Green Harbor

CHAPTER 10

Katha Luka's eyes opened. No part of her body was able to move, and everything hurt. She couldn't move her head to look anywhere besides the ceiling of the room. All she could think about at that moment was Zelena.

When they were 10, Katha had heart complications. She had to stay for a whole year in a hospital, with nurses and doctors, and old patients that smelled like toilet cleaning liquid. During those times, Zelena sat beside her hospital bed, turn on the TV for her, sometimes climb on the bed with her, too. And one time, Katha's condition got worse. After her surgery, Zelena sat beside her again, but this time, she was holding her hand with her finger tapping. Eyeing the monitor that tracked her heartbeat, and mimicking it.

"Eyes here, Kathamina." Cayla Villamor.

Katha moved her head slowly, to look at her visitor. "What brings you here?"

"I came to say hello, and brought some flowers and food."

Katha hummed in response, sensing a long questionnaire after that response. "So?"

Cayla tilted her head in confusion. "What?"

Katha raised her eyebrows — then stopped because it caused a huge headache coming. "You never talk to me unless you wanted to go Buzzfeeding on me. Come on, ask away."

"Your mother—"

"— False."

Cayla started getting annoyed. "I did not come here to play true or false."

"Then what did you come here for?" The rolls of cloth around her face made Katha feel like she was into some James Bond scheme. "If you wanna ask about my mother's role here, let's just say, she's the whole Doctor Strange in the operation."

"Meaning?"

Katha let out a sharp breath. "Meaning, Mama may not have some magical powers to control time... But she was just so... So clever. She had everything and everyone she needed, and she was able to place them right where they should be."

"By 'everyone', you mean Rosales... And Caballero?"

"I don't know what to tell you. I don't know what you want to hear." Katha answered. "Before you get all suspicious, I'm not involved."

"Who's involved, who's not... That's not what I'm looking for." Cayla said, confident.

"I know."

"And you do happen to know who the real Green Harbor Murderer was?"

Katha frowned. "I do." Then, it had been silent for too long. "Hey— Don't even ask—"

"You're not being helpful."

"Well, I don't want to!" The air conditioner's too cold.

"Why? Too scared to lose mommy? Would you like your teddy bear?" Cayla was growing impatient and cockier than ever.

Katha scoffed in disbelief. "My mother? You think my mother did it?"

"Yes!"

Cayla sounded foolish, and even though Katha wanted to destroy her so bad, even the whole existence of this fact was like salt on a wound. On her wounds. "While you're unsure whether it was my mother or not... I don't know which mother of mine you are talking about."

——

Zelena received a text message from Victoria. She said their mother was now flying to Manila, and that she was ready to explain.