Rogue Wars Online

Chapter Ninety-Eight: The Girl Whose Sin Is Greed

His character was fighting someone else at may lumalabas na big letters. He keeps on tapping the screen until his enemy finally died. I was really hooked on what he was doing that I didn't notice him staring. Nagkatitigan kami at muli siyang lumaro. But this time, he angled his phone to my direction so I could see better.

That was when I fell in love with games.

And a month after, the girl with no chances of playing one gained an opportunity.

"Do you want to try?"

Nasa palaruan kami ng mga bata no'n. Pwede kaming pumasok dahil gabi na. Hindi lang naman kami pinapayagan 'pag may mga bata na sa loob dahil ayaw ng mga magulang nila na makipaglaro sa'min. I was by myself at the swing when the same boy appeared, at may kasama na siyang malaking lalaki. Akala ko nga ay ipapakulong niya ako sa panunuod sa kaniya noon, kaya laking gulat ko nang ipakita niya ang isang cellphone.

"Hindi kita maintindihan." diretso kong sagot. "Hindi ako marunong ng ingles."

Dahil nga laki kami sa kalsada, we don't have any opportunity to go to a school and study. Ang mga bihirang ingles na alam namin ay mula lang sa mga naririnig. At minsan ay 'di rin namin alam ang mga salitang sinasabi nila.

"Gusto mong maglaro?"

Dahan-dahan akong tumango. Puno ako ng suspisyon pero ayoko ring mawala ang chansa na makagamit ng cellphone at makalaro.

I was seven years old, still a street rat, when I played my first game. It's been weeks since I saw him play but I could still perfectly picture how he did it. Nakatulong din ang tutorial bago ako nakalaro ng isang round. I have always been fast when it comes to fights, and luckily the game centered on battles. Kailangan mong maging marunong sa pakikipaglaban kapag nasa lansangan. I knew how to wield knives and run from officers before I played the game characters.

At dahil din siguro sa real-life knowledge ko at mabilis na pag-iisip, naging madali lang sa'kin na makompleto ang larong 'yon. The older male looked amazed when I gave them back the phone, an hour after they made me play.

"Subukan mo rin 'to."

For the next hours, they made me play a variety of games. Kinabukasan, nakita ko sila sa harapan ko't sinabing may maganda silang proposition.

"Simple lang. Bibigyan ka namin ng matitirahan at kailangan mo lang maglaro bilang bayad." paliwanag nila.

"Kahit pagkain?"

"Kahit anong hilingin mo." ngumiti siya. "Basta tandaan mo, kailangan mo laging manalo."

I was a little girl who wanted a taste of that fastfood restaurant. To sit in one of the red chairs and enjoy their burger without the city's pollution. I wanted what they have - a roof, the toys and games, and a place to call home. I was a selfish and ambitious little girl who wanted to escape the hell street, so I said yes.

I became a ghostgamer, if such thing exists. Naglalaro ako pero hindi sa aking pangalan. Naglalaro ako at nanalo ngunit iba ang pinapalakpakan. Their face was the one displayed on the screen while I'm the one doing the hard work of winning the game. The lights of the game society shone on them while their true weapon remained in the shadows.

Pero wala akong pakialam kung hindi ako ang hinahangaan. Wala akong pakialam na ginagamit nila ang skills ko sa laro para pakinabangan. Dahil kapalit no'n ay isang bahay na may mga pagkain kada buwan... at pera. Hindi ako bago sa paghahanap ng pera, ngunit ang nahahawakan ko noong panahong iyon ay mas malaki na sa dati. They also taught me how to read, write, and speak in English. And when I mastered that language, it was easy for me to understand how the ordinary world works.