The water is way too deep for her,
A place she can't escape, not even stir.
If not only for the drive for revenge,
She will not resurface again.
The forest is an endless maze for him,
A place he knows he must not miss.
He will hunt for as long as it...
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Chapter Ten
ILYA
Madali lang magsinungaling. The words were easily said and is now out of my mouth. Then there's Killian's face--na mukhang hindi naniniwala.
With his signature poker face that I now know of, hindi ko alam kung kumagat ba siya sa sinabi ko o hindi. Nakaramdam ako ng pawis na tumulo sa likod ng aking leeg hindi dahil sa init ng suot ko ngayon, kundi na rin sa mga mata niyang mapagmatyag.
Instead of cowering in his gaze, I talked more. "She was my classmate in UP. I remember that night after our Finals, nagkayayaan kaming uminom sa isang bahay ng kaklase. The next morning, she was nowhere to be found. Hindi ko mapigilan na sisishin yung sarili ko, dahil huling alaala ko ay magkasama kaming dalawa, pero nakatulog ako. Her family was so worried and kind of blamed me dahil nagtiwala sila sa akin na makakauwi kaming dalawa ng maayos. After two days, she was found floating on a lake."
A new expression formed in his face at napataas ang kanyang kilay. "I'm sorry for your loss. What happened to her that ended up in that way?"
Umiling ako. "Yun ang misteryo. It was declared as a closed case, because it was reported that she fell into the water, drunk."
"That's it?"
I nodded my head. "That's it," I said and took another sip of my latte.
I swiped a finger under my eye as if I wanted to cry from the memory of a dead non-existent friend. Iniwasan ko nang magsalita pa dahil hanggang rito nalang ang kaya kong ipag-sungaling.
Killian on the other hand just took a bite from his BLT sandwich, at hindi na ako tinanong pa. As he raises his hand to swipe a tissue to clean his mouth, I noticed something on the inside of his left wrist despite the warm light illuminating above us outside the café. Isa itong tattoo na bahagyang naitatago ng kanyang mamahaling relo.
From my peripheral, tingin ko nakakita ako ng isang ibon na lumilipad. And the others were hidden behind the strap of his watch. I think I have seen that tattoo before, but I have to rake my brains out and think when and where I may have seen it.
"As sad as your story is, I can't give your painting back, Ilya."
Bigla akong napatingin sa mukha niya. What the fuck did he say? My face went from fake crying to in shock, natawa ng bahagya si Killian sa reaksyon ko. "Why not?!" Sigaw ko sa dilim.
Bumukas yung pinto at lumabas yung tatlong babae kanina, at napatingin sa amin nung sumigaw ako. One of the girls waved her hand at him and I immediately wanted to throw the knife strapped inside my shoe at her. Alam kong hindi dapat ako magalit doon sa babae, but she was trying to get the attention off of Killian.
