The Dragon's Seal: DEATH after LIFE (UNDER REVISION)

Chapter 7

Franchetti Xerene's POV

"Nǐ shì Li Huáng, duì ma?" [You're Li Huang, right?] Tanong ko sa lalaking nasa harap ko. I caught him already. Ilang oras din kaming nag-hide and seek. He's in a public market. This is the third target. The serial killer. And he's high. Nag-aadik amp. One thing na napansin ko is, every victim of his, their mouths are stitched. And their eyes are gone. Ilang beses na siyang nakulong yet, he could still escape and sneak.

"Wǒ shi!" [Yes, I am!] Sagot niya habang nangingisi. Paikot-ikot ang tingin niya sa paligid. I wore hospital gloves at hinawakan ang isang kutsilyo. Agad kong tinatapos ang mga trabaho ko in the simpliest and easiest way. Why would I tire myself if I can finish it fast?

"Nǐ xiǎng shā sǐ hěnduō. Ni zhīdào nǐ yǒu duōshǎo shì wúqíng hé wúqíng de rén? Nǐ tīng bù dǒng tāmen de kūqì ma?" [You are wanted for killing many.Do you know how many lives you've taken mercilessly and heartlessly? Can't you hear their cries?] Sabi ko sa kaniya na tinawanan niya lang. Maya-maya ay malakas siyang sumigaw. Nakita ko ang pagtulo ng mga luha niya. Ngingisi, ngigiti. Para siyang baliw.

"You... How can you sleep soundly every night?" Nabigla ako sa tanong niya, "You kill for money, right? Can't you hear their cries too? Do you know how many lives you've taken mercilessly and heartlessly too?" Balik niyang tanong sa akin at tiningnan ako gamit ang walang buhay niyang mga mata.

"I'm an orphan. I steal for food. Humanity is not in this world anymore. They will love you if you are rich. They disgust poor. Loves fake. Judges the true. I kill so that people can hear us. How many people have they killed by their words? How many people lose their confidence with just their bashful words? How many people have been dumped, shoved aside and stepped on their pride? I remove their eyes so they can see how dark it is without any light. I stitch their mouths so they will know how it feels when you want someone to hear you out but can't. To know if there is someone who can hear you when you're silent. Their arrogant voices deafens me. How could they treat everyone so cruelly and unfairly?" Hindi ako nakasagot.

Ramdam na ramdam ko ang sakit sa bawat salitang binibitawan niya. Tagos na tagos iyon sa akin. Pakiramdam ko ay ako'y na-pipi. A ruthless serial killer is not what he wanted and used to be. He just want the people to hear him. To send the message he can't say publicly. But why kill them?

"You don't need to kill them---"

"I need to! Death is louder than anything in this world. People fear death! If I won't, who will listen to me? Who will understand me? NO ONE. They will just reject me, ignore me, and criticize me for who I am! Why can't we just give each other? Where is the 'PEACE' in this world?" Isa-isang naglandas ang kanyang mga luha sa kaniyang pisngi. Napakadaming emosyon ang makikita mo sa kanyang mga mata. And naming them will take so much time to describe them one by one.

"I'm having sleepless nights. They're haunting me even in my dreams. Everywhere I go, I could hear their voices. Everywhere I look, I could see everything tainted in red. Bloods. JUST KILL ME ALREADY! KILL ME ALREADY! KILL ME NOW! KILL ME!" Sigaw niya at nagwala. Napa-atras ako. And without even thinking, I slit his throat. Nanlalaki ang mga mata ko sa gulat. Gulat dahil sa ginawa ko, at gulat nang makita siyang ngumiti.

"How could you...sleep...peacefully..." huling mga salitang lumabas sa bibig niya bago sumirit ang dugo sa lalamunan niya. Nabitawan ko ang hawak kong patalim at napa-upo habang naka-tulala sa taong nasa harapan ko.

"Xiè---xiè...nǐ..." [Thank you.] And those words became the trigger for my tears to fall.

"Y-You're welcome."