I am Darling

My Doubts

I am Darling, I was Invincible. But that time we have to drive away.. “Drive faster, away from here!” I told Daniel. Horrible things kept on repeating and that was the most gruesome I’d ever seen. As we hit the road we saw a truck hanging from a hill. “Another accident?” Daniel asked. “I think so.” I replied. While traveling, I kept on reaching my hand under the car’s seat and “Thank God it’s still here. I thought I lost it.” I said. The file was there where I left it and I started reading. It stated, Gabby Davies was treated for Psychiatric Disorder and went in and out of a mental institution when he was a kid and still he was on medication before he disappeared. One of the many symptoms was excessive anger, hostility or violence and I couldn’t take it away from the situation we were in with that moment. Was it Gab who killed those guys who kidnapped us? Was it him who parked our car outside that place? Why didn’t he show his face to me? I asked myself. “Do you think it was Gab? What’s in his file?” Daniel asked me. “It states here that he had suffered from psychiatric disorder and he was still on medication. If that was him in that dark place I wouldn’t wonder why he did what he did.” I said. Again, I was blaming myself for what happened to Gab. Did I trigger his condition when we were together? I didn’t know. I never noticed anything. I was just so happy being with him and maybe I took for granted all the symptoms. But I wasn’t sure of that. It may or may not him. “The killings from Shawwie down to Uncle Tim, was he involved in all of that?” I asked. “If it was him.. God forgive me.. but no matter what he did to save us today, I will haunt him for killing my father.” Daniel told. Isabel was a little bit back on reality and just burst into tears as we travel the road. “I can’t believe what I saw. There was blood, blood all over the place. I.. I.. can’t stand it.. I can’t.” She exclaimed. “How could a human being do that?” She added. I sat beside her at the back of the car and tried to calm her down. “We are all shocked and we have to live with it. We haven’t got out from there if those gory things didn’t happen.” “We are thankful we made it out.” I told her. As we stopped for a gas we stepped out from the car to find a restroom. Isabel was with me. Daniel was talking to the gasoline boy. Then he noticed something to the car. “Oh my God, the car had an accident.” He said. We immediately went to it and saw that it may had bashed into something and crushed the left front side bumper and also smashed the headlight. We didn’t notice earlier. We had to rush out from there. Some police may pass by and notice the car and we would be in great trouble. “What happened to this car?” Isabel wondered. “It might have met an accident before it reached to the place where we were.” Daniel replied. I was wondering too. The truck we saw hanging on the hill while leaving that dark place, had really met an accident or was pushed down the hill on purpose? Was this car being used to that crime? So many questions on my mind but one thing for sure, I had to find our rescuer or our killer maybe to know the answers. But it was so very hard to find for someone who didn’t want to be found. “We have to go home and figure it all out.” I suggested.

We reached home and we all told our parents what happened to us and to the car. They were all so worried but we felt the support we need on this hitch. Sooner or later police would show up and would be investigating the incident and we were prepared. We were innocent and we didn’t know the culprit. We had been waiting but no authorities came over and we were fortunate.

Days later Rhea had contacted me to let me know that this group of Caren had a fight with each other. Police had found them in a remote area already dead and clothed with their own blood. According to investigation they were sniffing drugs during that incident and they killed each other. And that truck we saw hanging on the hill.. it was owned by the group and wasn’t hanging on the hill anymore. They found it completely wrecked down the hill. No witness came out to shed light and someone had intentionally confused the scene of the crime that led to a totally different conclusion. Daniel, Isabel and I knew the truth but it was better enough for us that reports would stay that way and so we had to keep our mouth shut for the rest of our lives.

