Chapter 36: CHAPTER 35
HE IS on the right track. Iyon ang naisip ni Aegen nang manggaling mismo sa bibig ni Ruby na kung hindi niya ito dinala sa isla ay malamang na lumala ang substance abuse problem nito. That she probably would have progressed from casually smoking pot into taking party pills and other more potent – and dangerous – drugs. Posibleng maging hardcore addict na ito. Natuwa siya sa natuklasan niya. Pero tutoo rin ang sinabi nito na kapag nakabalik na ito sa dating buhay ay puwedeng-puwede nitong ituloy ang masamang habit. And if that happens... He didn't want to think what that would mean to him.
Wala na rin namang sasaway sa akin.
He heard the catch in her voice when she said those words. Boses iyon ng isang taong ramdam na ramdam – at iniinda nang husto – ang pag-iisa. It touched a chord in his heart. Nahulaan niya na napapaiyak ito kaya nga kahit hindi niya plinanong gawin ay para siyang nahila palapit dito. Maybe he's a sucker for women who needs help because he found himself wanting to wrap her in his arms and tell her everything is going to be alright.
But you can't promise her that. He did that once and failed.
Naramdaman niya ang paghagod nito sa mukha niya. He was amazed at how good that made him feel. It also made him realize how long it had been since anyone touched him so tenderly. Napapikit siya. He wanted to savor the wonderful feeling of being held by another human being. Held in such a way that is not a prelude to sex. Come to think of it, the many times someone one touched him, especially if it was a woman, it was because they were about to have sex.
Iba ang sinasabi ng paraan ng paghagod ni Ruby sa kanya. She is touching him because she wants to, because she ss drawn to him. Kaya nga siguro ang sarap lalo ng hatid niyong pakiramdam sa kanya. It stilled the emotions that were roiling and boiling inside him. It calmed the furious storm that had been wreaking havoc with his psyche. It reminded him of that time when he knew what love feels and...
Noon siya natigilan. Napaangil. Mabilis na niyang nilayuan ang dalaga. Hindi niya dapat ilagay ulit ang sarili niya sa posisyon kung saan puwede siyang masaktan. At makasakit.
So he strode away. Napahinto siya nang nasa gilid na siya ng kakahuyan. From there he could see the sea that is just a few feet away. Kagaya ng emosyon niya ang mga alon. Malalaki ang mga iyon, malakas ang paghampas sa dalampasigan. It took a while for him to calm down.
Napalundag siya nang may palad na dumapo sa balikat niya. Alam agad niya na si Ruby iyon. Iyong tibok ng puso niya na nagsisimula pa lang bumagal ay umarangkada na naman. Iyong emosyon niya ay nagkagulo-gulo ulit.
She just draped the blanket she was lying on over her body. He discovered that when he turned to her. And what a lovely sight she makes, with her hair tousled by the wind and her eyes glowing with something he couldn't really identify but is eliciting a reaction from him. A reaction he could vaguely recognize.
"Ang ganda rito," sabi ni Ruby na tumingin sa tinatanaw niya. Iginala rin nito ang mga mata sa kakahuyan.
An image of her flashed in his mind. Ruby as a wood nymph. A sexy one, wearing only a crown of flowers in her hair and nothing else. His hand itched, craving to hold a brush or a pencil, anything he could use to put that image into a something tangible.
Noon dumako ang paningin niya sa sketch pad na dala niya. He rushed to it, picked it up and sat down, holding a pencil in his hand. Mabilis na gumalaw ang kamay niya. Ganoon si Aegen kapag dinalaw ng inspirasyon. Para siyang nagta-trance. Nakakalimutan niya ang paligid, nawawala siya sa sarili. It was as if he entered another dimension.
Ang bilis ng paglabas ng pigura sa papel. In just a few minutes the image that had flickered in her mind is now right before him. He was pleased to discover that he had managed to capture it exactly the way it looked in his imagination. Maraming beses kasi, lalo na nitong nagdaang napakahabang panahon, kapag nakita na niya ang ipininta o iginuhit niya, ay hindi siya natutuwa dahil ang layo niyon sa imaheng nasa isipian niya. This one, this is an exact reflection. Does it mean that his muse had returned? He was elated by the idea.
"Ako ba 'yan?"
Napatingin si Aegen sa nagsalita. Ni hindi niya namalayan na lumapit sa kanya si Ruby. Nakatitig sa iginuhit niya ang dalaga. She seemed to be in awe of what she is seeing.
"Don't you recognize yourself?" ganting tanong niya.
"I do. Pero parang ilang paligo ang iginanda ko. If what they say is true, that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I'm pleased to discover that is how you see me."
"My art does not do you justice," ganti niya. And he meant it. Pakiramdam talaga ni Aegen ay hindi pa eksaktong rendition ng itsura ng dalaga ang naiguhit niya. He firmly believes she is lovelier than his drawing.
"Cheret!" bulalas nito saka ngumiti. "Thanks for the compliment. Kunwari na lang ay hindi cheret iyon."
"It's not," giit niya.
His eyes roamed over her face. Sa mukha muna nito pinanatili ni Aegen ang mga mata niya dahil pakiramdam niya ay mawawalan siya ng kontrol sa sarili kapag pinagapang niya ang mga iyon sa katawan nito. This woman had the most delectable body he had ever seen. And he had seen quite a lot. Isa pa, may kakaibang kuneksiyon siyang nararamdaman para rito.
Save my granddaughter.
He has a soft spot for her grandmother because of how the old woman kept his secrets and didn't pester him with questions. Pero hindi lang iyon ang rason. He saw a picture of Ruby once. Naiwan ni Doňa Henrie ang tablet nito na nakasindi minsang makatulog ito. Despite the old woman's aversion to technology, she seems to be browsing the web. Sa isang social media site ito nagpunta. Litrato ng isang babae ang agad na kumuha ng atensiyon niya. Napansin niya ang pagkakahawig nito kay Doňa Henrie.
Nagising ang matanda at nakita siya. Sinulyapan din nito ang tablet na hawak nito at natukoy siguro nito na na-curious siya.
"That's my granddaughter, Ruby," hayag nito.
"You have a granddaughter?" Hindi nagkukuwento ng tungkol sa personal na buhay nito ang matanda. Kung anuman ang alam dito ni Aegen ay sa mga nabasa niyang write-ups niya nakuha. There was a mention of a daughter but not a granddaughter.
The old woman turned misty-eyed. Ikinuwento nito ang tungkol sa anak nito, kung ano ang nangyari kaya nagkaroon ng gap ang mga ito.
"You can always contact her," ani Aegen.
"She's gone now," anang matanda. Namatay na raw ang anak nito sa isang aksidente.
"But you have a granddaughter. Puwede kang magpakilala sa kanya at..."
Umiling si Doňa Henrie. Noon nito sinabi sa kanya ang tungkol sa sakit nito.
"I don't want to make anybody suffer because of me," katwiran nito. "Patapos na ang araw ko sa mundo and it's not fair for her to get to know me only to lose me. Pero may ipapakiusap ako sa iyo."
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