No Secrets

Thursday, 29 April 2021

I don't remember ever keeping a secret from Justin. And I don't think I can ever keep a secret from him because he's my only confidant. At home, I have these responsibilities as the second man of the house. Since I'm the eldest of three siblings, I've been taking care of my two sisters and brother since they were babies. I'm so much older than they are, so I can feel the huge generation gap. Marie is 15, Robin is turning 12 on August 22, and Hailey will be 10 this coming May 12th. Imagine that. The gap between me and my siblings are 11, 14, and 16 years! I mean, it's not that I'm not close to any of them; I am. It's just that sometimes, I feel more like a father to them than a big brother because of the generation gap, and though I've read some books and seen some movies where the closeness between family members can be just like having a best friend, my relationship with my siblings isn't anything like that; I can never be friends with them. Imagine me telling my siblings about Serena. That wouldn't be appropriate. I wish they were older. Justin's really the only person in the world I could talk to when it comes to anything and everything. Now, do you get my special connection with him? He's like the sibling I've always wanted. Although he's three years younger than I am, I can hardly feel the gap because we share the same thoughts and sometimes, circumstances.

I'm not sure how long I've been unconscious, but when I opened my eyes, I immediately saw Justin doodling something on his sketch pad. I was all cozy hugging a huge pillow on my left side facing Justin and his desk. "Are you drawing a portrait of me sleeping?"

He instantly closed the sketch pad, put down his pencil, and moved his chair closer to the bed by holding it underneath and pulling it with him. "What happened, bro? Why did you faint? Where have you been? There's creamy macaroni soup and pork adobo for dinner."

That last statement about food instantly made my stomach growl, so I slowly rose from the bed. Even if I wanted to be energetic and excited about it, I still felt weak. "I'll tell you everything after we eat," I said in a soft voice.

"Okay, let's go. You look dead beat. I never imagined the time would come when I'd see you looking so frail."

"I know, me too. I've never felt this weak before."

Justin swiftly ran towards the kitchen and touched the lid of the rice cooker, as well as the two pot lids on the cooking stove beside it. "They're still hot. I'm glad you woke up not long after I finished cooking."

"How long was I passed out?"

"Less than an hour. I was going to take you to the hospital, but you seemed fine. I think you were just too exhausted and needed some rest."

"I'm glad you didn't take me to the hospital because that would've been a hassle. I really am fine. Just suuuper hungry."

As soon as I settled myself at the dining area, he placed two bowls of macaroni soup, a big bowl of rice, and adobo in front of me. Hallelujah! Then, he sliced two big mangoes and put them on the table as well. Another hallelujah! I grabbed the spoon and fork, started filling my plate with rice and adobo, then gobbled up the food and sipped macaroni soup from time to time. We were both silent for the whole 10 minutes, just focusing on the scrumptious meal. Then, he stood up and grabbed two cans of Coke from the fridge. I opened it as soon as he handed it to me, and the swoosh sounded so heavenly. It was even more heavenly when I drank it, just as heavenly as the pork adobo and macaroni soup. Justin's delicious meal quickly brought back my energy as if I hadn't fainted at all. I'm sure any girl who marries him would be so lucky; he's such a great cook, and a great friend.

He fetched a pitcher of cold water and put two glasses on the table while I was relishing the mangoes. I was about to put water on my glass, but he already poured it for me. "Thanks, bro. And sorry I made you worry. You wouldn't believe what happened to me, but you'd better believe it 'cause I have proof."

"Proof of what?" He sat down and waited for me to finish drinking the glass of water. "Tell me."

I stroke my belly. It was so full, it felt like it was about to burst. Then, I burped. "Justin, that was the best meal as usual. You could be my wife someday," I said, jokingly.

"Shut up. Tell me what happened. I've been dying to know."

"Hmmm." Wow, I never thought it would be this hard to start talking. I couldn't think of a better way to begin my revelation. Should I tell him about the fountain first? Or should I just simply tell him that I've been accidentally crowned as King of the Purple Sea and now, I have aquakinesis?

"Bro?!"

"Alright, alright. It's just…I don't know where to begin."

"Tell me why you fainted outside my gate."

"I haven't eaten in almost two days. I only ate plants."

"What? Why? Where have you been?"

"To the Underworld called the Purple Sea."

His eyebrows raised. "Are you on drugs?"

"No, bro. You know I'm not the type." I sighed, then let out a heavy breath. "Okay, here goes. I got swallowed by a purple water coming from a magical fountain that nobody knows exists behind the church. Beyond my control, I got inside that fountain and way down the Underworld called the Purple Sea. I landed at the bottom of the sea, rolled over, and crashed into a coronation ceremony, then accidentally got crowned as King of the Purple Sea instead of Princess Nicolette who, by the way, is a beautiful mermaid with orange red hair and blue and green tail with a fluke that glitters. Here, see this?" I showed him my right wrist with the golden crown bracelet, but he just kept looking.

"Look at what? Did you get a tattoo of an ant?"

"Nooo, LOOK. Can't you see it?" I pointed at my bracelet. "It's a golden crown bracelet."

He stopped looking and leaned back on his seat. His nose and forehead scrunched up, he raised an eyebrow and pursed his lips. "Have you gone mental? Did Serena do this to you? I knew it, the minute she denied that you stayed the night with him, there was something wrong. You were with her, right? What did she do to you? Are you suffering from some kind of traumatic experience? Should I call your papa? Bro, you need help."

My nose wrinkled as my eyebrows met each other, then I let out a big sigh. "I knew it. I knew it was going to be hard to tell you everything without proof. Bro, I am telling you, the crown shrunk and turned into this." I showed him the golden bracelet, which was pointless because he couldn't see it. "This was supposed to be for Princess Nicolette, but I got it instead, and now, I have aquakinesis, the power to manipulate water because of this bracelet."

Justin rose from his seat and did what I never expected for him to do. With a sad face, he approached and embraced me, then gently stroke my back with both his hands.

"Bro!" I squirmed to get him away from me and pushed him. "I'm not sick!"

"Bro, we can deal with this together. I'll get help. I'm calling your papa right now." He walked to the living room and held his black landline phone that was sitting on top of a weathered charcoal end table beside the couch.

I stood from my seat and quickly followed him, then grabbed the phone in posthaste and returned the handset to where it belonged. "Whatcha doing, bro?! I'm not sick!"

"You need help."

He was about to grab the handset again, but I unhooked the cord. "You're not listening to me, this is so unlike you! I am so upset at how you are taking this, Justin! Sit down and let's properly talk!"

"Bro, you are scaring the shit out of me! I don't know what the hell is happening to you, but there's one thing I'm sure about, YOU NEED HELP. And I'm not a qualified psychiatrist, so I need to call your papa, since he's more adult than both of us and he'll know what to do. I can't handle you like this, bro! You have gone mental and I am scared!"

"Well…will it scare you more if I show you my powers?"

"Oh my God, I can't do this. I can't do this, I swear, you've gone ment…"

I pointed my hand to the pitcher in the kitchen and controlled the water by getting it out of the pitcher and letting it swivel around and around towards our direction. When Justin saw that, his jaw dropped and his eyes were wide with complete shock. As his eyes were fixed on the water, I sprinkled the cold water to his face without warning. He was dripping wet from his face down to his shirt, but he was too shocked to even wipe his face with his hand. Now that I finally got his full attention as he looked at me in complete astonishment, I said, "Now, do you believe me?"