Chapter 1
"He'll bleed to death..." bulong ko sa aking sarili habang pinagmamasdan ang lalaking nakahiga sa malaking kama. The atmosphere of the surroundings warns me that something bad is going on. Ganunpaman, nanatili akong nakatayo at nakasilip sa bintana ng mga Monterio.
He's taking deep shaky breath and looks like he's going through a lot of pain right now. Biglang kumirot ang puso ko para sa kanya. Mas hinigpitan ko ang hawak sa basket at pinilit na pakalmahin ang sarili.
I should call someone. What should I do?
He cracked one eye open and scanned the surroundings. I froze. Dumako ang kanyang tingin sa akin. Imbes na magtago ulit ay nanatili akong nakatitig sa kanya. His eyes finally met mine. Even from afar, I could say that it's a beautiful swirl of black and gray. His intense eyes drilled me even if it's just a few seconds of staring at each other.
I was about to open my mouth when I heard a noise outside.
Mayamaya pa ay bumukas ang pintuan. Kaagad akong yumuko. A group of men in black suit entered the room. The boy groaned in pain. Sumilip ako nang bahagya. A tall woman in a white lab coat was pushed inside the room. Nakapiring ang kanyang mga mata.
I frowned. What's going on here?
The woman stumbled inside, almost losing her balance. One of the men grabbed her by the shoulders and dragged her towards the direction of the bed. Isa na namang matangkad na lalaki ang pumasok sa kwarto. A younger man also entered the room. All of them are wearing black and expensive-looking suit.
The middle-aged man nodded at one of his men. Tinanggal nito ang blindfold ng doctor. The woman stared at the helpless boy in front of her, her eyes widening.
"Operate him." nangilabot ako sa tinig ng lalaki. Siya ba ang sinasabi ni Mama na si Sebastian Monterio? Ang may-ari ng mansiyon na ito?
"Where am I? Bakit niyo ako dinala dito?!" The woman gritted her teeth. She contemplated for a second but examined the boy for a while, staining her white lab coat. "This looks bad. He needs to go to the hospital."
"He can't go to the hospital." Mariing wika ng lalaki sa kanya. "Operate him, Dr. Acosta and I will let you live."
"I need my team!" the woman shouted angrily. "Surgery is done by team. Hindi ko ito makakaya mag-isa!"
One of the men slapped her in the face for shouting at him. I flinched. The woman clutched her reddening cheeks and glared at them, blinking back the tears that are forming from her eyes.
"You are the finest cardiac surgeon in Davao, Dr. Nyle Acosta. How can you not operate on him?"
"I need at least an anesthesiologist and a scrub nurse." She muttered under her breath.
"Fine, we have a nurse here." Binalingan niya ang lalaki sa tabi niya. "Zian, call Dr. Atamosa."
The man nodded and pulled out his phone, talking quietly. Matapos ang ilang minuto ay ibinaba niya rin ito. "He's on his way, Mr. President."
"Good." The man shoved his hands on his pocket. I could hear the faint breathing of the young man bleeding on the bed. The woman named Dr. Acosta removed her white lab coat. Pinunit niya ang manggas nito at itinali sa sugat ng lalaki sa paa upang patigilin ang labis na pagdurugo.
"Just behave accordingly, Dr. Acosta and you will get out of here alive..."
The woman clenched her jaw but did not answered. Mayamaya pa ay nakarinig ako ng busina ng kotse. Kaagad akong nagtago at naghintay ng ilang minuto sa likod ng mansion bago ako sumilip muli sa bintana.
A man in a white lab coat together with a nurse entered the room. May isa ding nakasunod sa kanila na may tulak tulak na tray. The metal components clinked against each other.
A moment later, isang lalaki ang nagpasok ng bypass machine sa loob ng kwarto. Dr. Acosta looked stressed out. Tiningnan niya ang dalawang kararating na tao sa loob.
"If we don't start the surgery now, he's going to bleed to death." Wika niya.
