Lethal Lilac

CHAPTER 10

Drift

Tahimik ang mansyon, ngunit ang katahimikan nito ay parang sumisigaw. It pressed against me, heavy and suffocating, while the echoes—footsteps, whispers, and distant murmurs—clung to my mind like shadows. Hindi ko maintindihan. I didn’t want to understand.

My hand trembled as I reached for the brass handle of the front door. Nagbigay ito ng mahinang tunog na parang babala, pero wala akong naramdaman. No fear, no hesitation—just a need to leave.

The cold air greeted me as the door opened, brushing against my skin.

Hindi ito malamig na nakakapaso, pero sapat para maramdaman ko na nasa labas na ako.

Barefoot, I stepped onto the gravel path, the sharp stones pressing against my soles. Pain should’ve registered, but there was nothing—just the mechanical rhythm of my feet moving forward.

Hindi ko alam kung saan ako pupunta. The ground beneath me shifted—gravel became dirt, and dirt became sand. Ang bawat hakbang ay parang palayo sa mansyon, ngunit ang ingay ay patuloy na sumusunod. Whispers I couldn’t understand, voices I couldn’t escape.

And then, the sea.

The waves stretched endlessly before me, their silver crests shimmering under the moonlight.

The sound of crashing water drowned out the echoes from the mansion. Tumigil ako sa buhangin, pinapanood ang paggalaw ng dagat. It was vast, beautiful even, but I felt nothing.

Hinayaan kong dampian ng malamig na alon ang aking mga paa. The sensation was faint, like a distant memory.

I crouched, letting the water brush against my fingers. The cold bit into my skin, but it didn’t reach deeper. My hands moved in the water, creating ripples that disappeared almost immediately. Parang ako. Parang lahat ng nangyari sa akin—walang iniwan, walang nagbago.

I stood and walked into the waves. The water climbed to my knees, pulling at the edges of my dress.

Hinayaan kong mangyari ito, pero wala akong dahilan. My mind was empty, my chest hollow.

Sa gitna ng lahat ng ito, may tunog pa rin.

The steady crash of waves, the whistle of the wind—it filled the void, but it didn’t soothe me. I stared at the horizon, the stars above scattered like faint, unreachable promises.

Tumingala ako, hinahanap ang sagot sa kawalan. The sky didn’t care, the waves didn’t care, and neither did I. I felt the same as always—untouched by everything around me, unbroken yet incomplete.

I stepped back onto the shore, letting the water retreat. My feet sank into the wet sand, leaving faint imprints that were quickly erased.

Umupo ako sa buhangin, tahimik na nakatingin sa malayo. My hands moved unconsciously, tracing lines in the sand that the waves soon swallowed.

Hindi ko alam kung gaano ako katagal doon. Time seemed irrelevant, meaningless.

I stared at the horizon, watching the waves stretch endlessly before me. It was strange—this place. The sand felt cool under my feet, the sound of the ocean filling the silence that had haunted me. But a question lingered, faint and distant, like a forgotten memory surfacing.

Was this beach always here?

I tried to recall the drive to the mansion, the paths we took, the scenery that blurred past the car window. Wala akong maalala.

Had we passed this place before? Or had I been too numb, too detached, to notice?

The thought bothered me—not in the way emotions bother most people, but like an itch you can’t scratch, a whisper you can’t quite hear. I looked around, searching for signs that this place was real. The salty scent filled my lungs, and the cold waves lapped at my feet.

It was real. And yet, parang panaginip lang.

I stared blankly at nowhere as the question repeated in my mind. How long had this beach existed? How many times had I ignored it?

But no answers came, just the rhythmic crash of the waves and the distant echoes of thoughts I didn’t understand.

I sighed deeply, closing my eyes. The cold breeze whipped my pale purple hair, tinged with pink, as it flowed freely in the wind.

Sa wakas, tumayo ako, basang-basa ang laylayan ng damit ko, pero hindi ko ito inalintana. I turned back toward the mansion, its dark silhouette rising against the horizon.

Sa una, tahimik pa rin ang paligid. Then I noticed the lights. They were on—bright and harsh against the night. My steps faltered. The quiet wasn’t real.

Gunshots echoed through the air, followed by distant screams. Napatigil ako. Wala akong maintindihan, pero alam ko na.

He’s back.