Inikot ni Steph ang buong paligid, hangang-hanga sya sa ganda ng view... Maya-maya ay inaatake sya ng pangungulila sa mga magulang. Mag-iisang taon narin nyang hindi nakikita ang papa at mama nya. Kahit madalas naman ang pagtawag ng kanyang ina ay hindi parin nya mapigil ang kanyang sarili na mamiss sila ng husto. Gustuhin man nyang umuwi sa kanila ngunit alam nyang hindi pa ito napapanahon.
Hindi nakapagpigil si Steph ng makalapit syang muli sa harap ng pool. Dinampot nya ang kanyang telepono at nireturn call ang numero ni Damon na hindi pa niya nasesave sa kanyang phonebook.
“Missed me so fast sweetheart?”..malambing na sagot ng binata.
“Damon, matatagalan ka ba dyan?”
“Now that’s the second time, bakit ba sa telepono mo lang binabanggit ang pangalan ko”
“Sagutin mo nalang kaya ang tanong ko”...
“Im so sorry princess, as much as I want to decline the invitation, pero this meeting is so important to me, mahirap palampasin. But I’ll try to be back as soon as I can alright”...apologetic na tono ni Damon.
“It’s ok, take your time”....may ngiting nabuo sa mukha ni Steph na tila my binabalak na kalokohan.
Dumeretso sya sa 3rd floor, pumasok sa guest room at ng palit ng swimwear...Di na nya napigilan ang sariling magswimming dahil talaga namang nakakabighani ang infinity pool sa ibaba. Balak nya lang lumangoy ng kahit 30mins lang pagkatapos ay magbibihis din sya bago pa makabalik si Damon. Aba akalain mo ba namang puro 2 piece pa ang binili ng binata, pinili nalang nya ang kulay pula na halter ang design ng pang itaas. Hindi sya sanay mag suot ng 2 piece dahil pang swimming competition madalas ang sinusuot nya. But since she had decided to give in to the temptation of the pool, she wouldn’t mind wearing a sexy swimsuit at all.. She then put on a robe and went down straight to the pool.
Malacañang Palace
It was an appointment he couldn’t say no to indeed. The president himself invited him to discuss his preferences on a particular brand of car. Naisip nyang paunlakan ang imbetasyon ng pangulo ngunit wala syang balak magtagal dito. He couldn’t wait to go back to Stephanie. Si Steph... si Steph na ubod ng baduy kung pumorma, si Steph na nakasalamin at wagwag ang buhok. Bakit nga ba sa dinami-daming babae sa paligid, mga babaing nababagay sa kanyang estado sa buhay, ay si Stephanie pa ang pinili ng kanyang puso... Oh my,...he couldn’t believe what he was thinking. Did he really fell in love with such a girl? Naisip nya ang kanyang mga magulang, at kapatid. Sasang-ayon kaya sila sa kanya?.... Damon, Damon. You have to control yourself and weigh things first... Is she worth it?.You would risk your reputation just to be with this girl...Frankly, he didn’t want to think about it yet. I will deal with it later, for now, I need to focus on closing a deal with Mr. President. Matapos ang mahigit isang oras na pag-uusap nila ng pangulo, Damon bid a courteous goodbye to the president at dali-dali na itong sumakay sa kanyang sasakyan.
Halos paliparin ni Damon ang kanyang sasakyan. He couldn’t wait to see her again. While he was talking to the president awhile ago, he already had everything planned. Tonight, he would make things straight and settled with Steph. She would become officially his girlfriend, hindi lang dahil sa pustahan. He would tell her how much he had fallen for her. They would spend the week end knowing each other. Tonight, he wouldn’t hold back from kissing her, he would make sure that she’d ask for him to do so. Yes, she would be worth everything.
Sobrang bilis ng mga pangyayari, hindi na napansin ni Damon ang papalapit na 10-wheeler truck. Nahagip and kanyang sasakyan causing it to turn turtle and slam into an electric post.
Nasa operating room pa si Damon ng makarating si Stephanie sa hospital. Her mind still couldn’t believe what had just happened. She couldn’t understand why things should have to go wrong.