The guy whom I assumed is Dr. Atamosa nodded his head. "Let's start." Both of them were quick to inject the dextrose into the young boy's left arm. His lips are pale. The color from his face is draining as well. But even from afar, I can tell that he's a fine-looking young man.
Bumilis ang pintig ng puso ko. I shouldn't be here. Dapat ay umalis na ako bago pa man ako mahuli ng mga tauhan ni Sir Monterio. God knows what they're going to do to me once they found out that I'm peeking during a mysterious boy's surgery.
Hinugasan ni Dr. Acosta ang kanyang kamay. She slipped her hands into a pair of gloves and placed a surgical mask. May isinuot din siyang transparent na salamin. She wrapped her hair in a bun and put on a skullcap hat. She surrender both of her hands in the air as she neared the boy.
Nagtanguan sila ng anesthesiologist. "I'll begin the anesthesia. Two millimeters of Atracurium will be injected." May itinusok siya sa lalaki at pagkatapos ng ilang sandali ay binalingan niya si Dr. Acosta. "You may begin."
The woman stared at him before she turned to the scrub nurse. "Scalpel." She said. Iniabot ng nurse sa kanya ang isang matulis na bagay na gawa sa metal. She ripped the shirt of the young man opened. And not just his shirt, but his chest as well.
Nanlaki ang mga mata ko.
"Zian." The man nodded at him. The man called Zian pulled out a gun and pointed it directly to Dr. Acosta's head. Nanlaki ang kanyang mga mata.
"There is no room for mistake, Dr. Acosta." Ang wika niya.
The woman look terrified. Nanginginig ang kanyang kamay na iniabot ang needle holder mula sa scrub nurse.
Despite her nervousness, her eyes remained sharp. Tahimik niyang isinagawa ang operasyon nang hindi nagkakamali. Ang kaniyang mata'y pasulyap-sulyap sa monitor upang siguruhing maayos pa ang lagay ng pasyente.
Umangat ang gilid ng labi ni Sir Monterio. "Well, you picked a fine surgeon, Zian."
Dr. Acosta worked gracefully, as if the scalpel and needle holder is an extension of her hand. The anesthesiologist made sure that the blood pressure of the patient does not drop. Both of them are exchanging short conversation of medical terms once in a while. They seemed very focused on saving the young man.
"The heart stopped from beating!" the anesthesiologist was on the verge of panic. May pinindot siya sa bypass machine. "Doctor—"
"Be quiet." Dr. Acosta glared at him. Ikinasa ni Zian ang baril. "I'm going to cut two holes to ease the pressure in the lungs of the patient."
"Are you going to perform thoracatomy?"
The woman nodded. "We can still save him."
Tumango ang lalaki at ibinaling ang tingin kay Dr. Acosta. Nakatutok pa rin sa kanya ang baril. "You need to save my son, Dr. Acosta or you're all gonna die here." Ibinaling nito ang tingin sa lalaking nakatutok ang baril sa babaeng doctor. "And that includes you, Zian."
Tumango ang lalaki. "Yes, Sir."
Nagsimula nang manginig ang mga tuhod ko. I quickly got up and stepped away quietly. Hindi pa rin ako makapaniwala sa nakita ko. Mabilis akong naglakad papalayo, abot-abot ang tahip ng puso ko. I still can't believe what I had just witnessed!
Hindi pa man ako nakakalayo sa mansion ng mga Monterio ay may marahas na humigit sa braso ko. I was about to scream but the man quickly clamped my mouth shut with his hands. Terrified and trembling, I turned to look at him.
It was the man called Zian.
"What are you doing here?" galit niyang tanong sa akin. Unti-unti niyang ibinaba ang kamay mula sa bibig ko.
"W-Wala po... Inutusan lang po ako ng nanay ko..." my voice started shaking.
The man cursed under his breath. Wala na siyang hawak na baril. Maybe the surgery is already done? Hindi ko alam. Bakit siya umalis? Did I made some noise when I got up?
"Go, before anyone finds you here." His jaw clenched.
