PORTION 41

Petot's POV

In just a day, Sam did everything to be okay to everyone. And we even celebrated that by eating street foods. At the same hour, I invited her to go to our barangay's fiesta, the barangay of my Lola so that Inay could see her too, because I know they miss each other so much.

We all woke up early so that we could make it in time. We all decided to meet at one place and go at once with our cars. We both have three cars, ours, Jaybi’s and Al’s.

May 05, At Janopol Oriental Tanauan City Batangas. The day before fiesta.

"Inay!" After opening the car’s door, I saw my Inay smiling at me. I ran and went there, nagmano ako at niyakap siya. “Sobrang na-miss ko kayo, Inay!”

"Ala eh naman apo, dagasa eh, ako ata ay sadya mong miss," with her accent, batangueño accent. Hugging me back, too.

Inay ang tawag ko sa Lola namin.

She unhugged and smiled at me, "Aba, eh balita ko'y marami kayong kasama, maige iyan, eh teka asan na ba? Gusto kong makakita ng bagong mukha.”

Inay was looking for more people to come down from the cars. After parking here at Inay’s garage, Kuya smiled at Inay. Al came out from the driver’s seat, in his car, while Kuya Zack came out from another door. Meanwhile, Jaybi came out from his car. Tom and Nathan came out one after another, too, from Jaybi’s passenger seat.

"Aba'y asan yung babaysot na iyon? Hindi nagsabi, eh ganto ga naman ka ga-gwapo ang darating, mama mo talaga ay may pagka-usbaw,” Inay said, which caused me to laugh.

So, I no longer wonder where Mama and I inherited our sometimes attitude.

"Pero Inay, may kasama pa kami. Sam is with us."

After kong sinabi 'yon, she immediately looked at me with wide-eyed, "Juskupo rudeh! Bakit ngay-on ka lang nagsabe? May pagka-ulaga ka ren eh, ala eh asaan na?"

"Inay!" Sam is running towards us.

They hugged each other so tight, oh 'di ba? parang si Sam talaga ang apo.

"Anong nangyare?" Inay asked about what happened to Sam's arm, while looking at it and holding it carefully.

"Wala po, nabalian lang po," Sam lied.

"Juskupo! Ikaw eh mag-ingat sa susunod, ha!"

Sam smiled and nodded, "Opo."

"Inay, as far as I know, I am your granddaughter, but why does it seem like si Sam yung apo?" I asked, frowning, while pointing to Sam.

They parted their bodies, Inay looked at me and put her arms on her waist, "Gay-un ba ga yun, apo? Ala eh naman parang kada taon eh tayo'y nagkikita. Tapos areng si Sam, jusme! Eh halos limang taong 'di kami nagkita. Ika'y masyadong maligaleg, manahimik!"

And because of that, I faced my palm.

AttitUde si Sam at si Inay kaya lalong nagkasundo. Birthday rin kasi nung Lola ni Sam ngayon kaya imbis na sa amin siya sumasama ay nasa Lola niya siya.

"Hali na kayo! Mga gamit ninyo eh lupage na sa luob," yaya ni Inay sa amin.

Napagdiskitahan namin na mag 3 days and 2 nights kami rito. We're all college students and we have different schedules. We talked about having fun here because they are all graduating students except for the three of us, Sam, Al and me. And especially Sam is only about two weeks before she goes abroad.

Baka hindi na kami makapag-bonding kasi gano'n nga ang ganap. Oh, 'di ba? Lahat kami nag-skip ng klase para lang dito, but that's okay, we only live once, right? So why not spend it with people who are important to us.

Pagkatapos naming ilagay ang mga gamit sa loob niyaya ko silang gumala. We went to my school when I was young, where I go when I was in elementary.

It's 11:30 am and time for lunch.

"It's so beautiful here, you must really love it here," he said while walking and looking at those students who were playing.

"Sobra! Isa 'to sa mga bagay na binabalik-balikan ko every year. Where I met a lot of strangers that turned out to be important people."

Nagkukwento ako kay Al.

We parted ways, Jaybi's with Sam, Nathan's with Tom, Kuya's with Zack, and I'm with Al.

"Sobrang ganda, sobrang hangin kasi maraming puno. And that stage . . ." I said, stopping, to point out the stage, "It was so memorable. I was there playing guitar and singing 'Harana' by Parokya ni Edgar."

"Pak!"

I looked at Al because of what he had said. He's looking in the other direction, so I looked there. I saw Jaybi and Sam not far from helping a student, naka-upo kasi nasa sahig yung bata baka nabunggo lang ni Sam.

Sam gave a hand and that student accepted it, while that student went away, Sam can't stop herself looking at her.

"Sam, bakit?" Jaybi asked, asking why Sam was looking at the student.

"Wala. May naalala lang ako bigla, she just reminded me of someone."

Jaybi didn’t speak for a few seconds, it seemed like thinking, but after a few seconds too, he then spoke, "Who, Faye?"

"Yes, I just miss the old days," she explained her self, smile.

Al startled me when he spoke out of nowhere while still looking at Sam and Jaybi.

"May mga lugar na pwede mong balik-balikan at alalahanin ang mga alaala, pero may mga alaala talaga na sadyang alaala na lang dahil 'di na ‘to pwedeng balikan pa," Al said.

All I could do was sigh because he is right.

