Blood of an Arrow (UNDER REVISION)

DOS

"Who killed him?"

She was surprised by my sudden approach.
Hindi niya napansin ang paglapit ko dahil siguro sa lalim ng iniisip niya. She's frowning kanina pa.

"Ikaw" Umangat ang tingin niya sa akin. By the looks of it, parang kinikilatis niya ang intensyon ko sa paglapit sa kaniya.

I raised a brow.

"I mean, ikaw? Sino sa tingin mo ang pumatay sa kaniya?" I sat facing her. I leaned forward to let someone pass behind me. Napaatras naman siya. She wasn't expecting that. Her emotions and responses, you can never tell which of what she'd show.

"I don't know, it could be anyone."

"But kung ina-narrow down natin, may tatlong person of interest." Her eyes searched for mine and tried to persuade me with it. Now, that's new. She's talking about her insights calmly and not sarcastically.

Nagsisialisan na ang kumpol ng estudyante sa school ground. Patuloy parin ang komosyon sa SSG office at kani-kanina lang ay isinama na sa presinto ang huling nakasama ng biktima. Nasa bandang kanan kami ng Administration building nakapwesto ngayon. Nakaupo lang kami sa damuhan at hindi alintana ang init dahil sa tapat na araw. Wala na akong balak pumasok sa susunod naming klase at mukhang gan'un rin ang plano ni Santera.

Dahil sa pagkuha ng mga pulis kay Vera ay umugong na naman ang paligid.

"Gosh, was it really Vera who did that?"

"Well, hindi na nakapagtataka, he dumped her last month."

"Yes, I heard about their break up."

"Kinulam niya siguro si Clive."

"Agree girl, ang rinig ko hindi daw matukoy kung ano ang dahilan ng pagkamatay. Yes, there was a signature on the forehead but it was marked after he died."

"Saan mo naman nalaman 'yan?" tanong ng isa .

"Papa ko 'yung pulis kanina girl, lalapitan ko sana kaso narinig ko yung pag-uusap nila ng isa pang officer."

"Have you heard about it? She lives in Sitio Maraya."

"The haunted town, seriously?"

"Yeah, marami na ang lumilipat ng lugar na galing doon. They kept on saying that someone's been walking on the streets every after midnight."

"Maybe si Vera talaga yun. She's a witch."

Tsk tsk.

These ladies, I really don't understand a girl's typical judgment. They go around their ways to spread rumors to appease their nosiness and feed their ego. Nakakahiya, to think that this is an advanced school and here they are, talking about witchcraft. Do they really believe that crap?

"She's within my guess." I looked at Diel, her confidence is what amazes me. She's not so logical but she carries her words well. She can twist an argument in her favor.

Nakatingin lang siya sa akin na para bang ang bobo ko at hindi ko nakikita ang obvious.

"Hmm, go on. Keep talking."

"So, I'm saying..." she sighed and scratched her elbow. "Vera is a potential suspect, as well as Luke and Aiden." She tucked a strand of hair in her ear as the wind blew. "That girl kanina, Vera, obvious naman sa chismis sa tabi-tabi na ex-girlfriend siya, Luke is the SSG Vice president, alam naman nating lahat na matagal na niyang pinapangarap ang presidential position, so if Clive died, he would gain the position. Then there's Aiden. Yung katatransfer lang na stepbrother ni Clive pero nasa kabilang section. They're not on good terms. I heard na gusto niyang magshift ng course so baka classmate na natin siya bukas o sa makalawa. It's not really that impossible kahit bawal naman talagang magshift o magtransfer sa kalagitnaan ng semester, I mean, come on, that's an Aguillo we're talking about."