Malediction

I See You

“I think Governor Elo is going to kill Amanda any minute now,” was what Sandra said right after Andrea picked the phone. Andrea let out a soft gasp and an inaudible squeal from the other end of the line. I know as a journalist, finding this kind of rare opportunity to create a story is incredible but to someone dying, does she really have to sound so happy? I laughed from seeing her behaviour. She

I didn't mean to interfere with their conversation so I stood and went to bed to lay down as I waited for her. For some reason, talking to Sandra seemed weird after our last call. I don't want to imply a vague message that I was letting her flirt with me. Andrea never liked competition for something she owns already. And, I was sleepy anyways.

"So you mean, Elo found out as soon as she came back?" I heard Andrea ask in surprise as she continued to converse with Sandra.

From afar, I could see she was serious with writing down what Sandra said despite the fun conversation they were having. Her passion for her chosen field was undeniable. I really thought about how a person could continue on this field after almost being s*xually h*rassed twice. As I gazed at her while she was on the phone, she noticed me enjoying her view. She mouthed an 'I love you' as my drowsy eyes slowly closed its lids. "I love you more." I replied, meaning every word.

Aside from her passion with her work, it was also unbelievable that she continues to understand me with no questions and with all her trust in the world. She was just loving me, as I am now to her. We were just believing each other in the pretense of the past, believing it was still what it was.

Aren't all romantic relationships like that?

As I was about to close my eyes shut I could see that with Sandra on the phone, Andrea multitasked with her laptop, opening tabs. She was probably getting bored with Sandra. I faced the wall above me, trying to get some sleep. I could still hear a few clicks. She was probably scrolling through her emails quickly, like she usually does until I heard her exclaim, "Oh no."

My eyes opened almost instantly. I looked at her face immediately, trying to understand what's wrong from afar. There she was with her face pale with anxiety. I couldn't recall when I last saw Andrea's face in great fear of what's to come. But right now, she was etched with foreboding, torn between what to believe. It took her a while before she was relieved from a long trance.

"I don't know what to do now. Should we really continue this investigation?" She said, looking at my face for answers. What? Wasn't she just taking notes of information about the case we were handling? "Didn't Sandra say there was development on the case?" This was the first time she wanted to dwell on continuing the investigation or not. "It's him. He said they know who we are."

"Him? You mean Manunulat? You're still in contact with him?" I sat up from lying down. She nodded slowly, as if to gauge my reaction. I already told her to drop the anonymous tip when we have someone real to talk to. "He may be a little late but he gives the exact details as Sandra did before. Maybe a little more."

"More? What kind of information?" This anonymous man was someone I can't handle. He was someone I need to identify but I can't track back his steps. His ip addresses were different from every email as if he was just moving around from place to place. He was an omniscient man or girl, even though I didn't know.

"He said the man who h*rassed me back at Masfino was already decomposing at the farthest part of the resort." I had a hard time processing this. "Sandra doesn't know that. And, you mean, the man died?" But I hadn't taken my punches too far. Or did they? "Yes." She replied. My heart beat accelerated. Was Manunulat there? "If he knew that much, there is a chance that we've met him before." I said in realization. She gaped in disbelief. "I haven't thought of that." She said. I sighed from my lack of observation and how that turned out. We were lucky he was just observing from the shadows. If he had planned anything, we wouldn't even know it's coming. I gestured to Andrea to sit next to me. She followed along with her laptop. Sandra already had hung up long before fear registered Andrea's face.

She handed me her laptop with the email on screen. With the laptop on my lap, she crawled to my back and hugged me there as I checked the email that frightened Andrea. She buried her face in my shirt as her arms wrapped around my waist. She felt cold. Her fingers were freezing despite the ambient temperature. They were trembling too. "What should we do, James? I've never been so involved with my case investigations before." She muttered in a muffled voice. I took her hand and held it with mine as I processed what the Manunulat said in the email.

'Don't believe on the lying b*tch's face. If she can deceive her boss, so can she with you.'

