Chapter 2
Patungo na kami ngayon sa Headmaster's Office, kasama ko si Aerie. As for Rexter, madami daw itong kailangang asikasuhin kaya absent ito ngayon.
Pag-gising ko ay agad akong binigyan ng damit na pang bihis ni Aerie.
"Kailangan mong ma-meet ang Head master," aniya.
Required daw akong i-assess ng Head Master.
"Anong meaning mo sa i-assess?" tanong ko sa kaniya.
"Assess, determine or judge kung may value ka ba o wala," sagot niya.
"Hindi ko pinapa-define sa 'yo!"
"And excuse me! Mataas ang value ng mukha ko 'no! che!" Tumawa lang kami pareho.
From their infirmary ay may kalayuan na rin kami ng nilakad, mga 1 kilometer na ata. At medyo nananakit na ang mga paa ko.
"Malayo pa baaaa?"
Hindi siya sumagot, pero huminto siya ng lakad.
Akala ko ay nakarating na kami sa office, pero hindi pa pala.
"Sampa ka sa likod ko," aniya at nag-gesture ng piggy backride.
"Mabigat ako hoy!"
"Sakay naaa, para makarating na agad tayo!" I obliged.
Nang maka-sampa ako sa likod niya ay nakaramdam ako ng hangin na pumapalibot sa amin. At sa mga susunod na pangyayari ay tangin tili ko na lang ang maririnig niyo dahil sa sobrang bilis ng pangyayari.
Para bang inilagay kami sa kanyon at bigla na lang bumulusok sa bilis, ang pinagka-iba lang ay hindi diretso ang pagbulusok namin, lumiliko-liko pa sa mga kanto si Aerie na lalong nagpapalakas ng tili ko.
Makalipas ang ilang segundo ay bumagal na ang takbo o lipad? namin. Hanggang sa huminto na kami sa tapat ng isang building na naaalala ko ay nadaanan na naming kanina.
Pero dahil sa hindi pa rin ako maka-move on sa ginawa ni Aerie ay hindi na ako nakapag-salita pa upang mag-reklamo.
Binuksan niya ang pinto at hinila ako papasok.
I looked around the office, and from my point of view isa lang itong normal na office. Bookshelves left and right walls, sa harap ng pinto is yung table and behind ay isang napakalaking bintana. Of course yung taas ng shelves ay different awards, pero hindi ko alam kung para saan.
Nakita ko na ang Headmaster upon looking around, gusto ko lang talaga ipaliwanag or i-explain kung ano mga nakikita ko.
The Headmaster is a woman, around 40's? no mid 30's ata. Black hair na abot hanggang pwet, it's not that much kasi maliit naman siya. Pero maganda siya though, maliit nga lang,
"Pwede bang wag mo na ipagkalandakan na maliit ako?"
Napatakip ako ng bibig ko sa sinabi ng Headmaster. D-did I just say everything out loud? My God Eis!
"No dear! I can read your mind," sabi niya sabay ngiti.
"S-sorry po!" I apologized while bowing my head.
"Enough of that!" then she signaled me to take a seat.
"And you, Ms. Aerie you may take your leave."
Nagpaalam si Aerie sa akin at lumabas na, leaving the Headmaster and me alone in her office.
"So I've heard what happened to you," bungad niya na agad kong ikina-pressure.
"Yes po. And I think it was an accident. Sorry."
"There are no accidents dear."
She told me that it was fated to happen, pero lols!
"You see, only us, the ones with magic can either enter and leave through that portal you entered."
I tried to talk her out, like baka nagka-error lang nung nag-chant si Aerie nung spell for the portal or kaya lang ako nakapasok dahil kasama ko si Rexter and Aerie na parehong inhabitant sa mundong 'to.
And yes, tinanggap ko na na hindi talaga normal ang mga pangyayari at nasa ibang mundo ako. There are just many possibilities and wonders in the universe, and this is one of them.
"And those theories of yours are impossible to happen."
"Madami nang mga tao sa mundong iyon ang aksidenteng nakapasok, nahulog or hinigop ng portal," she said. "And where are they now?"
"Even I don't know."
"It's either they are trapped sa warp ng portal or they just vanished in thin air."
"So being accidentally teleported here is impossible. Proven and tested na siya," sabi pa niya,
"Pero kung inhabitant din ako ng mundong ito, how come I grew up in Earth?" I asked.
"There are two possibilities, either you accidentally wandered around the portal and got teleported or you were teleported intentionally," sagot niya. "Do you remember anything or something like that?"
Umiling ako, "I don't remember my childhood."
"That answers it then!"
"Come closer, let me try to recover that memories of yours." I obliged.
Hinawakan niya ang ulo ko at pumikit. I felt something warm coming out from her palms, it was soothing na napapikit ako in an instant.
Then I found myself in a dark familiar street. Street to malapit sa amin!
From afar nakita ko ang dalawang tao na naglalakad, they seem to be a couple.
I tried to move, but I couldn't move my body.
"Honey look!" I heard a woman's voice.
I tried my best to see her face, and successfully did it. She was the younger version of my mom, and behind her is the younger version of my dad. Pero may iba pa akong presence na nararamdaman. But I shook that feeling off, I'm just happy to see my mom again.
Alam ko na kung ano ang nangyayari, the Headmaster is trying to recover my memories.
My mom came closer and touched my shoulder and bigla na lang nawala yung scene.
