"WHAT happened . . ." Xibel muttered as he looked at her back full of welt. Some were fresh wounds and some were about to heal.
Napahigpit ang hawak niya sa damit nito habang pinagsisisihang binalik niya ang bata sa orphanage. Nakita na niya ito. Nakita na niya ang mga nanakit nito subalit pinili niya pa ring iuwi ang bata.
"Forgive me, child." Tinapat niya ang isang kamay sa likuran nito upang pagalingin ang mga sugat. Wala pang ilang segundo, gumaling lahat ng ito.
Hinarap niya ang bata na patuloy pa rin sa pag-iyak. He wiped her tears. "Hush now. They're all gone."
Napahikbi naman ito. "R-really?"
He nodded.
Sinubukan naman nitong hawakan ang likod, sobrang bagal dahil natatakot itong masaktan. Ngunit nang wala na itong maramdamang sakit, sumilay kaagad ang ngiti nito sa mga labi.
Seeing her smile was a nice thing to see, however, it didn't make him feel better. The truth that it could only take a few actions to make a child smile even after experiencing something unpleasant made him annoyed. He wanted her to be angry, be aggressive and loath the person who had hurt her.
But she was just a child.
"Papa, thank you!" The kid rushed toward him and gave him a tight hug.
Niyakap niya rin ito pabalik habang hinahagod ang likuran. Walang kahit ni isang peklat ang natira sa mga sugat nito. Subalit kahit mawala pa man ang lahat ng sugat ng bata, alam niyang hindi kailanman mawawala ang mga alaalang dinanas sa kamay ng mga taong nanakit nito.
And Xibel couldn't put into words how he loathed those kinds of people. They were the most terrible being ever created. What confidence they have to continue living each day without shame?
"How dare they . . ." He gritted his teeth. Nanatili ang mga mata niya sa orphanage habang nakayakap pa rin sa kaniya ang bata. Hindi siya aalis dito nang walang ginagawa sa nanakit nito.
If you can't get angry at them, I will.
Humilay sa kaniya ang bata habang nanatili ang malawak na ngiti sa labi. "Papa, magic! Magic!"
"Do you want to see some magic?"
She nodded.
"All right." He snapped his finger to summon one of his followers. A black water mound appeared beside the child. Napanganga ito nang inilabas doon si Stone.
"Hello, there." Stone waved his hand to the child. Ngumiti ito pabalik at kumaway.
"Stone, play with her for a while." Tumayo siya at tiningnan ang direksyon ng orphanage.
Napatingin naman sa kaniya ang bata. Hinawakan nito ang dulo ng kaniyang sutana, nangangahulugang ayaw siya nitong paalisin. Binalik niya ang tingin sa bata at nilapat ang kamay sa ulo nito.
"I'll play with you too. Hide-and-seek?"
The child gasped and immediately nodded. "Play! Play!"
"I'll be the seeker. You two hide. I'll count on thirty." Pinasadahan niya ng tingin si Stone. "One."
Mabilis naman nitong naunawaan ang kaniyang ibig sabihin.
"Let's hide, kiddo!" Nakangiti nitong saad at inabot ang kamay. Patalong tinanggap iyon ng bata at sabay na tumakbo palayo sa kinaroroonan niya.
"Two." Siya rin ay nagsimula nang maglakad patungo sa orphanage. Habang patuloy na nagbibilang, nanatili sa kaniyang isip ang imahe ng isang nilalang.
He regretted giving the kid back in this place. Four and five counts, but he thought of her more than those times. He should've took her back from the first day he left her. Six and seven. He shouldn't have doubted the extent of his gift.
He should've torn the woman in his mind the moment she heard the child's plea.
"Ten." Stopping right in front of the door, the number he uttered would decide how many times she would experience death in his arms.
"Let me be one without a body." He cast a spell before stepping into the door. And like a soul, his body passed through.