So Manunulat wanted himself to be the sole source of information. He's deleting Sandra in the picture, so Andrea can continually depend on him like before. Cheeky. I continued to read his email just to see something Andrea was definitely justified to fear for.

'I hope you can see me there as I can always see you everywhere.'

As expected, he wasn't a good anonymous doing it for others. He was in it for Andrea. For years, this person devoted himself just to help her get the latest stories whilst stalking her from afar. His persistence and omnipotence is what scares me the most. This person must be out of his mind to go all the way without having in return. I should identify Manunulat immediately when we meet. I need to make sure Andrea was safe from people like him, at all costs.

"Andrea?" I nudged her a bit. She wasn't responding. Her light snores became evident when I stopped talking to myself. I closed the laptop and put it aside. We had a long day today. I landed on the pillow carefully, and as a domino effect, so did she. I was sure she was heavily asleep because she didn't wake up even with falling to the pillows. I turned to her, replacing my hurried thoughts of paranoia for her safety into the serene atmosphere she gives as she sleeps.

___________________

Two days later and we were in Leyte, a province in the Visayas region led by the current governor, Elo Pelaez. He was Amanda's true husband, but with the affair Amanda is involved with, it won't last long.

Andrea didn't waste time to cover this story since it was further evidence to push Jerry Gonzalez, Amanda's other man and rival in Elo's seat, in corruption charges. With the fame Andrea already haves, we know her voice will be heard for the people of Leyte. It will just be one mess down the drain.

Sandra, in her fake hair, heels and sunglasses, greeted us by the dock. Despite mostly talking to Andrea, her greetings were warmer to me. "Have you eaten yet?" She asked me as we walked with strong wind blowing our faces, loudly. I was mystified by her approach. Was she only asking me? Andrea was just by my side. "Yes, we ate." I emphasized 'we', on case she had forgotten my girlfriend and I live together as a couple. Andrea was vexed in her own sublime way, trying to keep her cool. I tapped Andrea's hand with my fingers when Sandra was focused on walking ahead. "What?" she hissed. I suppressed my laughter in a smile. "Are you jealous?"

She rolled her eyes and released a short yet audible sigh. This was comical. "Why would I be jealous with you flirting with an adorable lying b*tch selling her boss out?" She whispered strongly at me with another eye roll. "You can do better."

My chuckle can't even hide that time. She laughed as well. This was something we had overcame before. This was nothing to us. "Yeah, I can. That's why I'm with you." She gazed into my eyes meaningfully while her smile didn't fade at all. And it was one of the smiles she never used at anyone else but me. Her smile for me was something I remembered throughout my memory loss. It was just that unforgettable.

Andrea looked forward to Sandra and her face mase a side smile. Now, tell me if men were the truly one competitive. But her expression changed to her brows furrowing together in curiosity of what was ahead of Sandra. "Do you see what I'm seeing?" She said. I followed were her eyes went. It was a figure of a man, waving at her. She attempted to wave back as a mannerism but I stopped her. Was it really waving to Andrea?

She leaned over to me."What kind of person do you think that is?" "Either a fan, a friend or…" I trailed off, remembering the creepy email but I didn't mention his name. I didn't want to ruin her good day. She didn't have to be sa cautious of everything when she had me to take care of it. "Stay with Sandra, I'll see who it is." I said to her. I motioned indirectly towards the unidentified man. I tried to be inconspicuous as I made my way to the sides of the dock connecting to the road. As I came nearer, he was sheepishly grinning. But his other facial features were still not visible in the rays of morning sunlight passing through his head. It was only his mouth I see.

He sensed me getting closer so he started walk away to the middle of people gathering from left to right. He blended with them. If he was someone who just wanted to meet Andrea, then he wouldn't even notice me and just waited for her to come. Yet that was not what happened. This leaves me to the fact that it may be Manunulat mocking us. Was he always this obvious when we travelled? Are we so absorbed with the case we hadn't notice such things before?

This man was really dangerous.