Minukawa By Free Vergara Paguia All Rights Reserved.

Copyright 2011

It was drizzly. I hurriedly walked down the street leading to my father's house. I was about to cross the street when I bumped into a guy. I muffled an apology as I looked at him. I was surprised to see my old schoolmate, Seth. The last time I saw him was before he graduated from our alma mater. We did the catch-up bit for awhile before I told him that I needed to go home. I took a few steps away from him when I asked him if he wanted to come with me because it was my father's birthday. He politely declined and promised to keep in touch. As I turned around the corner, I kept thinking about the old times. Seth was four years my senior and one of the coolest guy in campus. He used to be my brother's closest bud. He was everything I thought an older brother should be. And, when they had a falling out, I resented my brother for it, tho, I never really knew what happened between them. The rain began to pour heavily. Fortunately, I was a few steps from the gate of my father's house. I ran inside and got in the house. I looked at the receiving area and there was no one there. I headed to the backyard and there I saw my brothers with their girlfriends and some of our family friends happily chatting away and eating. My youngest brother acknowledged my presence by saying my name out loud and everybody looked my way. I nodded and smiled. I walked to my brother and asked where our father was. He told me that our father was in the living room. I was confused. I told him that I was in the reception area not a minute ago and didn't see our father there. My older brother joined our conversation wanting to know what was going on. I told him that I was looking for our father and couldn't find him. He told me the same thing that our youngest sibling had told me. Skeptical, I backtracked towards the livingroom with my two brothers to prove to them that our father wasn't there. When we reached the livingroom there was our father sitting comfortably on the sofa talking to a guy. I had no idea who the guy was for he had his back at me. I stopped on my track. How could I possibly missed my father? He was a 6 footer guy. As I stood there stunned, my eldest brother whispered something to me that I couldn't understand. I entered the room and greeted my father. The guy, my father was talking to, looked my way. I was speechless. It was Seth. He just smiled at me. I asked Seth what he was doing here, but my father interrupted and told me that he had invited Seth. I asked my father how he knew where to contact Seth. But my father changed the subject and asked if I had eaten. I told him that I hadn't and wasn't that hungry yet. As I sat beside my father, I couldn't helped but stare at Seth. He looked like Seth but something was different. He was wearing a different outfit than what I've seen him a few minutes earlier. There were a lot of questions that was roaming in my head, but I couldn't bring myself to ask Seth.

I returned my gaze to my father. I asked him how he was doing. He told me that he was doing a lot better. I studied his eyes and he was actually saying the truth. I was worried because he had been in and out of the hospital for a couple months. Two weeks ago, when I last saw him, he couldn't even get out of his bed and hold any of his food down. And, because of that, his once sturdy physique became frail. Now, as I was sitting next to him, he looked great as if there were no traces of his failing health. My father hugged me tightly. He whispered to my ear not to worry too much for he was doing much better. I couldn't understand why the tears from my eyes began to flow freely. He told me that he was doing better. When he broke our embrace, my father wiped the tears from my cheeks and kissed me on the forehead. After that, he told my brothers and I that he was going for a walk. I protested that he couldn't for it was raining outside. My dad told me that the rain had stopped. My brothers offered to accompany my father, but our dad refused. Instead, he declared that he wanted Seth to accompany him. Seth stood up and I looked at him. He returned my gaze and smiled. It was odd. The way he looked at me, somehow flooded my entire being with feelings of melancholy and peace at the same time. I broke my eye contact with Seth when my father stood up. I was amazed that he could stand on his own without his cane or anybody helping him. As my dad and Seth left the livingroom, passed my two brothers and into the hallway, everything seemed to stop. Both my brothers stood there frozen and complete silences fell into the room but Seth and my father continued to move towards the door. I ran after them and told them to wait for me. They stopped. Seth spoke and told me that I couldn't go with them for it wasn't my time yet. I asked him, time for what? Silence. I asked him who he really was. He told me that he was Minukawa. After saying that, he and my father stepped outside the door and slowly faded away. I felt a hand touched my shoulder. I turned around and my youngest brother hugged me. He was crying. I looked at the sofa and saw my eldest brother embracing my father's lifeless body.