He squinted his eyes when he saw the sight of children sleeping on the cold floor with only thin blankets. Why didn't they have beds? Why do the house only had a hall without any furnitures? How could this be an orphanage?
Thinking that the child also had slept on this place, it made his heart disturbed.
"A child should be given the best out of the greatest things," he whispered, remembering what the Holy Saints used to tell him. The children hold the future and hope--they were the epitome of what was whole. And they should remain whole. The duty of the adults should keep their precious hearts complete and not the other way around. For adults were once kids, and thus, they should build them up like how they were before.
Nilampasan niya ang mga batang natutulog sa salas. Umakyat siya sa hagdanan patungo sa ikalawang palapag. Pagkarating niya, isang kuwarto na pamilyar sa kaniya ang bumungad. Ito ang kuwartong ilang beses na nagpakita sa memorya ng bata. Dito natutulog ang babaeng nanakit sa kaniya.
He passed through the door with his spell as he felt his hand shook. The anger he had been carrying all along from the moment he had been betrayed gathered together like a crampled paper. And it was pointing at the woman peacefully sleeping in a bed with a mattress and a thick blanket.
"How fortunate." He walked toward her. Sa tuwing malapit siya sa mga babae, wala siyang ibang maramdaman kundi labis na pagkadisgusto. Nandidiri siya. Nais niyang lumayo ngayon din subalit nangibabaw ang kaniyang galit. Hindi niya kayang talikuran ang umiiyak na bata sa kaniyang isip.
He glanced at the small table beside the bed. There was a note written, and it seemed it was from the sleeping woman. Naglalaman ito ng sulat ng pamamaalam. Mukhang may balak na umalis ang babae ngayong araw.
Mahina siyang natawa. "But how unfortunate you are to meet me."
Sinipa niya ang kama upang gisingin ang babae. Kaagad naman itong napabalikwas sa gulat. Saktong paglingon nito sa kaniya ay ang pagtanggal niya rin ng kaniyang mahika.
Mabilis na natakpan ng kilabot ang may katandaan na nitong mukha nang makita ang kabuohan niya. Bago pa ito makasigaw, kaagad niyang tinakpan ang bibig ng babae at muling inihiga sa kama.
"A noise is a nuisance." Dinaganan niya ito. Tumulo sa noo ng babae ang isang talutot ng patay na bulalak. Nanggaling iyon sa kaniyang mukha. Hinigpitan niya ang pagkakatakip sa bibig nito. "So shut up."
Nagpumiglas ang babae. Hinawakan nito ang kaniyang braso gamit ang mga kamay. Nandilim ang kaniyang paningin nang lumapat ang palad nito sa kaniyang dibdib.
Memories flooded him and drowned his sanity quick. May kakaibang mga bagay ang gumalaw sa kaniyang tiyan, pinipiga dahilan upang makaramdam siya ng matinding pandidiri. He wanted to vomit. But more than that, he wanted to shake the unexplainable touch creeping across his body.
He hated it.
"Curse you! You, women, have done nothing but make me suffer!" Tinanggal niya ang pagkakatakip sa bibig nito at sinakal ang babae. He planned to wound her soul before killing her physically, but the immense fear creeping to the parts he hated made him forget about his agenda. All he wanted right now was to get rid of it. "Don't touch me ever again!"
Tumakas ang mga luha sa mga mata ng babae subalit hindi iyon kayang tanggalin ang galit sa kaniyang puso. Nanginginig ang mga kamay niya habang diniinan pa ang pagkakasakal. Naririnig niya rin sa isipan ang pagmamakaawa nito.
Pero kahit isang katiting na simpatya, wala siyang maramdaman.
"Don't touch me!" paulit-ulit niyang sigaw kahit kanina pa hindi nakahawak ang mga kamay nito. Hindi na rin ito gumagalaw na kahit pagpitik man lang ng mga daliri ay wala.
