Chapter 26
Pinapasok kami ng terorista sa loob ng sasakyan na kanina pa sumusunod sa aming dalawa. I peered at Wilbert's face, disenchanted, frightened and paled.
When he glanced at my side, he had a different smile like he was thinking of escaping this trap, but his worried eyes are also shedding tears. They cuffed both of our hands then eventually covered our eyes with a piece of cloth.
"Nasaan ang Fontabella?" one man asked after we finally sat inside the van, he's the leader for sure. Napaisip ako at isang Fontabella lang ang pumasok sa aking isip.
Luke.
Pero bakit?
"Hindi kami 'yon!" sigaw ni Wilbert. Naramdaman kong gusto niyang kumawala sa tabi ko habang sinusubukang kalagan ang sarili sa posas.
I felt someone else's callously hand caressing my cheeks.
"Boyfriend mo 'yon, 'di ba?" Bigla akong sinampal ng kamay na humahaplos sa akin, dahilan upang mapangiwi ako at sumirit ang hapdi sa aking pisngi.
Sinigawan ni Wilbert 'yong lalaki Wilbert ngunit hindi siya pinakinggan nito.
"Sumagot ka kung ayaw mong mabira!"
Marahas akong umiling. "Hindi ko alam at wala ng kami!"
Nakatanggap na naman ako ng isang malutong na sampal mula sa lalaking 'yon kaya napagawi ang katawan ko sa dibdib ni Wilbert at nagpasigaw sa sakit.
"Hindi ka ba marunong makinig? Wala na ngang sila. Kami na, nakakaintindi ka ba?!" pagalit na ani Wilbert. I can hear his chest panting and drumming. Ang mabibigat niyang paghinga ay ang tangi kong naririnig bago umandar ang sasakyan.
Naramdaman ko ang mabigat na katawan ng lalaki ang tumabi sa akin kaya mas lalo akong sumiksik kay Wilbert. Masakit man ang mukha at katawan ko ay napilitan pa rin akong umayos ng upo dahil kung hindi ay maiipit at madadaganan ako.
Pero kung kami nga ni Luke ang hinahabol nila at ako ang hanap nila dahil sa pagkakatanda nila ay kasama ko si Luke, ano naman kaya ang pakay nila kay Luke?
Me and Wilbert's heavy breathing eventually subside after a few minutes. Kumalma na rin ang buong pagkatao ko, pero ang takot na baka kung ano ang gawin nila sa amin ay hindi mawala.
Kung si Luke ang hanap nila ay puwede kong ituro si Luke kung nasaan siya.
Umiling ako.
Hindi ako gano'ng klase ng tao para ipahamak siya. Alam kong iyon lang din ang tanging paraan para pakawalan nila kami, ang kapalit naman noon ay ang kapahamakan ni Luke kapag nagkataon.
But, maybe, if they want us dead, they should have killed us earlier or before pa noong hinahabol nila kami, but they didn't. They want Luke to be alive and pointing where he is now wouldn't be much of a problem. Magsusumbong na lang kami sa pulis kung gano'n.
"I'm going to point out where you can find Luke Fontabella."
xxx
"Why did you even did that?!!" sigaw ni Wilbert mula sa likod ko. It's been like 10 minutes since those men left us on the side of the road in this deserted area.
"Tristan!" sigaw niya.
Umirap ako at hindi na nag-aksaya pa ng pagkakataong lingunin siya. This is not going anywhere at magtatalo lang kami. I tried and tried to explain to him that his friend Luke will be fine but it just seems like he's not believing any of my words!
Napaka stupid.
"Wilbert, if they want us dead, sigurado akong dapat pinatay na nila tayo kanina," kalmado kong paliwanag.
"Tristan, you don't understand." Hinila niya ang kamay ko at napaharap ako sa mukha niyang problemado. "How selfish can you be to sacrifice my friend's life, huh?!" Nanggagalit niyang sigaw.
I can feel his rage and the lividness within those almond eyes. It's like piercing my soul beneath my eyes and I can't seem to keep up with the intensity of feelings his eyes are radiating. Eventually, I looked away.
"You see?!!" he laughed hysterically. "We could have made our own way to free ourselves rather than putting Luke's life in harm."
He brushed up his hair frustratedly and looked away.
"Sa tingin mo, Wilbert, hindi ko pinag-isipan 'yon?" ani ko sa kaniya nang matahimik siya. I released a heavy breath after. "We can tell the police that someone's hunting for Luke!"
Umirap ako at tinanggal ang kamay niya sa braso ko. "Sa tingin mo rin if I didn't do that, makakaalis ba tayo ng buhay do'n? You're just trying to make it worse. E'di sana kung ayaw mong malaya ka ngayon kasama ko, sana Umama ka sa kanila."
Nagmartsa ako papaalis saka nauna nang maglakad. I need to get out of here as soon as possible. I can't risk Luke's life even though he's being an asshole to me.
"Let's just get out of here and go to the nearest police station."
For the whole time na naglalakad kami ay nakasunod lang si Wilbert sa akin. He didn't even dare to talk to me and just stayed behind my back.
It took us almost an hour of endless walking dahil sobrang layo ng town proper sa kung saan kami ibinaba. Kung sa mismong maisan kami iniwan, baka gumagapang na lang kami ngayon.
