Chapter 60
Kairi barely remembered finishing dinner.
She only remembered the silence. Iyong maingat na galaw ng bawat isa. The way everyone avoided looking at each other for too long na parang konting eye contact lang, may mababasag na naman.
Pagbalik niya sa kwarto, hindi na siya nagbukas ng ilaw.
She curled into herself on the bed, pulling her blanket tight around her shoulders. The darkness made her feel safer than anything else. Her thoughts moved in circles she couldn't escape. Again.
Miss Herrera.
The apartment door.
Her own words echoing back at her. I love you.
Gone. Gone. Gone.
Her chest tightened again.
Mariin niyang ipinikit ang mga mata, trying to stop the spiral before it swallowed her whole.
Then a knock came, pulling her out of the noise in her head.
Bahagyang bumukas ang pinto at pumasok ang ilaw galing sa hallway bago sumunod si Lara at inabot ang switch. Biglang lumiwanag ang kwarto kaya saglit na napapikit si Kairi.
Tumingin si Lara sa kanya na parang nagdadalawang-isip.
"Can we...talk?" she asked.
Kairi felt the nerves hit immediately. Her first instinct was to say she was tired. To say tomorrow. To say anything that would let her hide, para umiwas.
But there was no escaping this. Not anymore.
She swallowed. "Okay."
Lara opened the door wider.
Their parents were there kaya agad na napaupo si Kairi. Her blanket slipped to her lap as her posture straightened.
Unang pumasok ang nanay nila na umupo sa kabilang side ng kama. She was close, pero hindi nakakasakal. Lara moved to the desk chair, turning it slightly toward the bed. Their father stayed near the door with his one hand resting on the frame, like he wasn't sure where he belonged in the room yet.
For a few seconds, walang nagsalita.
Until their mother broke it gently.
"How are you?" she asked.
Kairi's throat tightened. She didn't try to pretend this time.
"I'm not fine, Ma," mahina niyang sagot.
Her mother nodded, like she expected that answer.
A small pause.
"What happened?" her mother asked softly. "With...your teacher."
Nanigas si Kairi.
Her hands twisted together in the blanket. Words rose and stopped and rose and stopped. She stared down, breathing unevenly. The silence stretched long enough that it almost became the answer.
Muling nagsalita ang nanay niya na kalmado pa rin.
"It's okay if you're not ready."
Kairi shook her head faintly.
"No...ayos lang po. I can say...some of it."
She swallowed.
"Well...uhm—she...made school different," Kairi began. "I used to just...do things dahil kailangan. I was good at it, but it didn't mean anything." Her eyes stayed down. "Then she started noticing me. Kinakausap niya ako. Pinu-push ako."
Her voice trembled.
"And I...I started wanting to be around her. Gumawa ako ng excuses. Stayed longer. Nagtatanong kahit alam ko na ang sagot. I think...I knew for a while."
Lara listened without interrupting with arms folded tightly now. Their mother's face stayed soft but heavy. Their father looked at the floor.
"I got close," tuloy ni Kairi. "Too close. And I told her how I felt."
Doon na siya tumigil. Hindi na niya kinuwento ang iba.
The distance.
The moments they avoided each other.
The line they crossed.
The way everything broke.
"And then...it just ended. She stopped coming. And now, she's just...gone."
Silence followed.
Their mother took a moment before speaking, like she was carefully placing every word.
Their father turned his face away, jaw tight. It was difficult to hear. That much was clear. Not because they didn't care, but because they did.
Alam nilang mali.
At alam din nilang alam iyon ni Kairi.
Pressing harder wouldn't help. Asking for details might push her away. Demanding explanations about the teacher, about who she was might close the door completely.
Kaya tinanggap na lang nila kung ano ang ibinigay ni Kairi.
Unang nagsalita ang tatay niya na mas mababa na ang boses kaysa kagabi. "Nangyari na ang nangyari," he said. "This situation...hindi ito madaling tanggapin."
Kairi's chest tightened.
"Pero susubukan namin," he continued. "It might take time. For all of us. But we will try."
Tumingin siya kay Kairi. Hindi siya galit. Just tired and worried.
"Ang gusto lang namin ngayon ay ang tulungan ka." Huminga siya nang marahan. "Please, Kairi, tell us how."
Kairi didn't know what to say.
"If you need therapy," he added. "We'll help you with that."
Her mother nodded.
"And if you don't want that yet," she said gently. "We're still here. Tutulungan ka namin kahit sa paanong paraan mo kailangan. Hindi mo ito kailangang harapin nang mag-isa."
Kairi's eyes burned.
Tumayo si Lara and crossed the room without hesitation this time and sat beside Kairi on the bed. She was close enough that their shoulders touched.
"Just...don't shut us out," Lara said. Protective. "Hindi mo kailangan sabihin lahat. But don't disappear on us."
Nakatitig lang si Kairi sa mga kamay niya.
"I didn't mean to," bulong niya.
"I know," Lara said. "But you did."
Kairi's voice came out small. "I don't know what to do."
Their mother reached for her hand. "You don't have to know right now."
Their father finally stepped away from the door. He didn't come all the way in, but he wasn't standing like he was ready to leave anymore.
"We're not asking you to be okay tomorrow," he said.
Lara nudged her shoulder lightly. "Just...stay. With us."
Kairi's lips trembled.
"I thought...magagalit kayo sa akin," she admitted.
Their father exhaled slowly. "Nagalit ako," tapat niyang sagot. "Until now, sinusubukan ko pa ring intindihin ang nangyari. But you're my daughter first."
That broke something softer in her.
Hinawakan nang mas mahigpit ng nanay niya ang kamay niya. "Anak, nothing you say will make us leave."
Kairi leaned forward, shoulders shaking again, but not like last night. It was not explosive. Just tired grief finally having somewhere to land.
This time, she didn't cry alone.
As their mother pulled her into a careful hug, Lara wrapped an arm around her from the side.
Pagkatapos ng ilang segundo, lumapit ang tatay niya at marahang ipinatong ang kamay sa ulo ni Kairi.
It wasn't perfect. It wasn't resolved. Pero at least, may nagawa na. May nangyari na.
And sa unang pagkakataon since everything fell apart, Kairi didn't feel completely by herself.