[Relaina]
“They’re not merely stones, okay? Tingnan mo kasi nang mabuti.”
I sighed and did what he said. Tiningnan ko nga nang mabuti… until my eyes widened at what I saw. “Is this a joke? Paanong nagkorteng tao ang mga batong iyan?”
What I saw were two human-shaped stones – or specifically, boulders – that appeared to be holding each other’s hands while facing each other. A braided rope bound them in a form of what appeared to be a figure 8.
“Iyon ba ang example ng sacred rope na sinasabi mo?” I asked before facing Brent. Tumango ito. “Paano nagkaroon ng ganyan diyan?”
“It was their parents who put it there after the couple were killed by the earthquake that ultimately sank the two islands. Namatay daw kasi silang dalawa na hindi binibitawan ang kamay ng isa’t isa. They said that even in death, they refused to be separated. The parents knew the promise that the lovers had uttered and left to this tree – ” Brent paused and looked at the tree before facing me. “ – kaya ginawa nila ang estatwa ng magkasintahan na nakaharap mismo sa pagsikat ng araw at nasa pagitan ng puno at ng dating lokasyon ng dalawang isla. Iyong hindi nila pagbitaw sa isa’t isa at ang paglalagay nila ng figure 8 na sacred rope ang nagpasimula sa ‘Infinite Love’ legend. Pero mas kilala ang legend na iyon as “The Legend Of The Promise Tree” dahil sa puno kung saan nila sinambit ang pangakong magsasama at iibigin ang isa’t isa nang higit pa sa walang hanggan.”
Ang drama lang, ah. Ang cheesy pa. But hey, I had nothing against the legend. It was quite beautiful and romantic, to be honest. Kaya pati ako, napatingin na rin sa giant Promise Tree.
Hanggang sa napaisip ako.
Ano’ng rason at sinasabi sa akin iyon ni Brent? Was the legend that important for me to know?
“Relaina, was there even a time in your life that you believed in eternal love?” bigla ay seryosong tanong sa akin ng mokong. And I had to admit, ikinagulat ko iyon, pero hindi ko na lang ipinahalata.
Ayokong isipin nito na iniisip kong nagbibiro lang ito. Because to be honest, kahit gusto kong papaniwalain ang sarili ko na biro lang iyon, somewhere in my heart, I knew it wasn’t like that at all.
Was I seeing another side of Brent because of this legend?
“I admit that I was having a hard time believing it actually existed before. Pero hindi ko ide-deny na minsan sa buhay ko, hiniling kong makaranas ng ganoon.” I sighed after saying that. “But after what happened with Oliver, hindi ko na alam kung ano pa nga ba ang dapat kong paniwalaan.”
Teka nga lang…
Bakit nga ba nagtatanong ang mokong na ‘to ng mga ganitong klaseng tanong sa akin? Ano’ng meron? Epekto ba ‘to ng ice cream na nilantakan namin kanina?
Then I heard him laugh. Ano nama’ng nakakatawa? “Hoy! Dahan-dahan lang ng tawa. May bukas pa.”
“You’re saying those words as if I’m going to die the next day.” He struggled to stop laughing but finally succeeded after saying that. “I just laughed because your words made me think of something.”
“Ano’ng ibig mong sabihin?” kunot-noong tanong ko rito.
Gosh! Wala na ba talagang sandali na hindi kukunot ang noo ko dahil sa mga pinagsasasabi ng lalaking ‘to? Aba’y dadami ang wrinkles ko nito nang wala sa oras, ah.
Waah! Ayoko pang magmukhang matanda dahil doon.
But anyway…
He faced me with another serious look na hindi pa man din ako sanay na makita mula kay Brent. Seriously, ano ba talaga ang nangyayari sa lalaking ‘to? Naguguluhan na talaga ako, to be honest.
“Will you stop looking at me like that?” Great! Did I really have to stammer?
One side of his lips curved up. Oh, boy!
“Bakit? Paano ba kita tingnan?”
At ang bugok na ‘to, nagpainosente effect pa! Naku! Konti na lang, mauupakan ko na talaga ‘to, eh. Sa lahat pa man din ng ayoko sa lalaking ‘to, ‘yong maungusan ako, eh.
Well, subukan lang ni Brent na gawin iyon, good luck na lang sa pagmumukha nito.
Pinaningkitan ko lang ito ng mga mata and then his smile widened. I thought he got my message that I doesn’t want to goof off.
“Kung ayaw mong naaasar kita, huwag mong ipahalata sa akin na affected ka sa presensiya ko.”
