THE GENERAL'S SISTER

"KAHIT ano man ang mangyari ay huwag na huwag kayong lalabas ng kapatid mo rito, Miguel. Ikaw ang panganay kaya't makinig ka sa akin." "Mama..." "Huwag ka ng umangal pa, anak. Anumang oras ay malalaman na nilang nandito tayo. Kapag hindi kami makabalik ng Mama ninyo ay alam mo na ang iyong gagawin." "Pero, Papa..." Subalit ang pag-angal na iyon ng labing-dalawang taong-gulang na si Miguel sa mga magulang ay tuluyang naudlot. 'Halughugin ang buong bahay! Walang ibang pupuntahan ang mag-anak kundi rito!' 'Boss! Pero walang palatandaang mayroong tao!' 'St*p!do! Kaya nga ang sabi ko ay halughugin ang kabahayan! Tandaan ninyong hindi basta-basta ang mag-asawang Fernandez! Walang aalis sa lugar na ito ng walang nalalaman!' 'Masusunod, boss!' Mga ilan lamang sa salitang binitawan ng mga taong nakatakip ang mukha. Kaya naman ay muling yumakap ang mag-asawang Fernandez sa dalawa nilang anak. Iyon nga lang ay hindi na nila hinayaang makatugon pa ang panganay na si Miguel. Bagkus ay imunuwestra ang dalawang taong-gulang na kapatid na si Sofia. "PROFESSIONAL ka, Santiago! Isa kang public servant dito sa bansang Espanya! But look at yourself right at the moment!" malakas na wika ni Ginang Cameron. "Wifey, maari mo namang kausapin ang anak natin sa marahang boses. Wala tayong mapapalang sagot mula sa kaniya kapag magsigawan tayo." Sansala naman ng Ginoo. Dahil sa takbo ng usapan ng mga magulang ay dahan-dahang tumayo si Santiago mula sa pagkayukyok sa sahig. Kailangan niyang pumagitna. Dahil kung hindi niya gagawin iyon ay ang mga ito ang mag-aayaw. Ngunit kung kailan ibubuka na niya ang labi ay saka naman siya napaatras. "F*ck! What's going on?" sambit niya. Ngunit iyon din ang huli niyang natandaan. Dahil kasabay nang pag-atras niya ay nanlabo rin ang kaniyang paningin. Kung ano man ang sumunod na nangyari ay hindi na niya nalaman. "RUN, baby, run..." A scary voice was hunting her again. No one in that place except her but those creatures that she can't see is tormenting her. "Who are you demon? Why you are doing this to me?!" sigaw niya. But her voice was only eaten by laughter followed by voices. "You are one of us! Go and run for your life." "No matter how hard you will hide yourself from us, we can find you!" "We are letting you to ran for your life because we also want you to suffer like what your father did to us!" Mga ilan pa sa salitang binitiwan ng mga boses na humahabol sa kaniya. But! Out of desperation, she ran and ran. She didn't answer any words from them and didn't even look back. She just ran straight without directions. "Who are they? Why did I agree to meet that bastard?!" But when she remembered her boyfriend whom she would have met in that place, she was stunned. "Couldn't he be a ghost? I know we love each other enough for him to scare me like this," she whispered as she leaned slightly against the big tree, but when she remembered something again, she stood up. "He is acting very weird the past few days. It's really hard for me to understand his actions. Even we are the only person who knows about our meeting place. Then, how come someone else is in that place?" bulong niya habang paroo't parito. It was late and her eighteenth birthday was approaching. But because of meeting her boyfriend, her parents may already know about her disappearance. "Stay away from me! Don't come any closer!" muli niyang sigaw sa taong hindi niya namukhaan lalo at basta na lamang ito lumapit sa kaniya. "It's me, baby. Your boyfriend," tugon nito at binalak na haplusin ang kaniyang mukha. "Impossible! My lover is a sane person, not like you ghost! Look at yourself. That is why never and ever say that you're my boyfriend!" aniyang muli sa malakas na boses. But the more she avoids him, the more he gets closer. She's about to run away again when he says a word that makes her stop. "Do you remember what I'm always telling you? If you can accept me when I sin? This is it, baby. That's why I told you to meet in this place because I want to confess to you the real me," giit nito. Because of this, she was stunned. Was she right in suspecting that he was hiding something from her? Was she wrong for not listening to the warnings of their classmate? Because of that, she stopped backing away and faced him. "You mean it's true what they say that you're a vampire? You're just kidding me, aren't you?" "They're all right, baby. They're not kidding you. Because they're vampires too." So, she suspected even worse that he wasn't joking at all. Apart from the fact that he was very serious as he kept approaching her, she could also see the seriousness of the words in his eyes. "Who are they, baby? If it's you, why are the invisible ones chasing me? Don't say you're the one who did it?" "My fellow vampires, baby. But they are the group that opposes our clan---" "Wait a minute! Wait a minute! If they are enemies of your clan, why are they chasing and threatening me? Another thing is what they told me, I will be the one to suffer because my father torture them. I'm just an ordinary person, baby. Even though I was a spoiled brat to my parents, they never harmed anyone!" She shook her head in disbelief. Even she cut off his statement. Because she had no intention of believing the rumours. But now, she doesn't know what to do. "I'm sorry to tell you. But---" "But what?!" she shouted again because she don't know what was going on. But she wants to regret why she got in that place and most importantly, for asking so many questions that continue in shocking her. "Because they thought you were my missing sister. In our clan, we have the strongest force. And every time there's a fight, they blame it on us even though e are not doing anything against them. Even though we are vampires, we are not hurting anyone just for us to drink their blood. But believe it or not, I have nothing to do with that. I just arrived late here in our meeting place." Because of the speed of the event, she pushed back again until she had nowhere to go. Then she just sat down and hugged herself. "No, say that you're just lying. There's no reason for me to be your sister. Go away and don't show up again. Just leave me here. I'll just think it's all a dream," she said in an almost inaudible voice. "I can't leave you here, baby. Because it's almost midnight. It's a full moon so it's dangerous out here. I'm just feeling sorry because we had an agreement to meet here. Don't worry because I'll take you out of this place. No matter what happens, I will send you home tonight." But her stubbornness arose. There is no reason to be close to the person she loves. But there he is and makes the story in front of her. If he wanted to get rid of her, he doesn't need to have stories. Got a vampire brother? No way! But! "They're getting closer, baby! You have to come with me! They can't overtake you and get closer. Because when they get close to you, they won't let you survive. Please---" She can hear his lies! And she will not allow herself to be fooled forever. She is still a sane person! Ting! It is already twelve o'clock in the dawn! It's midnight! That means she is already eighteen years old.