At first, I thought it was easy to forget a friend like a brother to me, and it was easy on the brain but difficult when you are going to do it. He's the keeper of my secret and the world I should never take, but I did. I tried to find him, so I stumbled upon one of the Duchess’s members, but it was very vague. He left no traces for him that I could not even find him. He left me in the one thread of hope that someday I would see him and did my best to beat him in hacking. Maybe, when he knows, he’ll be proud of me, and he’ll show up to me suddenly like the way he’s gone.But it never happened.I blinked away the tears that would fall in my eyes. I miss my friends, and I miss him so much.“Maybe this isn’t the right time to tell you, Queenie. Yes, you are right, I am that nerd guy you never dare to look at,” he stated firmly, with a bad feeling, or maybe I just understood it differently.He's right; I know him as Theoren's college friend. But, the size of him changes, so maybe I didn’t
I went down to see who was ringing the doorbell to find out it was food delivery, and the delivery man told me Zech couldn't come home because of an urgent business meeting.I waited for him until ten at night, and I ended up eating alone when the clock struck 11, and he was not home. Maybe he wants to be alone, so perhaps he doesn’t want to face me first.When I couldn’t sleep, I decided to dive into the internet and read the news of Football captain Theoren Consenza. I browsed his picture on the internet to see if he had changed. The man had a clean-shaven face but his picture, I am seeing him he had a beard which pleased him well. Why didn't I find him? I am one of the lists of not a fan of those sports, but I never thought he would tell me that he would be the best football player in the future. Why didn’t I ever think of that? He achieved one of his life goals, but I was not there to be proud of him and support him.I watched myself watching his video interview clips, closing my
I woke up to the sound of my phone ringtone. With my eyes closed, I groped the phone on the nightstand, and when I touched the phone, I immediately answered the call without even looking at who it was.“Hello,” I tried to sound like I was not awakened from a deep slumber.“Miss Vara, I need your help,” a raspy and deep voice of a man in the line. My eyes widened, and I lifted up the phone from my ear to see who was calling.It's Miguel Karmi. Did he call me early this morning asking for help? What a miracle, and he called me. His voice was full of concern and trouble. Why is it?"Yeah, sure, what's that?" I answered, pressing back the phone in my ear.I got up from lying down, and I realized the time on my phone. 11:47 am? Did I see it right? I looked again and covered my mouth so I wouldn't scream in panic.I clicked the speaker on and went to my messages. There's an email from Mr. Javinas asking it's time. It's Pigeon time to hack the system. I sighed as I got out of bed, holding th
I looked up and stopped eating the soup. I lower the soap spoon I am holding. "Do you mean he brought the information of who did it?"Zech nodded, and hope seemed to fill my heart. "What time?""Exactly 2 pm," he replied."I'll be doing Karmi's favor at that time," I exclaimed. "But he can stay until five, right?"He nodded without even glancing at me. What is he doing on the phone, and there is his gaze focused? I forcefully dismiss what happened last night. I need to forget it."I won't follow any man to you, Vara, and if you went home safely, then Catherine won't be overlooking you anymore."I continued to eat. "That's good to know," I just said, and the silence and the awkwardness between us resounded again."Are you alright?" he broke the silence as I finished eating. I took the croissant and bit into it.“Yep,” I replied. "Are you?" I throw the question to him.He just nodded. "When you talk about last night, then, let's just forget it."I just nodded.“Don't you have anything t
I raised the handgun, pointing at him, and a wicked smile appeared on his countenance, and those eyes with no soul on them eyed me. “Vara Samonte...” he mumbled my name, hearing his graveyard voice, seeping a chill in my entire body. There's nothing he was holding, and his arm crossed. “You fool me once but not twice. But how smart are you, Vara, such a nice name in your fake identity. I thought you were the Duchess, but then, someone came to me and told me you were not her. I hated a liar,” he shook his head, and he tilted his head on the left side. “Upon knowing you and Zech, there is something wrong in here. What will he feel seeing your lifeless body covered in blood? How I enjoy seeing the light of him fade. Such a pretty face, perfect family, and perfect life have you ever thought about it?” I don’t know why he says those, but does it benefit him? “Killing me? I am not letting you do that to me, Deathwish. Don't you think you are ahead of me? I suppose you might be wrong. I
The snow fell gently, blanketing the ground as I trudged through it, a basket of lilacs clutched in my hand. Each step felt heavier than the last as I made my way to Theoren's grave.It had been a week since the tragic incident, and the headlines had finally brought some semblance of justice. It wasn't just an accident, as the truth had been revealed, bringing closure not only to my friends' deaths but also to Theoren's.Yet, despite the passage of time, I still couldn't wrap my head around how Maverick could have done such a thing. The CCTV footage I'd seen didn't seem to match up, but Zech had explained that the police hadn't shown the actual footage. Jackson wasn't the culprit behind my friends' deaths; he'd merely played a part in the events. Why, Zech hadn't disclosed. And Jackson wasn't deceased, as they'd made it seem. It was all a setup.As I approached the grave, the chill in the air seemed to seep into my bones despite my thick attire. It was my fifth visit, and the flowers
