The Charmed Thief

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

MATAGAL bago nagawang kumalma ni Francis.  Gustuhin man ni Leyneri na pakalmahin ito ay hindi niya magawa.  Because she, too, wanted to cry her hearts out.  Hearing him cry like that, she was immediately overcome by grief.  The same grief she felt nang malaman niya ang nangyari kay Shane.  This man, whatever his fault might be, he did love Shane.  At sapat na 'yon para maniwala siya na hindi nga ito ang pumatay sa kaibigan niya.

"Damn, this is awkward," basag ni Parker sa katahimikan.

"Yes, I think I have to agree with her on that one," wika ni Sasha bago bumaling kay Francis.  "Mr. Roxas - Francis - you don't mind if I call you that, right?  I apologized if we kind of pushed you to the edge, but I think there's no doubt now that you're innocent."

Tumigil na nga sa pag-iyak si Francis pero nakaluhod pa rin ito sa harapan nila, his shoulders, slumped.  Lumapit siya dito at tinulungan itong tumayo.  "I'm sorry.  I'm so sorry."

Umiling ito.  "May karapatan kang magalit.  Matalik mo siyang kaibigan, natural lang ang reaksyon na ipinakita mo.  It was- some way or the other - it was my fault.  N-nangyari 'to dahil sa pagtulong niya sa 'kin.  And because I'm too much of a coward to admit that fact to myself, ni hindi ko nagawang lumapit sa mga pulis at sabihin sa kanila ang posibilidad na 'yon.  B-baka ito ang rason kung bakit hanggang ngayon wala pa ring nangyayari sa imbestigasyon nila.  If I just divulge this information to the police baka gumagalaw na ang imbestigasyon nila ngayon.  But I didn't.  And it was just all b-because I'm too afraid to discover that it was really my f-fault that she d-died."

"Yes, if you look at it that way, you really are at fault.  Pero kung ginagawa lang ng mga pulis ng maayos ang trabaho nila, they should have made your connection to Shane a long time ago.  Besides, it's human nature to protect ourselves from anything that might hurt us.  Your brain refused to believe the possibility and somehow napapaniwala mo ang sarili mo sa sarili mong bersyon ng katotohanan.  If you think that, then maybe makakabawas 'yon kahit paano sa guilt na nararamdaman mo."

Nagulat naman siya.  Hindi kasi niya inaasahan mula kay Sasha na susubukan nitong pagaanin ang loob ni Francis.  He always jokes around, she never really knew if he's being serious or not.  But apparently he could be, when it really counted.  At nadagdag lamang 'yon sa tumitinding paghanga na nadarama niya para dito.

"No, I deserve this guilt.  The least thing I could do for Shane is to live with it," wika ni Francis, nando'n pa rin ang malungkot na tono sa tinig nito.  Tumingin ito sa kanya.  "Shane often talked about you and your other two best friends, Ellise and Micah.  She was always so happy whenever she talked about the three of you.  Kahit no'ng sa Skype pa lang kami nag-uusap, even our talks over the phone, naririnig ko sa tinig niya kung gaano kayo kahalaga sa kanya."

"You talked through Skype?" takang tanong niya.

"We actually met over Skype.  Sa Hawaii ako nakatira kasama ng buong pamilya ko.  Noong matagpuan ko ang journal ni Lolo, si Ryan agad ang una kong tinawagan dahil siya lang ang kilala ko na expert sa Philippine History but then he refered me to Shane instead dahil masyado siyang busy sa thesis niya for his masteral.  He said that Shane was his best student and that she's graduating top of her batch.  So I contacted her.  I called her first at hindi na ko nahirapang ipaliwanag sa kanya ang dahilan ng pagtawag ko, because Ryan already called her beforehand.  Akala ko tatanggi siya na tulungan ako, but she readily agreed.  Saying that those diamonds were a part of history, not only of my family's but also our country's, at tama lamang na hanapin ko ito.  Doon pa lang ay humanga na ko sa kanya.

"We decided to talk over Skype.  And when I saw her, I was immediately smitten.  Kahit pa nga ba sabihing libo-libong milya ang layo namin sa isa't-isa at sa monitor lamang ng computer ko siya nakita.  Nagsimula naming pag-usapan ang tungkol sa journal ni Lolo.  But sometimes, we also talked about other things.  Mga bagay na tungkol sa 'kin at mga bagay na tungkol sa kanya.  The more I knew about her, the more I fell.  And when we finally met, when I could finally see her face to face, I was hooked, like and sinker.  B-but--" nabasag na naman ang tinig nito na para bang muli na naman itong maiiyak.  "I didn't even get the chance to tell her how much I've fallen for her."