Para akong hinagisan ng sunud-sunod na granada ni Ten, to the point na hindi ko na alam kung saang banda ako tutungo upang makaiwas.
"Let me organize the sequence of the story first to answer that," sambit ni Ten when she revealed na maaaring matunton ng mga Aunties namin ang kinaroroonan ng KAYAMANAN NG MGA SAAVEDRA because of Mick.
She got closer to me and went at my back. She gently massaged my shoulders to make me feel relaxed. "Calm down Brother. Listen to me, as much as possible do not interrupt me by asking questions. We're all here by purpose..."
Na-hypnotize ako sa sinabing iyon ni Ten. I also missed how she used to massage my shoulders and my head everytime I felt uneasy. No awkwardness at all.
"Second fact, I commanded you to go here in the Philippines to start the mission" she started. Inilagay niya ang mga daliri niya sa bandang gilid ng mata ko and circularly massaged it. Napapikit akong bigla at minabuting magfocus sa mga salaysay niya.
"It's my intention na maging ikaw ay mapaniwala na ang sikreto sa natatagong treasure ay si ALEX. And to make it look believable, those words are typed sa last part ng librong ibinigay sa 'tin ni Mom."
THE SECRET TO THE REAL TREASURE IS ALEX
Vinisualize ko habang nakapikit while Ten is massaging me, ang sinabi niya. That's true, yun talaga yung isang mystery na kailangan kong malaman kaya si Alex ang naging puntirya ko upang malaman kung saan nakatago ang kayamanan.
"Third fact, when Mom was still alive, she told Alex a cryptic/mysterious clue referring to the whereabouts of the treasure. And it's about PIKACHU. Which happens to be our Mom's bestfriend. She was confident that when you hear about pikachu, brother... You will associate that to her best friend.. PILLAR KATAKUTAN CHIU, and it worked!"
Kinikilabutan ako sa sinasabi ni Ten. I cannot even fathom bakit ganun yung naging pattern ng plano ni Mama, it's risky and has a greater possibility of failure.
She continued. " Fourth fact, you proceeded by going to the location of Amistad Tree, which was unfortunately cut down not by our Aunties, but the authorities of that place. We temporarily set up a house and hired Mang Dencio to act as one of the sources of clues. And it also worked...."
"And the Fifth fact, a certain Guadalupe Regis is one of our real ancestors that became a part of our Mom's Pre-planned pero natigil ang Journey doon sa place because our Aunties chose to reveal themselves para sila na ang maghanap ng treasure."
As I remember, Auntie Jacky revealed herself after conniving as Guadalupe Regis. We gave them what they are looking for which is the map. Joaquin also confessed his relation with my Auntie but also revealed that he's one of Tito Sunico's Son. Meaning to say, siya yung naging mata at tenga ng Aunties ko para mapurnada ang paghahanap namin sa kayamanan.
"To sum it up Jace..... It's a FAKE MISSION, para mapalabas natin sa mga EVIL SISTERS ni Mama na tunay ang isinasagawa niyong paghahanap sa natatagong kayamanan ng mga Saavedra, where in fact, nasa atin na talaga ang kayamanang hinahanap nila...."
I opened my eyes at itinigil na ni Ten ang pagmasahe sa ulo ko. Hindi naman ako nahirapang unawain ang salaysay ni Ten, parang naririnig ko na nga rin ang boses ng Mama ko habang nagpapaliwanag siya. Ngunit marami pa ring grey area sa kabuuan ng salaysay niya upang lubos ko siyang paniwalaan kaya agad na akong nagtanong.
"So, si Joaquin pala yung traydor? I don't get bakit siya nandirito?"
Ten went back to her seat and explained. "He's a traitor, in CHARACTER, but ang totoo niyan, kakampi natin siya."
"Ha?"
"Do you wanna know him more?"
I didn't respond because obvious naman na kailangan ko ng details about this plan and also the people involved in it.
"Remember the triplets story? You, Joaquin and Troy? Actually, that's not the real story, Mom served it as a METAPHOR to the three guys who will HELP her."
"But let me start with Joaquin, he and Tito Sunico doesn't have any relation by blood. He just worked for him in his company, and Tito used him as a spy on the fake mission, and of course with the knowledge of our Aunties. It's not true that Tito Sunico has real disputes with his sisters... They already reconciled and he worked with them to track down the whereabouts of the treasure. Little did they know that Joaquin is on our side."
"How come?" I asked.
"Joaquin is the son of Pillar Katakutan Chiu, Mom's bestfriend. Malaki ang utang na loob ni Aling Pillar kay Mama, maging si Joaquin. So the rest is history..... Magulo ba?"
Naguluhan ako roon pero naintindihan ko naman ang kuneksyon ng bawat isa.