People in black attires filled the whole area as the dark clouds continued to shed. It’s expected that there will be rain. And of all the people here holding their own umbrellas, I’m the only one standing without one. My swollen eyes were fixed on the coffin going down into its grave.This was the last funeral I’ll be attending. The last day that I will see them in a coffin.It hurts so much to the point that it even breaks my heart. This month for me was a grieving one. The fact that the three special people in my life met the embrace of death. And without me, having the chance to do anything to save them was something I couldn't fathom. It’s an accident, but it’s hard for me to accept it.It’s not just an accident; instead, it was an incident, and someone killed them.I heaved a deep sigh and shivered due to the coldness of the rain. The rain got heavier as I cried harder, clutching the clothes in my chest, trying to ease the pain inside me.“Queenie, let’s go home,” Kyle gently mut
I put my phone back to my sling bag beside me. I feel nervous for what I am going to do. It feels like something bad will happen or is it just because of the thought that I am just afraid of riding an airplane? Am I doing the right thing?I remembered what my teacher said before, curiousity kills a cat. A common phrases rather idioms that people stated. Either it kills you literally or it will kill you in a meaningful way of knowing everything.I can’t stop myself when I want justice for my friends. If it’s not me, who else would they expect to do something like this? I can’t let go if deep down inside me, they need me for this.I got off the boat when I reached Catagban port where the van that'll take me to the resort was found. I occupied myself by reading a book by Agatha Christi, ABC Murder. One of Hercule Poirot myster.It was a book that Rhisha gave me at our graduation. She said that I might like it since I love reading books.I sighed. Because of thinking deeply, I got lost in
The snow fell gently, blanketing the ground as I trudged through it, a basket of lilacs clutched in my hand. Each step felt heavier than the last as I made my way to Theoren's grave.It had been a week since the tragic incident, and the headlines had finally brought some semblance of justice. It wasn't just an accident, as the truth had been revealed, bringing closure not only to my friends' deaths but also to Theoren's.Yet, despite the passage of time, I still couldn't wrap my head around how Maverick could have done such a thing. The CCTV footage I'd seen didn't seem to match up, but Zech had explained that the police hadn't shown the actual footage. Jackson wasn't the culprit behind my friends' deaths; he'd merely played a part in the events. Why, Zech hadn't disclosed. And Jackson wasn't deceased, as they'd made it seem. It was all a setup.As I approached the grave, the chill in the air seemed to seep into my bones despite my thick attire. It was my fifth visit, and the flowers
I raised the handgun, pointing at him, and a wicked smile appeared on his countenance, and those eyes with no soul on them eyed me. “Vara Samonte...” he mumbled my name, hearing his graveyard voice, seeping a chill in my entire body. There's nothing he was holding, and his arm crossed. “You fool me once but not twice. But how smart are you, Vara, such a nice name in your fake identity. I thought you were the Duchess, but then, someone came to me and told me you were not her. I hated a liar,” he shook his head, and he tilted his head on the left side. “Upon knowing you and Zech, there is something wrong in here. What will he feel seeing your lifeless body covered in blood? How I enjoy seeing the light of him fade. Such a pretty face, perfect family, and perfect life have you ever thought about it?” I don’t know why he says those, but does it benefit him? “Killing me? I am not letting you do that to me, Deathwish. Don't you think you are ahead of me? I suppose you might be wrong. I
I looked up and stopped eating the soup. I lower the soap spoon I am holding. "Do you mean he brought the information of who did it?"Zech nodded, and hope seemed to fill my heart. "What time?""Exactly 2 pm," he replied."I'll be doing Karmi's favor at that time," I exclaimed. "But he can stay until five, right?"He nodded without even glancing at me. What is he doing on the phone, and there is his gaze focused? I forcefully dismiss what happened last night. I need to forget it."I won't follow any man to you, Vara, and if you went home safely, then Catherine won't be overlooking you anymore."I continued to eat. "That's good to know," I just said, and the silence and the awkwardness between us resounded again."Are you alright?" he broke the silence as I finished eating. I took the croissant and bit into it.“Yep,” I replied. "Are you?" I throw the question to him.He just nodded. "When you talk about last night, then, let's just forget it."I just nodded.“Don't you have anything t
