Note: Please be reminded that all of the things that you're going to read here are just parts of my malikot na imagination. If you are uncomfortable with this type of story, please don't read.
Everything that you may read here, MUST STAY HERE. Thank you.
Layag mga kabacclaan!
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Leni woke up with a heavy head from last night's party.
Leonor, Leonor. Walang kadala-dala.
Leni immediately got up to prepare herself to go to work. She checked her phone to see if Risa texted or called her, but Risa's last message was still last night. She immediately checked the call log and saw she called Risa 5 times last night.
Tinawagan ko naman pala siya kagabi. Bakit diko nanaman maalala.
Ah. Tama tama. Hindi siya sumagot.
She called Risa while brushing her teeth but the phone was unreachable.
She texted her.
After texting Risa, she took a shower and dressed herself to work.
Sa office nalang ata ako kakain. Nakakamiss naman mga luto ni Risa. She sadly said in her mind.
On the way to OVP, she tried calling Risa again but still unreachable.
Ano bang nangyare sa babaeng yon?
Before lunch, she called Risa's assistant planning to ask her again to buy lunch for Risa.
"Mada'am, hindi po pumasok si Senator Risa today."
"Ha? Bakit daw?"
"Hindi ko din po alam. Hindi ko nga po matawagan, e. Tinext ko na po, hindi din po nagrereply."
"Wala bang sinabi sa'yo na hindi siya papasok?"
"Wala po mada'am VP. Akala ko nga po magkasama kayo, e."
"Hindi. Tatlong gabi na kaming hindi magkasama. Anyway, sige salamat. Update mo ako kapag dumating na, ha. Hindi ko rin kasi siya macontact."
Leni ended the call and stared at her phone for some time.
Oh, right. Home number.
She got up and used the telephone in her office to call Risa's home. She didn't contact Sinta thinking she might be still resting.
"Hello?" the other line answered.
"Hi, manang. Si Leni po ito. Nandyan po ba si Risa? Hindi ko po kasi siya matawagan. Hindi din po sumasagot sa mga texts ko."
"Hala mada'am, wala na po siya paggising ko kanina, e. Sabi po ni Sinta umalis po kagabi. Pero di niya po namalayan kung bumalik po. Pero sabi ni Sinta, lahat naman daw po ng gamit niya pang-office, wala na po sa kwarto."
"Pero wala siya sa office nila, e. Saan naman kaya yon sumiksik. Sige po, manang. Salamat."
"Sige po. Patawagan ko nalang po kayo kay Sinta kapag nakauwi na po si mada'am."
Leni zoned out thinking where Risa could be. Then she remembered..
Umalis siya kagabi sabi ni manang. Oh shit.
Her heartbeat gone wild.
"Mada'am, okay lang po kayo?" Rona asked her.
"Hindi ko kasi matawagan si Risa. Hindi din siya sumasagot sa mga texts ko. Hindi siya pumasok pero wala naman sa bahay nila."
Rona thought for a while.
"May pinag-awayan po ba kayo?"
"Wala. Pero kagabi, pumunta ako sa birthday party ni Ms. Agot. Nakauwi ako maghahating-gabi na. Pero imposibleng hindi siya pumasok dahil lang sa galit siya sa ginawa ko."
Rona scratched her head.
"Baka nag-ooverthink ka lang po mada'am? Baka mamaya tumawag or magtext na po si sen Risa."
"Sana nga nag-ooverthink lang ako, Rona."
"Kaya niyo po ba ituloy engagements niyo today?"
Leni covered her face with her hands.
"Ga'no ba natin sila kelangan?" Leni asked.
"Mada'am, lahat po sila investors."
"Oh God. Sige sige. Hindi natin iyan pwede icancel." and she breathed deeply.
"Sure ka mada'am?" Rona confirming seeing Leni not herself because of Risa.
Leni just nodded.
The investors came one by one and Leni tried her best to compose herself. She tried to talk with them about the different projects but she would zone out from time to time.
