Shelter in a Storm (Elyu Series #2)

Chapter 38

TW: mention of violence
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"Do you want to talk about it?"

Marahang umiling si Enrique. Tumango ako at nagpatuloy sa paglalakad.

"You know, I'm a Psychologist, right? And one of the reasons most soldiers don't talk about what happened in their deployments to their loved ones is fear... they fear that they can't handle it well so they talk about something else instead. Like most soldiers who were deployed to Iraq would rather talk about the sand than their actual experience on the battlefield."

Enrique chuckled. "Exactly. You're not my Psychologist. My stories are not for your ears."

Napanguso ako. "But I'm your girlfriend..."

Tumigil sa paglalakad si Enrique at binalingan ako. He was watching my face intently.

"And I'm not just being polite when I asked if you wanted to talk about it. I really want to know..."

Narinig ko ang pagbuntong-hininga niya. Lumapit siya sa akin at hinawakan ang braso ko.

"San mo nga binili yung wine noong nakaraan?"

Unti-unting sumilay ang ngiti sa mga labi ko dahil sa sinabi niya. We dropped by a grocery store and went home to cook for our dinner. I don't really expect him to tell me everything, but I also don't want him to treat me as if I'm an innocent child. I know what happens in the battlefield. I'm wildly aware that blood sheds easily in his line of work.

Magkatabi kaming dalawa sa kusina. He was washing the rice while I was cutting the vegetables. Tahimik at parehong may iniisip.

"Are you sure, Avery?" He sighed again. "I don't want to change your perspective about the world."

"I'm pretty sure." I gave him a thumbs up and pointed to the bottle of wine. "You can have a sip first. It'll help you..."

Sumunod naman ang lalaki at binuksan ang bote ng wine. He poured some and also gave me my glass. Nang maisaing na ang kanin at hinihintay nalang naming kumulo ang sabaw, sumandal ako sa counter at pinagmasdan siya.

"Just my first deployment, okay? After this... I won't talk about anything else."

I nodded. "Kung ano lang iyong komportable ka."

He took a sip of his wine and looked away. Tila ba nahihiya ito sa susunod na sasabihin.

"My first kill was a woman."

I tried to hide the shock in my face and nodded. Ayoko ding tratuhin siya na parang pasyente ko dahil baka ayaw niya nun. He swallowed hard and lowered his gaze.

"My father told the Battalion Commander to purposely give me the wrong intel during our combat operation. Fresh grad pa ako nun. I'm the Platoon Leader. We were hunting a high-profile target. She's an NPA leader. Their secretary."

Tumango ulit ako, matamang nakikinig sa kaniya.

"He said that I have this weakness towards women and I might hesitate to shoot if I knew my target was a girl. Kaya nagsinungaling sila sa akin at sinabing lalaki ang target ko. When I was on the field, and I had my chance, of course, I didn't hesitate to shoot. I ended up killing her."

Sumimsim ulit ako sa wine habang pinagmamasdan siya.

He let out a humorless laugh. "Imagine how scared I was when I turned the body around and found her. Akala ko, maling tao ang napatay ko. I was ready to quit the army at that time."

"Your father is a cruel man."

"He is." He lowered his gaze to the floor. "I would've killed her either way, you know? I just wished I've prepared myself... I think when I saw her bloodied face, it really scarred me for life."