THE DEAL

TD- 21

GONE

It has already been two weeks since the incident happened. It has already been two weeks since the plane crashed but her body is still nowhere to be found. They have even hired professional rescue teams to search for her body but none of them succeeded. All of them concluded that the two bodies are somewhere in the sea, giving them lesser chance of recovering their bodies.

That thought lingers in his mind. He couldn't even imagine Lea's lifeless body floating around or... worse...

"Sir, kung talagang tama ang hinala nating nasa dagat ang katawan, talaga pong mahihirapan tayong mag-hanap dahil napakalawak po ng dagat."

"Sir, 24/7 na po ang operation namin pero wala pa rin."

"Sir, hindi na po namin kayang hanapin."

The struggle lingers even more. It seethes through the smallest part of his body. He could not say Lea's dead. He's been setting that thought aside. They were even talking before that stupid plane crash. Everything was fine. She couldn't die. She could not be dead. He's been praying every night but none of his prayers were answered.

He wakes up to struggle. That's what he does.

He looked at his phone, which has their picture as the wallpapers. He misses his girlfriend so much - her smile, her laugh, even the way she smirks or frowns. He misses everything about her. He misses her so much that he couldn't sleep at night thinking of her.

Raymond, Lea's ex, is one of the most persistent men. The moment he found out about the incident, he immediately called Lea's friends and even those who could help him. He also reached out to Aga and told his intention. He knows his place. He just really wanted to help. He walked up to Aga and patted his back, "I hired another rescue team. They're going to find her. Let's extend the operation for another week."

Aga smiled, "Thanks, bro."

"Mahahanap din natin siya," he replied, trying to console Aga, "Huwag kang mawalan ng pag-asa."

"Sana nga... I don't know what to do with my life anymore, pare. Pakiramdam ko, mababaliw ako," Aga replied as he rubbed his face in frustration.

"Everything's going to be just fine."

He's been trying to find a silver lining or trying to even get a glimpse of hope but everything seems so hopeless. Every time, a rescue team surrenders, he feels like nothing is ever going to be alright.

Just as when he was about to reply, Vice, Dawn, Richard, and Martin approached them. All with their frowns.

Even these people spend time in trying to help him. Dawn does not even go to work anymore while Vice files leave every now and then.

"Pumyemas naman 'tong si Lea... pinapagod tayo. 'Yang babaeng 'yan, 'pag nakita ko talaga, sasabunutan ko nang mainam-inam!" Vice complained.

"I hope they'd find her soon," Dawn uttered, "I terribly miss her."

"Sana. I told them to do their best to find her," Raymond replied, "I hope so, too."

Silence reigned after that. They are exhausted already but won't stop until they find Lea. Bea then went to their group, with a huge smile on her face, "Ags, don't you want to stroll around the island? Habang nag-hahanap sila."