Immortal City

Chapter 49

Chapter 49
Danger of Recalling

It's dark.

Everything inside my head is a blur and I struggle to retain my waning consciousness.

Where am I? What happened? I try to speak but nothing comes out of my frail state, and I realize after too long that I haven't even opened my eyes yet.

I can't.

Hindi ko maigalaw ang katawan ko dahil sa kung anong bigat na para bang dumadagan sa akin. Kahit ang mga mata ko ay hindi ko pa magawang imulat sa sobrang pagod at hilo. Hindi ko alam kung anong nangyari sa akin o kung nasaan ako. Ang huling ala-ala ko lang ay ang mga salita ng aking ama na iniwan niya sa'kin. At ngayon ay hindi ako makabangon sa sobrang sama ng pakiramdam ko.

Did I faint again?

I feel extremely nauseous. It's so bad that I might be hearing things as I hear distant and muffled voices.

One... two...

I may just be hallucinating—my mind making things up. Or maybe I can really hear four distinct voices.

Four incredibly familiar voices.

"We should all be prepared," a male voice says. "It will happen soon."

"And I assume that's the reason why this keeps on happening?" sabi naman ng isang boses ng babae. "Napapadalas na ang pagkawala niya ng malay. This shouldn't be unusual if only it isn't way past June 6. Anong petsa na ngayon at wala pa rin nangyayari."

"This one has been different from what we were used to right from the start," another male voice replies. "Surely, something's bound to change this time around."

What are they talking about?

It's only been a while since I've gained consciousness and I don't know how long they have been talking. I'm still lying down but I'm starting to identify their voices as they slowly become clearer to my ears.

"She'll be back this time," says one voice I will not fail to recognize—Daimon's. It was more of a desperate question asking for affirmation. "Right, Misael?"

I hear a shaky sigh from the first person I heard earlier, and a dreadful realization dawns on me at who Daimon is talking to. "Let's all hope she will."

Mitsuru Aoki.

It's his voice. I'm sure of it. It's him.

But why is he here? Why is he having a conversation with Daimon? With Daimon Clyde of all people?

Daimon called him Misael...

He knows him.

"She's a real pain in the ass, I'm telling you," rinig ko muli sa babae. "She already was back then but even more so now."

Someone forcefully expels a breath—the other guy. "Cut her some slack, will you? She's been through a lot."

"Oh," tila gulat na sabi ng babae, "naiintindihan mo naman pala bakit galit na galit ka sa kanya?"

"She's just—" umpisa ng lalake. "She looks exactly like them, okay? It feels like she's one of them." The air grows colder after a brief silence. "But I'm sure you wouldn't understand since you've grown fond of these people. Sometimes I even think you forget why we're here in the first place."