Kapitel 6: CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 5
"You can rest on my pad without touching the keys. I will sing all month as long as you lay your fees. What am I?" I read loudly enough for all of us.
"Tiyanggala bakit may pariddle ang babaita?" Hindi makapaniwalang saad ni Chipher.
"Pangarap maging detective eh," kumento ni Nica sa natatawang boses.
You can rest in my pad... Keys... and fees, what is it?
What do you want to tell us Joy?
"Snap out of it Cha, Masyado mong pinagiisipan," wika ni Kris na kanina pa pala nagmamasid sa akin.
"I think I heard that riddle before though," Trav whisphered and put his fingers on his chin while thinking deeply.
"Oh come on!" Kris mumbled frustratedly and lay down on the bed.
"Bahala kayong magisip diyan. Basta ako maganda lang," saad nito saka niyakap ang isang unan bago humagikgik.
"Don't you guys have her number? We can call her you know, instead of wasting our time here," Henry stated while looking at Joy's pile of books.
Cellphone?
"That's right it's a phone!" Sigaw ko at napapitik pa sa tuwa.
"Okay??" They said in unison, clearly uninterested.
"Get up woman and help us find her phone," sinamaan ko ng tingin si Kris na nagdadabog na tumayo.
Nagsimula na kaming maghanao pwera lang kay Trav na tahimik na nakatayo parin.
We looked everywhere, under her bed, on her closet, Comfort room, her study table, everywhere in the room but we can't find her phone.
We tried calling her number but ut goes to voicemail.
"Damn it, you sure it's a phone?" Clay tiredly asked while lying down in the carpet.
"Uh... Not really," wika ko at nagkibit balikat.
"What?!" He shouted. Napapikit ako atsaka siya sinamaan ng tingin. Baka akala niya nakalimutan ko na kalokohan niya kanina?
"I got tired because of nothing. I can feel my tummy na tuloy, growling with hunger," Chipher stated and laughed. The girls are lying down in the bed actually.
"Laksan niyo nga aircon please," utos ni Nica habang pinapaypayan ang sarili.
Naglakad na ako papuntang aircon para sana laksan ito pero nandoon na si Trav. Nakatalikod sa amin.
"Trav palaksan naman ng aircon, thank you," utos ko rito at hindi na nagabalang lumapit.
Sa halip na sumagot ay humarap ito sa amin, nakangiti.
"Found it," he stated and showed us a telephone.
Oh. A telephone.
Sinamaan nila ako ng tingin bago nagpunta kay Trav na hawak hawak ang telepono.
You won't really see it because it was well hidden by the curtain.
"Thanks Trav, you're a life-saver!" Kris shouted in glee while glaring at me.
Fine, kasalanan ko na. Eh kasi sila, hindi nagiisip, tsk.
"Okay. What's with the telephone?" Clay asked.
Nagkibit balikat si Trav at inabot sa amin ang isang note na puno ng tuldok.
"Morse code?" Nica asked while looking at the note.
"Maybe, let's try decoding it," I replied and grab a ballpen and paper.
"No. Morse code is a combination of dash and dot. This is all dots," Clay stated while looking at the note.
Nica and I looked at each ither before dropping the pen. Fine, natulong lang naman kami eh.
Narinig ko ang halakhak ni Kris.
"H'wag kasi bida bida mga sis," she laughed. I rolled my eyes at her.
She's still linking on Trav's arm na hinayaan lang naman ng lalaki dahil nakapokus ito sa papel.
"H'wag karin kasing kapit ng kapit, may nagseselos oh," Chi whisphered while looking at Nica's direction whose glaring at Kris.
Napabitaw ang gaga at nginitian si Nica na inirapan lang siya. Nagtawanan kaming mga babae. It's our inside joke.
" Fine boys, Go and decipher it, If it's not a morse code then we can't help you," saad ko at saka hinatak ang mga babae pabalik sa kama.
Naiwan ang mga lalaking hindi makapaniwalang nakatingin sa akin.
"Yah! That's unfair! I'm also not into this!" Sigaw ni Hen at naglakad papunta sa direksiyon namin kaso nabatukan at nahila na siya ni Clay at Gray.
NAPAILING ILING NALANG AKO sa nakasimangot na mukha ni Hen.
"Dito ka lang mate, it's your chance to show off don't you know?" Bulong ko sa kaniya.
Parang nakakita naman ito ng pagasa at inakbayan pa ako na siniko ko lang.
"Alright! What can I do to help?" He shouted on girls direction, trying to show off.
