Devil's Desire

Chapter 34

THE FIRST thing that I heard when I woke up was the news that Marco’s corpse was retrieved under the river. I wasn’t expecting that to happen. Kung ang huwad na Deathslayer ang may kagagawan ay talagang iisipin kong may galit siya sa akin.

“Stay here, Yza. Aasikasuhin ko lang itong kaso. Baka gabihin ako sa pag-uwi, but I’m coming back.” He kissed my temple and left in urgency.

Nang makaalis siya ay tumayo ako saka nagpalit ng damit upang hanapin kung sino man ang gumagaya sa akin. That person should stop imitating me before I decide to end his life. Ang dapat kong malaman ay kung bakit niya sinasabotahe ang pamamaraan ko.

I went to Marco’s condominium and I saw how messy his place is. Malakas ang aking kutob na pinasok ang bahay niya. May mga bahid rin ng dugo sa sahig. Lumuhod ako saka hinawakan ang natuyong dugo at nilapit sa aking mukha nang sa gayon ay masuri ko ito. It is a mixture of blood and saliva. Maaaring sinampal siya ng malakas o kaya ay sinimuraan kaya napadura si Marco ng dugo.

Mabilis na tumakbo ako sa likod ng pinto nang marinig ko ang mahihinang yabag ng paa sa labas ng condo. I can feel Callum’s presence, they must be investigating Marco’s place to find some clue about his death.

“Mr. Florentino has a stabbed wound on his chest. He has cross mark on his wrist but it is deeper than usual. It looks exactly the same but there’s a huge difference. A test came out and the past victims died due to strangulation.”

Nakikinig lang ako sa nagsasalita at napatango. It is because the killer is fake. Paano niya naman kasi malalaman na iyon ang aking ginagawa. Iyon ang nais kong sabihin sa mga nag-iimbestiga ngunit hindi maaari dahil hindi ko nais na mahuli ako at makulong.

The door slightly opened and the first one to get in was Junie, followed by a woman who’s wearing a bodysuit, and Callum – who has a serious look on his face. Ngayon ko lang nakita ang babae kaya naman naitaas ko ang aking kilay, lalo na nang mapansin ko ang pagnanakaw niya ng tingin kay Callum at paghawi niya ng kanyang buhok sa tuwing mapapatingin sa kanyang direksyon ang binata.

“What a flirt,” may kalakasang sabi ko. I covered my mouth when Callum looked at my direction. Maybe he heard me. Ganoon na lang ang aking kaba nang makita kong papalapit siya sa aking pinagtataguan. Pigil na pigil ko ang paghinga para hindi ako makagawa ng kahit na anong ingay.

“Callum! Tingnan mo ‘to!” sigaw ni Junie. Callum stopped midway and turned his back to see what is Junie’s talking about. Dahil abala sila ay sinamantala ko ang pagkakataon na makaalis bago pa nila ako mahuli. I let out a deep breath when I finally leave the room.

My next destination is the place where they retrieved Marco’s body. When I arrived at the river, I saw a lot of people going back and forth. In a few meters away, I saw a woman wearing a red hooded cloak with a mask on. I can sense that she is smiling when our eyes accidentally met, she nods her head to greet me. After a few moment, she lifted her hand and showed me Marco’s watch.

Sinubukan kong tumakbo papunta sa kanya ngunit biglang dumating si Viviene at basta na lang akong niyakap ng mahigpit habang humahagulgol. I don’t have any choice but to comfort her.

“He’s gone, Dom. Marco’s gone!” she hysterically cried and jumped out of frustration. I secretly rolled my eyes and removed her tears that dropped on my bare shoulder. Nakatingin sa amin ang ibang tao kaya nahihiyang ngumiti ako at hinila si Viviene patungo sa likod ng puno. I let her seat in the bench and offered her my scarf so she could use it to wipe away her tears.

