Held Captive

Chapter 23-Tale Of A Lion

Chapter 23

Jackson:

Good morning Eve!

Jackson:

Even if you don't reply, I will still send you text messages.

Jackson:

HI Eve!

Jackson:

Eat your lunch :)

Jackson:

You're beautiful.

Binaba ko yung cellphone ko sa aking desk. Jackson keeps sending me messages even though I don't reply. Somehow I feel.. touched. Anong ginawa ko para makuha ang ganitong atensyon mula sa kaniya? I keep rejecting him. He keeps on pursuing me. Maybe when everything is okay and settled, we can give it a shot. Maybe I should open my doors.

Nandito ako sa headquarters ngayon at nirereview ang files ng mga Tenebrous katulad ng ipinag-utos ni Queen Callisha. Sa pagkakaalam ko ay nagbabantay na naman sa Citadel si Jackson.

Images of Citadel came rushing on my mind. The unmarked. The shouts and pleas of the prisoners. The messy cells. The lonely face of Faith Bautista.

Napapikit ako nang mariin. Ayokong nakikita ang mga yun. Hindi ko alam pero simula't sapul, hindi ko na talaga gusto ang lugar na iyon. Let me sleep in a cemetery for hours but never take me to Citadel even just for a second.

Inalis ko ang isip ko sa Citadel at nagfocus sa pagrereview ng mga files ng Tenebrous.

adjective ten·e·brous \ˈte-nə-brəs\

Definition of tenebrous(According to Miriam Dictionary)

1

: shut off from the light : dark, murky <tenebrous depths>

2

: hard to understand : obscure <a tenebrous affair>

3

: causing gloom

Accurate. All this time hindi ko alam na isang english word pala talaga ang Tenebrous. And they match their name. shut off from the light. Dahil wala silang alam gawin kung hindi pahirapan ang mga tao sa paligid nila. They are inlove with darkness and chaos.

Nagscroll pa ko at nakita ko yung mga files dito ng mga lalaking sumugod sa bahay nung isang araw. They belong to the 'low profile Tenebrous'. Ibig sabihin ay mga utusan palang sila at hindi pa ganun kabihasa katulad ni Radimir.

Nagscroll down pa ako hanggang sa mapunta na naman ako sa pinaka iniiwasan ko.

The king's right hand
Tenebrous' Asad
Radimir Henderson

I don't need to read this just to know his skills. I know his skills so well. I experienced them myself. Pero ang bagay na hindi ko alam tungkol kay Radimir ay ang kwento niya. Ano nga ba ang kwento niya sa likod ng kaniyang maskara? Ano nga ba ang istorya ng leon na ito?

Clinick ko ang kaniyang larawan at lumabas doon ang mga impormasyon na tungkol sa kaniya.

"Radimir Henderson is the greatest agent of Tenebrous. He is entitled as "Asad" an arabic name meaning lion. For he is the lion of Tenebrous. He is the wildest and he shows no remorse."

Asad means lion. Tenebrous means shut off from the light.

Asad of Tenebrous.

He is a lion that was shut off from light. He is the lion of the darkness. Yup. He really suits his name.

Iniskip ko na ang part na iyon dahil alam ko naman na. I want to have new information. Not one that I already know.

"When he was 7 years old, a group of drunk men entered their house. They were poor as a rat that time. His father has a big dept on those men and he was not able to pay it. The drunkards torture his father in front of the 7 year old Radimir."

Napatigil ako sa pagbabasa. 7 years old si Radimir nang torturin ang papa niya. At ang malala pa nun, sa harapan niya pa. I imagine a crying young Radimir as he watched his father being tortured in front of him. Begging the drunkards to stop but they would not listen to him. He can't do anything but cry. Hindi ko lubos maisip. Ni hindi ko man naisip na umiiyak pala ang isang Radimir Henderson.

"After the drunkards killed his father, they turned their attention to his mother. Radimir begged for the drunkards to leave his mother. He even knelt infront of them while tears keep on falling from his eyes. But they ignore Radimir. Infront of Radimir's very own eyes, the men killed his mother using a screwdriver."

Pagkabasa ko ng linyang iyon ay agad kong pinatay ang aking laptop. Hindi ko to kayang ituloy basahin. Hindi kayang pumasok ng impormasyon sa utak ko. 7 years old palang si Radimir sa mga panahong yun! At pinatay ang kaniyang mga magulang sa kaniyang harapan. Sinong mga hayop ang gagawin ang karumal-dumal na bagay na yun! Nakakapangilabot. Nakakasuka sila.

A sudden flare of emotion burned inside me. I want to kill all those drunkards who did that to Rad. I want to torture them, painfully and slowly. I want to avenge Rad in any way possible. I want to punish the people who turned him into a monster.

Kaya ba naging ganoon kasahol si Radimir?

But inside that lion.. is a hopeless child. Inside that cruel man is a man that has been hurt and tortured by his past. Behind that bad boy smirk is a human who is broken.

I know the feeling of being left alone. Hindi ko pa nakikilala ang Papa ko simula pagkabata. Tinago siya sa akin ni Mama. Namatay si Mama nung 15 years old ako. Masakit ang mga pangyayaring iyon. No words can express the pain. I'm used to be alone maybe that's why I'm not good at making friends. Winasak ako ng pagkawala ni Mama. Paano pa kaya ang nangyari kay Radimir? I cannot even imagine it. I don't even think that a monster is capable of being hurt. I cannot even think that a cruel lion can be broken, too.