As I step my feet into the bathroom, I knew that I needed to gasp for a deeper breath. I could picture my own bewildered and terrified look the moment I laid my eyes directly over the tub. I wanted to scream my lungs out but a sooner realization of not being able to sound off even a single groan struck me to death. I'm being muted! I couldn't even speak a single word nor couldn't I groan.
Sinubukan kong humakbang paatras subalit hindi manlang gumalaw ang aking mga binti. Napagtanto kong hindi rin pala ako makagalaw. Mabilis ang pagtahip ng dibdib ko sa paghahabol ng hininga, samantalang ang mukha ko naman ay kakikitaan na nang takot, kung akin lang itong makikita sa harap ng salamin ay tila ito na ang pinaka-nakakapangilabot na pangyayari na naranasan ko sa buong buhay ko.
My hands started trembling as I saw the man on the tub slowly turns his head directly to me. His perfectly curved lips started forming an evil smirk as he sipped on the bottle of wine he's holding. How the hell did he even get that one?! Right. How did he even get here?! I really have no idea. All I know is he's emitting danger. I can sense it in the way he dangerously gaze on me. And if the devil has a tail, I'd know it was him.
A mighty splash of water coming from the tub broke the terrifying silence. In one swift move, he's already comfortably sitting on the edge of the tub. He, again, glance at me dangerously as it seems like he had my neck. Just one wrong move, I'll die.
In my surprise, he spoke. But unfornately, I wasn't able to understand it for he spoke some kinds of words that's way different from the languages I know. A bang of realization maybe struck him when he nodded his head and smile a bit but sudden. It vanished now. I gasped.
Subalit mas nagulat ako nang muli siyang magsalita. "Can you hand me that one?" I know he's pertaining to the towel I was holding because he's looking at it. Wondering why do I have this? Because I was about to take a bath when all this thing just happened to me suddenly.
I wanted to shake my head, I wanted to say I couldn't move, and I wanted to scream and run away from him. Bobo siya kung akala niyang lalapit ako sa kanya kapag nakagalaw ako, dahil hindi! Malamang, tatakbo ako. Tatakbuhan ko siya!
"Ah, I'm sorry," he said as he shook his head, and then smile again. That is the most dangerous smile I've even seen in my life. Gusto kong suntukin siya sa mukha upang tanggalin ang nakakagambalang ngiti niyang iyon.
Alam kong siya lang ang may kagagawan kung bakit hindi ako makagalaw at makapagsalita ngayon. Kaya't buong akala ko sa paghingi niya ng paumanhin ay pakakawalan niya na ako upang maiabot ko sa kanya ang tuwalyang hawak ko.
Subalit hindi. Napanganga ako kasabay ng panlalaki ng mata ko dahil sa pagkamangha, takot at pagkagulat nang dumulas sa kamay ko ang tuwalyang hawak na para bang may pwersang humihila dito. The towel landed directly to his hand as he uses it to dry his... his tail!
Yes, he has a tail. A f*cking tail of a fish!
Hindi ba ako nananaginip? Nanaginip ako, hindi ba? Panaginip lang ito, tama ba? Alam kong panaginip lang ito. Tama, panaginip lang talaga ito.
Sa panaginip natin, kapag hinahabol tayo ng halimaw ay hindi tayo makatakbo ni makagalaw. Hindi rin tayo makasigaw kahit subrang takot na takot na tayo. Kaya't naniniwala akong nananaginip lang ako. Sirena? Sireno? Kalokohan! Kailan naman nangyari 'yan sa totoong buhay.
Bagama't may hinuha na ako sa sunod na mangyayari ay hindi ko pa rin napigilang mapasinghap. Sapagkat nang matuyo nito ang kanyang buntot ay agad rin itong nagkaroon ng mga mahahaba at napakagandang mga binti ng isang lalaking tao.
Ninais kong humakbang paatras nang nagsimula itong maglakad patungo sa akin pero hindi ko pa rin maigalaw ang aking mga binti. Sa isang iglap lang ay kumawala ang malakas kong sigaw sa buong banyo nang parang hangin sa bilis niyang itinulak ako sa nakasarang pinto. Naramdaman ko ang marahas na paglapat ng likod ko roon at ang malakas rin nitong pagdagundong.
"Nasaan ang Voltaire ni ama?" Kumunot ang noo ko sa itinanong niya.
"W-What... are you... talking about?" hirap na hirap kong tanong sa kanya.
"Now playing dumb, Sierraia? Didn't you stole it together with the healing pearl?" Sierraia? I'm not Sieraia! Ano bang pinagsasabi nitong shokoy na ito?
"W-Wala akong a-alam sa sinasabi mo." Hindi ko alam kung ano ang meron sa sinabi ko na nakapagpangisi sa kanyang mga labi. Nakakakilabot iyon na nagbigay ng takot sa akin.
He hovered his eyes around my face as hatred passed through it, and suddenly was replaced by anger. Did it make any difference? It did not. I just feel more scared and... sad. Why? I don't know.
I gasped. His anger made him to strangle my neck. He's giving it too much force for me not to be able to breathe. Indeed, he's choking me to death. All I thought, this is all just a dream. But then, this is all happening for real now and he came all the way here to kill me for I don't know the reason why. His eyes is emotionless but I could see the burning hatred, anger and... d-did I see pain and sadness in it? It's just a glimpse, I don't know if it's real.
What is it that make him hate me this much? Did I do something wrong I didn't know? I suddenly felt an invisible knife piercing through my heart that gave me the excruciating pain I've never felt before. Why does my heart aches for him? B-bakit ako nasasaktan? Hindi ko namalayan ang pagtulo ng aking luha. Pumikit ako at tinanggap nalang ang katapusan ko.
"It has been a while since you left me. Now that I finally found you, you'll never escape, My Bride," he says as he let me go. Sumalampak ako sa sahig sa panlalambot. I readily gasped for air and coughed a lot of times.
It took me minutes of coughing before I could raise my head again to look at him. Subalit, wala akong nakita. W-Wala na siya? Kung gayon... Napailing ako. Hindi na nga pala imposible na bigla nalang siyang mawala. Bigla rin naman siyang sumulpot nang walang nakakaalam, maaring kaya niya ring umalis nang walang babala.
But why did he call me Sierraia? Hindi naman ako si Sierraia dahil ang pangalan ko ay Haliya. And he thought I was his Bride? Baliw ba siya? O kaya maaring nagkamali lang siya. Unti-unti akong tumayo sa nanginginig na mga binti. Maaari kayang magpakita siyang muli? Alam ko sa sarili kong hindi ako nananaginip. Nakatitiyak akong nangyayari ito sa akin. Subalit, paano?
The hatred in his eyes could mirror the amount of pain I've felt the moment I laid my eyes on him. Was it real? That couldn't be for me, right? My lips quivered as I saw myself weeping in pain. I clutched my chest as I began gasping for breath.
That gaze couldn't be for me! Please...
But, if it indeed was, I didn't know if I could ever sleep in peace again. Because I knew the moment I step my feet outside the bathroom, soon enough it'll start haunting me.