I woke up to the sound of my phone ringtone. With my eyes closed, I groped the phone on the nightstand, and when I touched the phone, I immediately answered the call without even looking at who it was.“Hello,” I tried to sound like I was not awakened from a deep slumber.“Miss Vara, I need your help,” a raspy and deep voice of a man in the line. My eyes widened, and I lifted up the phone from my ear to see who was calling.It's Miguel Karmi. Did he call me early this morning asking for help? What a miracle, and he called me. His voice was full of concern and trouble. Why is it?"Yeah, sure, what's that?" I answered, pressing back the phone in my ear.I got up from lying down, and I realized the time on my phone. 11:47 am? Did I see it right? I looked again and covered my mouth so I wouldn't scream in panic.I clicked the speaker on and went to my messages. There's an email from Mr. Javinas asking it's time. It's Pigeon time to hack the system. I sighed as I got out of bed, holding th
I went down to see who was ringing the doorbell to find out it was food delivery, and the delivery man told me Zech couldn't come home because of an urgent business meeting.I waited for him until ten at night, and I ended up eating alone when the clock struck 11, and he was not home. Maybe he wants to be alone, so perhaps he doesn’t want to face me first.When I couldn’t sleep, I decided to dive into the internet and read the news of Football captain Theoren Consenza. I browsed his picture on the internet to see if he had changed. The man had a clean-shaven face but his picture, I am seeing him he had a beard which pleased him well. Why didn't I find him? I am one of the lists of not a fan of those sports, but I never thought he would tell me that he would be the best football player in the future. Why didn’t I ever think of that? He achieved one of his life goals, but I was not there to be proud of him and support him.I watched myself watching his video interview clips, closing my
At first, I thought it was easy to forget a friend like a brother to me, and it was easy on the brain but difficult when you are going to do it. He's the keeper of my secret and the world I should never take, but I did. I tried to find him, so I stumbled upon one of the Duchess’s members, but it was very vague. He left no traces for him that I could not even find him. He left me in the one thread of hope that someday I would see him and did my best to beat him in hacking. Maybe, when he knows, he’ll be proud of me, and he’ll show up to me suddenly like the way he’s gone.But it never happened.I blinked away the tears that would fall in my eyes. I miss my friends, and I miss him so much.“Maybe this isn’t the right time to tell you, Queenie. Yes, you are right, I am that nerd guy you never dare to look at,” he stated firmly, with a bad feeling, or maybe I just understood it differently.He's right; I know him as Theoren's college friend. But, the size of him changes, so maybe I didn’t
"So you can't really find the Duchess?" I bit the nail of my right thumb as I paced back and forth in the living room.It's early in the morning, and that's the news he'll tell me. Yesterday I tried to trace him, but I remembered then that he used to use a phone and not the one he uses now—even CCTV of the airport and even the seaport. I haven’t seen a single image of the Duchess riding at all.But she can use a private plane. However, there's a CCTV area in every airport for those who use private aircraft. She decided to be far away, in a place where she could not be seen. But that was sudden. She didn’t even tell me.“Those people I know did their best. But Aunt Leonore was nowhere to be found,” he added.I stopped and faced him sitting on the couch, one of his arms at the upper of the backrest of the couch, leaning his back, and the other one tapping on his lap, like a piano chord forming his fingers as he tapped. Is that Clair de Lune? I don’t know much about piano other than the
What does Mr. Javinas mean? He didn’t answer me, and it was as if he was testing me with that question. Is Jackson dead? The police will not lie or make a mistake with the body, and Zech confirmed it.I stared at the computer screen; I was at the edge of the CyberCafe internet, to the part that I would overlook. Everyone here at this time was a teenager, and I didn’t notice an adult other than the caretaker.I leaned on the seat while waiting for Mr. Javinas to click the document I sent, not knowing that once he clicked and opened it, I could go through his laptop system.I tapped my lower lip while waiting. Maybe he thought I wouldn't notice that he was hiding something from me. Trust? A man like him doesn't trust anyone but themselves. Too bad we were the same. Trusting is a thing you can't bestow to anyone unless you earn it.I arranged to sit down when I got a notification on my phone. I plugged in the phone using the USB port cable, and through the link I gave, I copied the app I
I entered the restaurant what Mr. Javinas told me in his message, and I wore the same clothes when I arrived in Paris. I couldn’t help but notice the beautiful place, it’s classic and modern in two, and there's a square table on my left and on the right the round one covered in an article of white clothing. Only a few people were present, and the beautiful music added to the appetite of the place.I found Mr. Javinas, who stood up from one of the tables near the glass windows and approached me. He wore an aquamarine turtleneck sweater paired with brown-black trousers and boots that better suit the man.“I am pleased that you are here; shall we sit?” he asked when he got closer.As we sat at the round table, the waiter came with the menu. I looked at the menu for a moment and said to him my order, braised ox cheek in red wine and the same to Mr. Javinas.“I thought you were with Mr. Vakhram?” I asked when the waiter left. I was blown away by the painting on the wall, people in Victorian