Rogue Wars Online

Chapter One-Hundred Twenty-Four: The Boy Whose Curse Is Love

The longest chapter written here. Epilogue will be posted next!

wes arc lololol

-chapter one-hundred twenty-four-

WES

Ano kaya ang itsura niya kapag nakangiti?

I watched as she hugged her knees from the opposite corridor. Her head was hung low as she sat in the narrow steps. Ang medyo malawak na garden lang ang nasa pagitan naming dalawa. Walang tao, maliban sa nurses na busy sa ginagawa. But I still couldn't find it in myself to step close to her.

Not when she just lost the man who was her brother figure. Not when she spent months beside his hospital bed, days following me, begging for him to be saved, and hours of staring at the space, crying.

Since she arrived here, all I saw was her lifeless eyes. All I felt was her numbness. All I knew was her desperation to not lose anybody else.

Kaya siguro gustong-gusto kong makita ang ngiti niya. Gusto kong malagyan ng buhay ang mga mata niya.

The first time I met Finley Lilliane, I was seven and she was five.

Nasa clinic ako ni Mommy, hinihintay na matapos siya for this day. I was a little pissed because I met that Kairo guy at school and he glared at me. I didn't like how sharp his eyes looked and how cunning his smile always is. So I ignored him when he came up to me, walking away and heading to the hospital.

I was reading a book about Stoicism when the small girl sat in the bench in front of mine. Dahan-dahan kong binaba ang libro para mapag-aralan siya. Her lifeless eyes surprised me. Parang wala siya sa mundo sa oras na 'yon dahil tulala siya't walang kaekspresiyon sa mukha. Nang i-angat niya ang tingin sa'kin, it felt like I was gazing at an empty shell.

A lady bursting into the quiet hall stole my attention. The horror in her face told me something grave happened and it must be connected to the lifeless girl since she rushed to her quickly.

"Finley! Diyos ko, andito ka lang pala! Ayos ka lang ba? Do you want water? Dadating na rin si Tita Layla mo dito mamaya. Doon ka muna sa'min, ha?"

Her name clung to my mind unwillingly. What a weird name for a girl. Finley. I wanted to taste the sound of her name in my tongue, but it would be odd to call her out when we are strangers.

Umiling ang bata at nagtanong, "Where's Mama and Papa?"

The older lady bit her lower lip, eyes tearing up. Iniwas ko ang tingin sa kanila dahil alam ko na kung anong nangyari. Having a family who practice medication for decades got me used to these types of expression and events. The little girl had just lost her parents... and maybe, a little bit of herself too.

A month after that, I rode my bike down the hill, patungo sa fishing town. There were a few humble families who decided to live there rather than the array of expensive mansions in the middle of the city and this town, or the high-end subdivision at the heart of the city. Dadaan lang sana ako sa sementeryo at liliko nang makita ko ulit ang batang babae. Hindi ko alam kung anong pumasok sa'kin at huminto ako para pagmasdan siya.

The afternoon wind made her black hair sway. She was as still as a stone in front of her parent's grave. Walang kahit anong luha na pumatak at nanatili lang siyang nakatulala roon.

Maybe the setting sun had some terrible magic and it tricked me with a curse, dahil wala akong ideya kung bakit sobrang ganda niya sa paningin ko sa oras na 'yon. I've always thought I would be attracted to people once I've grown to like them, it was the principle that signify the most with me in terms of attraction. I haven't even exchanged a full sentence with this girl but I was already looking forward to her smile. To her attention. To her constant presence around me.