“At nakuha mo pa talagang magmayabang, ‘no?” I rolled my eyes and scoffed before returning my composure. “But seriously, why bring me here? At saka… ilang babae na ba ang nadala mo rito?”
But then I saw his gaze at the tree hardened. Did I say something bad?
“Bakit ko dadalhin ang mga iyon dito? Eh, ni simpleng fascination ko sa punong ito at sa legend, hindi nila maintindihan. Ang alam lang nila, magpaganda, maglandi at wasakin ang puso ng mga lalaking gusto nilang paglaruan. Ginagawa nila iyon without them even knowing na hindi lang inosenteng puso ang winawasak nila kundi pati na rin ang kagustuhan ng mga itong mangarap at mabuhay pa ng matagal.”
Hindi ko na alam ang dapat ko pang sabihin pagkatapos n’on. Ramdam ko sa tinig ni Brent ang matinding galit habang isinasalaysay ang mga iyon. This wasn’t the usual Brent I knew. He was certainly different when he firmly spoke those words.
Marami nga yata talaga akong hindi pa alam pagdating sa lalaking ito.
“Kaya ikaw, Relaina, huwag mong hayaang sirain ni Oliver ang buhay at pangarap mo. He may have broke your heart but time will help you piece them back together again,” sabi nito sa seryosong tono. But that serious tone was also laced with concern and care that I knew I heard once before.
Hindi ko tuloy napigilang mapangiti dahil sa realisasyong iyon. “Is that the reason why you brought me here? To lecture me about what will happen if I let the past tore me and my dreams apart? Sa tingin mo ba, hahayaan kong mangyari iyon?”
“You’ll never know,” kibit-balikat nitong tugon.
“Past is past. May buhay pa akong kailangang asikasuhin para mag-dwell sa mga hindi naman importanteng bagay. Besides, I made a promise to you that time, right? I cried hard that time so I can start over for me to finally move on and let go. Ginagawa ko lang ang promise na iyon.” At totoo iyon. I just hoped this guy would see the truth behind that.
Ilang sandaling katahimikan din ang pumalibot sa aming dalawa ni Brent. He was looking at me in a way that seemed like he was weighing my words. But then, wala namang kailangang pag-aralan sa mga sinabi ko, right? Besides, I only spoke the truth and nothing but the truth.
Nakita ko itong bumuntong-hininga.
“That’s good, then.” And he smiled, only for a short while. “You know what? I had to be honest with you.”
“On what?”
“Ilang beses na akong humihiling… at napapaisip din.”
Ano na naman kaya ang drama meron ang lalaking ito? Parang kumakanta lang, eh. But I ended up waiting for him to continue.
“Sana tuluyan nang mabago ng truce nating ito ang lahat sa pagitan natin.”
Kulang ang sabihing natigilan ako sa sinabi nitong iyon. He did not just say something like that, right? Pero ayokong magpakaimpokrita. Hindi pa ba nito nahahalata?
Couldn’t he even notice that it was already too late for him to wish about something na nangyayari na?
Pero ano pa nga ba ang inaasahan ko? Wala naman itong alam, eh. Ni hindi nga nito napapansin na ang dami nang nagbabago sa pagitan naming dalawa.
“Laine…” he called, startling me at the name he used to do so. “Can we even make it possible to let this truce between us finally last?”
I could’ve sworn I stopped breathing upon hearing Brent asked me that.
Pero… ano nga ba ang nararapat na sagot ko sa tanong nitong iyon?
+++++++++++
A/N: Woah! Brent's getting bolder, is he? Masyado yatang napahaba ang scene na ito so forgive me if I just dragged this on. In the next chapter, you’ll meet a new character – si Vivian Esguerra, and finally, the dance practicum will start. This is the last part of the original chapter title “Legend of the Promise Tree”. The legend was inspired by @atserkeiram’s Soulmates Series on Wattpad.
Though unlike the legend in @atserkeiram’s story, the one I used in this story doesn’t have any fantasy elements. Just a story that was passed on but no mystical or supernatural part to appear later on.Sadly,hindi ko pa tapos basahin ang story niyang iyon at nasa Chapter 11 pa lang ako ng Book 1 entitled “Soulmates: 300 Years Of Love”. That means it’ll take time for me to finish reading Book 1 of the said series so that I could promise to read the on-going Book 2 entitled “Soulmates: The Legend Unfolds”. Hehe! This is why I dedicated this chapter to her to thank her for writing such a story.
Completed na ang Book 1, so if you have time and if you’re interested, you can read it.
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