Lumapit ako sa front desk ng police station at kinausap ang mga pulis. They had that look on their faces na hindi sila naniniwala sa sinabi ko.
"Kapag may nangyaring masama kay Senyorito Luke, malalagot ang lahat ng nasa bayan na ito," pananakot ko sa mga pulis na siya namang totoo.
"Sa tingin mo, nasaan na kaya sila ngayon?" tanong ng Chief sa akin. Nagkibit-balikat ako.
"Sa firm lang 'yong isang lugar na tinuro ko, wala ng iba," I replied. Wilbert who is quietly sitting on a monoblock has a blank expression written on his face. Hindi pa rin niya nage-gets ang ang nais kong iparating.
"You told those criminals that Senyorito can be found in the firm?" Chief's voice that made me roll my eyes. I assume na galit din siya sa sinabi ko kagaya ni Wilbert.
"You just put him in a worse scenario! How could you not think that through!!" sigaw niya at hinimas ang kaniyang noo. Halos manliit ako sa kinatatayuan ko dahil sa dagundong ng boses niya sa kaniyang pagsigaw. Naiintindihan ko naman ang masamang kalalabasan ng ginawa ko kapag may nangyari kay Luke na masama, but puwede bang makinig muna sila sa akin?!
"You clearly didn't get what I was saying!" I yelled back, rolling my eyes after. "Luke is not in danger. I know he's safe and I can feel that he will be safe."
Nilingon ko si Wilbert at itinuro siya. "Do you think makakausap mo ako nang hindi kami nakakatakas sa mga hayop na 'yon?! Do you think someone would know that we were kidnapped and ask for your help?!! WALA, BOBO KA BA!"
"How could you be so certain about your feeling that nothing happened to Senyorito Fontabella?" Chief yelled once more.
I was about to open my mouth to speak when Wilbert stood in front of me then hugged me tightly. He hushed me and covered my lips that restricted me from talking. But because of the anger i was feeling, tinanggal ko ang kamay niya sa aking labi. Akmang magsasalita ako nang titigan niya ako sa aking mata.
"This is not the Tristan I know."
...
...
...
T-that... silenced me.
It was like a gun fired down to my heart and its bullet ricocheted inside.
Nakabitaw na siya sa akin pero hindi pa rin ako makapagsalita.
How could he do this to me...
"Find Luke."
Tumango ang mga pulis at saka ito nagsimulang maglabasan ng station. Nang ang Chief Police and huling lalabas ay saka pa lang ako nagkaroon ng lakas ng loob na magsalita.
"Make sure he's safe..."
I can feel Wilbert's rage inside the car, but I know he cares for me and for Luke as well. Maybe he is just worried and afraid of what might happen or what already has happened, but that was the least thing I could think of.
There was no other way to scape those guys. Maybe someday maintindihan niya rin kung para saan ang ginawa ko.
He dropped me off in front of our house, didn't kiss me goodbye, left me so abruptly. I sighed in despair and walked towards the front door.
"Ma!" unang tawag ko nang makapasok sa pintuan. Nagkunot ang noo ko nang walang sumagot sa tawag ko. Bukas ang ilaw at hapon na rin pero mukhang walang tao sa bahay.
"Lola!!' Lumabas ako ng bakuran upang tignan kung narito ba sila. Sa dismaya ko ay wala ring tao.
Bumalik ako sa loob at nag check ng kaldero kung may pagkain na ngunit wala pang sinaing at ulam. What I did was cook the rice, clean the dishes on the sink then sweep the floor.
The incident that happened earlier or these days were too much. Sobra-sobra lang and there are no specific reason for me to think of kung ano ba ang dahilan ng lahat ng ito.
Maybe Wilbert is right...
I'm no longer the person he knows, but, duh, I don't think I changed way too much. I think I changed for the better pa nga eh.
I'm not that bratty, mean, asshole person anymore. It's just my principles in life that makes me of who I am. I believe some things in life that people may or may not agree with, and there are things I know I should and shouldn't be doing.
These are the things that make me for what I am, and I'm not defined by anyone's opinion of me. I can easily outweigh their judgement of me if I have no time to listen to their bullshits.
Perhaps, Wilbert is right about putting Luke's life in danger earlier and now I feel bad about it. Pero I have this feeling that he is safe and I can feel it.
"-pagluwas niyo, I'll take care of manang then Tristan will be under my vision." Tito Fed's voice. Nagising ang diwa ko mula sa boses na iyon.
When my mind is finally back at it's normal state, I found myself staring at an open window. I didn't flinch, I didn't even move when Papa went to touch my hair.
Due to his heavy sigh, I bet he already knew what happened, they know what happened. He hugged me from my back and gently caressed my back.
"Ligtas ka rito, anak." Dinaluhan naman kami nila Tito, Tita, at Mama para bumuo ng isang mahigpit na yakap.
"I got a call from Wilbert while we were on our way back... I'm so sorry about that." Tita's comforting words.
All through the night I stayed awake. Kahit na saan ako bumaling sa kama at kahit na ano ang gawin ko ay hindi ako makatulog. Something is bothering me and I can't help it.
Keeping my eyes closed and staying calm no longer helps me. Napagdesisyonan kong tumayo at tunguhin ang bintana ng bahay.
Not until I saw a familiar figure sitting in our front yard.
What is he doing here in the middle of the night?
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