Nilingon ko ang lugar kung saan ko nakita ang babae kanina ngunit wala na siya. Kung hindi lang dumating si Viviene ay nasisiguro kong makikilala ko kung sino siya at makukuha ko ang relo na pagmamay-ari ni Marco. Malakas ang pakiramdam ko na siya ang gumagaya sa akin.

I must find her before going back to my business, nang sa gayon ay wala nang maging hadlang sa mga gagawin ko. I already lost two lives because of her, I don’t want to lose more and fail my mission.

Umupo ako sa tabi ni Viviene at tinapik ang kanyang tuhod upang kunin ang kanyang atensyon. She looks at me with her puffy eyes while sniffing.

“Tell me what exactly happened, Viv. I need to know everything so we could give justice to his death,” mahinahong sabi ko. I almost laugh at myself for mentioning the word justice. How ironic!

“I went to his place to personally ask him if I could use his condo for my party, but I saw a person dragging him out of the door. He’s unconscious, his arms are tied, and I saw his lips bleeding and swelling. Maybe that person hit him to knock him out.”

“You didn’t help him or called for help?”

“Why would I do that? I mean…how? That person is carrying a huge sword!” she said in exaggeration while telling me how big the sword is by acting it out. I can sense the fear in her voice while she is talking.

“Okay, back to what I’m saying earlier. ‘Di ba I saw them? I followed that person but I don’t know happened because someone hit me in the back of my head and the next thing know I’m in the house. See this, may bukol pa ako.” Bahagya siyang tumalikod sa akin at tinaas ang kanyang buhok para ipakita sa akin ang bukol niya.

Viviene is telling the truth because I saw the small cut on her scalp and some bruises. Humugot ako ng malalim na hininga saka tinapik ang kanyang balikat.

“Can you describe me the person that you saw that night?” I asked softly so she won’t be anxious.

She tilted her head slightly and bit her thumbs while thinking deeply. Palingon-lingon lang ako sa kung saan dahil umaasa akong makikita ko uli ang babaeng iyon, ngunit hindi na siya nagpakita pa.

“I think the person is like your height, or maybe taller a couple of inches. His skin complexion is fair. He’s wearing a hooded jacket, a leather one… and he is wearing a mask to cover his face. Pero sa tingin ko ay girl siya, but it is impossible since Marco is heavy. An average woman couldn’t lift him… well… unless she has super strength like wonder woman.”

Pinapasok ko sa aking utak ang lahat ng impormasyon na sinasabi niya dahil kahit ang pinakamaliit na detalye ay magagamit ko upang mahanap ang taong pumaslang sa kanya.

“Look! The person I’m referring to looks exactly like that one, the one with a red cloak!” she exclaimed and pointed out the woman that I saw earlier.

Mabilis na tumayo ako at hinabol ang babae. Kung saan-saang lugar siya tumakbo hanggang sa pumasok siya sa loob ng public toilet. Hindi ko inaasahan na bigla na lang siyang maglalaho nang maglakad siya sa loob ng public toilet. I was about to leave when the doors are slammed by the strong wind and the jalousie shattered into pieces.

“Are you looking for me?”

Agad na lumingon ako sa'king likuran. Nakipagsukatan ako ng tingin sa babae hanggang sa siya mismo ang unang magbaba ng tingin. Tinapon niya sa akin ang kanyang hawak na agad ko naming nasalo. It was Marco’s watch that she have shown to me earlier.

“Have fun!” nang-aasar na aniya saka tinuro ang pinto sa aking likuran. Napatingin din ako sa kanyang tinuro at nang ibaling ko ang tingin sa kanyang pwesto ay wala na siya. Doon ko napagtanto na ako ay kanyang nalinlang.

TAWA AKO nang tawa dahil naisahan ko si Dominique. Hindi ko akalain na madali lang pala siyang mauto. Hindi manlang ako pinagpawisan nang takasan ko siya. She must be thinking who I am, wondering what she have done to me, and asking herself why I’m messing her up.