When I opened my eyes ay ang unang kong nakita ay ang chandelier sa Headmaster's office. I can still feel her hands on my head, pero nung tiningnan ko ay nakahiga na siya sa lapag. Mukhang nag pass out siya.
I tried to sit slowly pero yung katawan ko ay parang pagod na pagod. Is this the side effect ng pagbalik o pag-visit ko sa memories ko?
Nung naka-upo na ako successfully ay sinubukan kong hilahin ang Headmaster papunta sa tabi ko pero masyado siyang mabigat, despite of her height.
But then after thinking of that ay dumilat ang kaniyang mga mata. "Really, Ms. Mendez? Really? Mabigat despite of my height?"
"You're awake!"
Tumayo siya at umupo sa tabi ko, "I can't get anything from your memories, the only thing I saw ay noong nasa Earth ka na. When your adoptive parents found you."
I wanted to say that I saw it too, pero I didn't. She seemed puzzled enough para dagdagan ko pa. So hahayaan ko na lang muna. I'll ask her in a different time.
"It's weird," aniya. And I think so too.
Paliwanag niya ay parang may nagba-block daw sa ability niya na mag-search ng past. And it was weird enough dahil first time daw mangyari ng ganito.
"But one thing is for sure," aniya, "You're one of us."
What made her so sure about me being one of them ay ang blockage sa ability na makita ang past ko kung saan further past pa bago ako makita at ampunin nina Mom and Dad. Gawa daw iyon ng isa pang magic or what they call Charm. Pero wala pa daw record tungkol sa ganoong Charm which in kayang bumura ng memories or even block it.
Remember that her Charm is mind reading; she can read minds and thoughts and even swim inside a person's brain para makita ang past or even hidden thoughts. Pero she can't rewrite a person's mind nor add memories that never happened.
And that is what made her so sure.
"Pero let's set that aside muna, I'll try my best para makahanap ng paraan para malaman ang past mo."
"For now, let's focus on trying to discover what your Charm is," aniya.
"And for that, I think we will need a help of someone," aniya at pumunta sa desk niya.
She held a small crystal sphere and said something to it, na para bang may kausap. After a while ay bumalik siya sa tabi ko and told me to wait.
Makalipas ang ilang minute ay may kumatok sa pinto and pumasok. A woman about the Headmaster's age, pero hindi hamak na mas matangkad at mas payat.
Napa-aray ako dahil sa kurot sa tagiliran ko. "Mas maganda ka poooo!" I said.
It was the Headmaster na kumurot sa akin, I almost forgot na nababasa pala nito ang isip ko and I let my thoughts out.
Tumayo ang Headmaster at lumapit sa pumasok na babae.
"Ms. Eissel, this is Sybil an Oracle," pagpapakilala ng Headmaster sa babae.
She has the charm to see the future, pero hindi niya masasabi sa taong binasahan niya ng future and future nito fully. Ang magagawa niya lang ay magbigay ng few words regarding to what she saw, and after that ay makakalimutan niya na kung ano ang nakita niya.
Lumapit siya sa akin and did the same thing the Headmaster do to me.
She placed her hand on my head and the same sa naramdaman ko sa ginawa ng Headmaster kanina ay nakaramdam ako ng warmth na nanggagaling dito. Pero I didn't feel at ease. It gives a different vibe.
After ilang seconds ay tila nanigas si Sybil at nagsalita.
"Evanesce, Risky."
Bumagsak siya after niyang sabihin ang mga salitang iyon. And it didn't make any sense to me.
Binuhat naming siya patungong sofa at doon ay pinahiga.
Maging ang Headmaster ay hindi ma-interpret ang sinabi ng Oracle.
"I think you'll just have to find out your Charm on your own."
Sabi ng Headmaster sa akin ay iga-guide niya daw ako, and we will start training tomorrow. Hopefully daw ay ma-discover ko ito before the classes starts.
The only time I have?
Until next week.
The Headmaster let me stay in the school's infirmary for the mean time. Hindi niya pa kasi ako pu-pwedeng bigyan ng room sa mga dormitories dahil hindi pa naman daw akong enrolled.
If you're going to ask about the school nurse, ay wala pa ito doon. And yes, mag-isa akong nagse-stay doon sa infirmary. Am I scared? No. Hindi naman ako matatakuting tao kaya it's fine with me to stay there alone.
And by the way, remember when I said na nakita ko na yung building office ng Headmaster noong hinatid ako ni Aerie? It was because yung building na iyon ay katabi lang naman talaga ng building kung nasan ang infirmary. Aerie just wanted to show off her charm. Typical of her.
As for Rexter and Aerie have their own dorm rooms at hindi ako pwede na maki-gamit or maki-room sa kanila kasi nasa school rules yon.
What more is, "Sobraaaaang boooooring!!!"
Wala akong magawa dito sa infirmary! And I still have to stay here for a week. What I have here is only foods and drinks, ni TV wala. At yung cellphone ko ay nahulog ata sa portal at na-stuck sa warp.
Medyo ina-antok na ako pero hindi pa rin maalis sa isip ko yung sinabi ng Headmaster na I need to determine what my charm is before the school starts para ma-assess niya na ako at mabigyan ng proper welcome dito sa school.
Oh well! I guess hintayin ko na lang kung anong mga kakaibang ipapagawa sa akin ng Headmaster para lang malaman naming kung ano ang Charm ko.
My thoughts can still wait tomorrow. I'll sleep in the mean time.