Saving Grace [Completed]

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

10/06/2019

Npaatras si Taliya, napahigpit ang kapit sa kanyang bag.

Is she imagining things again? Napapikit siya at ipinilig ang ulo. Yes, she is.

"Are you okay?" Tanong ng matandang lalaki na ngayon ay nag-aalala na ang mukha. Ngumiti ang dalaga at tumango. Tinignan niyang muli ang lalaki sa larawan. She could almost imagine the scene when this portrait was taken. Napangiti siya.

His face looks serious. Tikom ang bibig nito, walang bahid ng ngiti sa labi. He was as if not happy about it. Ngunit ang mga mata nito ay iba ang pahiwatig. Diretso lamang ang tingin nito, wala ring bahid ng emosyon sa unang tingin. Ngunit kapag tinitigan mo pa ito ng mas matagal ay makikita mo iyon.

The softness in his eyes that tells you he is looking at something, someone, so dear to him. Those eyes weren't just calm and serious. It showed contentment. Contentment of a man to be with a woman he loves.

"I-I was just imagining how was this taken.", pagsisinungaling niya. But the truth is, she was thinking an entirely different thought. The thought that she had seen his face somewhere. That he looks like someone she knows. Tinitigan niya pa itong muli. Right. She had seen him. In her dreams, the even younger version of him.

"What was his name again?", tanong niya.

"Kalid." Tugon ng matanda at ibinalik na ang tabing sa litrato. Kagaya ng marami pang bagay doon na wala sa exhibit ay hindi napigilang itanong ni Taliya kung bakit hindi isinama sa public display ang larawang iyon.

Napangiti ang matanda. "Ikiro doesn't like it. He never displayed his own painting in his palace. Ang larawang ito ay para lamang sa Klora."

Napatango si Taliya at tinulungan na ang matanda sa pagsasarang muli ng kahon.

THAT night, Taliya could still not sleep. Naglalaro sa kanyang isip ang lahat ng mga tanong niya na hindi nabigyan ng sagot. What happened to the king? There were no articles about it. Alam niya dahil paulit-ulit niya iyong hinahanap.

Napatitig siya sa screen ng kanyang laptop at napanguso. Hindi talaga siya makatulog. Nilaro niya ang touchpad ng laptop habang nag-iisip kung ano ba ang dapat niyang i-search.

She tried looking for Balintuna. Kalid. Kalid, the last king. She also tried searching for Alguera family history. Ngunit wala lahat.

Ilang sandali pa ay nag-flash sa kanyang utak ang pangalan noong account sa isang discussion group na nagsabing hindi totoo ang malakas na pagyanig...

She immediately searches for that discussion group in her history tab. She scrolled down immediately and looked for the name without vowels. May tatlong likes lang ang comment nito at walang nagrereply. Pinindot niya ang profile nito at saktong puno ng iba't-ibang articles na hindi niya pa nakita noon ang page nito.

Inisa-isa niya ang mga iyon. Alam niya na hindi reliable ang ganitong mga bagay ngunit she needs a hint. There might be some truth hidden behind those, right?

She scrolled down through the user's posts and a title caught her eye.

What happened to the last king of Balintuna?

Binuksan niya ang shared file noon at isang site ng iba't-ibang sikat na panitikan ang nakalimbag. Binasa niya muna ang tulang nasa site na iyon bago ang ibinahaging interpretasyon ng user. She read the poem and it said...