WENDY
NANG BUMALIK ang hardinero, kasama na nito ang kanyang amo na mukhang nasa early 30's pa lang ang edad. Isa itong morenang babae na may katangkaran.
Her smile flashed on us and gave each of us a warm look. "There there, mga kabataan pala ang bisita natin ngayon. Travelers? No? Or nagbakasyon, 'tapos gumala at naligaw?"
"Travelers po, madam," sagot ni Sophie. "Ako po si Sophie . . . Mollari."
There was a momentary silence. Para bang hinihintay namin na mag-react ang babae dahil sa apilyidong narinig nito. Pero mukhang hindi niya talaga kilala ang mga Mollari.
Sophie sighed in relief and whispered to me. "Safe ako."
I only chuckled and subsequently, Kentonni and Skye introduced themselves.
"Skye Isaac Javier." He flashed his usual sweet smile na kayang magpatunaw ng puso ninuman.
"Kentonni Serrano po, Ma'am."
"Wendy Meave Chavez," sabi ko at lumingon kay Zen. But he wasn't paying attention to the current happening right now because he was preoccupied in observing the whole mansion.
"And this is Zen Vergara." Skye jerked his thumb to his best friend with an embarrassed smile.
Nang marinig ni Zen ang pangalan niya, agad siyang lumingon sa babaeng nasa harapan namin and waved his hand. "Yow, madam. For an instance, you were pleasing yourself in the garden and then you need to pee immediately, which way do you take to climb upstairs?"
Pati kami ay nagulat sa tanong niya. What the hell, Zen? Stop creeping the owners out!
Nanahimik nang sandali ang babae bago napatawa. "Mathematician yata ang bisita natin ngayon a. Interesting kid."
"Ah, 'wag niyo na pong intindihin 'yung tanong niya—" Skye was cut off.
"No, handsome. Okay lang. Mas gusto kong sinasagot ang curiosity ng mga tao. Pero ang galing mo ha, Zen. Napansin mo agad na wala kaming comfort room dito sa first floor. Well, kung nasa garden ako at ihing-ihi na 'ko-sorry, Timmy—but I'll rather pee in the flower bed."
"Ikaw pala 'yon?! Kaya pala pumapanghi?!" hindi makapaniwalang tanong ng hardinero, na siyang pangalan siguro ay Timmy. Isn't. . . this an embarassing topic?
"That makes sense why the flowers looks so good." Zen crosses his arms over his chest and looked out in the window to meet the flowers with his eyes.
"Timmy, it's called a urine fertilizer. Be thankful," the woman returned as she let out a shy chuckle. "By the way, hindi ko pa pala naipapakilala ang sarili ko. Ako si Francine Ragasa, ang nagmamay-ari ng mansion na 'to."
We all nodded as acknowledgement and drew our attention to mister Timmy.
"Ako naman si Timotheo Ragasa, kapatid ni Francine pero tawagin niyo nalang akong Mang Timmy—mas gusto ko'ng gan'yon. Bale tatlo lang kaming nandito sa mansion kasi nasa siyudad pa ang bayaw ko." Mister Timmy pointed his finger towards the little boy playing on the floor with his paper airplanes. "At siya naman si Francis. 7 years old palang siya at homeschooling—"
"Mrs. Francine is a retired teacher from the city. Of course, she'd be the tutor of her son," sabat ni Zen kaya napatingin kaming lahat sa kanya. How the hell did he know?
"Excuse me," sabi naman ni Mrs. Ragasa nang may 'di makapaniwalang ngiti sa labi. "Nagkita na ba tayo noon?"
"Nope." Zen titled his head and flashed a mysterious smirk. "This is the first time I've laid eyes upon you, madam."
BINABASA MO ANG
The Phantom Detective ✓
Mystery / ThrillerHave you ever met a highschool detective that doesn't show himself in the crime scene? People around here called him the Phantom Detective. After discovering the phantom detective's identity, Wendy has started extraordinary adventures in a world fi...
