Blind Shot (ON-HOLD)

EIGHT

May ilang minuto na ring nakatitig si Zach sa kawalan. Nasa office siya. He should be preparing for a very important bidding for a huge project later pero heto siya't lumilipad ang utak sa kung saan.

Paulit-ulit na nagri-replay sa kanyang isipan ang sinabi no'ng doktora.

Parang gusto na nga niyang batukan ang sarili. Ba't siya naniniwala do'n? Baka mamaya ginu-good time lang siya no'n.

Why, she told him that they had met before. But when he asked her kung saan bigla itong tumahimik sabay sabing "I don't think this is the right time to talk about it."

Mag-i-insist pa sana siya pero nag-thank you na ito.

"But thank you," anito. "For driving us home, for letting me off the hook with that police report, for being at the right place at the right time, and for having done what you need to do. Tatanawin ko iyong isang malaking utang na loob."

Then she's gone. Just like that. Leaving him hanging.

Ever since that conversation last week, hindi na siya nito pinatahimik. She kept popping on his mind in the most random times. Like today.

Wala sa loob na ni-unlock niya ang cellphone na nakapatong sa kanyang mesa at saka hinanap ang picture no'ng ID nito sa gallery ng phone.

He stared at her photo while trying to recall kung saan niya ito nakita. Kung totoo man ang sinasabi nito.

But no, wala talaga siyang maalala. Hindi niya talaga ito namumukhaan. And he's not someone who easily forgets people he met.

He stared at her picture some more. She really looked young to be a doctor. Why, she could pass for a college student. Kung hindi nga nito sinabing thirty years old na ito, iisipin niyang she's mid-twenties at most.

Then curiosity began to hit him. Ano kayang nagtulak dito para tangkaing magpakamatay?

He had developed a soft spot for people with suicidal tendencies. He had this urge of talking to them. He wanted to understand them more. Gusto niyang malaman kung ano ang tumatakbo sa utak ng mga ito.

And that curiosity led him to search her name on Facebook.

He typed "Gabrielle Salazar".

It brought him a lot of search results. Inisa-isa niya ang mga iyon. He didn't find her.

He tried "Gabby Salazar". Wala pa din.

"Gab Salazar". Wala pa din.

He paused for a while, grabbed a pen, and started tapping it against the table.

Oh, yeah! Her friend!

He typed "Lana Larazabal" on the search bar, instead.

There!

He started going through Lana's timeline. Wala naman itong masyadong posts. Mga shared posts lang about some random medical stuff.

He tried checking her photos, instead!

Bingo!

They have a photo together. It was an old photo, mga almost a year ago na since na-upload. And luckily, that Doctor Salazar was tagged.

Hmmm. So it was Gabbi Salazar.

He started scrolling down her Facebook wall. Pero katulad no'ng kay Lana ay wala din naman itong masyadong posts. Puro medical-related shared posts lang din.

He stalked some more and found a shared post from her Instagram account. He opened the link and was redirected to her Instagram feed.

He was impressed with her IG feed. Malinis. Creative.

He went through her posts.

Starbucks drinks. Vacation photos. Random moments.

She looked so happy and contented with life. She's the perfect example of someone who portrays a perfect life on socmed.

Maganda. Matalino. May successful na career.

Who would have thought that behind all those smiles and confident OOTD posts, she's going through something bad enough for her to actually consider taking her own life?

Like Tanya. Sinong mag-aakalang magpapatiwakal ito ilang oras lang matapos itong tumawag sa kanya para maglambing na mag-uwi siya ng paborito nitong donuts?

He heaved a deep sigh. Halos magtatatlong taon na pero parang pinipiga pa din ang kanyang puso kapag naaalala niya ang araw na iyon.

He brought his attention back to the doctor's IG feed and started scrolling down again. One of her posts caught his attention. Natigil siya sa pagsu-scroll down at wala sa sariling napatitig doon.

It was a picture of a woman's hand, probably hers, flexing a diamond studded ring. Sa background ay may blurry image ng isang lalaki't babaeng nakayakap. It looked like the man's lips were pressed on the woman's hair.

"15 years down, forever to go! I can't wait to spend forever with you!" says the caption.

Boyfriend ba nito iyong lalaki? Were they engaged?

Why would she try to commit suicide when she's about to get married?

"Architect Zach!"

Medyo nagulat pa siya noong may biglang tumawag sa kanya. He raised his head and saw Kareen, one of their staff, standing on the doorway of his office.

At sa paraan ng pagkakatawag nito, pati na rin sa ekspresyon ng mukha nito, mukha kanina pa siya nito tinatawag.

"Alis na daw po kayo sabi ni Architect Oli," she added.

Oliver is one of his senior partners sa architecture firm.

"S-sige sige," he said as he started gathering his stuff.

He pushed her out of his mind as he gets himself ready for the bidding.