The Ruthless (Quantum Meruit Series #1)

09. Dark

09.
Dark

━━━━━━━

The semester passed by like some seconds of fast forward events. I passed and on my way to third year in law school. Ganundin ang mga kaibigan ko. Undoubtedly, Bredant topped our batch again. Sinundan siya ni Nayeli. Ate Mira was coping well with her loss. And finally, Acaimie met her fuck buddy.

Everything was going well, except for Soshila who was about to get her judgment sooner than we were expecting.

“I missed you!” Vivienne exclaimed and enveloped me in her arms.

Tumawa ako at niyakap siya pabalik.

Bakasyon na. Equally bored with life, she came here in the city. Ngayon nga ay sinundo ko siya sa airport.

“Kanina ka pa?” tanong niya habang papunta na kami sa sasakyan.

“Medyo. How was your flight? Your parents, galit pa rin ba?” Sabay tawa ko at hugot ng susi sa bulsa.

She rolled her eyes jokingly at me. “And it’s funny that our parents are not okay, Ate?”

Tumawa lamang ako nang mas malakas saka siya inakbayan.

Our parents were in a cold war. This was actually not the first time. May kinalaman na naman yata sa pamana ng mga magulang ng mga tatay namin. Hindi na ako humingi pa ng detalye dahil iinit lang ang ulo ko. Hindi yata talaga kumpleto ang pagiging Pinoy kung hindi nag-aaway ang magkakapatid sa lupa o anupamang iniwang ari-arian ng mga magulang. Sana lang ay hindi kami magaya ni Queenie sa kanila.

“Hindi kaya magalit sina Tita?”

“Labas tayo sa away nila, Viv.”

It would be absurd if indeed my parents were mad at her, too. Hindi naman makatarungan kung pati kaming mga anak ay damay sa alitang wala naman kaming kinalaman.

“I’m planning to watch the coronation. Gusto mong sumama?” excited niyang sabi sa akin pagkapasok namin sa sasakyan ko.

Oo nga pala. Binibining Pilipinas. The dream I was probably not allowed to think about anymore.

“Kailan ba ‘yon?”

“Next week.”

Binuhay ko ang sasakyan. “I’m not sure.”

Next week na rin kasi namin malalaman kung anong mangyayari kay Soshila. She pleaded guilty. Lahat kami ay gulat dahil noong arraignment ay desidido talaga siyang ilaban na wala siyang kasalanan. Hindi namin alam ang nangyari. But the other camp was pleased with her decision.

Soshila was a good person. She was one of the kindest. Yes, she accidentally killed someone. Yes, she needed to be punished. Yes, she could be a criminal. But she was not an evil person. She pleaded not guilty at first. That was understandable. It’s innate to us humans to protect ourselves. Now, she realized she needed to be responsible for the felony she committed and thought it would be justice if she’d go against her previous plead.

Not all criminals are bad. Some committed crimes not because they wanted to. Most of the homicide cases I happened to read were products of reckless imprudence or passion or obfuscation. Meron ding mga kaso ng theft dahil sa gutom. Hindi planado. Hindi sinadya. Nadala ng emosyon. Nadala ng sitwasyon. May kapabayaan man, hindi ang pagpatay o pagnakaw talaga ang ginustong mangyari.

When we reached home, my parents treated Vivienne just like before. Noong una ay medyo alangan ang pinsan ko pero nang asikasuhin siya ni Mama katulad noon, naging komportable na rin siya. Mayamaya nga ay nagtutuksuhan na sila. Close kasi talaga silang dalawa.