A Fairytale's Mishap

CHAPTER 6: Save Me

Not once have I doubted the reality. There's not a minute that I ever doubted myself. Yes, It's ripping my mind into pieces. But their lies won't fool me. They think they could. How wrong they were...

Habang nakatanaw ako sa papalubog na araw sa malayong bahagi ng karagatan ay patuloy kong iniikot ang singsing sa aking daliri... ang aking wedding ring. Ang isa sa mga patunay na hawak ko ang realidad. Mapait akong napangiti nang maalala ko ang isang pangyayari kaninang umaga matapos akong ihatid ni Marion sa labas ng dorm...

Sa pagpasok ko sa loob ng gusali ay okupado ang isip ko sa kung ano ang mga susunod na dapat kong gawing hakbang. Ngunit agad akong nagambala ng isang boses...

"Uhm, Miss Dashiell?"

Napalingon ako nang marinig ang pamilyar kong "apelyido". Isang dalaga ang nakatingin sa akin sa may information desk. Humakbang ako patungo sa kanya, "Yes? It's me. I'm Miss Dashiell."

Ngumiti siya nang maluwang, "Of course you are, silly! I just want to mention that your dorm room was open this morning. I think you forgot to lock it or maybe somebody went in. I'm not sure. You could check inside if something's missing."

Naalala ko ang mabilis kong paglabas sa maliit na silid na iyon kaninang umaga. Maaaring hindi ko na iyon naisara sa pagmamadali, "It was me. I forgot to close it." Gulung-gulo man ang isip ko ay pinipilit kong maging kalmado. Ngunit kung tutuusin ay kanina ko pa gustong iuntog ang sarili kong ulo sa pader.

Nakangiti pa rin ang babae, "Oh next time, please don't forget to close it. Anyway, I have some papers here for you to sign. My assistant seemed to forget to have you sign the contract."

Bahagya akong napakunot, "Contract? What contract?"

Bagama't bahagyang may pagtataka sa aking katanungan ay mas pinili na lang niyang sumagot, "It's about your rental contract," Napabuntunghininga siya, "My assistant is not really doing his job. Anyway, for every new tenant, a contract must be signed."

Higit na akong napakunot. Naalala ko ang pagbanggit ni Marion kanina na mag-iisang taon na akong nakatira sa dormitoryong ito. At tinatanong niya kung kailan ko daw ba dadalawin ang "mommy" namin. "But I've been living here for almost a year now. I'm not a new tenant anymore."

Nababakas na ang pagkalito sa mukha ng babae. Bahagya pa siyang natawa, "Uhmm, no. You're a new tenant. You just moved here this spring break."

Lalo na akong na-curious sa sinasabi niya, "Are you sure?"

"Of course. It's really funny that you're asking."

"Do you know where I am from? Have I mentioned it to you before?" marahan kong tanong.

"Well, you've said it a week ago that you're from the Philippines."

"I've said it? I told you that a week ago?" Ngunit hindi ko maalala ang pangyayaring sinasabi niya.

"Uhmm, Miss Dashiell, could you please sign the papers now? It's a minute past my shift already?"

"W-wait... One more question... The first time you saw me, am I with someone else?"

Malalim na ang pagkakakunot niya, "No, you were alone. You've always been alone. You know, you're asking really weird questions. Could you please sign these now?"

"Do you know Marion?" muli kong tanong.

Umikot na ang mga mata niya pataas, "You said no more questions. But I'll answer it anyway. If you're pertaining to the "Marion" who drove you here, then yes I know her coz she's just the bitch who stole my boyfriend."

I need to ask one more important question, ""Do you know... do you know she's my sister?"

Higit na tumaas ang kanyang kilay, "Really? I thought Jessica is her only sister? Jessica's your roomate, right? You know, her sister's been living here for a year now and she's way too different from Marion. She's really nice. Speaking of Jessica, I haven't seen that girl since spring break. Anyway, you must be their sister from another father, huh? Obviously, you're Asian, Marion's white, and Jessica's half-black..." Nagpatuloy lang siya sa pagsasalita.

But I'm no longer listening... Something fishy is going on. I cleared my throat, "Thanks for the info. I have to go..." Nagsimula na akong humakbang palayo.

"Wait! Sign these papers first!" pahabol niyang sigaw.

"Tomorrow! I'll sign it tomorrow!" Nagmamadali na akong umakyat ng hagdanan.

Inabot pa ng ilang sandali bago ko mahanapan ang maliit na silid. Pagkapasok ko ay dinig ko agad ang malakas na tunog ng cellphone. Natanawan ko ito sa isang mesa. Nakaregister sa screen ang pangalan na " March".

Napalunok ako. This might be Jessica's phone. I slowly swiped the answer key and held it to my ear, "H-hello?"

"What took you so long to answer the phone, Kairi?!" Boses ni Marion ang agad kong narinig.

"Uhh... I fell asleep."

Narinig kong bumuntunghininga siya, "It's fine. Your manager at the shop called me and he's asking where the heck have you been. He said you haven't been working since spring break. I knew you've been up with something..."

"Do you know where I work?" agad kong tanong.

"Oh my god! You are freaking me out, Kairi! You told me few days before spring break that you just got hired at Timmy's near your dorm! What the eff?!!

"Okay, I need to go then. Bye..." narinig kong may sinasabi pa siya pero agad ko ng pinutol ang linya. At nilagay sa bulsa ang phone.

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Timmy's... Iyon ang nakalagay sa karatula na nasa itaas ng isang bakery shop na hindi kalayuan sa dorm. Sarado na ang shop pero makikita sa malalaking glass windows na may mga ilaw pa sa loob at ilang mga empleyado na tila nag aayos.

Sinimulan ko ng tunguhin ang nakasarang pintuan. Nang marating ko ay mabilis akong kumatok. Sa ikatlong katok ay isang matandang lalaki ang nagbukas sa pinto.

"Oh! I thought it's Jessica. Yes, what is it, Miss? The shop's already closed," nakakunot niyang sabi.

"Do you know Jessica?" I immediately asked.

Mababakas ang galit sa mukha ng matanda pagkabanggit ko sa pangalan, "Of course, I know that gal! Is she your friend? Tell her she's fired!" Sabay balibag ng pinto pasara.

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And so, this is where I am now... Standing on the edge of a cliff...

The things that I've uncovered, it's pretty obvious that they had found us. And they are determined to keep us apart...

But what's funny is that they made so many loopholes... so many mistakes. Hindi ko alam kung papano nila naisakatuparan ang lahat. Pero halatang matagal na nilang nadiskubre ang aming pagtatago.

Wherever DJ is, he might be facing the same situation I am in right now. Or it could be worse. But I don't want to think about that. Ang tanging nagbibigay lakas ng loob na lamang sa akin ay ang isiping buhay siya at patuloy na nakikipaglaban.

For now, I need to focus on ways of finding him. I need to network with other people. I need to find clues.

Marion... I can start with her. I know she doesn't know anything. She thinks she is the truth. But she doesn't know she's also a victim. And I am going to find out what they did...

Muli akong sumulyap sa papalubog na araw...

"DJ..." mahina kong bulong. "I'll find you... Seems like fate will always be against us, but I'll fight it just to be with you... even if it takes years... or a lifetime... I'll find you."

Ramdam ko ang pangingilid ng mga mata ko, but I closed my eyes. Ayoko nang lumuha pa. And so... I ran... towards the farthest edge of the cliff and jumped at the raging ocean...

If I die now... he's not here to come running after me... he's not here to save me...

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