NS 10: SECRETLY TAKEN ✅

Chapter 9

Past eleven in the evening when Rajive checked the time. It's exhausting but he had broken a routine of sorts. Kung dati roon siya natutulog sa headquarters, ngayon ay unti-unti na siyang nasanay na umuwi sa bahay.

Bumaba ng sasakyan ang binata ngunit hindi tumuloy sa porch nang marinig ang ingit ng kadena ng swing buhat sa likod ng bahay. Nagtungo siya roon at natanaw si Vanissa na nakaupo sa umuugoy na duyan.

It's been three days since they visited the graves. She couldn't calm down after then. Always crying in silent. Hiding. He thought she began adopting to her new life here but it was ruined. He ruined it. He is forcing the past on her when she is not yet ready to face it.

"It's late, bunny, and it's cold out here."

Itinigil nito ang pag-ugoy sa duyan at tumingin sa kanya. Bahagyang ngumiti. Ngiting dati pa ay hindi na umaabot sa mga mata nito.

"Naaamoy ko sa lamig ang snow. Sana magkaroon tayo ng snow rito." Tumingala ito sa maulap na langit. "Kung ganitong madilim, magmumukha iyong umuulan ng bituin. Nai-imagine mo? Ang ganda siguro."

Umuga ang pundasyon na bakal nang maupo siya sa bakanteng swing at ikinalso ang mga siko sa dalawang tuhod. Matagal niyang pinagmasdan ang dalaga at nahuli ang pagpatak ng mga luha nito.

"Ang lahi na pinagmumulan ng mama ko nakatira raw sa bansang may snow. Ang alam ko Ireland at Romania. May isa pa pero hindi ko na maalala. Naghahalo-halo ang lahi kaya naging ganyan ang kulay ng mga mata ni kuya, naging Lavender."

Marahan siyang tumango. "That explains why."

"Raj, ayaw mo ba sa mga matang iyan?" she asked, looking at some parts of the darkness again.

"What makes you say that?"

"Pilit mo kasing itinatago sa eyeglasses at contacts."

"No, these are protection."

"Alam mo, si kuya dati nahihiya ring lumabas dahil diyan."

"It doesn't seem real to me when I look at it in the mirror. But that was before I understood over the time that it was the distribution of lights that makes the color Lavender and Violet. It keeps changing depending on how much light reflected around me."

Tumango ito at inugoy muli ang duyan. "Kailan kayo ulit dadalaw roon sa puntod nina Papa at kuya?"

"No particular date. But we have scheduled a visit twice a month. By the way, your in-house training at the army will be next week. Have you studied the routine?"

"Oo," tango nito. "Handa na rin ako para sa training. Excited ako sa mga matututunan ko roon."

"Physical training will be intensive especially during the 40 days break-in period."

"Kakayanin ko iyon. Naalala ko noong bata ako gusto ko pala magsundalo. Tingin ko alam mo ang tungkol doon kaya mo ako ipinasok sa army. Alam mo ang lahat, kahit ang tungkol sa mama ko."

"Not everything. But I know where to find your mother. I can take you to her if you want."

The swing stops moving back and forth. But he didn't get an answer from her. It was tears again, pooling in her eyes. He can almost taste the pain in her soul, without words, and in the middle of the night cuts the silence more than blades.

Thirty minutes down to four in the morning, Airaj's computer voice-over woke him up on time. Umalis siya sa kama at pumasok ng banyo. There's no end to sorting out the information for the districts of Nephilims. Natatambakan na naman siya.

He can't afford to provide false data and risk innocent lives to judgement. Impormasyon ang nakatuka sa kanya pero nasa mga kamay pa rin niya nakasalalay kung hahatulang inosente o hindi ang kanilang mga target.