Green Harbor

CHAPTER 8

Zelena got back on her feet once the ringing in her ears stopped. Her knees were bleeding but it doesn't anymore, she's running towards the burning car. Katha.

"Katha!" Zelena's voice came out louder than she expected. Tears were falling quickly down her cheeks due to her movements. And she tried to pull her twin out of the car but before she could react to seeing her sister's lifeless, bleeding face, someone pulled her away from the car.

Firetrucks and police cars started coming. Some people ran to watch the events unfold, taking out their phones. Zelena spotted a few cameramen, too. The whole time she was being carried by this person away from the scene and into safety, all Zelena could hear was her own sobs. She kept calling out Katha's name, she was hurting all over — her hands, knees, head, and her heart pounding.

The stranger put her down on the sidewalk benches she sat on earlier and handed her his water bottle, he gave a few pats on her shoulder and words before leaving.

Zelena cared less about the bottle on her hands as she looked down at her feet and see Katha's paintings. She let out a loud sob once more.

——

"You're a monster! Jesus Christ, Caballero, by tomorrow morning I don't want you living in our attic. Leave before I set your darn things on fire, and you'll be left to rot in the streets of Bacolod!"

"That woman had no right to take something from me."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Listen, Ma'am. If I had the supplies to blow up a car, I had enough things that lead me to knowing you were the twins' mother, too. I hear things beyond walls, buildings. They're all not pretty."

——

Later that day, Zelena's home was silent. The next day, she went to work, and received kind words from everyone. She remembered coming home that day and the first word she said was Victoria's name. They hugged so tight, it hurt a lot. And Tiabella looked at them from behind.

Having a twin, and losing a twin was like Zelena watching herself disappear, too. She kept disappearing every night to see Katha at the hospital. She let go of her anger against her mother because of Katha.

Zelena breathed in her sister's hair, the uniform she wears to work everyday. She feels Victoria's hand run through her hair.

"You know she love you, right?" Victoria's voice cracked helplessly. "We got to love her harder. Zelena wouldn't want you to be sad."

Zelena pulled back. "Zelena?"

Victoria froze.

The younger sister let out a scoff. "Victoria..." The tears were coming again as she was shaking her head in disbelief. "Victoria, I'm Zelena. That was Katha."

Victoria turned to look at their mother.

"You're both in this, are you?" Zelena asked. "Mama?" She stared right into her mother's eye.

Anger and betrayal boiled within her when her mother finally spoke up. "If you're going to be angry with me, you should at least hope your sister wakes up and ask her questions, if that makes you better."

"And you don't care at all? What's with the tone? What's with you mistaking me for Katha?" Victoria opened her mouth to say something but Zelena cuts her off. "It would not make any sense at all. Unless you were both in this, too!"

Zelena jumped when the telephone began to ring, she walked towards it to pick up the call.

"Is this the Luka residence?"

Zelena didn't say a word, or breathed.

"Gregory Luka's driver... He turned himself in."