"Check mo phone ko from time to time, ha? Baka biglang tumawag o magtext si Risa." she whispered to Rona.
Rona nodded.
During the investors' visitation, Rona kept on glancing Leni. It was really obvious that she was not herself and couldn't focus. Rona could see on Leni's eyes the worry that she had for Risa.
Around 4pm, the investors already bid their goodbyes. Leni immediately went back to her office.
"Ano Rona? Tumawag o nagtext na ba?"
"Wala pa mada'am, e."
"Diyos ko. Anong oras na. Pahiram nga ng cellphone ko. Baka alam nila Grace kung nasa'n siya."
Leni then called Grace.
"Wala kami ni Loren idea VP, e."
"Please naman. Baka pinapasabi niyang h'wag niyong sabihin saakin, e."
"VP, wala talaga. Kung alam ko, malamang sa malamang sasabihin ko agad sa'yo kahit hindi mo na tanungin. Sorry VP."
"Baka may alam kayong pwede niyang puntahan? Or baka may nabanggit sainyo noong mga nakaraang araw na may pupuntahan siya o ano."
"Wala akong maalalang binanggit niya VP, e. Hayaan mo, babalitaan kita agad kapag may nalaman ako. Relax lang VP. Malaki na yon si Risa. Alam na nun ginagawa niya."
"Sige, sen Grace. Salamat."
Leni didn't know what to do anymore. She already contacted everyone she could to know Risa's location, except for her kids. She worried that she might just let them worry about their mom as well.
She tried texting her again.
Night came and still, no sign of Risa. Leni told her three kids about the situation and all of them also got worried.
"Ma, I think you have to tell them, too. Baka kasi mamaya alam nila kung nasaan si mama Ris. Or kung hindi man, mas mabuti pa ring alam nila ang nangyayare." Aika suggested.
Leni decided to go to Risa's house and only Ianna and Sinta were home.
She told them that since this morning, she couldn't contact Risa and she was also not replying to her text messages.
"Pero mama Leni, nagpaalam po siya sa'kin kagabi na pupuntahan ka po kasi maghahating gabi na, hindi ka daw po macontact. Nag-aalala daw po siya. Hindi po ba kayo nagkita kagabi?" Sinta.
Leni got stunned.
"Ha? Hi-hindi. Hindi kami nagkita kagabi."
"Akala po talaga namin pumasok siya sa work and dumiretso na po sainyo, e." Ianna.
"Oh god. Nasa'n ba mama niyo. Wala ba kayong alam kung san siya pwedeng pumunta?"
"Wala po." Sinta.
Leni went home. It was already 2 am but she still not sleeping thinking about Risa.
If she went out last night to see me, pumunta ba siya sa party? O dito sa bahay?
Leni closed her eyes remembering all what happened when she got home and covered her mouth remembering things.
Fuck! No. No. Please. Oh god no!
She grabbed her phone and tried to call Risa again but still unreachable.
The next day, she went to work outspaced.
"Mada'am, natulog ka man lang ba?" Rona asked her.
Leni shook her head.
"Hindi ko na alam kung saan pa hahanapin si Risa, Rona. Pati ako naguguluhan na."
"Kinancel ko na po lahat ng engagements niyo ngayong araw, mada'am."
"Ha? Bakit?"
"Alam ko pong hindi kayo okay at mas halata po ngayong araw kumpara kahapon."
Leni let out a big sigh and controlling her tears to come out.
"Matutulungan mo ba ako Rona? Hindi ko na kaya hanapin si Risa na ako lang."
"Ano po bang matutulong ko?"
"Gamitin mo lahat ng maaari mong magamit na connections natin. Ipahanap mo si Risa, please. Hindi ko na kayang lumipas pa ang araw na 'to na hindi malaman kung nasaan siya. Please, Rona."
"Wala pong problema mada'am. Ako na po bahala."
Leni stayed at OVP until 9pm, without eating or even drinking water, waiting for Rona's news.
Rona entered her office. She stood up because of eagerness to know if there's an update.
