Chapter 5

I woke with the sun shining in my window. Sumakit ang buong katawan ko sa haba ng tulog so I stretched my body really good and finally decided to jump off the bed. Dumiretso agad ako sa banyo para maghilamos. Pakiramdam ko na-energize ang buo kong katawan dahil sa sobrang lamig ng tubig na dumadampi sa mukha ko. Ang sarap lang sa feeling. After that, I gargled a mouthwash at lumabas agad ng kwarto.

Plano ko sana dumiretso sa kusina kaso biglang tumunog ang doorbell habang pababa ako ng hagdan. Walang tao sa sala and I didn't see anyone running for the door. Kaya pagkababa ko, dumiretso ako sa pinto and opened it.

"Hi, Kat. Good morning!" a girl greeted me coolly.

Kasintangkad at parang kasing-edad ko ang babaeng bumungad sa'kin sa labas. She knew my name and I didn't know how to react. Or respond.

"Uhm . . . hi," I greeted her back, finally.

"I'm sorry. Ako nga pala si Rita," pakilala niya. "Diyan lang ako nakatira sa tapat. Kababata mo 'ko noon until lumipat kayo sa Manila when we were small."

Oh, yes, Rita. Naalala ko siya. But not so much. But I was sure I remembered her. She really was my childhood friend.

"Well, you don't probably remember that kasi sobrang bata pa natin at sa Zone Three pa kami nakatira noon," sabi pa niya habang tumatama sa mukha niya ang maikli niyang buhok dahil sa hangin sa labas. "Two years ago, lumipat kami dito sa Zone Eight with my lola. We actually have pictures together noong maliliit pa tayo, like, sa church dati. There's also one na naglalaro tayo ng bahay-bahayan sa kwarto mo with all your toys and a picture nung fifth birthday ko kasama ang Mom and Dad m---"

She just stopped mid-sentence at di ko alam kung bakit.

"Oops. I didn't mean to . . ." she said guiltily maybe because she mentioned my parents. "I'm sorry, ang daldal ko."

"No, it's fine. Everybody's sorry," sabi ko sa kanya.

"Look who's here!" the voice echoed from the inside of our house at sumulpot si Pops sa likuran ko. He saved that little-bit-awkward moment.

"Good morning po, Sir Ramon," bati niya sa lolo ko.

"Good morning! I'm glad that you both meet each other again. Katherine, siya 'yung kababata mong si Rita," sabi ni Pops.

"Yeah, Pops. I remember." I didn't lie.

"Why don't you come inside?" invite niya kay Rita. "Para makapagkwentuhan naman kayo dalawa. You have a lot to catch up."

She finally brushed her hair to the back of her ears. "I'd love to. Kaso paalis na rin po kami ni Mamita. Pupunta po kami sa Town Library at tutulong po ako sa pag-i-inventory ng mga libro. Pinapabigay lang po ito ni Mamita sa inyo," sabi niya sabay abot ng isang medium-sized na glass jar at punung-puno ng cookies.

"Wow, my favorite!" Pops happily grabbed the jar from Rita's hands. "It's been a while since I've had these. Pakisabi kay Cecilia, maraming salamat."

"You're welcome po. Alis na po ako," paalam niya and she also waved her hand at me. "Bye, Kat."

"See ya," I smiled at her.

Two months had passed mula noong lumipat kami ni Kurt sa Puerto Estrella. Marami na ring nangyari sa loob ng dalawang buwan at medyo marami na rin kaming nakikilalang mga tao sa subdivision namin pati sa ibang lugar sa isla. We also went to the beach one time and that was the first time na na-experience ko ang dagat ng Puerto Estrella. The beach was called Sol del Sur and there's also a lighthouse on a hill along the seaside.

Rita and I became closer as friends in the process. She had a bubbly attitude and very easy to get along with. Minsan may kabaliwan din siya kaya natutuwa ako'ng kasama siya. At ang mas maganda, ako ang laging kinakampihan niya 'pag nagtatalo kami ni Kurt. Kurt also gained new friends like Jake and Seth; mga bago niyang basketball buddies. Pero di ko pa sila nami-meet personally. I just saw them.

Madalas kaming magkasamang pumunta ng church on Sundays at nakikinig ng preaching ni Pastor Henry Aguilar. And when Pops wanted to go fishing, niyayaya din namin si Rita pati ang lola niya, si Mamita, na sumama sa'min. Kapag gumagala naman ako sa bahay nila, Mamita would always feed me with her cookies and showed me our old baby photos. She loved wearing formal dresses at gaya ni Pops, di rin halata ang edad niya the way she was sporting herself. Siya na ang nag-alaga kay Rita simula pagkabata. Her mom died after giving birth and her dad was MIA. She had never met him in her life.

Naging libangan na rin namin ang pagluluto at pagbi-bake. Madalas tinutulungan kong magluto sina Mamita at Auntie Edna pag family day during Sundays gamit ang mga cookbooks ko. I also shared my talent of cooking with Rita but it didn't turn out fine. One time, nag-bake kami ng muffins habang hinahayaan ko lang siya and then the finished product was awful. Hindi umalsa 'yung muffin at sunog na sunog. We all just laughed it out at nag-decide siya na sa pagkanta na lang siya magfo-focus.

Sa totoo lang, this was the first time na nagkaroon ako ng tunay na kaibigan. I didn't have any close friends way back in Manila dahil palipat-lipat din kami ng bahay. We changed schools every year in all those eleven years. Nahihirapan kaming mag-adjust pareho ni Kurt and there were times that we were bullied at school because we're the new kids. Like me, wala din gaanong kaibigan si Kurt. It was always just the two of us.

That time, the only reason that we knew kung bakit kami palipat-lipat was because of our parents' jobs. They're both lawyers like Pops and they were working privately for different politicians in different places. Kurt and I were complaining pero wala din kaming nagawa. Hanggang sa nasanay na lang kami. At least somehow, never naman nagkulang ang parents namin. We were always happy at home. So, I guessed that's more important.