WHEN WE LANDED IN PARIS, WE WERE ALREADY EXHAUSTED. JETLAGGED. REGARDLESS THE FACT NA "RELAXED" NGA LANG KAMI SA BUONG BIYAHE."Grabe. Hindi ako makapaniwala na nakalabas na tayo ng bansa. Sobrang ganda rito…”I took a glance of Jelai. She's smiling so wide— spinning around slowly while staring at the beautiful sceneries around us. Napangiti na rin ako."Yeah, I know. At marami pang naghihintay sa'tin na mas magaganda pang lugar at tanawin dito. We'll explore the whole of Paris— no, the whole of France while we're here,” saad ko pa. May halong pangangako ang sinabi kong iyon."Talaga? Totoo ba 'yan?” Lalo namang namilog ang mga mata niya nang tanungin niya ako no'n. She seems to get more excited of the thought.Tumango ako at inaya na siyang lumakad. Base on Mama Zyco's instruction, paglabas namin ng airport ay may nakaabang na sa aming private vehicle. Kinontrata niya pa raw iyon sa dating transportation company na hawak niya no'ng nandito pa siya sa Paris. That same vehicle will bri
7 YEARS LATER…"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, THE PACIFIC AIRLINE WELCOMES YOU TO MANILA. THE LOCAL TIME IS 12:04 P.M., PLEASE REMAIN SEATED WITH YOUR SEAT BELT FASTENED AND KEEP THE AISLE CLEAR UNTIL WE PARKED AT THE GATE. THANK YOU.” This is it. Totoo nga 'yung sinasabi nila na ibang-iba ang pakiramdam nang pag-alis sa lugar na pinagmulan mo sa pakiramdam nang pagbabalik mo rito. Now, I can finally conclude that that was indeed true. Paano ko nalaman? Simple. Damang-dama ko na kasi. Right here, right now.I couldn't say that I don't miss a bit of my life here in the Philippines. In fact, maraming bagay akong na-miss na gustung-gusto ko nang balikan at gawin ulit. But that doesn't include my past stupidity and dumb behavior.Bahagya akong napakunot ng noo nang maramdaman ko ang isang kamay na biglang humawi sa buhok ko. When I look at who was it, I saw Jelai. Siya ang bigla na lang humawak sa buhok ko at walang sabi-sabing binawi-hawi iyon. So basically, yes, she's still my "assistant". At
1 WEEK LATER"WOW! I COULDN'T BELIEVE THAT THIS IS THE SAME HOUSE WE VISITED JUST LAST WEEK! ANG GANDA! PARANG HINDI MAN LANG NAABANDONA NOON!”I am in all smiles as I proudly listen to Pamela's compliment. Alam ko naman kasi na totoo ang sinabi niya. Isang linggo pa lang ang nakalilipas ay marami na ring nagbago sa bahay ko. Well, not necessarily 'marami' dahil ang majority ng itsura ng bahay ay pinili ko pa ring i-keep. Maganda naman kasi at aligned din sa taste ko. Isa pa, isa iyon sa mga primary ko na dahilan kung bakit ako na-fall sa lugar na ito in the first place."Pero parang ang laki naman nito para sa iyo. Hindi ka ba… you know? Natatakot or whatsoever?” usal niya.Sa sinabi niyang iyon ay hindi ko na napigilan na matawa."What? Papasok mo na naman ba ang mga presumption mo tungkol sa bahay na ito? I've been here for three days now, Pam. And so far, wala pa naman akong nae-experience na kakaiba. Plus, sobrang peaceful kaya rito,” litanya ko. "Tsaka sino bang nagsabi na mag i
AFTER PAMELA LEFT, I STARTED BROWSING THE INTERNET AS IMMEDIATE AS I COULD.Sinusubukan kong makakuha ng impormasyon tungkol sa sinasabi ni Pam na nangyaring backlash sa mga Sy five years ago. Baka sa pamamagitan no'n, magawa kong mahanap si Ayi Hana. God knows how worried I am about her. Ano na kayang lagay niya, nasaan na kaya siya after everything that happened."Hi.”Upon hearing the voice, I immediately closed the laptop I was using. It was Jelai. She seemed surprise at what I did and on how I reacted. Tumingin pa siya sa laptop ko na puno ng pagdududa."I'm sorry, naabala yata kita. Pero… what's that? Parang ang seryoso mo naman masyado sa ginagawa mo,” nag-aalangang sabi niya. Naglakad siya palapit sa akin."It was… nothing. I'm just doing some research. About the trend. You know, I gotta keep my heads up to the innovation,” pagsisinungaling ko. I look passed her and saw a duffle bag placed on the floor. Sa parehong spot kung saan siya nakatayo kanina. "Anyways, what's with the
