Accidental Quest (Book 1) ☑️

Chapter 16

Beth's POV

Standing near his parked car outside the gate, I hand him the book. I lean against the car door of the passenger's seat. Kaiser leans beside me, holding the book and flipping the pages. It is already early morning and my parents are already awake by now. Having a cup of coffee, worrying about their runaway daughter. Again.

But here I am, in a huge puzzle, after Aunt Marissa's revelation about Alexandra's life. Somehow I expect a big commotion when I return home.

Although a lot of mysteries in need of an immediate resolution, I can't stop. Not until I see the whole picture behind Alexandra's facade.

Something drives me to hold onto the story deeper than how I planned it. Mr. Dizon's project isn't something I should give importance. Yet, the more Kaiser and I delve into it, the further we go deeper into the tunnel.

I am unsure if she planned it before she passed. But I bet she's also desperate to have her untold story discovered. After Aunt Marissa's revelation, Kaiser seems driven to know everything.

What happened to you, Alexandra?

They only know she was once a happy woman, a friend whom they leaned on when they needed her. A person they could rely on in times of their downfall through her profound pieces of advice. A girl whom they put in a special place in their hearts. But none of them expected a sudden twist.

To see her on television as a notorious criminal was never a pleasant sight. The dark past she never unleashed even when her life was already at the tip of the pen.

If I were on their shoes, I wouldn't know how I react to the situation. Seeing them in pain until now motivates me not to stop my investigation. Not until I can understand the full picture of Alexandra Montenegro, of who she was. Not the ones the country knew based on exaggerated facts for the sake of media attention... and money.

I am not a professional detective but an amateur sleuth. Along with Kaiser, we don't have any previous experience when it comes to solving real-life crimes on hand. Except for my odd hobby of collecting news articles. But, there is one thing we can assure: a new side of Alexandra's story will be finally untold. Through us.

"Where else do we need to search? We've searched Uncle Lucas's secret room and there wasn't any valuable information about her. Only files of Monsour Dela Calzada and Fabian Montenegro. They were all my uncle's mob business. I am not sure if they make sense with her case." Kaiser flips the pages, trying to figuring out the scribbles I stapled.

I grab the book from him and utter, "Let's take a look at the book." I flip the pages to see more possible hidden messages. "Chapter two. The second step to forgiveness. Change the way you view your past. Accept them," I read the title, almost whispering, but audible enough for Kaiser to hear me.

While skimming the paragraphs, Alexandra somehow chose not to write anything there. But in the third chapter, she did. "Chapter three. The third step to forgiveness. Learn how to balance your thoughts," Kaiser reads the title himself. He leans against the car door again, placing his hands inside the pockets of his denim pants. "I didn't know the importance of yoga until Giovanni introduced it to me. As cold-hearted my brother was, I failed to notice his new habits. That's when he told me he found a new activity helping him to meditate. He said something about yoga. I laughed it off. Alexandra underlined this paragraph."

She used a dented red permanent pen to create a line within the sentences.There are no other marks except the underlined sentences. But when I turn to the next page, I see nothing but a texture as if she wrote something on top of it.

My eyebrows furrow and touch the middle part of the page. Curiosity runs through my head in an instant as I grab my phone and turn on the flashlight.

My theory is right. Something is here. But what did she exactly write here? I ponder.

I tap Kaiser's shoulder and beckon him to hold my phone with the torch on for me. He did without uttering a word as I hold the page and hit it with the light at the back. Though my vision blur due to lack of sleep, I shake my head and see words. Incomprehensible words in cursive.

"Yin Yang?" Kaiser reads the title with his eyebrow raised. He doesn't get the connection between the third chapter's point and the clue itself. I nod to agree with him. While holding the torch, he continues reading the lines below although it's a bit blurry.

The Tunnel to the Sun

Leads to the Ocean

And becomes the Placenta

That follows the Light

At the end of the Tunnel.

After the last line, he focuses on some words based on the ones he points with his index finger on the page. I look at him waiting for his theory. He hums and sighs after a moment of quick thinking. His face shows that this game is testing his limits. "What's with this poem?" Kaiser sputters in frustration.

"I don't know. If she wrote it that way, she has something to tell us or show us at least. We have to figure out what exactly is she pointing out from the poem" I exclaim. I cross while I press my lips together.

"Maybe, she wants to take us somewhere. It's a place." Kaiser's assumptions scare me. My gut tells me he'll drive and take me to another unfamiliar place once again like he did before. Out of the blue, he takes me to his Uncle Lucas's secret room and after this poem, where?

"Why do you think so?" My inquiry is partly an alibi so I can finally head home and sleep, resuming the detective life after school. At the same time, I'd feel bad if I stop him given he's already immersed in the project I started. I hope he isn't that carried away though. I still need to return home and sleep for my morning class.

"It says tunnel. Ocean. Light. Then, tunnel again. Look." He points the boxed words Alexandra wrote using the same pen color. She might have used an almost empty pen. "She tells us to go to the place where she describes it in the poem."

"If not?" I say with a clear doubt, raising my eyebrow.

"Let's see. At least, we tried. We don't have anything to lose if we try," he says with overconfidence and beckons to get inside the car. I sigh, rolling my eyes as I open the car door and sits on the passenger's seat, latching my seat belt.

"Where do we go?"

"I somehow know the exact place where she wants us to go," he says, starting the engine, and drives away. It is already early in the morning. 

***End of Chapter 16*** 

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PUBLISHED! Kaiser and Beth continue their journey to delve into Alexandra's life based on the clues. What's next for them?

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