Autumn of May

CHAPTER 39: The Fated Connection

We managed to escape Stella and I managed to snatched Abbi away from her. I don't want Stella to ruin my figure by showing my old baby photos to Abbi. Abbi keep laughing at my reaction and she keep on telling me how cute I am when I was a little munchkin. "Stop teasing me" I said to her as we walked towards the garden. "Natuwa lang ako kasi I never imagined na you look that innocent" sabi naman niya sabay tingin sa akin.

We walk closer to the fountain and then I realized that back when I was a kid I had my most favorite place of the garden and that was the field. "Let me show you something" I said to her and gently pull her towards the end of the bushy garden. I slowly push the wooden gate on my front and revealed the field to her. She smiled upon seeing the field and suddenly stop as she meant to realize something. "Teka lang, this place looks so familiar. I think..." she slowly walk towards the field and immersed herself. "I think I've been here" she said as she tried to figured out something beyond the busy swaying grasses.

She walk towards the middle part of the field and smiled as she fold the grass to reveal an old path. "Tama nga ako, I've been here" she said. "It's quite impossible how come you've gotten here and I don't have any memory of it?" I said as I immersed myself also in the tall grasses. "I don't know but I'm sure ito ang lugar na ito. Naaalala mo ba ang picture frame sa tabi ng bed ko? Did you happen to see what's in the picture frame?" I tried to recollect the picture and yes, I remember a woman holding her little girl while they are walking to somewhat similar to a field. "It's impossible" I remarked as I realized the coincidence.

"Yeah it is, but this place. Alam kong pumunta kami dito ni Mom dati. The tree!" Bigla niyang itinuro ang punongkahoy sa parteng gilid ng field and it has a swing on it that looks like it's gonna torn or break any moment. She started running kaya I chased her and slow her down. "Stop running Abbi" I said as she stop and chase her breath. I slowly tap her back but the difficulty of her breathing doesn't stop her from pursuing her goal - the tree. "I remember back then, si Mom at ako ay mahilig maglaro ng treasure hunting and I remember that I placed something here" she said while she linger around the tree. "Hmmm, saan kaya yun" she said habang patuloy na nakatingin sa puno.

A little hole appeared on my sight so I walk closer to it and hold it for a while. I tried to add a little pressure and push the hole open. "I think I got something" I said to her and she hurriedly go and see what I've found. "Let's see" she said habang pilit na ipinapasok sa loob ng hole ang kaniyang kamay. "Abbi, huwag na. Maybe you'll hurt yourself or maybe something will bite you in there..." but I cut myself off dahil may nahila siyang maliit na wooden box sa loob ng hole. "Hindi ko alam na Mom did really hid something in here" she said at mahinang umupo sa lupa. I watched her as she examined the box.

"It's locked" she said kaya napabuntong hininga siya at tumingin sa akin. "We will open that one but we should head inside first before it gets dark" I said dahil walang lights dito sa field and we will be having a hard time finding the way if we happen to be staying here until dark. May napansin akong dumi sa mukha ni Abbi dahil siguro she keeps holding that dirty box that we found kaya I scooped closer to her and reached my hand to her face. "You're so clumsy" I said at tinulungan siyang tumayo.

"Did you happen to think na maybe mayroon tayong connection?" she asked while giving the wooden box a tap. "Don't tell me we're relatives because I don't really want to hear about that" she gently laughed and said, "Siguro hindi, but I'm sure maybe there's something a connection between your family and my family back then. Or else my memory could be wrong and all of these are just purely a coincidence" she asked as if she's somewhat a detective. She raised the box and examined the key hole. "Hmmm I don't know if a key can fix to this one..." napahinto siya sa paglalakad and directly turned his gazed on me.

"Xavier, did you happened to have the key?" I am quite unsure what key she referred to. "The key, yung binigay ko last birthday mo. Yung key na galing sa Dad mo" I tapped my pouch to locate my wallet and grab it. Binuksan ko ito at ibinigay kay Abbi ang key. She hurriedly placed it on the key hole and it click opened. "Hindi ko inaasahan na mabubuksan talaga" she said at mahinang binuksan ang maliit na box.

It's quite dusty. But Abbi's face smiled a little when she saw some pictures of her when she was little and her mom. But I didn't expect that some photos were my mom's too. Kinuha ko ang isang picture and directly look into it. Abbi's mom and my mom were in the same frame laughing while holding paint brushes. "Huwag mong sabihin..." she slowly gasped while pointing at the picture. "Yeah, my mom and your mom" I said. Based on the picture, I think they're good friends or beyond that because of how they shared a smile to each other.

"Good old days" she said as she smiled at me. "Siguro fate talaga na magkita tayo and fate talaga na dalhin ako pabalik sa lugar na ito. Hindi ko alam kung bakit ako napunta dito and I don't even know that somehow your mom and my mom did have connection pero ang alam ko, we are really fated to get here" Abbi said and that made me smile. "I don't know na ganito pala kagaling si Mom magtreasure hunt" sabi ni Abbi na patawa at patuloy kaming naglakad pabalik sa bahay namin.

When we arrived back to the house, we saw everyone preparing to leave. They all gave their attention to us nang mapansin nila na nakatayo kami nearby them. "Abbi, we need to go" said by Nikka's mom. Lumapit naman kaagad si Abbi sa kanila and she bid goodbye to my parents. She smiled at me and once, lumapit siya at binigay sa akin ang box. "Thank you for this" she said and they are headed by Stella to go home. I opened the box and put it on the table. My dad look at the box and was amazed by the pictures inside it.

"Dad, do you have any idea about this?" I asked him and he slowly pull out a picture in which Abbi's mom and my mom was there. "Where did you find this?" he asked. "At the fields, weird but at the tree" I replied and he smiled. "Your mom and her dearest friend" he said while looking dearly at the picture. "It was one of the best memory your mother had" he added. So, back then Abbi's mom and my mom are great friends but how come we never met? How come Abbi never existed in my memory before even that she happened to be here?

"That woman. Did she happened to be here before?" I asked. Dad gently nodded. "Many times" he replied. "Why did I never ever seen her before?" Dad was quite nervous when I throw that question to him. He slowly put the picture on the box and cleared his throat. "Actually that accident in the Cafe, your mom was not only the victim" he stopped and then I felt that my throat began to dried up.

No way. No f*cking way.

"That night, the murderer's victims were two. One is your mom and the other one is her friend"