[ COMPLETED ] • [ EDITED ]
Nadia Valiente's disappearance has always been a mystery to her friend, Marina. By how her alleged suicide took place, up to the position that she was in whilst on that river, soaked to death, felt like an unsealed package...
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MARINA
The engine of the car stops. Madilim na ang paligid ngunit naaaninag ko pa rin magmula rito ang ilaw na nanggagaling sa magkakatabing mga poste na nakapaligid sa amin.
We're now at the park. We didn't stay at my dorm because I felt like there was someone peering eyes on us. I felt watched by a person who I don't know. Like as if there's a stranger inside my concrete walls.
So we decided to go.
“Shall we get out of the car?” asks Aki. His face is full of woe. He's still wearing the same white shirt he has worn a while ago. I don't even know if he had the chance to get home because I called him immediately, and he swiftly came in a flash in front of my dorm.
“No. I think we should stay here,” I answer. “Sorry for too much trouble.”
He beams. “I don't think of you that way.”
Ginantihan ko ang ngiting ibinato niya. “Do you have earphones?”
He shakes his head. “No. But my car is sound proof, so no one could really hear if we had sex here or someth—”
Ipinukpok ko sa ulo niya ang hawak kong voice recorder. Before we left our dorm a while ago, I made sure to bring extra batteries with me, in case this gift has no charge in it.
“But it's not tinted, though,” he mutters. “So I think we really should not let anybody see that next clue of ours.”
I agree. No one has to know that we already received the next clue from Nadia. I mean, no one should be aware that we're meddling with Nadia's case in the first place.
Yumuko ako't gano'n din ang ginawa ni Aki. Pinatay niya rin ang ilaw na nasa harap namin kaya mabilis na binalot kami ng kadiliman. Tanging kakarampot na bahid ng ilaw lang ang nagsisilbing liwanag ko upang maaninag pa rin ang mala-bagang mga mata ni Aki. Nararamdaman ko rin ang paghampas ng hininga niya sa aking labi.
Since I have no other options but to stay near him, I just raise the voice recorder and place it between us. Kinalikot ko ito't pansin ko ang pagtitig ni Aki sa akin. When I found out where the switch is, I click it and it suddenly opened.
Umalingawngaw ang tunog ng pagbukas ng pintuan mula sa speaker nito kaya mabilis ko itong hininaan. Biglang lumakas ang kabog ng aking dibdib nang may matunugan akong yabag ng mga paa.
Someone is coming in the voice recorder.
“Kamusta, boss?” saad ng isang tono. Sa boses pa lang nito'y mahihiwatig na ang awtoridad na kayang ipakita ng kaniyang presensya.
