LORELEI
WHEN I heard the premise of the case, it instantly caught my attention. There was no way on earth that a dead person would be able to reply to anyone. The concept of afterlife might be debatable, but having internet connection in that place seemed highly unlikely. Walang cell towers doon at wala ring phone na pwedeng dalhin mula rito. There must be some sort of logical explanation here.
So the four of us met in the clubroom to hear our client's case during our morning break. Nang nag-ring na ang school bell, sabay kaming pumunta ni Alistair doon. Nadatnan namin sina Loki at Jamie na magkaharap. Our club president was in his favorite swivel chair while our ex-actress member was on the chair to his left. Nakaiwas ang tingin ni Loki habang nakatitig si Jamie sa kanya na parang may pinagmamasdang magandang tanawin.
"What are they doing?" Alistair whispered as he placed his sling bag on the chair next to mine.
"They're playing chess," I whispered before turning to our clubmates. This was the second time that I had seen them in this pose. "Sobrang bored n'yo ba kaya naisipan n'yo na namang mag-blind chess?"
"We cannot allow ourselves to be idle," Loki replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "A blade loses its sharpness when it's not used for too long. Just like our minds."
"Magandang pampalipas oras din 'to," segunda ni Jamie sabay sulyap sa amin. "Wala pa rin naman 'yong client natin kaya pwede nating gawin kung ano'ng gusto natin."
I checked the time on my phone. "She will be here at any moment from now. You should pause or postpone the game because you're only going to be interrupted once she arrives."
"Or we can hold a small tournament here as we wait. You can challenge Alistair to blind chess," Loki suggested. What a brilliant way to pass the time. "Once I beat Jamie and Alistair beats you, he and I can have our very first chess match."
Did he imply that I would not do well in a chess match with Alistair? Well, I knew little about that game—just the basic stuff—so me being beaten would not be surprising to me. Bago pa magsimula ang laban namin—kung sakali mang maglalaro kami—tanggap ko nang talo ako.
"Asa ka, Loki!" Jamie stuck her tongue out. "I admire you, but not to the point that I will throw the game for you. Ilalampaso kita rito gaya no'ng last time."
"I expect nothing less." Loki gave a sidelong glance at the guy beside me. "What about it, Alistair? Are you up for some chess challenge?"
My childhood friend smiled at him. "Perhaps another time."
If these two were to face off in a chess match, there was no way of telling who would win. Alam kong magaling si Loki, pero magaling din si Alistair. Either it would be a draw or it would be a close fight.
Mukhang sa susunod na talaga magkakaharap ang dalawa sa chess dahil dumating na ang hinihintay namin. Someone knocked on the door first before swinging it open. I told the female student whose hair was in twin pigtails to come in. Pumuwesto siya sa upuan na nasa kabilang dulo ng mesa. Kaharap niya si Loki. Umayos na ng upo ang dalawang naglalaro ng blind chess.
"My name's Shaine Sandoval," our client introduced herself when she settled down. "I'm not really in need of help. My friend does, but she doesn't know it. Her name's Megan. Hindi niya nakikitang problema 'to, pero hindi ko maiwasang mag-worry sa kanya. It's not normal kasi kahit sino pa ang tanungin ko."
"You mentioned yesterday that someone dead is sending messages to your friend," I recalled our conversation in the KTV bar. "So that friend is Megan and the dead one is . . ."
"Her boyfriend," she finished. "Two weeks ago, Roel died in a traffic accident. Magkasama silang dalawa. Maayos na nagda-drive si Roel nang nabangga ng isang truck ang sinasakyan nila. Meg survived. He didn't. Nakalulungkot kasi mabait at mabuti siyang tao. He didn't deserve to die that young."
"That must be heartbreaking for Megan and for you," Alistair said in a consoling tone. "Losing someone important to us leaves a void in our hearts. In some cases, no one and nothing can fill it. I'm sorry for your loss."
"Thank you."
My eyes looked sideways at Loki who averted his gaze. Lagi niyang ginagawa 'yon kapag hindi siya interesado sa boring details ng isang case at kapag naiinip na siya sa kuwento ng client namin. But this time was different. He was not uninterested. He seemed to—I don't know?—relate to it. Paano ko nasabi? May kalungkutan sa mga mata niya. Seeing emotions through his eyes was unusual.
"I can't imagine kung gaano kasakit 'yon kay Meg." Shaine looked down. "She's still in denial. Hindi naging madali para sa kanya ang mga sumunod na araw o linggo o buwan. She missed some of our classes. She ignored our messages. She isolated herself from us, eating alone and crying in a corner. One day, she decided to chat her late boyfriend, telling him how much she missed him—"
"And then she received a reply?" Jamie cut her words short. She almost let out a gasp. "From the person who's supposedly dead?"
The client nodded. "Naikuwento niya sa 'kin last week. Noong una, ayaw ko pang maniwala kasi imposible 'yon. But she showed me their conversation thread. Kinilabutan ako. Her dead boyfriend was really replying to her messages."
