Novel & Cerita Name A Place Where You Often Whisper

walking beside him like this felt easy. Too easy. "The moon isn't as bright tonight," I murmured habang nakatingala sa langit. "Hmm." "To be honest... I miss province life sometimes." He looked at me. "You grew up in the city, right?" "Yeah," I nodded slowly. "But I still prefer quiet places. Yung malayo sa ingay. Malayo sa maraming tao." "Why?" I smiled faintly. "Because silence feels more honest." That made him quiet for a second.

Inunahan ko siyang umalis sa lugar na 'yon at hindi ko tinapunan ng tingin ang pandak at dugyot na si Aerielle at dire-diretso na akong naglakad. Isang linggo ang lumipas simula ng magkita kami ni Aerielle sa... Secret Haven na sabi niya? Hindi ko alam kung iyon ang pangalan ng lugar na 'yon. Hindi ko na siya tinanong tungkol sa bagay na 'yon dahil hindi ako makapag-isip ng maayos noong sandaling kasama ko ang dugyot na 'yon, at isa pa ay ayaw ko nga siya kausap.

I hissed. Buti naman at nakinig na, binaba niya ako. I look at the place it looks like unfamiliar. "Nasa'n tayo?" I asked him. "QC Memorial Circle," he said. What the?! Ang layo nito ah! "Ba't tayo nandito?" I asked. "To unwind, to breathe a fresh air," he laughed.

Nana diverted her gaze to mom and she just gave her a thrift smile. My gloomy face brightened seeing a very familiar tall metal gate from a distance. “Kalinga Orphanage!” I exclaimed in excitement. “How do you know this place?” Hinawakan ako ni Mom sa ulo. “Dinadala ko siya rito tuwing gusto kong ilayo siya sa gulo. This is our to go place,” si Nana. “Our secret place!” Ngumiti ako nang malapad. “So this is the hideout you’re always talking about huh?” Mom ruffled my hair.

tanong niya, pilit binabago ang usapan. “May bahay akong inihanda. Malapit sa central district pero discreet ang location. Doon ka titira—doon tayo titira habang nasa bisa pa ang kasunduan. Kailangan nating panindigan, kung sakaling may sumubaybay.” “Paninindigan…” she echoed, bahagyang napangiti. “I guess kailangan ko ring mag-practice tumawag ng 'honey' o 'babe' kapag nasa public tayo?”

I whispered to myself but I am sure everyone in the group heard it all. "Ah! At that cafe yesterday! I didn't see her clearly. Sorry. I almost thought she was Nathaniel's new girl. Haha!" Kath words once again made me even more afraid. Since last night when I couldn't sleep I was scared of so many things. Now that fear began to spread so widely that there was no reason to argue. If he answered his phone, I might have been more secure than this. "There he is!" One of my friends whispered before pointing his finger to the tall figure of a person who was going to the cafeteria from afar.

Saka niya pinagmasdan ang paligid. “I was just wondering. Kakabalik ko lang galing sa ibang bansa. I want to see the surroundings. Hindi pa ako nakapagpasyal sa Sta Mos Vier simula nang makatapak ako rito.” Naningkit ang mata ni Sereia. Humalukipkip siya. “Iyan ba talaga ang sadya mo? O baka naman sinusundan mo ako?” Hinarap ni Linux si Sereia. “What makes you think of that?”

“Let’s take a little walk, shall we?” Ilang minuto lang at nasa labas na kami ng campus. Dinala niya ako sa isang lumang hideout malapit sa gubat. Isang abandonadong warehouse na ginawang secret sparring place noong araw. Pagkapasok pa lang namin, ramdam ko na agad na may maling mangyayari, pero aware ako dahil sinabi na sa akin ito ni Amon. Para bang may presensyang ibang nanonood sa amin, ramdam ko ‘yun. Tumayo siya sa gitna ng lugar. Ako naman, pinanood ko lang siya.

It’s almost like we’re just reminiscing about the past. It’s not an issue to me at all. Those places we go to are usually quiet so I have no problems with it. The silence is not making the atmosphere awkward at all. Instead, we get busy reminiscing that we don’t even talk to each other anymore. She would usually speak just to remind me that in that place, we did something stupid there, we did something memorable here and stuffs. I just listen to her because all of the things she’s mentioning are still intact in my head. I can remember it well as if it just happened yesterday. I would hear her laugh softly every time. And that’s making my heart melt.

Isang uri ng katahimikan na hindi ko kailanman naranasan sa lungsod. Sa buong buhay ko, bihira lang akong pumasok sa ganitong lugar. Ngunit ngayon, tila gusto kong ilapag ang lahat—lahat ng bigat, lahat ng tanong—sa kung sinuman ang nakikinig sa loob ng sagradong espasyong ito. Nakilala ko rin ang ilang madre at deboto, kasama si Nanay Weng na tila kilalang-kilala ng lahat.