Napailing iling nalang ako at napangisi bago ibinalik ang tingin sa papel.
|.••.|•|..|.•|••••|•.|.•.|.| + |.••|.•.|•.•|.| |••|...|
How the fuck will I decipher this if I don't know what code is it?
"Come on man, You don't know what is this?" I asked Travin but he shook his head.
"I don't have any idea, I'm not fond of codes," he replied while scratching his head.
"What about you bro? Pahiya tayo pag hindi natin nadecode 'to," nakangiwi kong wika kay Gray.
Nakikita ko na kung paano kami pagtutulungang pagtripan ng nga babae. I don't want that to happen. I'm a man for fuck's sake.
"Actually... I have an idea," sagot nito bago dinampot ang papel at ballpen na hinawakan ni Cha at Nica.
We gaped at him. Kanina pa ito tahimik at kung hindi ko ito tinanong, paniguradong hindi nito sasabihin. Pambihira.
"What?" Natatawang saad nito bago nagsulat.
"It's a Steinheil code (1837)," he answered and looked at me. I sighed, fine.
Tinignan ko ang papel at binasa ito, decoding it effortlessly.
"It says Birthdae as in 'e' not 'y' and fave number," tugon ko habang tinitignan ang papel.
That's maybe a substitution dahil wala namang 'y' sa Steinheil code.
They gaped at me, stunned when I blurted it out without sweat.
"What the fuck dude?" Henry stated, amazed by what I did.
"Heh. That's normal for me. It's an older version of morse code, one of the oldest telegraph communication created wayback. Of course I have background with it as well as Gray who is the owner of one of the biggest Ship and Airline companies here," saad ko.
"Holy cow! You were that rich?!" Henry gaped. I rolled my eyes and pat his shoulder.
"Come on mate, as if his richness will help us now, okay?" I said and chuckled.
Inakbayan ko ito at naglakad papunta sa kama para sabihin sa mga babae ang nadecode namin. Hindi naman na nila kailangang umalis actually, One look from the paper and I already decoded it.
Hindi sa pagmamayabang pero parang gano'n na nga.
"We decoded it already!" Nakangiting ani Hen na patalon talon pa. "Look! It says birthdae + fave no.," he added while shoving the paper literally on Chi's face.
I mentally faced palm. Seriously this guy, palala nang palala ang pagiging siraulo nito.
"Oh? So it's talking about numbers... Well, About her favorite number, I'm not really sure. Is it 4 or 19?" Cha blurted out while looking at the girls who shrugged as an answer.
I sighed, "We can try all the combination that you can think, but minimize it alright?" I stated and they nodded.
Hindi naman kaming kasiyang walo sa kama ni Joy kaya ilan sa amin ay nasa sahig. Atsaka isa pa, wala naman kaming alam kung ano ang paboritong numero ng babae, magiging epal lang kami sa mga ito kapag nakisali pa kami.
It's their turn kumbaga. We decoded it so they should answer it.
Nilibot ko ang paningin sa kwarto nito. She doesn't have much things aside from books. I didn't know that she's a bookworm.
Cool, I finished re-reading The two towers and she has the book 3. Maybe I can borrow it later.
Aside from her pile of books that some are scattered in the floor, there's also an acoustic guitar at the side. So she's into music and books.
Bukod doon ay wala nang mas interesante sa kwarto ng babae. Out of boredom, I get the guitar and sat in the carpeted floor.
The guitar was colored in deep red and something was engraved at the side.
'Meilani 7'
"Who's Meilani?" I blurted out unconsciously. They all stop what they're doing when they noticed that I'm holding a guitar.
"Oh! That's Joy's guitar! Awww.. I miss our jammings!" Nica blurted out while leaning her body, her entire body towards Cha.
"G-Get off!" Cha hardly whispered.
"Who's Meilani then?" I asked. Hindi naman kasi sinagot ng babae ang tanong ko, nagreminisce lang ito. I tsk-ed.
"Si Joy malamang! Though she doesn't want someone calling her Meilani that's why you haven't heard her second name," Nica replied and pointed the guitar I'm holding.
"You know how to play?" She asked. I nodded. She clap her hands and suggested a song.
I began strumming lightly, trying to get the right rhythm. I closed my eyes and savored the moment and began humming the song she wanted to.
The girls began singing. Some of them were out of tune though but they seems like they were pouring their emotions in the song, like it was something so important to them.