Habang nasa pool sya kanina lang ay napagdesisyunan nyang wag nang pigilin ang kanyang nararamdaman. She would tell Damon how she truly feels about him. How she has fallen so deeply inlove with him. Kung mag iba man si Damon ay atleast aalis sya sa bahay na yun na maluwag ang pakiramdam.
Nakabihis na sya nang biglang tumatakbong lumapit si nanay Belen sa kanya. “Ma’am, si sir po naaksidente!”.
She was shocked, her head spinned but she managed to keep her knees straight. Dali-dali syang nagbihis at nagpahatid sa driver papunta sa hospital kung saan dinala si Damon. She couldn’t help her tears from falling, how could this happen.
She was shaking in disbelief. She prayed, begged, even bargained with God, “Lord please ako nalang, not him”.
Nang makarating si Steph sa Hospital ay kinausap sya ng doctor.
“Are you a relative of Mr. Samuel?” tanong ng doctor.
“No doctor, I’m just a friend, how is he doing?”
“Mr. Samuel suffered multiple injuries in his lower extremities, he was unconscious pagdating dito so we are also suspecting head trauma. We still have to do MRI to see if there is a need for us to do head surgery.”
Napaluha si Stephanie.
“Right now his chance of survival is still uncertain, but we are doing everything we can to save him.”
Inabot ng walong oras ang operasyon ni Damon. He suffered multiple fractures on both his lower extremities and a blunt abdominal trauma. He only had minor head injury that’s why they didn’t have to perform head surgery.
When Damon was brought to the ICU, he was on ventilator and attached to different gadgets including a cardiac monitor. Halos madurog and puso ni Steph sa kanyang nakita. He was still unconscious. He had multiple abrasions on his face and arms. His legs are wrapped with an elastic bandage. How she wanted to run to him but the nurses told her to better let the patient rest first. And so she waited, nakaligtaan nya na ang oras. Hindi nya alam kung gaano sya katagal naidlip na naka upo ng gisingin sya ng nurse.
“Ma’am, gising na po si sir”
Dali-dali syang tumayo at tumungo kay Damon. Naluluha syang nakatingin sa binata.
“Hey.” Matamlay na banggit ni Damon
“Shhhh, you don’t need to speak yet, I’m so happy you’re awake but you need to rest, magpalakas ka.”
Muling pumikit ang mga mata ni Damon. Hinawakan ni Steph ang kanyang mga kamay.
“Damon.” She kissed one of his palms and placed it on her cheek.
“I love you.” Pag-amin ni Steph.
Napangiti si Damon na nakapikit, tuluyan na itong nakatulog muli.
She knew she was dreaming. Damon was hugging her from the back, kissing her hair. She was holding his hands wrapped around her. Everything was so peaceful and perfect.
“Hija?...hija...”
Napalundag si Steph ng biglang my tumapik sa kanyang balikat. Isang babae, malamang ay nasa late 40’s na, maganda at napakadesente ng suot.
“Ikaw ba si Stephanie? Nabanggit ni Manang Belen na ikaw raw ang kauna-unahang sumugod dito. I suppose you’re a friend of my son” Tanong ni Doña Miranda, ang ina ni Damon.
“I’m Damon’s mother hija, we are very thankful for you being here for our son, kararating lang namin galing Switzerland.” Dagdag pa nito.
“Good morning po ma’am, ikinalulungkot ko po ang nangyari” nakayukong sagot ni Steph.
Bakas sa mga mata ni Doña Mira ang matinding pag-aalala sa anak, hindi ito umimik.
Maya-maya ay muli itong nagsalita, “You look so tired hija, I think you need to rest, sabi ng nurse nandito ka lang buong gabi. Pwede kang magpahatid sa driver, or should you want to stay for a while, my private suite kami sa may west wing ng building, you can sleep there, hija.”
“Salamat po ma’am, Malapit lang naman po ang tinitirahan ko dito, uuwi nalang po muna ako”
“Ok, thank you so much Stephanie”
Tumayo na si Steph, sumilip sa my glass window, Damon was still asleep. Samantala, kausap naman ng mga magulang ni Damon ang kanyang doctor. Doon nya napansin and isang lalaking marahil ay nasa mid 50’s na ang edad. Hindi maipagkakaila na ito ang ama ni Damon dahil kuhangkuha nito ang kanyang mga mata at ilong. Litaw na litaw parin ang kagwapuhan ng kanyang ama.
