Chapter 6 – The Burnt Insignia

Bago pa man mapatay ni Justin ang makina, nakalabas na ako ng sasakyan. I was fuming!

Why on earth didn’t they tell me that the evil brother of mine was also working on that goddamn case?! Why?!

Justin came out of his car and faced me. His handsome face was blank and I couldn’t read any expression on it. Or was I just so upset?

“Huminahon ka nga!” Utos nya sa akin.

“Sino bang hihinahon sa napaka-awkward kong sitwasyon? Oh, please!”

“We don’t know yet kung ano ang role rito ng Dominic na ‘yon kaya ‘wag ka ngang aburido diyan. Ilalaglag mo tayo, eh!”

Marahas akong bumuntong-hininga. Of course, it was possible that they would seek the help of Dominic in that case. It was a homicide and he was an excellent police detective!

“What would I do now? Should I hide every time I see him? At tsaka you just said that you already met him. Then he probably knew you already. What will be your excuse if you meet this time? Tell him that you decided to change careers? That you decided it’s better to be a college professor?” Hindi ko talaga mapigilan ang mag-alala. Paano pa ako makakagagalaw ng maayos niyan? Alam kong magtatagpo at magtatagpo kami ng kapatid ko.

“I’ll tell him that he has a noisy, annoying and stupid little sister. Really, they made you the top second? Should I be happy now upon knowing that they made the wrong choice?”

I gritted my teeth because of what he said. So he would take it against me? Awesome. Annoyingly awesome.

“If you are that good like the old men are bragging and like what I believed, you should know by now how to deal with this type of situation. Hanapin mo nga ang logical reasoning mo nang hindi ka parang aligagang pusa diyan,” sabi nito at iniwan na akong mag-isa.

“Maraming salamat sa advice, Kuya, ha! Proud talaga ako maging kapatid mo!” Sarkastiko kong pahabol. Wala akong pakialam kahit pagtinginan ako ng mga estudyante dahil sa ginawa ko. Nakakabwisit lang kasi dahil tama naman ang mga sinabi niya. Hindi iyon ang oras para mabahala.

Sumunod na akong pumasok sa college building. District Five enrolled me in AB Communication which was favourable for me since I graduated AB Development Communication. My documents for my ‘transfer’ were already settled. Ang pagpasok na lang at pagpapanggap ang kailangan namin. Syempre pati na rin ang pag-iimbestiga sa kaso.

Someone bumped the female student walking ahead me. Tumilapon ang mga dala nitong papel, pero hindi man lang huminto ‘yung lalaking nakabunggo rito. Ang sama ng ugali!

Tinulungan ko ‘yung estudyante sa pagsamsam ng mga nahulog niyang papel.

“Thank you,” sabi nito ng iniabot ko ang mga papel.

“You’re welcome,” nakangiti kong tugon. Syempre, I had to act as a nice, polite transfer student. “Uhm, magtatanong lang din sana ako kung saan ang room 304?”

“Ah, nasa third floor. Liko ka sa kaliwa tas nasa dulo ‘yun ng hallway sa kaliwang side,” sagot nito sa tanong ko. “First year ka ba?”

Pilit naman akong tumawa. Pagkamalan ba naman akong first year. “Ay, hindi. Transferee ako.”

“Ay, sorry.” Tumawa rin siya sa pagkakamali niya. “Buti pa samahan na lang kita. Paakyat din naman ako sa fourth floor.”

“Sige.” Magkasabay kaming pumanhik ng hagdan.

“Ano nga palang pangalan mo?” tanong nito.

“Anicka Meneses,” pagpapakilala ko. Apelido lang ang binago sa amin. Hindi namin kinailangan baguhin ang hitsura namin sa kasong ito. Ugali, pakikisama at apelido lang talaga. ‘Normal self’ nga, ‘di ba?

“I’m Salve Cruz,” pagpapakilala naman niya.

Save the cross. Nice name.

We reached the third floor. Salve was talking about her position in the college student council, but I was barely listening. I was busy assessing the building and the people we met at the hallway. So far, I hadn’t found someone suspicious except for the man leaning on the wall beside the door to Room 304.

He smiled sweetly at me. Ginantihan ko rin iyon ng matamis, pero plastic na ngiti.

Mahinang siniko ako ni Salve at bumulong, “Boyfriend mo?”

Hala! Nagba-blush ang bruha!

Bago pa ako makasagot, nakalapit na sa amin si Apollo. Bahagya niya akong hinapit sa bewang at hinalikan sa bumbunan. Alam kong nagdiriwang ang kalooban ng loko.

Narinig ko naman ang tiling pinilit itago ni Salve. Grabe lang. Kilig na kilig siya.