"Ano Rona? Anong balita? Alam mo na kung nasa'n si Risa?"
Rona shook her head.
"Sorry, mada'am. Wala pa pong balita. Umuwi na po muna kayo. Late na po. Tatawagan po kita kaagad kapag may balita na po."
Leni sat down again and covered her face with her two hands.
"Alam ko na kung bakit siya nawawala, Rona... Sana lang talaga walang masamang nangyare sakanya."
Leni was being sent home by the OVP driver since Rona didn't allow her to drive by herself anymore knowing she's not herself.
At home, Aika and Tricia already started to get worry for their mother.
"Ma, kain kana. Kahit konti lang. Magkakasakit ka niyan, e." Tricia.
"Mahahanap din po natin si mama Risa. Kain na ma, please." Aika.
But Leni didn't listen to them.
Around 11 in the evening, Rona called Leni.
"Ano Rona? Anong balita?"
"Ma-mada'am. Alam na po namin kung nasa'n si Senator Risa..."
"Saan? Pupuntahan ko!"
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"Oh shit!!!!!!!" Risa exclaimed when she heard a loud horn and a blinding light hit her face.
She immediately stepped on the break and closed her eyes.......
A knock on her window made her eyes opened.
"Okay lang po kayo?" a man asked when she opened her window.
"Ha?"
"Hala. Si Senator Hontiveros po pala kayo. Okay lang po kayo mada'am?"
"O-oo. Oo. Salamat."
"Buti naman po. Ingat po kayo, mada'am." and the man left.
Risa held her chest and breathed rapidly.
She slapped and piched herself. Her hands were shaking from the shock.
She slammed her face on the steering wheel realizing she's still alive.
She stayed there for quite some time calming herself. When got better, she drove herself home.
She got a bag and put some of her clothes and left. She turned off her phone and started to drive her car again.
While driving, Leni occupied her mind. She still couldn't digest everything. She couldn't believe that in just a snap, Leni ruined everything between them.
She kept on driving and driving until almost 5 in the morning. She noticed, she reached Pangasinan. She checked in in a hotel and rested her body on the bed. Her tears kept flowing remembering what she heard last night.
Ano nanaman ba 'to Leni? Bakit ganito? Akala ko ba, ako lang Leni. Akala ko ba, mahal na mahal mo ako. Akala ko ba, hindi mo ako lolokohin. Akala ko ba, hindi mo ako kayang saktan.
Risa kept on crying for the rest of the day. She didn't even eat nor drank water. She just stayed on bed the entire time, overthinking that it might not be the first time Leni did it with somebody else. She didn't even notice a night had passed.
The next day, she finally got out of bed, took a shower and decided to have a walk. In the afternoon, she went on the beach nearby and sat on the shore. She just listened and stared the waves. Her tears were still flowing but she couldn't feel anything anymore.
As she watched the sunset, she breathed heavily.
Kung nakaya mo akong lokohin sa kabila ng lahat ng mga pangako mo, kung nakaya mo akong saktan sa kabila ng lahat ng pinagdaanan natin, kaya din kitang kalimutan Leni. Kakayanin ko. Ang tanga-tanga ko lang dahil naniwala ako sa'yo. Ang tanga-tanga ko lang dahil nagpabulag ako sa pagmamahal ko sa'yo.
Risa still spent the rest of the time sitting there. She didn't even bother to check the time. She was totally lost by the confusion and pain she was feeling.
While feeling the cold breeze touching her face and whole body, she felt warm arms wrapped her body. And she heard sobs immediately.
"Risa. A-akala ko hindi na kita makikita. Nakakainis ka. Halos mabaliw na ako kakaisip kung nasaan ka.."
Her body froze hearing who was talking and hugging her..
"L-Leni....."
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See you around 🌈💗💜
For those who are requesting for a special chapter for Adrift - Torn, promise, I will do it for you. Pero baka bukas na or sa Friday. Medyo nabusy. Labs na labs 💖