The Incomplete Detective [Volume 1]

[09] Princess in Peril

Sebastian

EXPECTATIONS SOMETIMES cannot meet reality. Today is Saturday which I expect to be a period of rest from our tiring detective works, a time for me to take a long sleep. However, I ended up going to the mall to escort this young lady, Tiffany Lola Salazar, who's afraid to go on her own.

Delvin said that Lola got abducted when she was five years old which impacted her metal state. Magmula noon, hindi na raw siya lumabas ng bahay nang walang kasama. In Delvin's theory, that incident resulted to the creation of her second persona, Lora.

"Hindi mo ba gagalawin 'yang cake mo kuya Seb?" tanong ni Lola na malapit nang maglaway sa kakatitig sa slice ng chocolate cake on a saucer on top of a round glass table in front.

Without responding, I pushed the saucer containing my dessert towards Lola. Her black eyes sparkled as she thanked me before feasting on it. Such a kid who likes sweet.

Whenever she's on her childish persona called Lola, she turns into a coward, fragile, and friendly little girl. On the other hand, her second persona called Lora is composed of braveness, arrogance, and hostility. The only characteristic that overlaps the circle of the two personas is their profound knowledge in technology on both electronics and programming.

Dissociative identity disorder, most people called as Multiple Personality Disorder, is my diagnosis to her condition—though she has a unique switch to shift persona. Lora only appears when Lola's hair is tied in pigtails. I'm quite clueless to explain that at the moment.

"Do you know who Lora is?" I asked before taking a sip from my cup of cappuccino.

Lola momentarily stopped the spoonful of chocolate cake before it reached her mouth. "Who's Lora?" tanong niya bago nagpatuloy sa pagkain.

Inilapag ko ang aking tasa sa babasaging platito. Hindi talaga natatandaan ni Lola kung sino ang isang persona niya. She's not even aware of Lora's actions whenever her body is taken over. I sighed as I looked on this poor child.

"Don't mind." I rested my head on my right palm after remembering the reason why my feet brought me in this mall. It's the fault of the club's devil, Delvin. Dapat talaga'y nanahimik na lamang ako't hinayaan na silang magbangayan. Raising a voice on something doesn't help all the time. If I only zipped my mouth, nakahiga sana ako ngayon sa aking malambot na kama.

Uuwi na rin naman kami n'yan dahil tapos nang mamili si Lola. She got her materials in a blue paper bag. Gusto lang niyang kumain sandali kaya kami napa-detour sa cafe na nasa gitna ng North-East wing ng mall. I sighed, being with her is like babysitting a child.

Anyway, this should be the first time I hit the mall since I arrived here in Pampanga. Thankfully, I managed to locate a branch of my favorite cafe back in Makati. Dito ko lang kasi nabibili ang gusto kong combination ng cappuccino and chocolate cake—something the past Sebastian disliked, according to Elizabeth.

"Buti na lang maayos na ang security sa mga mall ngayon, like may security check sa mga exit," Lola randomly uttered. Did she remember the time she got abducted at the mall?

"It won't last long. I heard from the news na may mga kidnapping case sa mga mall lately. Counter measure lang nila ito't mawawala rin kapag humupa ang bilang ng natatalang kaso," I replied which gloomed her smile.

"Ganoon ba?" Lola uttered, smiling with the edges of her lips twitching.

Did I said something to make her feel sad? Right, she was abducted at the mall. I ruined her joy of seeing the strengthening of the security in the social areas. Hindi ko na rapat siya in-inform about sa mga recent abduction case. "Don't worry," I uttered avoiding eye contact. "You don't actually need to worry because I will protect you if something bad happened."