Pinagmasdan ko kung paano sila mag ngitian habang kinakanta ito. The look in their eyes like they were not here, like they were in their own world, they were reminiscing a moment, a very special moment.
"And friends are friends forever if the Lord's the Lord of them,
And a friend will not say never cause the welcome will not end,
Though its hard to let you go, in the Fathers hands we know,
That a lifetimes not too long,
to live as friends."
Kanta ng mga babae habang may kakaibang ngiting nakapaskil sa kanilang mga labi. I sighed and smiled genuinely. Nagpalakpakan naman ang tatlong lalaking kasama ko nang matapos kumanta ang mga babae.
"Ang weird pala kantahin kapag kulang tayo Haha," Kris chuckled and the girls nodded.
"Oo eh, ang weird rin kapag iba ang tumutugtog sa atin," pagsangayon naman ni Nica.
"But I miss it... I miss us being like that, I missed you girls! I miss you all so much, miss ko na yung dating tayo..." Chipher mumbled and a tear left her eye and then she laughed.
"Me too, miss ko narin yung bangayan nating hindi nauuwi sa ganito... Ang kadiri mang pakinggan pero miss ko na yung maharot na Joy, yung maarteng Kris, yung matakaw na Chipher, yung maingay na Nica at syempre makakalimutan ko ba si Chicher Chris? Damn. Miss ko na kayong lahat," kumento ni Cha sa malungkot na boses.
I strum the guitar in a low sound, I created a background music para madama naman ng mga ito ang kalungkutan.
"Hoy! Hindi na kaya ako matakaw, hmp!" Ismid ni Chipher.
Nagaasaran ang mga ito habang paulit ulit na sinasabi kung gaano na nila ka miss ang isa't isa.
"Parang may nakakalimutan sila," Gray whispered and I chuckled.
"Hayaan mo na, It's our first time to see them being carefree right? Most of the time puro sila nagsisisihan. Hindi naman tayo nagmamadali eh," I replied and continue strumming the guitar.
He nodded and smiled. Tahimik lang rin si Trav at Hen na nagmamasid sa mga babae.
"Can you stop that..." Trav whispered. Hindi ko alam kung sino ang pinagtutungkulan nito kaya hindi ako nagabalang pansinin siya.
"Hey. Stop strumming," saad nito gamit ang iritang boses.
Tinigil ko ito at tinignan siya ng may pagtataka. The same time I stop strumming, the same time the girls stop talking like their bubble was just popped out.
"Look... There's a number engraved here. Maybe this is her favorite number?" He asked and pointed the number beside Joy's name.
"Oh, that. We figure it out already," Kris answered and show us the paper.
'12457'
"Oh? That's nice then," ani Hen at kinuha ang telepono para idial ang mga numero.
There were just two rings and then the call was answered.
"Hello, Jollibee delivery." She chuckled. It was Joy's voice who answered the call.
"Hoy babae! Saan ka?" Sigaw ni Cha sa telepono.
Parepareho ng nakadapa ang apat sa kama habang nakadekwatro naman kami sa sahig. Dahil nasa amin ang telepono ay kinakailangan nilang sumigaw para marinig sila ng nasa kabilang linya, si Joy.
There's a long minute of silence on the other line while the girls kept asking where she is.
"Just a moment," she answered so we kept our silence. Some of us are getting frivolous because of waiting too long, though some of us remained silent.
"Hello again, May inaasikaso lang," she begun and cleared her throat.
"I'm pretty sure that it's not the girls who decoded it right?" She asked and paused.
Napatanga kami at napangisi, samantalang ang sama naman ng tingin ng mga babae sa amin.
"Yeah! How did you know?" I asked but instead of answering me, she congratulated us.
That's when we noticed that she wasn't really answering us, it's like a recorded voice mail.
"Anyway, Good job everyone. You were probably thinking that I'm in my hidden room... Actually, I'm outside the house."
Nagkatinginan kami, nanlalaki ang mata at hindi makapaniwala sa narinig namin.
It is really recorded then... But why was she outside of the house?!
"Why was she outside? Doesn't she know how dangerous it is?!" Nica hysterically asked while blurting out the same question in my mind.
Walang nakasagot sa kaniya kasi hindi rin namin alam kung ano ang tumatakbo sa isip ng babae.
No, I actually knew. That night, I told her hurtful words... That night I told her that it's better if she's alone... I provoked her. I knew it.
We heard the sound of the chair being move. Then she sighed and immediately, her voice sounds cold, serious, demanding.
