The Man From Dream 82

14

I did everything I can to see if may kakilala ba 'kong Scott na pangalan. I already asked some people. I also tried asking Dad saka si Kuya if may kilala ba silang Scott. But I didn't tell him why I was asking. Dad said he'll try to check his personnel pero as far as he remembers, wala siyang kakilalang may pangalang Scott. On the other hand, Kuya Jonas has a friend named Scott pero sabi niya, sa Argentina raw sila nagkakilala and he hasn't been in the Philippines yet, let alone in Baguio.

I was hesitant to ask Mom kasi baka mag-overreact na naman siya. Kuya Jonas did the work for me. He asked Mom if may kakilala ba itong Scott ang pangalan. According to Kuya, Mom knows almost everyone in Baguio. Kahit sa ibang lungsod ng Pilipinas, maraming kakilala si Mom, kahit sa ibang bansa. Her connection is very wide ranged to the point na if you have any questions, you can always ask her.

"Here you go, Kris." Kuya gives me an envelope.

"May kakilala si Mom na Scott?" I ask hopefully.

"Yeah," Kuya says. "Apparently, she knows 47 people named Scott."

"Wow." I say. I open the envelope to see the 47 profiles of Scotts.

"There's 12 females named Scott in there. The rest of them are males." Kuya explains. "Mahihirapan ka ring ma-contact yung iba diyan."

"Bakit naman?"

"Ten Scotts live somewhere in Africa. Three Scotts are on vacation and no one's allowed to contact them. Fourteen Scotts are in Australia's continent. Five Scotts are now based in the US. The remaining fifteen are here in the Philippines." He says. "Among the fifteen, tatlo lang ang nandito sa Baguio. One lives in Palawan. Three Scotts are in Cagayan de Oro. Five are in Manila. Another one is in Cebu. One in Tagaytay, and the last one is in Vigan."

"Wow," I say putting my hands together. "Grabe ang galing ng memory!"

"Twenty-six of them are old na, Kris. I just thought I should tell you. Only sixteen fit in your age range. Four of them are still kids. The last one is a newborn." He chuckles as he sees my again amazed faced. "Just check those who seem relevant."

"Grabe," I say as I examine the profiles before me. "Grabe ang connections ni Mom. Hands up!"

"The name Scott is one thing." He says. "Try using more common names." He winks. "Mas maa-amaze ka."

"Ikaw na talaga, Mom!" I yell. Hindi niya rin naman ako maririnig mula sa kwarto.

"I'll leave you for now, Kris." He pats my head. "Rest." Pagkaalis ni Kuya, muli kong tiningnan yung profiles.

Nandito ka ba sa isa sa mga taong 'to, Scott?

I set aside those profiles na hindi masyadong connected sa situation ko. I set aside the females because obviously, the one in my dream was a man.

A very intimidating man.

I try to call those Scotts na feeling ko ay makakasagot sa tanong  ko. Almost all of them made me feel hopeless kasi hindi pa daw nila 'ko nakikita in person. Some of them don't even know me at all.

I am holding the last Scott profile. He's the most intimidating one. His smirk gives me chills. Siya na kaya yung Scott na hinahanap ko?

The Scott in my dream?

I dial his number.

It starts to ring.

"Hello?" It says from the other line. "Hoy bakla! Tahimik! May tumatawag!" I hear him yell.

"I'm sorry." I immediately say. "Wrong number." Agad kong pinatay yung linya.

Scott, sino ka ba?