I looked at him gratefully before I ran deep into the forest. Dalawang beses pa akong nadapa dahil sa panginginig ng mga tuhod ko. If there was a gunshot, I'm going to hear it even this far from the mansion already. Pero wala. Sana ay ayos lang ang doctor. Sana ay naligtas nila ang lalaki...
"Mallory!" napaigtad ako nang marinig ang boses ni Mama. She glared at me. Hinigit niya din ang braso ko. "Saan ka ba galing bata ka? Papunta na ako para sunduin ka sa bayan!"
"M-Mama..." nangilid ang mga luha ko.
Her lips went into a thin line. "Huwag mong sabihing..."
"Mama, may mga baril po sila!" I said helplessly. "They were operating on a young man. It was Sir Monterio's son!"
My mother cupped both of my shoulders. She looked straight into my eyes. "Mallory, hindi ka dapat nagpunta doon!" may diin niyang wika sa akin. "Promise me you won't ever go back to the mansion of the Monterios. You'll only get yourself killed."
The tears streamed down my face. "The boy... he was dying..."
"Forget about what you saw and never take a step in the Monterio's property anymore." she said with finality. Then she sighed and hastily wiped the tears on my cheeks. "Now, stop crying. Hindi matutuwa ang Papa mo kapag nakita ka niyang umiiyak."
I wanted to correct her and say that my real father is buried six feet underground. My stepfather is as cruel as any of the stepfathers you'll ever read in fairytales. More often than not, I always find him beating my mother. Paulit-ulit ko nang kinumbinse si Mama na hiwalayan siya pero nagbingi-bingihan siya sa mga pagsusumamo ko.
Pinilit kong pakalmahin ang sarili ko. Sabay kaming naglakad ni Mama pabalik ng bahay. My stepfather snorted when he saw me and made sardonic remarks. We both ignored him and went straight into the kitchen to prepare our meals.
Habang naghihiwa ako ng sibuyas ay hindi pa rin maalis sa isipan ko ang nakita ko kanina. In my entire life, this is the first time I saw a real gun and a woman opening the chest of someone. I saw a dying young man.
Monterio's family owns almost half of the land in our remote village. The family is indeed very rich. Ang alam ko ay may kompanya sila sa Makati. But the Monterios never visited their mansion until now. Usap-usapan ang biglaang pagdating ng mga Monterio sa kanilang mansion at mas lalo na ang unang pagpapakita ni Sebastian Monterio.
Pagkatapos kong kumain ay pinaghugas ako ng pinggan. Right after washing, pumuslit ako sa likod ng bahay namin at mabilis na nagtungo sa dagat. It's just half kilometer away from our house.
Malayo pa lang ay naaamoy ko na ang tubig-alat. I dug my toes into the sand, trying to forget what I saw earlier but I just can't. I glanced on my left side in a cliff where the Monterio's mansion erected proudly.
Did he survived the operation? Kamusta na siya?
Gustong-gusto kong bumalik kanina pero naalala ko ang sinabi ng lalaki kaninang nagngangalang Zian at ang sinabi ni Mama. Nanatili akong nakaupo sa buhangin at nakatanaw sa malaking mansion nila.
Even from afar, their retro-styled mansion is indeed a beauty to behold. It is one of the picturesque views here in our village. Kaya naman noong bakasyon ay naglakas loob ang mga kaibigan ko na pasukin ang mansion dahil wala namang nakatira bukod sa dalawang bantay.
They said that the mansion is beautiful inside and out, but it was lonely. Sobrang tahimik. The luxury furniture and items were left in vain. Walang nag-aalaga sa kanila.
I swallowed and rocked back and forth in the sand, thinking of the young man I saw earlier again. Why can't they bring him to a hospital? Kahit na maliit ang hospital namin dito ay mayroon namang gamit. And why did they kidnap the female doctor?
For once, my peaceful life in this village was thoroughly disturbed upon the arrival of a mysterious boy. The young Monterio.