My Handsome Katipunero

KABANATA 3

"Que permita que esto ocurra?!"

Naalimpungatan ako dahil sa narinig. Napakunot ang noo ko dahil sa sinag ng araw na tumatama saking mukha. But instead of getting up, I changed my position and decided to go back to sleep.

"Bastardo!" I jolted out of my sleep nang marinig muli ang baritonong boses ng isang lalaki.

What the fuck was that? Bakit nag-iingay sila ng ganito kaaga? Sound proof ang kwarto ko pero bakit nariri— What? Natigilan ako nang mapansin ang silid na kinaroroonan ko. Inilibot ko ang tingin sa apat na pader ng silid. It's made of a light material. Something like, a bamboo rod or a bamboo mat. Napadako ang tingin ko sa bintana sa tabi ko. It was an awning window held open by a wooden rod. The rooms ceiling was lower than the usual. The bamboo slat floors allows cool air to flow inside. All in all, the room is designed to let in as much fresh air and natural light as possible.

But my room isn't like this. I gripped the rough blanket na hinigaan ko. This is not my room. Where the heck am I? And wait? Inilibot ko muli ang tingin sa paligid. Is this a nipa hut? Natulog ako sa kwarto then I woke up in this..in this cheap, deteriorating room! How the heck did I end up here?

I shook my head. May namumuong kaba saking dibdib but tried to calm myself at naisipang bumaba ng kama. Pero bago pa man ako tuluyang makababa ng kama, an old woman suddenly entered the room. She was wearing a dirty white sleeved collarless blouse that covers the upper torso and a brown long skirt. She had grey-white hair that was tied into a low bun. Her skin complexion was sun-kissed.

A kind smile appeared on her wrinkly face. I raised a brow and waited for her to say a word.

"Uh.." If she's not gonna initiate, then I will. "I'd like to ask... how did I end up here? Kidnapping, is that it? Are you kidnapping me?" I asked. I felt the panic as soon as the thought crossed my mind. Of course, there's 99.9% chance that this is kidnapping. I'm Kristin Lopega for christ's sake! A daughter of an internationally known business tycoons and a well known and award winning filipino historians. In short, I'm the "apple of the eye" for ransom kidnappers.

Panic started to form inside me. The thought of me being kidnapped makes me anxious. My brother was kidnapped before kaya kinakabahan ako. Memories of him suffering PTSD, is coming back to me. 'Yung mga time na nakikita ko siyang nagwawala habang sumisigaw. Yelling and asking for help.

Rape. Rape? Oh no.

I looked at the woman. Still, she didn't answer. If anything, she just gave me this puzzled look along with that ever so kind smile. Do kidnappers smile to their victims? Moreover, can grannies be kidnappers too? Yes, they can. I've seen it in hollywood movies. If they exist in hollywood movies. Then they exist in reality.

I calmed myself. We can talk this through. I'm good with negotiations. I'll just talk my way out of here. "Paano ak-"

"Magandang umaga, hija. May nararamdaman ka ba'ng masakit sa iyong katawan?" she asked. Well her speech is surprisingly very old fashioned. Her voice was calm and gentle. Not the typical character of a ransom kidnapper. But am I feeling pain?

I checked my body before answering. "None of the sort. Asan ba ako? Anong ginagawa ko dito?" I kept looking around. Seems like something's going on outside. I can even hear foreigners. Seems like they're mad about something.

The old woman smiled again, "Halika sa hapag-kainan, hija. Alam kong nagugutom ka na."

As if on cue, my stomach grumbled.

I faked a cough.

Never heard of a nice kidnapper. Tumayo ako at sumunod sa matanda. She seems harmless. But still, I have to keep my guard on. Lumabas kami ng silid at bumungad kaagad sakin ang hapagkainan. This house.. is surprisingly very small. My gaze landed on a makeshift kitchen (Otor: It's the actual kitchen in the past) situated near the dining table. The windows in the small dining room was the same with the ones in the bedroom. Maaliwas ang buong bahay nila.