"This honorable court of the Republic of the Philippines with the Honorable Judge Jean Clyde Perez is now in session. All rise."
I closed my eyes.
Ah, shit. Ito na.
"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Calling the case of the People of the Philippines versus the accused. Are you both ready?"
"Ready for the People, Your Honor," the prosecutor said.
I gulped.
"Ready for the defense, Your Honor," I said.
The judge looked at us. "Will the clerk please swear in the jury?"
The clerk stoop up.
"Will the jury please stand and raise your right hand?"
When everyone stood up, he cleared his throat.
"Do each of you swear that you will fairly try the case before this court, and that you will return a true verdict according to the evidence and the instructions of the court, so help you, God? Please say I do."
"I do," everyone of them said.
"You may be seated," the clerk then said.
"Prosecution, would you like to start the opening statement?"
"Yes, Your Honor," he said and stood in front.
"The evidence in this case will prove that on Sunday, July 26, the accused tried to poison my client out of insecurity so she would not be able to attend their university pageant. The accused and my client are known as rivals in their school be it academically or extra curricular. On July 24, Friday, while rehearsing for the pageant, the accused warned my client not to attend the pageant otherwise she'd dig her own grave. Not too long after, my client was food poisoned. There was no other suspect than the accused herself."
I can feel the crowd was looking at me now, murmuting on how would I be able to defend it.
My client with her full pack make up was sitting beside me, her legs were trembling.
"Defense?" the judge.
I stood up.
"First of all, Your Honor," I said and put my chin up. "Tama s'ya."
There was a loud murmuring. Even the prosecutor was caught off guard.
"Guilty po kami."
"GIRL!" my client exclaimed to me, close to crying.
"Hindi ba?" I asked her. "Buang, wala tayong ebidensya na inosente ka."
There were loud noises.
"Your Honor, wait ha," I said and turned to my client.
"I-depensa mo naman ako!" she said, crying.
"You admitted to me you did the crime, akala ko ba mag plea tayo ng guilty?!"
"Defense?"
"Wait, Your Honor, two minutes!" I said and turned to my client who's now crying. "Ano ba, ginawa mo ba talaga?"
"Hindi ko alam!" she said. "Lasing ako nun.."
I closed my eyes hardly.
"Sarap mo sabunutan!"
I then turned to the judge.
"Your Honor, hindi pa naman recorded 'yun ano? We've changed our mind, eh."
They laughed.
I forced a smile.
"Anyway," I said and stood in front. "My client was accused of food poisoning her known rival in school. However, the only evidence the prosecution has is a circumstantial evidence. There is no definite evidence that the accused did the crime. It would be unfair for her to be accussed of something that is not yet proven. And today, in this court, the prosecution must prove the accused is guilty otherwise, she is innocent."
I said and sat back.
Damn!
I saw people nodding understandingly. Ano kaya reaksyon ng mga 'to pag nalaman nilang freestyle lang 'yon?
"The prosecution may call its first witness," the judge said.
"The People of the Philippines call the victim's friend who heard the threat directly from the accused," the prosecutor.
The bailiff then took the witness to the witness stand.
"Please stand," the clerk said, "Raise your right hand. Do you promise that the testimony you shall give in the case before this court shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?"
"I do," the woman said.
"Please state your first and last name."
She stated them.
"You may be seated."
She then seated.
"Please spell your last name for the record," the reporter said and she did.
The prosecutor cleared his throat.
"May I know what's your relationship with the victim?"
"We are friends."
"We have different kind of friendships. How close are you?"
"Enough to know each other's dirty little secrets, I guess."
The crowd laughed.
"Can you describe the victim?"
"Sure. She's... always humble and best at whatever she does."
"What's the impact of it to people around her, then?"
"They are envious," she said. "Sometimes, insecure."
The prosecutor smiled, probably waiting to hear that word.
Why can I see Tyler in him, though? Both are evil snakes.
"Let's talk about the accused, then. Do you know her?"
"Of course," the witness said.
"What's her relation with the victim?"
"They are... like, rivals?"
"Rivals in what way?"
"In everything, actually. They are like black and white."
"Now let's talk about what happened last July 26. Can you still remember them?"
"Of course," the woman said.
"Can you tell us more about it?"
"Sure. It happened when they were rehearsing for the pageant. There was an online voting and the accused was leading for one week straight. Until the last night of online voting, the votes for my friend skyrocketed and she topped the voting. The accused was mad and she attacked my friend. She was so angry and she said if my friend won't stop cheating, she will kill her in all ways possible, even poisoning so she would die ugly."
I looked at my client. Ni-hindi ako maka-object dahil inamin niya iyon.
"You said the accused was so mad, right?"
"Yes."
"Mad enough to kill someone?"
"Yes."
"Objection!" I said and stood up. "Your Honor and ladies and gentlemen of the jury, under the law my client is presumed innocent until proven guilty. The prosecution must provide actual evidence than just statements."
"We will, Your Honor," the prosecution said and looked at me. "You wait and see."
"Edi wow," I uttered.
"Your Honor, that concludes it. That shows that the accused is capable of doing so. The prosecution rests."
"Defense, would you like to cross examine?"
"Yes, Your Honor," I said and stood in front.
"Did you actually see the accused putting poison on your friend's food?"
"No," the woman said. "I guess not."
I smiled.
"Don't believe what you just heard because lies spread faster than truth," I said. "Quote 'yan sa Facebook ng FB friend ko, Your Honor and that applies to it. No more questions. I rest my case."
"'Yun na 'yon?!" my client asked me soon as I went back.
