Rescue Me, Stranger

Chapter 3: Safer

Chapter 3

Safer

MECY

“Am I out of trouble now?”

Attorney and I are in his car. Hindi pa kami umaalis sa tapat ng prisinto. Mukhang may inaayos siya sa cellphone niya kaya hindi pa makapagmaneho.

“Until the definite time of death is established, we can’t say that’s for sure,” sagot niya. “You have a motive, you found the body first. The prosecution could still point their finger at you. Especially now that Estrellanes is leading the case. The only thing that keeps you outside the bars is your colleague’s statement.”

“Who’s Estrellanes?”

“Prosecutor,” huminga siya nang malalim, “A tough one.”

Tumango na lang ako. Hanggang ngayon, nanginginig pa rin ang kamay ko. Hindi ako makapaniwalang patay na si Theo. At ang mas masaklap, sa apartment ko pa siya namatay. Nakakapanghina.

“How about the murder weapon?” tanong ko ulit.

Inalis niya ang tingin sa cellphone at nilingon ako, “If they found the weapon around the scene, you’d probably still be behind bars now.”

Then was it a good thing that they couldn’t find the weapon? I mean, the fingerprint of the culprit might be in the weapon, right? Well, whatever. The fact that I’m not in prison is a relief.

“Let’s go somewhere nice,” sabi niya at nilapit ang mukha niya sa’kin. Napasinghap ako sa gulat. Is he trying to kiss me? Uminit ang mukha ko nang ngumisi siya. “Your seatbelt.”

Shoot.

Nakahinga ako nang maluwag nang umayos siya ng upo. Kahit naka-on ang air-conditioner ng sasakyan niya, ang init ng pakiramdam ko. Baka iniisip niyang ine-expect kong hahalikan niya ‘ko dahil sa reaksyon ko. Nakakahiya.

“Where are we going?” tanong ko na lang para mawala ang pagkailang ko.

“Paradise.” Hindi ko maiwasang mapatingin sa kanya. Narinig ko siyang tumawa nang mahina. “You should sleep. You’re probably tired from your trip and this mess happened when you just got back. Close your eyes. I’ll wake you up when we arrived there.”

He’s right. I should probably get some sleep.

***

“Mecy.”

I woke but refused to open my eyes. Gusto ko pang matulog. Can’t he just let me sleep for more minutes?

“Wake up, you look ugly when you sleep.”

Agad akong napadilat. Wow, thanks for the insult. Hindi ko na lang pinansin ang pagtawa niya at inilibot ang tingin ko. Wala akong ibang nakikita kundi buhangin. But when I looked ahead, I realized we’re at the beach. Now I get what he meant by paradise earlier.

“Sayang naman kung dito lang tayo sa sasakyan,” he said and unfastened his seatbealt. He removed his coat. Nginitian niya ako habang inaalis ang sapatos niya, “We came to paradise to experience paradise.” Before I could even answer, he jumped out of the car.

Cold breeze of wind touched my skin when I set my foot on the ground. It’s refreshing. My tangled thoughts before we came here seem to have left my mind. I’ve never felt this peace in years.