A tragedy in the camp reported being one of the biggest unsolved cases in town. Five years later, as April regained her consciousness, some of the memories at the camp along with her sister had been taken away from her. When she goes back to the cri...
Tiningnan ko ang relo ko. My eyes widened. Ma-li-late na ako sa afternoon class namin!Agad kong kinuha ang mga gamit na nagkalat sa mesa. News clips. Article pages. Pens. At lumabas sa coffee shop.
---
I ran at the hallway in the middle of the crowd. Some looked at me weirdly. The stuff wrapped around my arms almost falling off.
Someone appeared in front of me from the side. And what could happen next? Yes, I bumped into her. Nagkalat ang mga gamit ko sa sahig. I heard some gasps and laughs around.
I looked at her. She's Melanie Aragon, she's known here as the queen bee.
"Sorry, hindi ko sinasadya." Yumuko ako, akmang pupulutin na sana ang mga gamit kong nahulog. Pero bago ko pa magawa iyon...
"Tumayo ka!" she said it like a command and kicked one of my belongings further from me.I stood up.
She snickered and looked at me with judging eyes. "Are you dumb? I'm basically right in front of you! Do you honestly think I'd buy your lame reason?"
She lifted her arms, akmang sasampalin ako. Napapikit ako, hinihintay na lumapat ang palad niya sa pisngi ko --- pero hindi iyon nangyari.
"Stop that, Melanie. Do you want this to reach your Dad?" Tiningnan ko ang nagsalita— si Isabelle, kilala siya rito sa department dahil matalino siya, kaya't paborito rin siya pati ng mga professor. Hawak niya sa pulsuhan ang braso ni Melanie.
Binitawan ni Isabelle ang pulsuhan niya. Nagsukatan sila ng tingin."Never thought you're the nosy type, Isabelle." Melanie gave me one last look then she left.
"Salamat," mahinang sambit ko. Isabelle just nodded to acknowledge it.
---
Tatlong araw makalipas ng encounter ko kila Isabelle at Melanie, mayroon isang panibago na dumagdag.
Kakatapos lang ng klase at naglalakad na ako pauwi sa bahay. Nakasalubong ko ang isang matandang mag-isa ring naglalakad sa kalye. Pamilyar siya.
Ngumiti siya at huminto sa paglalakad. "Hija," I heard her say.
Napahinto rin ako. Lumapit siya at biglang hinawakan nang mahigpit ang kamay ko.
"T-teka!"
Suddenly she became serious. "Tragedy. Death. Memories. All will unravel at the right time," she said while looking straight at my eyes as if giving me a warning.
"Lala!" someone called from behind. Parehong nabaling ang tingin namin sa kaniya.A gorgeous lady walked towards us, eyes fixated to the old lady. "Nandito ka lang pala. Kanina pa kita hinahanap."
Binitawan ng matanda ang kamay ko. "Bakit mo naman ako hinahanap, Delia?"
May sinabi siya sa matanda bago niya ako nilingon. "Pasensya ka na kay Lala ha. Ganiyan lang talaga siya."
Inalalayan niya ang matanda at magkasama silang naglakad palayo sa akin. Habang ako ay naiwang tulala, natatakot sa tinuran ng matanda at sa mga maaaring mangyari.
---
Nang makauwi, the atmosphere around here suddenly felt really heavy. Anyway it's her fifth death anniversary so maybe that's explains it. Shockingly, my parents came home earlier than usual so I got the luxury to have dinner with them.
Tahimik lamang kami sa hapag. Ang natatanging ingay lang na maririnig ay ang tunog ng pagkakalansingan ng kutsara't tinidor at tv sa harapan.
"Limang taon na ang lumipas pero hanggang ngayon, palaisipan pa rin ang nangyaring trahedya sa campsite na ito. Makakamtan pa kaya ang hustisya?"
My whole body frozed and my stomach churned. I slowly looked at the tv in front. There I saw a familiar campsite— that's the place where I got my last memory of her alive.
---
After we're done eating, I went straight to my room, turned my laptop on and slumped on the bed. I searched the campsite, through the internet and read every article about it.It says here that the old campsite is beng renovated and the person's in charge is namely Micko de Lara.
I contemplated. Nagtatalo sa isipan ko kung pupuntahan ko ba ang campsite sa darating na weekend.
Kung pupunta ako, hindi mapapansin nila Mommy ar Daddy dahil abala sila sa kaniya-kaniya nilang trabaho kahit pa weekend. Pero kung pupunta ako, malabong papasukin ako. It's off limits for people like me who don't have a valid reason to go there. Wala rin naman akong kakilala na tutulungan akong pumasok.
Unless I sneak in.
***
Will April go to the camp?
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If you want April to go to the camp, click Chapter 1 A.
If you don't want April to go to the camp, click Chapter 1 B.