Tumuloy si Stephanie palabas, sumakay sya ng taxi pauwi at doon nagpatuloy ang kanyang pag-iyak sa kanyang kama hanggang sa makatulog sya sa sobrang pagod.
Alas sais na ng Linggo ng makagising si Stephanie. Hindi nya nakuhang magbihis at kumain ng hapunan pagdating nya galing ng hospital. Dali-dali syang bumangon, naligo, nagbihis at sumubo ng konteng almusal. Tumungo syang muli sa hospital para kumustahin ang kalagayan ni Damon. Wala na syang paki-alam sa sasabihin ng magulang nito, bahala na, she needs to know he’s ok.
“Nurse, I would like to visit Mr. Samuel”, paalam nito sa my nurse station.
“I’m very sorry ma’am but Mr. Samuel was airlifted to the States early this morning, but his secretary is right over there” Turo ng nurse sa isang babaeng my kausap sa telepono sa my di kalayuan sa kanila.
Habang naglalakad sya palapit ay di nya maiwasang humanga sa kagandahan ng babae, naka corporate attire at nakalugay ang hanggang baywang nitong buhok.
“Hello, I’m a friend of Damon, nandito ako kahapon”, tanong ni Steph ng humarap ang babae sa kanya.
“Hi, you must be Stephanie, I’m Sally, his PA and secretary.” Nakipagkamay si Sally sa kanya.
“Damon, wanted to see you before they left for San Diego. He asked me to call you but we didn’t have anyone to ask your number from, dina kase narecover yong mga gamit nya sa sasakyan, including his phone cause his car was totally wrecked. So I kind of lingered here for a while hoping you’d show up and here you are. Damon said that he would just be gone for a while and that he would come back for you once he has fully recovered.” Malungkot na sabi ni Sally
“His parents decided to airlift him to the states because Damon had to undergo a very delicate spinal surgery, they found out last night from the MRI result that he had a spinal cord injury. Nasa California ang isang hospital na highly specialized for this kind of operation, so they didn’t waste time, they wanted the operation done immediately since time is of the essence.” Dagdag ni Sally.
Hindi nakasagot si Steph, walang boses na tila mailabas ang kanyang bibig. Tumango na lamang sya.
“Thank you for being so kind in waiting for me”, pagpapasalamat nya.
“No problem, I made a promise to deliver that message to you, and I’m glad I did.” Pormal na sagot ni Sally.
“Tutuloy na ako Sally.” Matapos tumango ay tumalikod na sya at naglakad palabas ng hospital.. Mainit ang panahon but she felt like shaking. Would he be ok?... Would she see him again?... Would he really come back for her?
Napakarami nyang tanong na tila dasal sa kanyang isipan ng biglang nagring ang kanyang cellphone.
“Stephanie, anak?” nasa kabilang linya ang kanyang mama.
“Mama?” tuluyan ng tumulong muli ang kanyang mga luha.
“Anak, you need to come home right away, your dad is seriously ill”
Tila biglang nagtakipsilim ang paligid ni Stephanie, hindi nya alam ang isasagot sa ina, magkahalong lungkot at pag-aalala ang kanyang nararamdaman. Parang napakasikip ng paligid at nahihirapan syang huminga.
“Anak?” nag-aalalang tanong ng kanyang mama.
“Yes mama, I will be in Davao asap”..Tulirong sagot ni Steph.
“ Ok anak, you take care alright, Juaquin and Chito will accompany you.”
“Thank you mama, you take care to”
Umuwi si Steph, dali-daling nag-impake at tumungo ng airport. Habang nasa taxi sya ay napakalalim ng kanyang iniisip. “Goodbye Damon, I’ll see you again, I promise.”pangako nito habang nakatingin sa langit.
To be continued...
Next: Part VI - Queen Stephanie Rodriguez Tuason
Previous: Part IV - The Proposal