Doon lang siya natauhan nang maramdaman ang malamig na hangin sa kaniyang batok. Bumaba siya sa kama habang habol-habol ang paghinga. Naliligo na rin ng pawis ang kaniyang mukha.
Binaling niya ang tingin sa nakabukas na bintana.
Nang makita ang madilim pa na kalangitan, doon lang siya napakurap. Napahawak siya sa kaniyang puso dahil sa bilis ng tibok nito. Ang kakaibang mga kamay na gumapang sa kaniya ay hindi na niya maramdaman pa.
He had calmed down.
Or so he thought.
Napatakbo siya papalapit sa bintana nang maramdaman ang kakaibang paggalaw ng kaniyang kalamnan. Hindi niya napigilan ang sarili na sumuka. Nanghina ang kaniyang tuhod habang patuloy na inilabas lahat ng mga kinain niya.
Nakakadiri. Nakakasuka. Sa tuwing naiisip niya ang mga humawak sa kaniya, nandidiri siya.
Ilang minuto siyang nagtagal bago tuluyang mapaluhod nang wala na siyang mailabas pa. Habol-habol niya ang hininga at pilit na pinapakalma ang sarili.
Binalik niya ang tingin sa wala nang buhay na babae. He snapped his finger to summon an emerald fire, burning her entire body. "Turn into ashes and give your soul to me."
Tanging ang katawan lang nito ang kinakain ng apoy. The dead he would collect would not automatically became his follower. It would depend on him whether he would put them in his Cage of Spirits, where his followers resides, or to the Gates of Darkness where they would never see light again and be imprisoned in the darkness forever.
"You will be gone forever." He snapped his finger again before walking toward the window. Nilingon niya muna ang kuwarto. Wala na ang katawan ng babae at ang tanging naiwan na lang ay ang gulo-gulong kama at ang sulat nito na nasa lamesa.
Bigla niyang naalala ang sigaw ng pagmamakaawa nito. He heard many voices, indicating that the woman had her own sufferings too. From the moment she was a child, she was already broken.
However . . . he didn't regret what he did for he wasn't willing to listen.
Tumalon siya sa bintana at naglakad na palayo. Nagtungo siya sa sirang gusali kung saan siya nananatili. Nakita niya ang pigura ni Stone. Tumango ito sa kaniya bilang pagbati habang ang isang daliri ay nakaturo sa malaking bato.
Nang makalapit siya, sinilip niya ang likuran nito. Nakita niya ang batang babae na nakaupo habang tinatakpan pa ang mukha, hinihintay na mahanap niya.
One corner of his lips curved.
Silly.
He stretched his hand to reach her. He was about to touch her head but then he paused.
After he reached out to someone before, everything crumbled before his eyes--his title, his home, his power, his identity, and his heart. He lost them all. If he tried reaching out to someone again, how could he be certain he wouldn't experience the same thing?
Subalit bago pa man siya makagalaw, inangat na ng bata ang tingin dahilan upang makita siya nito.
Mabilis na sumilay ang mga ngiti nito sa labi at hinawakan ang kaniyang kamay. "Papa!"
His gaze softened as he watched the tiny fingers holding on to his cold hands. How selfish of him to think of himself.
In front of him was a kid. If there was someone who needed protection between them, it was her. What he needed to do was not to keep himself away from pain, but to protect the child's smile.
"Child, what's your name?"
"Ella!"
"Ella . . . I do not like that name." Marahan niya itong hinila paalis sa bato. Nilapat niya ang kamay sa ulo nito. "You have been so brave all this time. Imris suits you better."
"Imris? Isn't it masculine, master?" Stone commented.
"Who cares about that?" Nilapat niya ang kamay sa ulo ng bata. Gumuhit sa kaniyang isipan ang imahe noong sanggol pa si Imris. Ang imahe kung saan siya iniwan ng sariling magulang. "From now on, you will be Imris. Until I find your real parents, you will be under my care."