"The actual conversation thread?" Jamie asked to clarify. "Hindi basta-basta screenshot o photo?"
"Oo. Naisip ko rin na baka edited ang ipinakita niya sa 'kin kaya ch-in-eck ko. There's no doubt that it's their convo. Nabasa ko pa nga ang pinag-usapan nila bago ang aksidente."
The three of us—except Loki—exchanges curious glances as our client took a pause. It was still August, but this case could have been the perfect Halloween story. May involved na patay 'tapos may nakakikilabot na pangyayaring mukhang hindi mae-explain ng science.
"Her mood has improved since then. Ilang araw din siyang malungkot at parang wala sa sarili. Hindi nakikinig sa prof, walang ipinapasang assignments at projects. Pero nagbago na ngayon. Nakangingiti na ulit siya," Shaine recounted. "I was happy for her at first, but I realized how worrisome the situation is. Sinabihan ko na siyang itigil ang pakikipag-chat kay Roel, pero ayaw niyang magpaawat. Doon daw siya masaya, doon daw siya nakakukuha ng sigla."
"She must still be undergoing the stages of grief," Alistair said. "Denial. Anger. Bargain. Depression. Acceptance. My guess is that she's at the bargain stage. It's okay for her to not see her late boyfriend anymore as long as she keeps to get in touch with him. She's willing to live in an illusion."
"But that's so depressing." Jamie frowned. "What if maging dependent siya sa gano'ng conversations? What if magising siya isang araw at ma-realize na hindi totoo 'yon? Paniguradong guguho ang mundo niya."
"Kaya lumapit na ako sa inyo, para mahanapan ng solusyon ito." Nabaling ang tingin ng kliyente namin mula kay Jamie papunta kay Loki. "I don't want to see her this miserable. I don't want her to be hurt again."
"Hold on," I interjected, making her look at me. "While this is a case that we can investigate, hindi ba mas mabuti kung ipauubaya natin ito sa experts? If Megan's still grieving, maybe a visit to a psychologist is the better solution? They probably know how to handle her grief."
"S-in-uggest ko na rin 'yan kay Meg, kaso ayaw rin niyang mag-consult sa psychologists. Kahit nga sa counseling center natin dito sa campus, ayaw rin niyang pumunta. She always gets upset whenever I mention it."
That was such a shame. Naiintindihan ko kung bakit walang tiwala o may pagdadalawang-isip ang mga merong pinagdaraanan na mag-consult sa mga eksperto. After that traumatic incident, I was also reluctant to ask for their help. But eventually, I did. And I had started to feel better since then. Even when I transferred here in Clark High—after Loki triggered some of my locked memories—I immediately sought for their guidance.
Well, we had different ways of coping with trauma and pain. Posibleng hindi ito ang suitable na model para sa kanya.
"We can't force her to go to counseling session," Loki spoke after minutes of silence. "If we do, the amount of resistance will only intensify. Even if we manage to make her visit a counselor, their words might only fall on deaf ears. She enjoys living in an alternate reality where she thinks she's still communicating with her dead boyfriend. What we can try to do is to shatter that fake reality. That's why you came to us, right?"
The client nodded. "Kung hindi talaga si Roel ang nagme-message sa kanya, gusto kong ma-expose kung sino ang nagre-reply sa chats niya gamit ang account ng kanyang boyfriend. Kapag nalaman n'yo kung sino at ipinaalam natin kay Meg, baka magising na siya sa ilusyon niya."
"We'll need details about your friend, her dead boyfriend, and everyone around them."
I could not tell if it was just me, or some circumstances of this case sounded familiar. A living person messaging a dead person, hoping that the latter would reply—
My eyes went wide as they stared at Loki. Naintindihan ko na kung bakit parang malungkot siya at bakit parang nakare-relate siya! He was also doing the exact same thing. I once saw the email that he was composing for his ex-club member named Rhea. He mentioned about his world lacking the colors it once had when she left him. Later on, I learned that Rhea had already passed away. Like Megan, he was trying to communicate with someone who was in the afterlife. But in his case, Rhea had not responded to any of his emails.
"Is something wrong with my face?" Loki asked.
I realized that I was absent-mindedly staring at him. I shook my head, shrugging those thoughts off my head, and looked around. Nakaalis na pala ang client namin.
The thing about Rhea was personal to him. Ayaw kong basta-basta i-bring up lalo na't sa presence ng dalawa naming kasama na hindi pa gano'n ka-aware sa sitwasyon niya. I would keep the email thingy between us. There was no need for Alistair and Jamie to know about it.
"Nothing," I replied.
"Anong 'nothing' ka riyan?" pang-iintriga ni Jamie. Heto na naman siya. "May kakaiba kaya sa way na tingnan mo si Loki!"
"Maybe she was in deep thought and she just so happened to stare in Loki's direction," Alistair came to my defense, even if he did not have to.
