita ganda. Lagi nga po akong binabasahan po ng bedroom stories po ni Mommy po every night po! My favorite po is 'yong Princess and the Frog.”

Princess and the Frog? seriously? Hinalikan ang palaka para maging isang prinsipe. Big yuck.

Napakagalang niya, ang daming 'po' sa sentence niya to the point na ang redundant na pakinggan.

“Gusto mo ba magkwento 'ko sa 'yo?” I said while raising my eyebrows. I hope that she will listen. She nodded while smiling innocently.

“Once upon a time, there is a beautiful girl walking in a field of roses. When she tried to get a rose, she pricked her finger on its thorn.” I paused and looked at her reaction. I think she's interested.

“She yelled because of the pain she felt. A handsome boy approached her. He tried to treat her wound. The two of them are alone in the middle of a field of red roses. Romantic, isn't it?”

Little Stella in front of me quickly nodded while smiling. She's looking at me intently. Na-hook talaga siya sa pinagsasasabi ko.

“Nagkagustuhan po ba sila Tita ganda? Nagkaroon po ba sila ng 'happily ever after'?”

Maybe the only thing I hate about children is that they believe in happy endings. They are not aware that the reality is wicked. There are no happy endings. It's more on a fiendish one.

I just shook my head to answer her question about the 'happily ever after' part. Her jaw dropped and it looks like she lost her interest. But when I started talking, I caught her attention again.

“Yes, nagkagustuhan sila. They fell in love with each other. They are madly in love. They thought their love would last forever. But one day, the girl caught the boy cheating,” I paused.

I looked at her reaction. Kumunot ang noo niya. It looks like she's bemused. She was about to ask a question so I waited.

“Tita ganda, what is cheating?” she innocently asked.

Oh, I see. She's too young to know this kind of stuffs but I want to feed her curiousity.

“Let me give you an example on what is cheating. 'Di ba si Princess Aurora at Prince Philip ay lovers-.”

“Princess Aurora is my favorite Princess po, Tita ganda!” she cheerfully said. Her face also lit up.

“Kapag mayroong ibang minahal na babae si Prince Philip habang nasa relationship sila ni Princess Aurora, then that is an example of cheating.”

Her reaction shifted from an excited one to a devastated look. She gave me a sad look. Alam kong naintindihan niya ang sinabi ko. She looks like a smart kid.

“You're telling me po na cheater po si Prince Philip?”

“No, hindi sa gano'n. It's just an example. Princess Aurora and Prince Philip have a happy ending of course.”

I don't want to ruin the image of Sleeping Beauty. It might affect her.

I said it because I don't want to ruin her childhood. But that's true, it's a movie for kids. Hindi na 'ko magugulat kung happy ending 'yon.

“Okay po Tita, alam ko na po kung ano po ang cheating po. Tuloy niyo na po ang kwento po,” she said. Nakapangalumbaba pa siya habang kumakain ng fries.

Where was I? ah sa cheating part.

“Ano pong ginawa no'ng girl after niya pong malaman na nag-cheat si boy.” She asked while chewing.

“She stabbed him.”

Bigla akong napahawak sa ulo ko dahil bigla itong sumakit. I don't know kung saan nanggaling ang sinabi ko pero pagkasabing-pagkasabi ko pa lang ay sumakit nang sobra ang ulo ko.

“Titaaaa okay ka lang po?” Natatarantang tanong ni Stella.

I waited for a few minutes. Naging okay na rin agad ako. Siguro nasobrahan lang ako sa alak.

“Basta ang wakas ng kwento ay masaya naman, Stella. They didn't end up together but the girl realized something. She realized that she should have treated her own wounds that she got when she accidentally touched a thorn in the field of roses where they first met. Instead of letting a guy handle it.”

She formed an o in her mouth. It looks like she understood my short story. Hindi ko alam kung paano 'ko nakagawa ng kwento nang mabilisan.

Writer things siguro.

“Tita ganda ang point niyo po is a girl don't need a guy po?” She innocently asked. I nodded briskly while smiling.

Stella is a clever girl.

“All men are like that, Stella. Sa una lang sila magaling pero 'pag nagsawa na sila ay hahanap na sila ng iba.”

All men are jerks.

She took a quick look at the guy behind me and she instantly rolled her eyes. She looked at me again and smiled.

That's my baby girl! I'm proud of my niece.

“You're right po Tita ganda! I don't need a guy po to treat my wounds. I can treat it on my own po,” she giggled. I pat her head. I am really astounded because she's clever and a bit mature.

We continued eating our french fries while chatting.

- - -

“Thank you for taking care of her,” Denver said.

“Wala 'yon, maliit na bagay.”

Naglalakad kami ngayon palabas ng mall. Nasa kanan ko si Denver at nasa kaliwa ko naman si Stella. Katabi ni Stella ang Mommy niya. Hawak-hawak siya ni Ate Irene.

“Stella, look oh! someone is staring at you,” Irene said.

Sabay naman kaming napatingin ni Stella sa tinutukoy niya. It's a boy smiling towards little Stella.

Stella's beauty is bewitching. Kaya hindi na 'ko nagtataka kung bakit maraming napapatingin sa kanya na lalaki. Her beauty is like a magnet, na-hoo-hook sa kanya ang mga lalaki.

Kanino pa ba magmamana, edi sa maganda niyang tita.

I checked Stella's reaction. Para siyang kumain ng manggang kulay berde dahil sa pangangasim sa kanyang mukha.

“What's with your reaction, baby?” Ate Irene asked confusedly.

“Mommy, I hate boys po.”

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