"So, Joaquin needs to act as a spy sa fake mission para mapaniwala sila na THE MAP is the real one? Pero may utang na loob siya kay Mama kaya napasubo siya to get involved with the mess of our family?" pasalubong na kilay kong pag klaripika.
"Hmmmmmm.... That is logically correct Jace."
"I wonder why this has to be extremely complicated," I said.
"I disagree Jace," she replied. "Hindi siya complicated sa side natin. It looked like difficult dahil hindi mo pa alam ang lahat, pero everything needs to be problematic on our Aunties side coz they've been searching for the treasure for decades."
"Try and try until they die ang drama nila. Patay na lang si Mama pero kinamumuhian pa rin nila siya because of these treasures," pagturo niya sa kayamanang nakabalandra sa 'min.
"And how about Troy? Who is he?"
Biglang napangiti si Ten. "Him? You don't have any idea who is he?"
"Do you really think I will ask you if I have an idea?" I frowned.
"He's Mick. I dunno why the name Troy came out but he's actually Mick."
I also don't know pero I'm not surprised by Ten's revelation.
"So why him?"
"I think, he should be the one to explain that to you," she said sweetly. "He's really a good guy Jace. He worked hard para lang maprotektahan ang kayamanan, at matulungan tayo. Hindi natin siya kadugo pero he's willing to help," sumilip ang ngiti sa aking labi sa pahayag ni Ten. Sa lahat ng pinagdadaanan ko, Mick is always there for me. Hindi siya showy or expressive na tao pero ramdam mo na bukal sa loob niya ang tumulong.
"And...... I have a secret to tell you Jace?"
"Huh?"
"I think I'm falling in love with him....." she whispered.
"W-what????????" medyo exaggerated kong response.
"What's wrong, Jace? Urgggh gotcha, I think it's not the right time para magconfess ng kalandian sa harapan ng kapatid niyang nacomatose ng ilang linggo," she sarcastically said.
Hindi ko alam kung ba't nagreact ako ng ganun. Parang may namuong galit akong naramdaman kay Ten. I felt like a possessive jerk kahit literal na hindi naman kami magkarelasyon ni Mick, as in no formalities at all pero yung feeling of jealousy is so spontaneous. I acted weird pero mabuti na lang ay hindi naman yun masyadong napansin ni Ten.
"You need to suck fresh air Jace. Saka ko na lang tatapusin ang kwento, in the meantime let's go outside and join the team..."
Gusto ko sanang iclarify kung anong ibig niyang sabihin about TEAM pero mukhang message overload na ako kaya hindi na ako nag question back.
Nasa ilalim pala kami ng lupa. Ten guided me thru the exit, which is kailangan mong umakyat sa isang de kahoy na hagdan pataas para makalabas. Ang parteng iyo'y napapalibutan ng mga lupa which is different dahil ang looba'y sementado.
Unang umakyat si Ten at binuksan ang korteng parisukat na kahoy na nagsisilbing pintuan sa mismong lugar. Bigla akong nasilaw sa liwanag na halos bumulag sa mga mata ko.
"Halika Jace," Ten reached my hand upang alalayang makaakyat. Nang makaakyat ay bigla akong namangha sa nasaksihan.
"Anong lugar 'to?" nanlaki ang mga mata ko sa kagandahan ng lugar na kasintulad ng isang paraiso. Puro luntian ang nakikita ko at samu't saring paru-paro na lumilipad at nagsisidapuan sa mga bulaklak na iba't ibang uri at kulay. Sa di kalayua'y nakikita ko ang WHITE SAND beach na kulay berde ang nasa katubigan sa harapan. May mga puno ring napakatataas at matitingkad ang pagkakulay berde nito. May mga bungang kahoy ring hitik na hitik sa bunga. Ang mga ibo'y malayang nakakalipad nang mababa para sulyapan ang kagandahan ng lugar.
"It's a paradise ABOVE. Treasure naman under," Ten smiled.
"I really can't believe this TEN. Akala ko ang treasure na tinutukoy ni Mama is like something sentimental, gaya ng treasure niya for me. I couldn't believe what my eyes is seeing right now."
"You have to believe it now...."
Manghang mangha talaga ako sa lugar. Para akong nasa langit na tipong ayaw ng bumaba sa lupa. Kung pwede lang na dito na forever tumira...
"Ayun si Mick," pagturo ni Ten sa kinaroroonan nung isa. Agad ko naman siyang nakilala. Yun lang, mag-isa lang siya. Bago pa man ako magdesisyong puntahan siya'y kinawayan kami nina Alex, na nuo'y kasama si Joaquin, na may hitsura. At si Franz at yung isang Joaquin na hindi kaaya-aya ang mukha'y kumaway rin sa 'min.