Getting Even | Fuentebella Series II (COMPLETED)

Kabanata IV

Ali

Banayad kong ibinababad sa tubig-alat ang aking mga binti habang nakamasid sa nagkakasiyahang mga kapatid na nasa malalim na parte ng dagat.

"Ceres, halika rito!" paanyaya ni Klaus na noo'y sinasabuyan ng tubig ng apat. Determined to get away, he swam farther. "I need an ally!" bulyaw nito, nagmamakaawa sa akin. I just make a face and stood up.

Nang matantong wala akong balak tumulong ay nagsimula ng gumanti ang pinagtutulungang si Klaus causing the girls to shriek. I walked away smiling. Binaybay ko ang dalampasigan at tumigil sa bandang batuhan. Pinili kong umupo sa isang malapad na bato sa pinakataas at komportableng ikinuyakoy ang mga paa. The rusty wind blew my wavy hair roughly dahilan ng muntik ko ng pagkahulog. Buti na lamang at magaling akong bumalanse.

Inis kong ipinusod ang alun-along buhok na sumasagabal sa magandang view ng karagatan sa islang pagmamay-ari namin sa Palawan. This is the most recent island Daddy bought this year since our family love the ambience and breeze of the sea. Lahat ng islang binili ni Daddy ay nakapangalan sa aming magkakapatid. Kami rin ang nagbobotohang magkakapatid kung saang isla namin balak sulitin ang bakasyon pwera lamang ngayon dahil kailan lang ito nabili ni Daddy and he wanted to see this place urgently na sumakto sa semester break naming magkakapatid.

"Alessana Marie!"

My chinky eyes immediately darted on a girl of my age dauntlessly running away from her nanny. She gracefully maneuvers herself on the sharp edges of rocks until the hopeless old lady can't see her no more.

"Alessana Marie!" muling pagtatangka ng matandang tagapag-alaga and the girl she's calling just giggle and hide herself more hanggang sa tuluyan ng sumuko ang naghahanap sa kanya.

"Whew!" The girl wiped her sweats and looked for a spot to rest. "That was amazing! I should try it again and again!" halakhak nito habang walang kahirap-hirap na na umaakyat sa matutulis na batuhan. I took the time observing her physique. She's quite mature for our age and way taller and slender than me. Ang buhok niya ay walang kasing itim at tuwid, hindi tulad ng sa akin na wavy. I would die just to have that kimd of hair. She has a fair complexion as white as snow. I'm fair too, pero hindi kasing puti ng katulad ng sa kanya. Serise will be her match because my kind of fair is pinkish. Her face can launch a thousand ships too, halatang may lahing banyaga.

I continued observing her as she busied herself climbing the rocks. "Careful!" I whispered when she tripped. She's so careless.

"Thanks! I will!" Her blue eyes were now on me. Surprised, my lips formed an 'o'. Tumikhim na lamang ako sa kahihiyan. Natawa ito sa reaksyon ko. An idea popped in her mind and I found her sitting comfortably beside me.

"Turista ka rin?" she said out of curiosity o dahil ramdam nitong wala akong balak kausapin siya. I nodded as an answer. I focused my eyes on the wild waves hitting the rocks below us.

I wanted to tell her that we own the place but my tongue was tied. Besides, I am not the conversational type of person. I'm really the reincarnation of my brother, Caius. Isa pa, hindi ko siya kilala. Mommy always reminds us not to easily trust and talk to random stranger.

"Kailan pa kayo rito?" She asked again trying to make a conversation. Nang hindi ako sumagot at bumuntong-hininga ito at inilahad ang kamay sa harap ko. Confused, tintigan ko lamang ito.

"I'm Ali." she introduced herself. "Alessana Marie Rivero." She smiled genuinely when I looked at her. That time, I knew she had my trust already.

"I-I'm-"

"Ceres!" Serise shrilling voice interrupted us. "Bumaba ka riyan! I'm gonna wring your neck! You made us worried!" litanya pa nito habang itinutulak sina Caius at Klaus paakyat sa mga bato.

"You should go." Ali said sternly. "Bago ka pa mapatay ng kapatid mo," aniya habang pinipigilang mapatawa. "Anyway, nice to meet you! Hopefully, next time matino ka ng kausap," pahabol pa nito na hindi ko na pinansin dahil abala ako sa pag-iingat bumaba sa batuhan.

The next day, nagpaiwan na lamang ako sa mansion at inabala ang sariling pag-aralan ang ilang bagong tugtugin sa piano. My siblings and I are fond of music since we were babies kaya naman nagsikap si Mommy na ienrol kami sa music school. Dahil na rin sa likas na talento, we mastered our preferred instrument in a week. We became a band with Penny and Caius as our lead vocalist though we all know how to sing. It's just that most of us have difficulty in multi-tasking.

"Ceres, honey, you've been practicing for hours already. You should prepare already for your number later. Okay?" That was Mom. Hindi ko namalayan na nakauwi na pala sila at ang mga kapatid ko ay nag-unahan na ring umakyat ng ikalawang palapag upang magpahinga.

The night came in. The stage is all set for our performance tonight. It has been our tradition to play whenever we had a vacation on our new bought island and here we are now. Abala ang mga taong naninirahan rito sa paghahanda ng aming salu-salo mamaya.

Isa-isa na kaming umakyat ng entablado at nang magsisimula na ay biglang sumulpot sa aming harapan yung babaeng nakilala ko kahapon. She gave us a beaming smile at pagkatapos ay binigyan ng flying kiss si Caius. Hindi ko mapigilang ngumiwi sa inakto niya. She's kinda liberated, isn't she?