Dormisteryo

12

On my way back to Dormisteryo, the sun was already settling in.

Dahil alam ko namang umuwi na si Ray sa unit niya, I decided to attend some of my class para naman hindi masayang ang araw ko. I remained calm and behaved well along with others, and to my surprise, hindi ko pa ulit nakikita si Kesha.

She may be an irregular student if she's now at Dormisteryo to work for the rest of the shift she and Kyle were sharing everyday.

Medyo lumulutang pa nga ang isip ko habang nakatingin sa whiteboard kung saan nakasulat ang mga pag-aaralan namin sa buong semester. From the easiest lessons, into the hardest one.

Pero lahat ng mga sinasabi ng professor sa amin ay lumalabas lang sa tenga ko. Kalmado man ang isip ko nang mga panahong iyon ay patuloy namang bumabagabag sa akin yung mga hindi pa rin nasasagot na katanungan ko.

When I reached the gymnasium palabas nang campus, nakita kong naglalaro ng basketball si Kurt kasama ang iba pa niyang mga kaibigan o kaklase. Marami sila at abala silang lahat sa pakikipag-agawan ng bola sa kabilang team.

Sa paligid nila ay may mga masugid na tagahangang nanunuod sa laban nila. Most of them are girls, and some of the guys were cheering in behalf of the team that they were supporting.

Mula sa malayo ay pinagmasdan ko lang si Kurt. He looked so peaceful out there as if he's not having any kind of problems of some sort. Masyado siyang masigla, he's full of energy that even I couldn't reciprocate.

May kinalaman kaya siya sa pagkawala ni Casey? If so, why does he keep dodging my questions about her.

Suddenly, I heard a lot of cheering coming from the girls when Kurt had shot a triple points that adds up to the score of their team. With that perfect shot, nagsihiyawan ang mga kabahaihan para suportahan siya.

I also wondered, is Casey one of his supporters? There might be a connection between them that I couldn't see just yet. Pero malalaman at malalaman ko rin yun.

Kinuha ko ang newspaper clippings na nilamukos ko sa loob ng aking bulsa. I took a peek on it and was feeling a little bit enrage once again that I am seeing an old picture of me, with a bloodied hands.

Kung sana'y wala akong ganitong nakaraan, malamang ay hindi rin ako pwersahang masasangkot sa ganitong gulo.

I crumpled the newspaper clip again and put it on my pocket.

In due time, kailangan ko munang bumalik sa Dormisteryo para kausapin si Ray. I've been a collateral damage already, and I was damaged beyond repair in this kind of situation.

Hinayaan ko na lamang si Kurt na mag-enjoy sa kung anuman ang ginagawa nila ngayon at agad ko na ring nilisan ang campus ng Arcana.

Nadaanan ko pang muli yung bulletin board where they put all those kinds of poster for announcements, for any notices. And there, at the center, two lifeless eyes were staring back at me.

Casey Henris, if there's any chance you have seen her, please call the numbers below. Reward can be negotiated. As what the missing poster says.

I doubt people will do something to find her. It feels like no one even cares at this point, and those who cares can't do anything anyway. Nadamay pa nga ako sa sitwasyon nila na wala naman akong kinalaman, which I couldn't blame them but my own as well since I'm the cat who got killed by its own curiosity.

I took a picture of the missing poster before completely leaving the campus premises.

Hindi rin nagtagal at narating ko rin ang Dormisteryo. People around the vicinity were not giving any attention to this place, parang normal lang sa kanila ang lahat, it doesn't feel anything at all when you're an outsider.