Diplomat Hotel II : Carnival

14 - The Heart of Sibling's Soul

Alam kong naka-undergo ako ng military training dati, black belt din ako sa judo pero... pero bakit takot ako ngayon sa isang mahinang mamamatay tao? Sa isang psychopath?

"Help! Help me! Whoever's around there, please help me!" I cried out loud, trying to reach for help kahit alam kong impossible. Hingal na hingal ako habang nagtatatakbo rito sa gubat, naaaninag ko na yung perya kaya mas binilisan ko pa ang takbo ko, may tatlong tao akong nakikita doon.

"Tulong! TULONG!!" malakas kong sigaw, lumingon naman sila kaagad sa direksyon ko kaya kinawayan ko sila habang sumisigaw ng tulong.

"Dito! Please, tulungan niyo ako!" iyak ko ulit. Lumingon ako sa pinaroroonan ko only to be jumpscared sa presence ni Dazirene, sprinting towards me. I widened my eyes before even turning around. The transition of my breath really made me suffocate even more, naghahabol ako ng hininga ngayon.

I think napansin na nila ako, tumakbo na rin sila papunta sa akin from the waiting shed which really made me smile. Nakailang hakbang pa ako bago ko mapansin na sina Dollibae 'to. Finally, I'll be at peace, I'll be at—

"Geugh!" I stopped as soon as I felt something between my feet. Si Dazirene, initak yung hita ko malapit sa paanan ko, onting hiwa pa, mapuputol na!

"Elijah!" sigaw ni Dollibae sa harap ko. Napaluhod ako sa pangyayaring 'yon, humapdi pa nga lalo nang maapak ko 'to sa lupa which made me groan even more. Right now, I'm already held captive by Dazirene, leaving me a menacing look.

"Dazirene, bitawan mo si Elijah!" sigaw ni Dollibae. Up until to this moment, my eyes still fail to suppress its uninvited tears, I got it out as of this moment.

"N-no..." I whispered.

"You heard her, Dollibae, didn't you? She said no so I guess killing her would definitely be the solution. Tignan mo yung paa niya, o, mapuputol na." I groaned as soon as she finished my feet, naputol na nang tuluyan ang paa ko.

"DAZIRENE!" Dollibae exaggeratedly screamed. I'm still floating in the air by the arms of Dazirene.

"Tuluyan mo na ako." bulong ko. Bigla na lang lumabas sa bunganga ko. Well, what do I do? Wala na naman akong purpose dito sa mundo. I promised to myself na kung may misyon pa ako, it's to find Dazirene and finish her. She took my brother away from me. She took Jaevier away from me. Siya na lang ang nag-iisa kong kapatid, nag-iisa kong karamay but still... pinagkait pa rin talaga sa akin lahat. It just seemed like nothing's on my side!

"Elijah, hindi pwede—"

"Anong hindi pwede!" singit ko sa kaniya.

"Everything's taken away from me already... so why would it be any different if Dazirene took my life away? I... I joined judo just to prove everyone that I'm still capable of doing things, that I still have this fire, burning up inside my passionate heart but no one even listened, even my own Dad. Tingin niyo mabait si Sir Kieran niyo? Hindi! Binasura niya ako kasi takot na takot siya na baka someday na mahuli siya nung legal wife niya na nagkaroon siya ng anak sa iba, iiwanan siya ng pamilya niya maski si Jaevier, iiwanan siya." I cried breathlessly.

"The only contacts Jaevier and I had back then was cellphone, technical gadgets na minsan ay sobrang hirap pang gamitin because he had to keep it a secret or else, malalagot siya kay Daddy. He always cheered me up whenever I was down. He... he was my punching bag whenever I had multiple breakdown experiences. I treasured him as my brother... as my real brother and I thought that kahit siya lang yung magpahalaga sa'kin bilang tao, kahit siya lang 'cause no one else did. Kung tatanungin niyo ako tungkol sa biological Mom ko, no, I would answer nothing." sunod-sunod ko uling sabi habang humihikbi. Nakikita ko ang mga ekspresyon nila sa mukha, may malungkot, may static. Ilan pang segundo, may nakita akong isang lalaki at isang babae na pumunta malapit sa kanila, only to know it was Indigo and Ella after all, ka-batch mate ko nung college ako.