Villainess No More

63

Silva stared at the evening stars in a trance.

Nakahiga lang siya sa malamig na semento at hindi mawala wala ang tingin sa mga butuin kahit gabi na.

The gravestone...no name written on it but instead was painted with some abstract art na s'yang pumukaw sa kanyang atensyon.

When the sunset slowly arrived, while he was staring heavily at the gravestone, as the sun gradually set and shadows slowly enveloped the whole cemetery, unti unting nagkaroon ng mukha ang lapida.

It was a woman's face, a beautiful unfamiliar face of a woman that he has never seen before.

An idea struck like a flash of lightning to Silva, and recalled something.

His woman loves painting, she was a great artist and he was lucky to witness all of her works during her recovery after he did something worst tp her, which was one of the most destructive memory that he was trying to bury in both of their minds as it was one of the worst that happened between the two of them .

Kung totoong namatay ang babae, sino ang nag pinta nito?

Yes of course, there may be a possibility that it might be someone hired to paint it but there's no way that he can't recognize her works. Especially na halos ibaon na niya sa utak ang mga likhang obra ng babae.

Mabilis niyang tinignan nang mabuti ang buong lapida at may nakita.

As expected, there was a name written on it at the very bottom of the gravestone.

Small italic bold letter na hindi mo makikita hangga't hindi mo hahanaping mabuti.

He read it slowly as it says; " In loving memory of Chloe Abrahams Rodriguez."

A burst of ecstasy exploded in Silva upon reading the words. But then, he remembered that this is the only clue that he has and he also felt grateful and sad towards the person who helped his woman coped with all the problems his woman had..

Napahiga nalang siya sa semento at malakas na napabuntong hininga.

He was now damn sure that his woman was hiding from him on purpose.

Ayaw nitong magpakita at kung gugustuhin ng babae ay talagang wala ni isa ang makahahanap sa kanya.

Not even Shekinah, especially not him who already killed his woman and tried to kill her again.

After all, she had experienced enough pain that costed her two different lifetimes but the same feeling of despair .

Mabilis na nabunot ni Silva ang baril at itinutok sa taong kasalukuyang nakatayo ilang metro ang layo mula sa kanya.

"Who sent you here?"   He asked with a hint of danger in his voice.

"I sent myself here, well, you could say that I came here without anyone knowing... or at least that's what I believe," the person replied.

It was a man's voice.

Tumayo si Silva mula sa pagkakahiga at hinarap ang lalaki.

"Forgive me for not introducing myself. My name is Timothee and I'm here to tell you to stop trying to find her whereabouts. It's useless. It will all end in vain. Hinding hindi mo siya mahahanap hangga't hindi ka niya hahayaang mahanap siya. I want to help you man, trust me but I'm only following orders and a mere subordinate at that. Sorry bro, I need to go," pagpapaliwanag niya kay Silva pagkatapos ay tumalikod at naglakad papalayo.

Pero bago pa man ito tuluyang makalayo ay may inihulog itong maliit na papel pagkatapos ay tinapakang mabuti hanggang sa unti unting bumaon ito sa lupa.