Danger, Danger, Mr. Stranger

#DDMS31

Habang tinitingnan ang mga masasaya niyang larawan na tumutugtog sa gig, ang kaniyang mga matang nagniningning sa tuwa kasabay ng mga naglalarong ilaw sa entablado, nakaramdam ako ng panandaliang lungkot. Ito ang buhay na ninakaw sa kaniya ni Zilvane. Ang ngiting ipinagkait sa kaniya.

It then occured to me.

While we were here making memories, her friends back home are mourning. Layers of guilt built up in my chest.

I hated what Zilvane has done to her, but if I think about it . . . if he didn't abduct Folie and turned her into Feuille, then I wouldn't have even met her in the first place. Sumikip ang dibdib ko nang maisip ang nakakapanlumong katotohanan na iyon.

Pumukaw sa isip ko ang masasayang araw namin na magkasama. So all this time, I was just borrowing her, huh? And now I have to return her to the people she rightfully belongs to.

Kapag ba ibinalik ko na siyang muli sa kaniyang mga kaibigan, tuluyan ko na ba siyang ibinabalik sa dati niyang buhay?

Did the universe just let me find her . . . only to lose her again?

That thought sinked from my head down to my chest, crippling my heart.

Kung alam ko lang na bilang lang pala ang mga araw natin na magkasama . . . eh 'di sana hindi ko na pinakawalan ang kamay mo no'ng gabing iyon . . . eh 'di sana mas hinigpitan ko pa ang yakap ko sa 'yo.

The professor was right. Her life as Folie is her real life. Her life as Feuille . . . was just made up by Zilvane.

Doon ko napagtanto ang tunay na ibig sabihin ng mga salita ni Xildius.

"Because I knew from the start that I had to take her away from you in the end. I was hoping that . . . not falling for her would somehow lessen that pain."

He wasn't referring to the night she had to leave me for her mission—he was referring to the unavoidable fact that when this all ends, she has to return to her real life as Folie.

I felt my chest tighten.

All those foolish thoughts of happy ever after, of marrying her and having our own family . . . are just nothing but that. Foolish thoughts.

Because it would be stupid and selfish of me to keep her from her real friends and family. That would make me no different from Zilvane. Because she was never really ours, or mine, to begin with. And giving her back to her loved ones, to her actual home, to her rightful life, is the right thing to do.

Knock. Knock.

Two quiet knocks on my door made me jolt up in surprise. Pagtingin ko sa orasan sa laptop ay alas-nuwebe na pala. Shit, hindi pa pala kami naghahapunan!

Para naman akong tanga, oh! Kung ano-ano pa kasi ang inaalala ko. Saka na muna ang mga problema. Gutom na siguro siya!

Pagbukas ko ng pintuan ay naroon si Folie, nakayuko't nilalaro ang dulo ng kaniyang damit. May mahinang kulo mula sa kaniyang tiyan na nakarating sa tainga ko.

Shit, hindi pa ako nakakabili ng malulutong ulam para sa 'min. "W-wait! Order ako ng food para ipa-deliver sa 'tin!"

Habang nagta-type sa phone ay bigla akong napahinto. I looked at the meek girl standing across me. If she really was my Feuille, then . . .

An idea popped in my mind. Itinuloy ko na ang pag-order ng pagkain at niyaya siya sa hapag-kainan para makapaghanda at doon na kami maghintay sa pagdating ng delivery.

Labinlimang minuto lang ang lumipas at dumating na agad ang pagkain. "Ayan na! Time to eat!" I had to remind myself not to get too excited.

Inilapag ko sa mesa ang mga binili kong ulam. A rich-looking A1 Wagyu steak that would make anyone salivate just by looking at it, and a fried bangus. I placed them on separate serving plates so that we could both enjoy any of the two dishes.