We came back to the area where I found that old lady. Only me and Daniel this time. Isabel had some important matters to do and so with Christina. We searched for her and asked everyone around if they knew her but she was not known from that area. We looked everywhere but we failed. We were about to leave when somebody from a distant caught our attention. It was the old lady. I jumped out of the car seat and ran to her. “Ma’am.. Ma’am do you remember me? You warned me the last time we talked.” I told her. But the old lady just stared at me and smiled and went her way. I followed her and “Ma’am.. I came back here to talk to you again, you didn’t tell me everything.” I insisted. She was holding a piece of pie in her hand and offered it to me, “Do you want some pie? Here.. it’s pretty good, have a bite.” I didn’t mind at first and asked her again, “Ma’am I know you remember, you told me about the incident…” I said to her. “Sorry I don’t remember you.” She answered with that harsh voice. “Ma’am please you have to remember.. Ma’am.. you told me something.” I keep on pushing her to talk. She was getting afraid of me and she walked away as fast as she could. I kept following her and tried to stop her from running away again. I couldn’t believe she forgot me. I knew it was her but she couldn’t remember. I held her hands tightly and looked at her face and I could see and feel that she was trying to recall but she couldn’t. “Ma’am please..” I begged her. “Leave me alone I don’t know you.,, I don’t know you.!” She raised her voice to me again and again. She was becoming violent. She kept on swaying her hands and pushing me back. I knew it. She was having this sign of Alzheimer’s Disease. I was completely disappointed of what I had suspected. How could I ask her then? How could I insist when this person was forgetting everything? How could she be of help? But I won’t give up. I would keep coming back here to see if she’s in her right state of mind from time to time. I saw Danny coming over and asked, “Did you get something from her?” He asked. In deep frustration I told, “Nothing.. Let’s go… I can’t get anything from her today. I think she has Alzheimer’s. We will just come back.. soon.” “Alzheimer’s? I hope she remembers next time we see her.” Daniel said. “I hope so too.” “Where is her family? She has to be in a Medical facility with her condition.” I told Daniel. “I have an idea. Why don’t we let her come with us and we’ll bring her to the hospital and have her checked.” Daniel suggested. “Can we do that Danny?” I asked. “Yes we can do that.” Daniel replied. “But we have to do that next time because now.. she’s gone..” He added. We looked everywhere again and there was no sign of that old lady. We just hope we could see her sooner.

While walking away from that area, I heard someone calling my name, “Darling.. Darling. Hey over here!” It was Jessy. She was waving at us from the nearby restaurant. I’d never seen her for months. “Glad to see you, how’d you been?” Daniel asked her. “I was just busy on some personal matters.. I’m here now.” She answered wearing that smile on her face. “I missed you, I don’t have any clue where you’ve been.. how are you? I asked her. “I am so fine. Come here, let’s have some drink.” She said. I noticed she had a cut on her hand and wrist and some small bruises on her face. I asked. “Hey, what happened to you, you have bruises and you look like hell?” “I slipped and hurt my hands and face. Doctors say I’m fine now.. so don’t you worry about me Darling.” She told. I knew she was lying but I didn’t want to confuse her mind. I just stared at her and trying to listen to what else she was gonna say. “I heard you didn’t enroll this year.. why? She asked me. “You know I have to rest from school pressures and focus on family matters first.” I replied. “Rhea told me what happened to your Uncle, I am so sorry.” She added and turned to Daniel and said, “Sorry for your loss..” Daniel nodded and trying to hold back those tears. “Let’s forget about those bad episodes in our lives for a moment.. today we’re going to eat.. my treat… ok. What are you both doing here anyway?” She added. “We were searching for some clues and we almost got a lead but we lost her.” I answered. “Almost? Her? Who is she?” Jessy asked looking so surprised. “It was an old woman saying some things we do not understand and now that we’ve seen her again it looked like she forgets everything.” Daniel told. “What was she saying?” Jessy asked curiously but intensely. “She told me to back off stop what I’m doing if I don’t want to be the next.. or something like that.. I wondered if she knew me.. it’s as if she knew me.” I told. “Maybe she’s just sick.. she forgets everything but thoughts are just coming out from her mouth.. out of nowhere.” She said. “I think so but I won’t stop talking to her until I make her speak the truth.” I replied. “I wonder what she is going to tell.. in that state of mind.” She answered. “You look so interested, do you know the old woman?” Daniel asked her. “I’m just concerned.. the cases had been there for so many months or almost a year now and police can’t find anything new.. but here you are, trying to solve it on your own. Do you think you can do it without police intervention?” She wondered. “I really have to try harder with everybody’s help.. Daniel here, Isabel, You guys.. Do you want to help me too.. Jessy? I asked her. “Well of course.. whatever I can do to help, it’s just that I want to you to have a break. Have time for yourselves, enjoy while you can.. life is short.. that’s what I realized these days.” Jessy shared. But I saw doubts in Jessy’s eyes. I didn’t know where it was coming from but I could feel something wrong in her. Was something bothering her? Could those bruises explain the pain she was going through? Those hollow laughter on her face couldn’t hide the truth of what her heart really felt. I reached for her hands and squeezed it tightly. So tight that I almost crushed my own. I told her, “If you want to tell me something you can tell me anytime. I’m a friend who listens in everything you’ll gonna say whatever it is, you can count on that.” She smiled and thanked me but I felt the doubts and confusion on her whole being. She has changed. She wasn’t the Jessy I knew before. She maybe hiding something from me or from us.. but I have learned to accept the fact that she indeed changed.