"I'm maybe asking too much from all of you. Let me tell you this frankly. We aren't ready. Our body, mind and heart aren't ready for this situation. If we will try to go outside, there's a high chance of us, being dead. There's no chance for us to survive."
"Why did you go alone then?" Cha whisphered.
"I know what's on your minds right now, you were probably asking why I left, Why I go outside if it's not safe... If there's no chance of surviving," she answered.
This is my fault... It's clearly my fault... I'm the one who pushed her. I knew it. Damn.
Napasabunot ako sa sarili ko dahil alam kong isa ako sa nagtulak sa kaniyang gawin ito.
There's a pause in the call for a minute. We thought it's already cut but she talked again.
"I'm a coward. I'm afraid that your plan will be our downfall. I don't want to lose someone. I don't want to lose you all. I want you all to be safe even if it's my life in exchange. Sa totoo lang, takot na takot ako. Anong mangyayari sa akin kapag lumabas ako? Kaya ko ba? Makakatagal ba ako? Anong susunod kong gagawin? Paano kayo? Tama pa ba ang desisyon ko?" She asked and her voice broke.
The girls began sobbing and it's the most heartbreaking cry that I heard with them.
The guys remained silent but there's a flicker of hurt and worry in their eyes.
We were all ashamed, hurt and worried. We knew that we were one of the reason why she did it. Naging pabigat kami sa babae imbis na ipagpilitan namin na tulungan siya.
We leaned on her and in the end, we blamed her for everything. Never once did we thanked her for getting us safe. Never once someone lend a hand on her after everything. No one even stay, we were consume by fear, by anger that we forgot to realize that she was also afraid, that she was also a human. That she also has emotions. Emotions that she never let consume her so that she can keep us safe, emotions that she leash so that we can stay alive.
"Gusto ko nang bumalik tayo sa dati. Yung samahan natin, yung kumpleto pa tayo. Yung wala pa tayong problema, yung mga panahong hindi natin kailangang magisip ng ganito... Yung panahong hindi nakasalalay ang buhay natin. Gustong gusto ko ng bumitiw. Gustong gusto ko ng magpahinga, Pagod na pagod na ako girls. Sasabog na yung isip ko kakaisip kung paano tayo magiging ligtas. Sawang sawa na ako kakaplano," she said and laughed weakly.
Umiwas ako ng tingin nang maramdaman ang pagtulo ng luha ko. Mabilis ko itong pinunasan pero patuloy lang ang pagtulo nito. Hindi pa nakakatulong ang pag hagulgol ng mga babae. I bit my inside to stop myself from crying.
Walang nagsasalita sa amin. We all wanted to hear her side, her explanation. We all wanted to hear what's running in her mind after being strong in front of us. We all wanted to hear, to understand her now, because we failed to do it when she was still here.
When she was still beside us, when she was still laughing with us, we failed to understand her.
"Ang tanga ko 'no? I'm tired of everything but I won't even ask for your help. I won't even include you all to planning." She chuckled and sniff, "Ang akin lang naman kasi... Ayokong sisihin niyo yung sarili niyo kapag pumalpak yung plano. Wala eh, the blame should always be put on me. Ako ang naglagay sa inyo sa sitwasyong ito, ako lang dapat ang nagdudusa at hindi kayo. Ako lang ang kailangang masaktan," saad nito.
"N-No..." Chipher whispered, her voice broke.
"Seeing you guys laugh in the living room like there's no problem at all is the best feeling I've ever felt since we sail. Seeing you all happy is making me happy too, kahit na hindi na ako kasama sa panahong masaya kayo. K-Kahit na tinatanaw ko nalang kayo. Atleast ligtas at masaya kayo. 'Yon lang naman ang goal ko eh. Ang makita kayong masaya at hindi nahihirapan."
"Alam kong ang dahilan ng pagiignora niyo sa akin ay dahil sa mga maling desisyon ko. Dahil sa paglalagay ko sa alanganin kay Chris. Dahil napakaselfish ko. Alam ko ang nararamdaman niyo. Yung paulit ulit na pagmamanipula ko sa inyo. Ang sama sama kong tao diba?" She chuckled.
Umiling ako, No. You were a good girl Joy, you were. You weren't bad. You weren't selfish. You were you.
At alam kong pareparehas kami ng iniisip. Hindi ka masamang tao.
"I knew how your mind works. Alam ko at nararamdaman ko kung gaano kayo kadissapointed sa akin. I also knew what you were thinking. Iniisip niyong sana hindi niyo nalang ako nakilala diba? Right Kris?"
