The Seer: Vindicata

Chapter 4 : Puzzle Piece (Part 1)

DOROTHY

*TOK! TOK! TOK!*

Halos mahimatay na ako nang marinig ang mga katok na iyon. A while ago, a mysterious mail reached me which gave me a terrifying feeling. Now, a mysterious someone is staying right outside my room. May mas ii-intense pa ba ang eksenang ito?

Wala akong nagawa. As I heard three more knocks, I bravely approached the door and held the knob. Bahala na. Kung mamamatay man ako ngayon, it’s okay. Nangangatal kong pinihit ang knob ngunit nang mabuksan ko na nang tuluyan, isang malaking buntong-hininga ang kumawala mula sa akin.

It was Seth.

“What the freaking hell, Satan.” muntik ko na siyang pukpukin sa ulo. Halos lumundag na ang puso ko sa ribcage ko, samantalang siya, pa-chill pa sa harapan ko habang nakalagay ang dalawang kamay sa magkabilang bulsa niya, nakangiti.

Nagbago ang ekspresyon sa kanya. "Umm. You look scared. Hehe. I'm sorry. I’m just here to check if you're okay."

Iniimbyerna ako ng lalaking ito. Okay? Sa tingin ba niya ay ayos lang ako dahil sa ginawa niya? Buti na nga lang, hindi ako humanap ng kahit anong bagay para ipukpok sa kanya bago ko buksan ang pinto. Kung nagkataon, makakasakit pa ako ng tao. And worse, mapatay ko pa siya.

"You want to know if I’m okay? Ask yourself."

"Uhm… I think I scared you? Hehe."

“Very good, Mr. Alvarez.”

I rolled my eyes. Tumalikod ako, akmang iiwan siya sa doorway. But he held me. "H-hey! Sorry na. I just felt this urge of coming over. I'm sorry for making you scared."

I just stared at his eyes which were sorrily looking at me. Mga ilang segundo pa akong nakatingin sa mga mata niya habang siya, kung ano-anong pagpapacute ang ginagawa para mapatawad ko. GROSS. I don't have time for this, Seth.

"Tsk, sige na. Pasok.”

He made his way to the living room as I went to the kitchen to get something for us to drink. Kahit yamot ako sa lalaking ‘to, mabait pa rin naman ako. So I will prepare some coffee.

Hindi naman kalakihan ang dorm ko kaya't kita ko pa rin siya. My living room, dining area and kitchen are merged, ganoon ang style ng apartment ko. Pag-upo niya sa sofa, his face went serious and he spoke in a monotonous tone.

"Actually… I have something to tell you."

My two eyebrows met as I heard his words. "Something to tell me? Ano 'yun?"

Inayos niya ang upo niya bago magsalita. "Nagtraining ako kanina, 'di ba? I've heard some information from my teammates."

Mas lalo pang napakunot ang noo ko dahil sa sinabi niya. Hindi ko alam pero bigla akong kinabahan.

"W-what is it?"

"It's all about Zachary." seryoso lang siyang nakatingin sa akin. Kinuha ko naman ang creamer upang lagyan ang dalawang cup ng kape sa harapan ko.

Oo nga pala. Seth told me before that Zachary Calderon was one of the members of the Chantelle Harriers, the volleyball varsity team of our Alma Mater. Kaya posible ngang may alam sila o kaya e makuhang impormasyon tungkol sa kaso. They're acquaintances.

"Kanina, pinag-uusapan nila ang mga impormasyong nakalap nila sa mga pulis. And..."

"And?"

"Things were so strange."

Natapos ko nang timplahin ang kape para sa aming dalawa kaya't dinala ko na ang tray upang ilapag sa sala at lumapit sa kanya. "What do you mean by strange?"

"Ipinatawag daw ng pulis ang ilan sa mga taong malapit kay Zach, which is of course not surprising. And those people were from the team. Tinanong sila ng pulis kung mayroon siyang nakaaway o nakaalitan, but they answered none."

Kinuha niya ang natitirang cup ng kape na para sa kanya. "Dahil wala namang nakaaway si Zachary at naging mabait naman siya sa lahat, the motive of the crime can not be investigated. But there's one piece of evidence that piqued my interest."

"A-ano 'yun?"

"There was a small piece of paper found beside Zachary's dead body. Nakasulat daw doon ang isang salita."

"Anong salita?"

"Vindicata."

I tried to recall the happenings inside my dream three days ago. I do not have the photographic memory to remember the exact picture of the nightmare, kaya hindi ko matandaan kung may nakita nga akong note sa panaginip ko.

“It was handwritten. Sinubukang tignan  records sa school, test papers and everything upang malaman kung kaninog sulat ang katulad nito, but they didn’t find anything. Wala ring fingerprints ang note.” Seth sipped from the cup once again.

“That’s… strange.” I uttered.

"And listen. What's stranger is, kaparehas daw ito ng note na nakitang katabi ng bangkay ng isang babaeng namatay more than a year ago."

Now he got me on that. Mas lalong bumilis ang tibok ng puso ko, parang gusto nang kumawala sa aking dibdib. May kakaiba akong nararamdaman sa mga impormasyong iyon.

"W-what was the name of the girl?"

"I don't know if this is the right time for you to hear this. Or if this is the right way for me to say it." my eyes went teary. Anytime, maaaring bumagsak ang mga luha ko.

"Tell me."

He produced a deep sigh before speaking again. "Dakota De Luna."

Muntik ko nang maibagsak ang cup na hawak ko. After hearing the name of my sister from him, I was left frozen. Maybe this is the first piece for me to complete the whole puzzle. Nasa harapan ko na ang unang impormasyon!

"The investigation is still ongoing. Even the knife that was used as the murder weapon, walang kahit na anong fingerprints."

I do not know what to say. Nagpatuloy pa sa pagkukwento si Seth tungkol sa mga impormasyong nakalap niya but everything went cloudy and I somewhat became deaf. Nawala ako sa sarili.

However, one thing is for sure. All I have right now is the first puzzle piece: the note which says "Vindicata."

I can not wait to know more.

“Thank you for giving me some pieces of information, Seth.”

“Anything for you. And don’t worry, makakaasa ka na tutulungan kita.”

I nodded and smiled forcibly.

***

Hi! So there's a second part because this chapter is too long lol. Tell me what you think!