"Of course, 'yun na 'yon," I said.
"Jurors, you will now retire to the jury room to deliberate. First pick one of you as the leader of your group. When you have reached a verdict, please let the Bailiff know. Bailiff, please take charge of the jury," the judge said.
"Yes, Your Honor."
There was a long pause of silence.
"Will the jury foreperson please stand? Has the jury reached a unanimous verdict?" the judge.
"Yes, Your Honor," the foreperson said. "The jury finds the defendant..."
I closed my eyes, afraid of what would I hear...
"GUILTY."
I opened my eyes, not suprised.
"The jury is thanked and excused. Court is adjourned."
The woman beside me started crying.
I rolled my eyes.
“Don’t cry,” I said. “Kasalanan mo naman 'yan. Magbabanta nalang kasi sa marami pang makakaranig. Sana ayos ka lang."
However, the girl just cried even harder.
“H-How m-many times d-do I have t-to tell na di ko nga alam if I did that?!” she frustratedly exclaimed, crying hard still and now covering her face with too much tears.
“You do not have evidence that you didn’t do it,” I said. “But they have the evidence that you did.”
“All they have was a cicumstantial evidence!” she exclaimed. “You’re my lawyer, so why don’t you just believe me?!”
“Girl,” I said. “In court, before everything starts, there is a preliminary trial wherein you will either plea guilty or not guilty. Ang sabi ko kasi sa 'yo mag-guilt nalang tayo so the judge will either give you a verdict with much lighter sentence, sometimes they might even just require you to do a community service and much better, sometimes, they drop the case.”
“What...are you trying to say?”
“What I’m trying to say is, kasalanan mo 'to lahat!”
“WHAT?!” she exclaimed. "YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?”
I nodded.
“YOU’RE A FREAK!” she shouted and in a flashed she was accompanied away.
Freak.
It echoed on my mind.
Familiar, though. That’s what my clients were all labelling me as.
It had been a year since I left our law firm at pumunta sa napakalayong lugar para magsimula uli. Just when I thought I can do better, I ended up being a nobody.
Would you believe that the once labelled as the queen of court trials became a laughing stock of her officemates because she haven't won a single case since she went here?
I sighed.
Yes.
THIS IS MY NEW NORMAL.
I stood up and was about to walk when my phone beeped. Nang tingnan ko, mga e-mails lang pala.
The most recent was from Courtney
The few hours ago was from Traise
And the days ago was from Tyler.
I shook my head.
Hindi ito ang unang beses. Ever since I left the office we built a year ago, Hindi na ako bumalik pa roon.
Nag-deactivate na rin ako ng social media accounts ko at nagbago ng cellphone number. After kong i-drop ang supposed clinical malpractice lawsuit kay Traise, umalis na ako at hindi na nagpakita. Lumayo ako at kasalukuyang nakatira sa napakalayong lugar.
Here, I built my new life and has been living here for over a year already. Nagtratrabaho ako bilang public defender ng siyudad at bilang isang professor ng isang university. Mga political science students mostly ang mga estudyante ko.
I opened the e-mails and all were just narrating their normal day, what happened in the law firm, how everyone was doing, and even sending photos of our office dog I truly missed.
They have been doing this for over a year and the most active was Courtney. I didn’t pursue the case I filed against Traise. I dropped it the same day I left, and I just disappeared without them knowing. I just disappeared without saying goodbye and they haven’t heard anything from me since then.
Sa totoo lang, nagagalit pa rin ako sa kanila dahil sa ginawa nila sa tatay ko. At nagagalit din ako sa sarili ko dahil alam kong ginawa lang nila ang tama. Ang gulo, ano?
Hindi pa rin kinakasal si Courtney at Traise. Sa e-mail na ipinadala nila sa 'kin, ang sabi nila, hindi raw sila magpapakasal hangga't hindi ako bumabalik at hindi kami kumpleto.
Bahala kayo tumanda d'yan.
Soon as I left the courtroom, I was about to put my earphones on but someone blocked my way.
As I looked up, I recognized who it was; it's Heinz.
Si Heinz ay isa ring public defender at magkalapit lang ng opisina namin. Hindi gaya ko na parating nasa korte, siya naman ay natutulog lang sa opisina niya pero binabayaran pa rin siya.
Not because he's lazy, but because in his sleep, he can predict who will going to die next.
He would draw or paint them soon as he woke up so he can know the details. Our head will forward it to authorities and the place will be guarded.
Since I went here, he had predicted over thirty deaths and only three from them were saved.
Of course, hindi lahat ay perpekto. He can predict the death but he didn't know when.
And of course, hindi ako naniniwala.
Sa mga palabas lang naman nangyayari 'yan. Hula ko nga, gumagawa lang 'yan ng kwento para matulog sa office.
Awit.
I tried to avoid his eyes but for the first time in the whole year, he met mine. Never pa kaming nag-usap at hindi naman kami ganoon ka-close.
I tried to keep going but then he uttered my name.
I looked back. There, I noticed, he was wearing a black hoodie and his usual round eyeglasses. Bagsak na bagsak rin ang itim n'yang buhok na tumatakip na halos sa mata n'ya.
"If pinapunta ka rito para alamin ang resulta, umuwi ka na. Talo ako."
I then kept walking.
"BLOCK 58 ZONE 3 DISTRICT 5," he vaguely said. "BUILDING 2 KAUNLARAN VILLAGE," he added.
WAIT.
THAT'S MY ADDRESS!
I looked back at him, confused and shocked.
But the next thing he said brought chills down my spine.
"SOMEONE'S GONNA DIE THERE."