"N-No way!" Kris shouted and her voice was laced in pain while there are tears streaming in her face.
"... Don't worry. Hindi ko naman kayo pinipilit. I also wish the same but with a different reason. I wish I never met you all, in that way, you wouldn't be here, you wouldn't be included in my downfall. But I can't turn back the time right? That's why I leave. To protect you all, to save her then when I succedded of bringing you back to where you should be, then maybe... Maybe I'll grant your wishes," she whisphered.
Napasinghap kami sa sinabi nito.
"What the hell?! No way! No Joy! Joy!" Sigaw ng mga babae habang mariin ang pagtanggi sa gusto nito.
"We never wished that..." Cha stated weakly.
"W-We never... We won't..." Chipher added, can't even complete a sentence.
"Napahaba ang sinabi ko. haha," she laughed and we heard her covering her mouth but we knew she's crying.
"I-I just have a favor to ask, please, for your own sake, do it," she stammered.
"Train your body, mind, and heart. Be strong everyone and always remember, I love you all that it hurts so much," and the call ended.
Natahimik kami. Natulala. No one dared to speak but everyone was crying, even me. I felt it, her pain, her thoughts, all of it.
Pinaramdam niya sa amin kung gaano na siya nahihirapan pero pinipilit niyang tumayo, lumaban. Lumalaban siya hindi para sa sarili niya kung hindi para sa amin.
I felt it, I felt how she was closed to give up, to succumb to darkness... and I knew I'm not the only one who felt it.
I looked around and saw the guys sniffing. Namumula na ang nga mata ng mga ito tanda ng pagiyak, ngunit hindi parin matigil ang mga babae sa pagiyak.
Lumapit si Trav at niyakap si Nica na mas lalong humagulogol. He looked at us, his eyes was telling us to comfort the others.
Tumayo naman ang mga ito at lumapit sa apat, kaniya kaniyang pagalo at pagpapatahan sa mga babae.
I sat beside Cha who was silently crying. She was looking at the guitar while there's a sad snile on her face.
"It's our fault isn't it?" She asked in her broken voice.
I smiled sadly and nodded. It is. We failed to understand her.
"What should we do now? Ayoko na Clay eh. Gusto kong makita si Joy. I want to see her badly so I can tell her how much she meant to us, to me. A-Ang sakit lang,—" she broke down. She hold her mouth while silently crying.
Hindi ko alam kung paano ko ito cocomfort-in. I lay her head in my shoulder and tap her back.
"Shh... We need to trust her. Stop crying, Baka hindi kayo makilala ni Joy kapag iyak kayo ng iyak, kapag iyak ka ng iyak. We need to be strong, hmm?" Pag aalo ko at nginitian ito.
She nodded and wiped her tears. "I-It's just that, I've been with her for so long but I never once understand her. She was always discreet. She was always holding her emotions pero si Joy 'yon eh. We began accepting her being like that but I never once thought of trying hard to break her walls. To see her inside, if she was still okay. I never did..." She stammered and smiled sadly.
"She was always there for us, you know? Since she was the most available person in our group, whenever we need help, whenever we need assistance, she was there. We always lean on her that we forgot that she needs to lean on us too. Ang—" she didn't finished her sentence and cried again.
"It's still not the end, Kaya pa nating itama ang lahat. What we can do right now is to train. That's what she said right? Let's trust her okay?" I smiled and offer her my hand.
She looked at it hesitatingly before accepting it and smiled. Pinisil ko ang kamay nito at bumuntong hininga.
Lahat kami nasasaktan. Lahat kami nahihirapan. Lahat kami nagkakamali.
But it's not yet the end. Afterall, we are still alive and now, better.
Parepareho na kaming kalmado at nahimasmasan. Though we are still sad after knewing the drastic move Joy did, we are determinated to succeed, to prove.
We stand up and formed a circle. Some of us has puffy eyes and nose but all of us are fighting. Our eyes shows determination to succeed, to prove and most especially to be better.
We lined our hands infront of us. Patong patong ang mga ito at sabay sabay naming inangat.
Ngumiti kami sa isa't isa. Iisa lang ang nasa isip.
Tapos na ang drama pero hindi pa natatapos ang problema.
We have to fight and now, we won't let her fight alone. We will fight while leaning on each other, not just on her.
We will be better. Itaga mo man 'yan sa bato.
----
Sinong umiyak? Ako, lol. Nagmamature na ang mga babycakes ko, sanaol. Lol.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein