The Missing Hands

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Napabalikwas ako sa kama nang biglang nag-ring ang cellphone ko. I reached for it while my eyes were still closed, and it took me a while to get a hold of it. I finally opened my eyes and checked the time, it's 6:03 in the morning.

It's Kith who's calling me on Messenger. Hindi ko pala na-off kagabi ang wifi sa phone ko.

I stretched before I finally answered. I'm still very groggy. "Hmm?"

"I'm sorry to interrupt your sleep, partner, but I really needed to inform you about this one."

"Ano 'yun?" tanong ko habang kinukusot-kusot ang mga mata. I'm slowly grasping reality after suddenly waking up from my slumber.

"The body of a graduating HM student, Dahlie Ann Ferrer, was found floating in the river, by a bunch of kids. She's a student from Vivero, and her hands were chopped off."

Tuluyan na nga akong nagising. Coffee didn't need to wake me up, because of what I just heard.

Parang hindi ako makahinga. "W-What? Oh my God... Asan ka?"

I heard fabrics rubbing against each other on the other end. Nagbibihis ata siya.

"I'm on my way to where the body is right now, together with my dad."

"C-Can you send me the exact location? I'll go, too."

"How about your mom? Nevermind, we'll talk more after you get here... I can't send you the exact location, but I'll send you the address. Once you get there, call or text me, I'll come pick you up."

Pagkatapos ng tawag, agad akong tumayo at lumabas muna ng kwarto ko. Natagpuan ko si Mama na nag-aayos ng sarili at mukhang aalis. Naghihintay si Papa sa kanya sa labas, nakasakay na sa motor.

"Mamamalengke ka, Ma?" naitanong ko.

"Oo, ikaw na munang bahala rito sa bahay." aniya, at lumabas na. Sumampa siya sa motor at walang ano-ano'y umalis na sila.

What perfect timing! Ganito kaaga palaging namamalengke si Mama dahil gusto niyang nauuna siyang bumili ng mga sariwang gulay at prutas. She says that if you're later than that, baka ang hindi na gaano ka sariwa ang mabili mo. And when she goes to market at 6, she usually goes back at 9 or 10. And because of that, I have some time to go to the location where the body of the student is, and come back here before Mama does.

Dali-dali akong naligo at nagpatuyo ng katawan pagkatapos. Sinuot ko ang unang t-shirt at unang leggings na nakita ko sa cabinet ko. Kinuha ko ang sling bag ko at bago tuluyang lumabas ng bahay eh pinatay ko muna ang mga appliances na kailangang patayin.

Kith already sent me the address of the crime scene for Dahlie Ann Ferrer. Her name's kind of familiar to me, but I can't seem to pinpoint where I've heard it before.

It didn't take long for me to arrive at the address that Kith sent me, which is a barangay in the south part of town and where he and Detective Andrade are currently. I assume that this barangay is where the victim lived.

Kinuha ko ang cellphone ko para mai-chat siya, gaya ng sabi niya kanina, once na makarating ako.

Maiandra Agustino: Nandito na ako sa entrance ng barangay, asan ka?

Walang ano-ano'y nag-reply na siya.

Kith Moises Andrade: Wait there. I'll come pick you up.

Hindi na ako nag-reply at naghintay na lang sa kanya. It took approximately 5 minutes when I saw a familiar car, and it turns out that it's Detective Andrade's! Sinubukan kong hagilapin kung sino ang nasa loob ng kotse, kaso tinted iyon at ang layo pa ng distansya nito mula sa kinatatayuan ko.