After naming gumala nung araw ay agad din kaming umuwi para sa hapunan na hinanda nila Mama.

"Huntahan ng huntahan, kayo eh pumarine na! Tayo'y kakain na, ng bago kayo lumarga kayo'y busog," Inay asking us to sit on the dining table and eat our dinner before we went outside.

We stopped talking and just decided to go to the dinner’s table at what my Lola had said.

"May number 1 rule ang bahay na 'to," Mama started, as soon as we finished sitting down.

"Oo, dahil kahit ano pa ang ginagawa niyo, whether you like it or not, you should stop. Kasi kailangan sa hapunan ay magkakasama tayo,” an explanation of mine, the explanation of number 1 rule.

"Who made that rule, po?" Al asked.

Inay smiled at him, "Ala eh, e ‘di yung asawa ko."

"Nasaan na po siya?" Al asked once again.

"Ay, naku ‘di mo na siya makikita eh. Nasa langit na."

Because of what Inay has answered, we saw how shocked the siblings of Coates and Smith were. Alam na kasi nila Jaybi 'yon. They are all here with us every year, not really, because sometimes we can't go because of a busy schedule and sickness.

"Sorry po," Al apologized.

I just remembered how Jaybi and Nathan did the same, just like these two.

"Yaeh na! At saka naman ako eh sanay na. Malma kung alam ko laang na areng babaysot na areh!” And landed her right hand in the air, where my Mama sitting at, showing her daughter “ay maagang lalayas sa pamamahay ko, e ‘di sana nagdagdag pa ako ng isa o kaya eh gumawa kami ng isang battalion. Eh, juskupo rudeh! Ang tahimik ng pamamahay ko, eh."

Napatawa na lang kami rito dahil sa inasal ni Inay, lakas rin talaga ng topak nitong Inay namin.

"Pero naniniwala po ba kayo sa saying na ‘True Love Never Dies’?" singit na tanong ni Zack.

Inay crossed her arms, "Abay uo, dahil kamo kahit wala na siya, eh mahal ko pa rin iyon." A well answered from my Inay.

“Iyon!” sabay-sabay naming hiyaw sa kilig, pero may kasamang tawa.

"Oh ay siya, tama na ang huntahan, tayo eh magsikain na."

Pagkatapos naming kumain, nagpahinga lang kami saglit bago nagpunta na ng Peryahan. This is the reason why we came here before fiesta. In this Peryahan, we sometimes have rides but most of the time, we have gay pageant.

It's 8pm, and now we're here watching gay pageant.

"Hello. I'm not yours but you are mine. It's me, your Love." And wink, the taller one host introduced.

"Ka-janopol. It's your girl slash gay, Aira."

Pagkatapos magpakilala ng mga contestants, mga host naman.

"Petot?"

"Hm?" sagot ko kay Al na nasa tagiliran ko.

"Hindi ba weird ‘yang ganyan sila? They're all gay, the contestants and the hosts?"

I looked at him in disbelief because of what he had asked. Suddenly, I felt irritated because of him, what came to his mind to ask me that.

"Why? Is there something wrong kung ganyan sila?" I highlighted the word 'ganyan sila'. "After all, tao pa rin sila. May nararamdaman, nagiging masaya, nagmamahal at nasasaktan. Being them is not weird."

And rolled my eyes before I looked away, so that he could know how annoyed I am. But he tried to find where I’m looking, and when our eyes met, he smiled at me with those wonderful eyes of his. So, I just look at him sharply.

"Petot, Petot."

Sam kept repeating my name while going here.

Galing naman, 'di na ako nakanood ng ayos nitong pageant!

"Why?" I asked her when she stopped in front of me.

"Come with me, please? Bibili lang ako ng burger."

“Sa tanda mo na ‘yan, ‘di ka pa rin makabili ng burger mag-isa?”

She looked at me, judging me, “Nagsusungit ka na naman, inaano ba kita, ah? Papasama lang bumili ng burger, eh.”

“Bibilhan mo rin ba ako?” I asked, seriously.

“Ang sabi ko papasama lang,” she said, “o sige na nga!”

“Libre mo, ‘no?”

She looked at me, wide-eyed, shocked and annoyed at the same time, “Talaga ba, Petot? Abc.”

“Anong abc?” I asked, frowning.

“Defu!”

“Huy!” And i started laughing, but after a few seconds I spoke too, “G•gu ka! Ganun na pala mam•kyu ngayon!”

“Oh, ikalma mo. Me lang this.”

“Ewan ko sa ‘yo!” And I couldn’t stop laughing.

“Hali ka na nga!” she said, before she grabbed me away from Al.

I just waved at Al, saying goodbye to him because that’s the only choice I have, before going with Sam. I went with Sam to buy burgers. About a minute ago, everything became so dark. And out of nowhere, the light put me in highlight. Napunta sa akin ang ilaw, unexpectedly.

"Petot, why do I like you?" It's Al's voice.

I looked at the stage and I saw him, singing on a bar chair with a stand microphone in front of him while holding a guitar.

He smiled at me,

"Uso pa ba ang harana?~" And he started singing the first line of verse 1 of Harana by Parokya ni Edgar, until he reached the outro. "Ibubuhos ko ang buong puso ko~ Sa isang munting harana para sayo~"

He sang the whole song, he sang it for me once again.

And f•ck! What he did reminds me of what I did to someone!

"Maybe you're wondering why I sing this song," he said.