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KLEEVE
"DO YOU understand what Papa Yib is trying to say?" I can't helped but to raise my voice despite of hearing her sobs.
"Tama na, Kleeve . . . " Pom spoke gently while caressing Daphney's hair. Nakaupo siya sa sofa habang kalong si Daphney na nakasandal sa kaniya ngayon. "Hindi ka naman naintindihan nitong bata, eh. Natatakot lang sa 'yo kasi tinataasan mo ng boses."
I heaved a deep sigh and shook my head. She's right.
"We know na worried ka, given that you're her father." Halign blocked my view and locked me with her stare. "Pero, isipin mo ha: she's just turning two years old this year! Paano nga naman makakaya ni Baby Daph na i-differentiate ka do'n sa imposter na sumundo sa kaniya kanina? Duh!" she asked and popped her gum.
"Eh, noong napanood ko nga 'yung kuha sa CCTV, akala ko si Kleeve talaga, eh." Edz commented while scratching his head.
"Sino kaya 'yon?" he added.
"What matters here is that the little girl is safe." Officer Thymn picked up Daphney's little plushie toy - yeah, you know it's Barney - and gave it to her.
Wondering why that police officer is here? I'll tell you why: siya lang naman ang pulis na nakakita kay Daphney sa labas ng bahay namin. Naabutan niya raw itong nakaupo habang hawak ang laruan niya.
How come? This is the story: Harold and the others lost Daphney when they are in observatory building. Bigla na lang daw itong nawala kasama ang cellphone ni Harold that he put in her bag due to the downloaded nursery rhymes videos that my daughter always wanted to see. They looked for her and eventually go to the lost and found area. They were shown a numerous CCTV footage of every corner of the amusement park.
There, they saw Daphney and my imposter taking a walk around the colorful fountain which is on the way to the exit. The rest of the story continued when they made a call to me a while ago.
"Your imposter take your child for a walk and eventually brought her home. Having no choice, he just left the child outside." Officer Thymn explained.
"Bakit wala siyang choice? Dahil wala siyang susi ng bahay ni Kleeve?" Edz asked and catched the plushie toy.
"Yeah. It probably goes like this: he told Daphney that he had to do something and made her wait outside the door while hugging this cute plushie toy of hers. It's just one of the possibilities." he shrugged his shoulders off.
"Officer, bakit nga po pala kayo nandito? Saktong-sakto naman na nakita niyo si Daph." I looked at Iris who throw that question.
The expression on her face tells me that something is off. Something is bothering her.
"Well, I was on my patrol that's why I was roaming around this town." he explained and bade his goodbye.
"Ang weird talaga ng mga nangyayari," Kylah yawned. ". . . noong isang linggo, 'yung issue ng pagkamatay ni Sir Gordon kung saan suspek si Finx."
"As if namang si Finx talaga gumawa no'n!" Halign rolled her eyes while chewing her gum.
"Eh, kung gano'n, sino?" Kylah shooted her glance towards Halign.