"Let's talk about the case, shall we?" Loki brought us back to the most important subject of the hour. "What are we gonna do about this 'messages-from-the-dead' case?"
"It's preferable that Megan seeks professional help," Alistair answered. "But in the meantime, pwede nating alamin at patunayan na kung sinuman ang nagme-message sa kanya ay hindi ang kanyang yumaong boyfriend. Once she realizes that someone's messing with her, she can address her grief by consulting a professional."
"So we all agree that there's nothing supernatural or paranormal about this case?" Our club president casted a glance at each of us. "There's no sort of stupid magic involved here?"
I nodded, as well as Alistair and Jamie. Sa unang tingin, mapaiisip ka talaga kung multo ba ang nag-reach out sa kaibigan ng client namin. Pero kung idaraan sa logic at pag-iisipang maigi, imposible talagang makapag-message ang isang taong patay na. The only exception was if no one saw the lifeless body of Megan's boyfriend after the accident and during the funeral.
"Mahirap paniwalaan na magagawang mag-reply ng late boyfriend mula sa kabilang buhay," pailing-iling na komento ni Jamie. "Come on, we're already in the digital age! Imposible talaga kahit saan natin tingnan."
"So there must be a logical explanation on how Roel managed to reply to Megan," Alistair concluded. "Remember that their conversation happens through a chat app and the account used is Roel's—"
"Which means," Loki added, "someone has access to Romel's account and is pretending to be him. The main question that we need to answer is who's behind it? Next are how and why that person is doing it."
It sounded like a pretty simple case despite the paranormal premise. But it was too early to tell. There could be some twist and turns to it.
"We need to know more about the girlfriend," he went on. "Do you know the Peer Support Club? According to our client, they hold group sessions twice a week for students who want to be heard or to let out their feelings. Megumi has been attending them since her boyfriend's death. We can use that as an avenue to get close to her since she'll be vulnerable there. Her defenses will be down so you won't have a hard time sneaking past her emotional walls."
I squeezed my eyes shut, not because of the task, but because he got Megan's name wrong. This should not come as a surprise anymore, but somehow it still did.
"I don't think that's the right way to put it," Alistair argued.
"Why not? Megumi is still grieving so she'll surely need someone to lean on. One of us here can show her some love and support. She'll appreciate it and she'll eventually open up to us. Just be there to listen to her."
"Pero bakit ayaw niyang mag-consult sa guidance counselor o sa psychologists?" tanong ni Jamie. "'Tapos ngayon game siyang mag-open up sa Peer Support Club?"
"She probably feels more comfortable sharing her feelings with people who are around the same age as her," Alistair explained. "Some studies say that teens cope better emotionally when they're with peers than with adults. If she's with a guidance counselor or a professional, she might put her defenses up. Hindi magiging madali ang pag-share sa nararamdaman niya."
"So next question is, who's gonna join those peer support group sessions and befriend her?" Loki asked. "Any volunteers or nominations?"
"It might be easier for her to open up to either Lori or Jamie." Alistair glanced at me. "Pwedeng ako na ang umasikaso nito. Pero baka ma-misinterpret ang gagawin kong paglapit sa kanya. Mas mabuti kung isa sa atin na hindi pag-iisipan ng motibo ng ibang tao."
"You didn't even include me in the choices," Loki complained. "Am I invisible to you?"
"I figured that this isn't something you want to do."
"Good point. Listening to people's sob story is not my area."
"Ako na," sabi ko sabay taas ng aking kamay. "I've been to therapy sessions before. Alam kong magkaiba ang set-up ng n'on at ng group session, but I think I can pull it off."
"Ako na lang!" Sunod na nagtaas ng kamay si Jamie. Parang estudyanteng sabik na sabik matawag sa recitation. "You all know that I'm a theater actress, right? Madali sa 'kin ang makipag-friends sa kahit sino. Kaya kong umiyak kapag sharing time na para ma-feel niyang nakare-relate ako sa kanya. In this case, you need someone like me who knows how to act."
Kung gusto niyang siya ang ma-assign sa peer support group, walang problema sa akin. Hindi ako nakikipagkompetensya.
"What if kayong dalawa na lang?" suhestiyon ni Alistair. "Mas mabuti kung may back up tayo. If Jamie's approach won't work, Lori can try hers."
"Pero Al, hindi naman siguro kami sasaktan ni Megan kaya bakit kailangan pa ng back up?" reklamo ni Jamie. "And if my approach won't work, I can change it easily. It's like flipping a switch!"
"Alistair's idea is better," Loki agreed. "You and Lorelei will deal with Megumi while Alistair and I will deal with the list of suspects that Shaine will send to us. If my hunch is right, one of them must be using the dead boyfriend's account."
"Kung 'yan ang best way para sa 'yo, 'di na ako aangal." Just like that, Jamie waved the white flag. Iba talaga kapag si Loki na ang nagsalita.
"Are we all set?" Loki asked. "Let's start the investigations as soon as possible."
—to be continued—
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