PSYCHESTRAIN

02| The Cat

02| The Cat

Glen was right about Allysa. Although Irwan has been told about her, he is not yet expecting her to be that warm and gentle. He won't deny that he had an ill opinion about the young girl. Everything went smoothly and solemn for days, but not until that one gloomy morning came. It was his 7th day at their place, and it rained the night before. That morning was cold and damp. The lousy atmosphere that was reinforced by the trees and plants surrounding the mansion made the place eerie.

"Naa na pud patay na iring sa fountain?" Nina encountered Sigmund with that unlikely news as they headed into a nook where the attorney usually takes his breakfast. Irwan was with him.

"A cat?" confusingly, "Meron na naman bang naliligaw dito na mga hayop?" 

In his response, Irwan perceived that there was a dead cat found in their deserted fountain. He also noticed how Nina relayed the unlikely news casually, as if such incidents had occurred before, perhaps even more often. 

"It happened before?" he asked.

"For the nth time," with a sigh, "there was even a time it consequently happened." 

They stared at each other, seemingly communicating non-verbally. The attorney nodded at him as if confirming Irwan's untold query.

"Naa pud daw mga putol na ulo sa manok ang nakita."

"UNSA?" The attorney seemed to have lost it as his voice rose in high pitch.

"Mao ata tong mga manok na nawala kadtong niaging Sabado." 

"Wala nama ni namao," he murmured to himself.

Irwan could not translate the whole conversation to fully perceive it. Yet he concluded that there were also beheaded chickens found or just the heads of the chickens.

"What happened?" 

"They also found the heads of those chickens that went missing last Saturday," Sigmund replied with knitting brows.

"Do you think she has something with it?" He verbalized the question.

"Hindi ko alam." And in a much lower tone. "Hindi ko na alam." 

The morning passed, and the incident seemed to have been forgotten. Allysa wakes up so late that Irwan has to wait for hours before doing his first session with the young girl. The incident seemed to have paved the way for his first move.

At noon, the surroundings remained lousy. The sun was never shown above the sky, covered by grey clouds. The wind was still cold, and nature only got less damp. Allysa could be found in her usual spot every morning.

Sitting on a wooden bench in a hillock part of an unmaintained garden, not so distant from their house. Their property was almost as enormous, that there were lots of spaces that could serve as gardens or other stuff. They literally have a farm right inside their enclosed property.

Irwan was heading in that direction as he learned that she was awake when he countered Nana Nina in the hall. Carrying some dried flowers. He assumed it was to be brought to Allysa in the garden. He recalled that he was told before that there were flowers sent almost every week to the mansion, and Alyssa used to keep them until they dried and used them as a material for aesthetic purposes.

"Ibibigay niyo po ba yan kay Allysa?" 

"Ay oo, hijo." 

"Ako na po magbibigay." He lends his hands to the woman. "Pupunta rin naman po kasi ako sa kaniya." 

"Sige, hijo." The woman smiled at Irwan and gave the flowers to him.

After that brief encounter, he continued his way through the garden where Allysa was. He found her there in the same spot, sitting on the wooden bench, and beside her was a glass mug containing black coffee. He approached her, and as he got closer, he learned that she was reading a book. 

He cleared his throat, intending to catch her attention. It did, as it had her turn to her back to see Irwan.

"Pinabigay ni Nina." He said as he proceeded to sit right beside her and give her the dried flower. 

She gave her a warm, thrifty smile and said, "Thanks." 

"What was that for?" 

"I really don't know." She chuckled as she imposed them between the pages of that book she was carrying. "I usually make use of them on my school projects, but I also put them in my journal." 

"You do journal?" 

"Yeah." She lowered her gaze as she smiled but then lifted it up to stare directly at Irwan. "Have you had breakfast already?" 

"Yes," he replied nonchalantly. "With your father. He mentioned that." He gazed downward, darting a glimpse at the dried flowers that extended behind the pages.

"Yeah," she bit her lower lip, "it has been happening since then."

"Suitor?" 

She giggled, "No." 

"Your father said so." 

"He keeps on insisting that. But no, it was not a suitor. We're not even sure if these flowers are really for me." Questioning, that's what the young girl read on his face even though Irwan did not change an expression. "It was never really addressed to my name. It is addressed to this place, but there's no receiver's name on it. We tried to ask the delivery man, but he only gave us the shop where these flowers came from. We went there, and they refused to disclose any information. Alarming, isn't it?" 

"Suspicious," he muttered, "but why were you still receiving them? You can just leave them outside." 

"It's harmless," she shrugged her shoulders, "it doesn't seem like it is. We have been receiving flowers for almost 2 years, you know. It didn't really bring anything bad." 

"Harmless? But you have eczema." 

Allysa's smile vanished from her solemn face. She was reminded of why Irwan was there. 

"Like what I've said, we're not certain whom it is for."

"Are you into pets, by any chance?"

Her expression again changed. Allysa was transparent; that's what Irwan noticed. Emotionally frail as well. Indeed, she appears soft, gentle, and warm. Never cold, barely nonchalant, a typical jolly but frail girl.

"I have an eczema," she replied, the safest answer she could give. She already had an idea of where the conversation would end. 

"I see." He stood up and was about to leave. He was to take a break when she called his name.

"Irwan," that was the first time he heard her call his name, and for an inexplicable reason, it gives him chills down his spine: "I didn't kill the cat."