“Ang bilis mo naman magkaroon ng kaibigan,” sabi ni Apollo. Inilagay ko rin ang kamay ko sa likod ng bewang nya. Pinipigilan ko lang ang sarili ko na kurutin ito ng pino.

“Ako pa,” sabi ko naman. “Siya nga pala si Salve. I met her in the ground floor.”

“Hello,” kinikilig na nakipagkamay si Salve kay Apollo.

“Hi, I’m Apollo. Boyfriend ni Nickie.”

Nickie?!

Tila naman ayaw pakawalan ni Salve ang kamay ng mokong.

“You are worthy of your name, you know,” komento nito at binitiwan na ang kamay ni Apollo. “So, asan ‘yung ibang ‘gods and goddesses’?”

Hindi ko napigilang mapangiti. It was almost the same question that I asked him the first time we met.

Mahinang tawa ang isinagot ng partner ko. “I asked them to stay in Olympus and write my destiny here,” he said and winked at me. The same answer he gave me then.

At ang sagot ko noon? That’s no need. You have only one end here: either Live or Die.

I stared at him. Remembering that now, all the dangers we faced together came back in my memory at once.

“Uy, sige mauna na muna ako sa inyo, ha.” Paalam ni Salve na nakapagpabalik sa akin sa kasalukuyan. Inalis ko ang tingin ko kay Apollo at nilingon si Salve.

“Sige. See you when we see you,” paalam ko naman sa kanya.

Iniwan na kami nito at pumanhik sa hagdang katabi ng room 304.

Iginiya naman ako ni Apollo papasok ng classroom. Pinagtitinginan kami ng mangilan-ngilan na estudyanteng naroon. Aware naman akong gwapo talaga ang partner ko kaya sanay na akong nakakakuha kami ng atensyon dahil sa kanya. ‘Yun nga lang nakakasira ng diskarte ang laging pinagtitinginan. Hindi ako makapag-assess ng lugar ng maayos!

“If you are feeling something towards me already, don’t be afraid to tell me,” bulong sa akin ng kasama ko bago niya ako binitawan.

Umupo ako sa bakanteng upuan sa pinaka-likuran sa tabi ng bintana. Naupo naman si Apollo sa bakanteng upuan sa kanan ko. It was a wise tactic to sit at the very corner of the room where you could easily see the whole room and the door. That way, you could assess your environment without difficulty and easily sense danger and find possible exits.

I ignored his last statement and sat in peace. Inilibot ko ang tingin sa paligid at isa-isang kinilatis ang mga estudyanteng naroroon. They were just ordinary students.

Then unexpectedly, I fell in a trance. Matagal-tagal na rin mula ng huling mangyari iyon sa akin. However, that time, it was involuntary. It was so unexpected.

Hindi naman malayo ang inabot ng paglalakbay ng utak ko. It just went in the hallway outside the room.

I scanned the hallway. Iba na ang mga estudyanteng naroroon and among them, one person stood out. He had black hair as dark as the starless night. Kasing-tangkad niya si Justin sa taas na 6’2. He also had fair skin, firm square jaw line, matangos na ilong at itim na itim na mga mata. The guy was handsome in some dark way. Yeah, something’s dark about him. I couldn’t read people’s aura like other psychics, but like I said, I had a keen sense.

Nakasuot siya ng school uniform, pero may hinuha akong tulad namin, hindi siya estudyante roon.

I saw him enter the room we were in. As he walked towards an empty chair in front of me, I realized I was not seeing him through my mind anymore.

“Another deep thought?” bulong sa akin ni Apollo. Ngayon ko lang napansin na nakakapit ako sa kaliwang kamay niya. Nasa mukha niya ang pag-aalala. Alam niya ang nangyari sa akin.

Hindi ko siya sinagot sa halip, ibinaling ko ang pansin ko sa lalaking bagong dating. Naagaw ang pansin ko ng peklat sa may bandang ibaba ng batok niya na bahagyang natatakpan ng kwelyo ng polo niya. Hindi lang basta-basta peklat iyon. Para itong sinadyang i-tatak doon.

Lumingon ang lalaki sa amin. Nagsalubong ang kilay ko. Siya ‘yung walang ugaling lalaki na bumunggo kay Salve.

“May problema ba?” tanong nito sa amin.

Si Apollo ang sumagot. “Ah, wala. Wala.”

Binigyan ako ng lalaki ng makahulugang tingin bago muling tumalikod. I saw the scar again and realized it was the same burnt insignia I saw on the dead agent’s left foot.

Enclosed inside a circle, it was the symbol for Silver according to alchemysts and ancient astrologers, it’s the symbol of the night, the symbol of me—the Crescent Moon.