Luzviminda
"Maam Lucy, nandiyan na po si Father Ted."
Tumango lang ako kay Guada.
Nasa maliit na kuwarto ako ng memorial chapel.
I stood up mechanically.
I am oblivious of what's happening around me. I did not even try to wake my senses to greet or thank everyone who lend time to pay respect for my dead husband. It's a good thing that they don't bother me either.
I look up when my assistant, Guada tapped my leg.
Nakatayo na ang lahat ng nakiramay. I didn't noticed that it's time for the Lord's Prayer.
Tumayo na rin ako.
Natapos ang misa ng wala akong naintindihan.
Louie...
My husband.
My savior.
Friends, acquaintances, political allies, co-senators, mere observers.
They have their own stories of how kind, generous, easy to be with my husband was.
I don't need to listen. I know how good a man/celebrity/senator/brother/son and husband he was.
I am still on my silent reverie.
Three days,
It's been three days since Louie left me.
Unlike other people who lost a loved one, I accepted it the second I heard it.
He refused having more than his driver to accompany him everyday.
Be that as it may, I still hired men to guard him from afar.
I let him lived a simple life. A life without complications.
That's how humble he was.
But still he was gone too soon.
"Pagtapos po niyang i-file yung candidacy niya sa Comelec, nung palabas na po kami, pinahinto niya po ang kotse. Nilapitan niya yung nagtitinda ng taho. Tapos binayaran niya po yung tindero, tapos marami na pong nagsilapit at pumila. Napakabilis po ng pangyayari. Inaabot niya yung taho mula sa tindero tapos ibibigay niya sa nakapila. Tapos tumumba na po siya."
Food poison.
Yun ang kumitil sa buhay niya.
The soy pudding he ate has Ricin, a highly toxic poison.
And the most mysterious part of it all is that nobody died but him.
The murderer was a genius.
I stared at his urn. I picked color black and gold.
I handpicked the portrait that is now placed behind the table.
I met Louie Robles 16 years ago.
I was a cashier in the municipal hall and he was a celebrity.
Isa sa highlights ng Sinulog Festival ang paglilip-synch o pagsayaw na parang tanga ng mga seasonal na artista.
Of course that is for the majority's enjoyment. But not me.
I have no time for that.
I am actually on my second goal when I met him.
My first mischief was done and over then.
Our first encounter was a typical common scenario where the hurrying man bumped into the woman and their eyes met and everything change.