“You look happy. Iisipin kong nagtagumpay ka sa iyong mithiin, mahal ko.”

I happily shrugged my shoulder and latch myself to him and kissed him thoroughly while my hands are on the back of his neck. I’m playing with his hair until he stopped kissing back and distanced his self to me. Nagtatakang tinaas ko ang dalawa kong kamay ngunit bigla na lang siyang umalis.

“What’s his problem?”

“I should be the one asking you that question, Heiva. What's your problem?”

My body froze after hearing Deyja’s cold and emotionless voice. Shivers went down to my spine and my heart temporarily stopped beating. I couldn’t breathe due to nervousness and horror.

“Sa tingin mo ba’y hindi ko malalaman ang ginawa mong kalapastanganan sa aking tahanan? Gaano nga ba kalaki ang galit mo at nagawa mo sa akin iyon? What you did is equivalent to betrayal. You disrespected me and my feelings. You’ve changed, Heiva,” she said softly. There’s a hint of disappointment in her voice while she speaks.

Tila nagising ako mula sa mahimbing na pagkakatulog. Bigla akong nakaramdam ng pagsisisi, lalo na nang makita ko ang lungkot sa mga mata niya. Deyja never showed her weakness to anyone else, and once she did, she really mean it.

“Tell me, Heiva. What did I do to you? Why are you being so rebellious against me? Nasasaktan ako sa tuwing sasagi sa isipan kong ikaw ang dahilan kung bakit nasira ang kaisa-isang alaala ng aking pumanaw na ina. But what pained me more is to see you slowly losing yourself because of anger.”

Sinubukan kong huwag magpakita ng kahit na anong emosyon kay Deyja. Nahihiya ako sa kanya ngunit nasimulan ko na, kaya hindi ako maaaring tumigil.

“If you want to go against me, just do it. I just want to remind you now to crawl back to me and ask for forgiveness,” Deyja firmly said before she turn her back on me and vanished.

Napaluhod ako dahil sa panghihina. I can really feel her disappointment and it wasn’t what I’m expecting. Akala ko'y magagalit siya ngunit mas nakakatakot gayong kalmado siya nang harapin ako.

“Is she gone?” tanong niya. I glared and marched towards him to slap him hard.

“You’re a coward! Naramdaman mo lang ang presensya niya ay iniwan mo na ako kaagad. What if she killed me!?”

His face paled but he didn’t answer me. I rolled my eyes out of irritation and slapped him again before storming out of his place. He keeps on promising me everything but he couldn’t even face Deyja’s anger and stand for me. He has no balls. I should break up with him but sadly I can’t because he is still somehow useful.

KAHIT NA nasa malayo ako’y nakikita ko pa rin ang pagbakas ng inis sa mukha ni Dominique nang lumabas siya sa public toilet. She still look magnificent even when she’s frowning.

Kung hindi ko siya iniwan ay nakatitiyak akong lagi siyang masaya. She seems to carry the world on her back because she doesn’t smile more often like she used to. She changed a lot. Noon ay ayaw niya magsuot ng kulay itim dahil ayaw niyang magmukhang namatayan, ngunit napapansin ko na laging kulay itim at pula ang suot niya. She even cut her hair so short, I think it is because Dominique’s long hair reminds her of me.

I inflicted her so much pain. Kaya dapat lang na hindi na ako muling magpakita sa kanya. Subali’t hindi ko mapigilan ang sarili kong tanawin siya mula sa malayo.

“Nickel! Pre, kailangan na nating bumalik sa trabaho. Baka tuluyan na tayong matalsik sa trabaho. Ipagdasal na lang natin ang kaluluwa ng nakuha nilang bangkay.” Tinapak ni Arturo ang aking braso at nauna nang umalis.

Muli kong nilingon si Dominique kung saan ko siya nakita pero wala na siya doon. I turned around but I unexpectedly bumped into someone else… and it was Dominique.

“Nickel?”