Sindak

KABANATA 41

Humingi ako nang permiso kay Tita Amelia to watch the third disk some other time. But she refused, she said she will destroy it before her husband or any other person get a hold of them.

"This is just between you and me, Jeff." Bulong n'ya, "I can tell you na hindi na aabutin ng umaga ang mga disks na ito."

Gusto kong itanong sa kanya kung bakit kinailangan ko pang makita ang mga 'yun, kung wala naman pala s'yang balak ilabas ang ang mga 'yun. But then, she already added...

"I don't want to carry the burden alone." Umiiyak na ito, "I need somebody who knows what's going on with John other than myself. I need another soul that I can speak to just in case I need help. But I cannot find a strong enough person I know that is more trustworthy than you. Hindi ko maaaring ipakita ito sa Tito mo. He already went through a double bypass surgery. I can't afford to lose him too, now that our only son is..." Humagulhol na lang ito kaysa tapusin pa ang kanyang pangungusap.

"O-ok Tita, don't worry...I-I'll watch it right now."  Bumalik ako sa AVR. Alone.

My hands tremble as I feed the disk to the player. The psychological strain definitely caused my whole body to ache miserably. I can still taste my own vomit right behind my tongue, as I continue to gag by the memory of John's mouth as he gnawed a human eyeball in a high definition video recording.

"Hello evil followers. Welcome to my Vlog. Let me tell you a dark secret..." John, in his new gothic facade, was facing the camera through his laptop. His bed was right behind him which confirms that he's in his condo when he recorded the video. "Look what I got."  Ipinakita niya sa camera ang aklat ni Graciella. "It took me sometime to find out what exactly this book is all about. I really thought this book can only open my third eye, 'cause that's what my stupid ex f*ckmate Hazel told me! Guess what I've discovered?"  He laughed. "Do you know that this book can actually give me the power to read minds and see beyond what my third eye could see? But here's the catch..."  He showed a paper with his scribblings, "I need to literally drink six gallons of human blood, eat six kilos of human brains, chew six pairs of human eyes and devour the beating heart of person who gave me the book...I'm going to kill whoever I want, in exchange of something I really want, how cool is that?!"  He did an evil laugh.

Copyright ⓒ DyslexicParanoia (Angela Atienza), 2014, All rights reserved.

He's been bawling as a crazy ass when a shadowy figure of a man began to emerge right behind him. Muling nagtindigan ang nga balahibo ko--maging ang mga buhok ko sa anit. I also went stiff on my seat nang may naramdaman akong malamig na hininga sa batok ko. Nararamdaman ko ring may naka-upo na sa bandang likuran ko.  Natutukso man akong lumingon pero ayoko dahil sa takot na makumpirma ang nararamdaman ko. Diyahe man pero pakiramdam ko, maiihi ako sa sariling salawal nang bukod sa paghinga'y bumulong pa ito sa likuran ng aking tenga:  "Jeff..." May echo ito at sobrang lamig, "Sa akin na ang puso n'ya." Boses ito ni John pero may alingawngaw at tila nangganggaling ito sa ilalim ng lupa. "Pasensya na, kailangan ko lang talaga!" Humalakhak itong animo'y demonyo.

Nanlamig ang buong katawan ko. Hindi ko na rin kinakaya ang walang humpay na kabog sa dibdib ko nang biglang nag-transition ang video sa nakakikilabot na mukha ni John. Bahagyang nakakubli ito sa dilim; nakangisi na animo'y isang demonyo.

"Isa na lang ang kulang para makuha ko na ang gusto ko." Anito sa video, "Salamat naman at madali kang nalansi ni Mommy na panoorin ang huling video na 'to...Jeff. Kung kasama mo ang girlfriend mo ngayon, pasensya na kung madadamay ka. Kailangan ko lang talaga ang puso n'ya. Kung iniwan mo naman ito kung saan...eh 'di ligtas ka na...hindi mo na nga lang s'ya nakikita pang muli. Kung napapanood mo ang video na 'to, malamang, nakaalis na ako papunta sa apartment mo. Wag ka na nga palang mag-atubiling sabihin sa 'kin kung saan ko s'ya makikita. Alam ko kung saan na kayo nakatira. "

[Itutuloy]