AFTER HAVING A WORD WITH THAT PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR, I FELT THE URGE TO LESSEN THE ANXIETY THAT I AM FEELING ALL OF A SUDDEN. SO, I WENT TO MY ART ROOM AND STARTED PAINTING SOME STUFF. THEN I SLEPT AND NOW, I WOKE UP NOT KNOWING WHAT THE TIME ALREADY IS.Natapik ko pa ang noo ko nang mapansin ko ang bahid ng mga pintura na kumapit na sa bedsheet, pillow case, at kumot ko."Damn. I swear, hindi ko na uulitin 'to. Ang matulog o kahit humiga lang sa kama right after I painted and not washing myself first? Never again,” anang isip ko.I was about to head on the bathroom to finally clean myself after hours of being dirty when suddenly, I remembered something. Naiwan ko pa nga pala na makalat 'yung art room ko kanina.Kaya naisipan ko na linisan muna 'yon bago ko linisan naman ang sarili ko. In my messy state, I got off my feet and started walking towards the art room.Handa na akong harapin ang sandamakmak na kalat na naiwan ko sa art room. But to my surprise, I walked into a clean, tidy ar
WITH THE ADDRESS COMING FROM INVESTIGATOR GOZON, MY FATE LED ME TO A TINY APARTMENT ONLY A FEW METERS AWAY FROM THE DUMP SITE.Lumang apartment na iyon—sobrang luma na hindi nga ako sigurado kung macla-classify pa ba as "apartment" ang lugar na iyon dahil sa itsura nito. Sobrang liit lang ng lugar na iyon kung titingnan mula sa loob. It was just like a small room. Gawa sa pinagtagpi-tagping yero at mga sako ang pader. 'Yung bubong naman ay yero rin pero kinakalawang at sira-sira na. Its doors are made of wood scraps. Pinagtagpi-tagpi lang din 'yon para maging pinto. And just like what I've said, ilang metro lang ang layo nito mula sa tapunan ng mga basura at kung anu-ano pang dumi. Marami ring kadikit na bahay ang lugar na tinitirahan daw ni Ayi Hana. But all those houses just looks the same. Maliit, pinagtagpi-tagpi, at… marumi.Sigurado ba talaga 'yung imbestigador na 'yon na dito nga nakakita si Ayi Hana?Never in my mind na naisip kong titira sa ganitong klaseng lugar si Ayi. At l
"HERE'S YOUR COLD GLASS OF ICED TEA. THIS SHOULD BE THE LAST OF YOUR ORDER. MAY I CONFIRM THAT YOU ALREADY GOT EVERY SINGLE ITEM YOU CHOSE FROM THE MENU?”Hindi na ako nag-abalang i-check pa isa-isa lahat ng pagkaing nakahain sa harapan namin ni Ayi. Tumango na lang ako. Umalis naman agad 'yung waiter and the soon as he went away, Aunt Melissa started talking."Grabe namang sobrang dami nito. Mauubos ba natin lahat 'to?” natatawang sabi niya."Uubusin natin, Ayi. We have so much to talk about. Baka nga kulangin pa 'to,” ganting saad ko.Sabay na lang kaming natawa pagkatapos no'n. Pero mayamaya lang din, naging seryoso na ang mukha niya."Before I tell you everything, pwede bang ikaw muna? I wanna know first what happened to you. Really. After that, I'll tell everything to you. No loopholes, pure truth,” aniya.Nag-isip ako sandali. Pero segundo lang at tumango na rin ako bilang pagsang-ayon sa gusto niyang mangyari.Sinimulan ko nang magkwento kasabay ng pagsisimula namin sa pagkain.
RIGHT AFTER AYI FINISHED TELLING ME STORIES, I IMMEDIATELY FELT A SURGE OF EMOTIONS COMING THROUGH ME.Naiinis ako, nagagalit, nagulat… nasaktan?"The day you said you left, I believe that was also the very day your father looked for you. Sa maniwala ka man o sa hindi, hinanap ka n'ya, Cali. He was so worried sick. He went through everywhere searching for you. He went through everything. I even remembered na ilang beses s'yang nabiktima ng mga scammers. Those person who claimed to see and know your whereabouts. Pero in the end, wala pala. They were all just after his money. Anyway, fast forward to your graduation day, nando'n s'ya. I don't know if you see him but he went there. Alam ko dahil sinundan ko s'ya. Hanggang ngayon, hindi ko pa rin maintindihan kung bakit hindi ka n'ya nilapitan at kinausap that very same day. I mean, he already spent a lot looking for you. He was nearly going crazy. Pero no'ng nasa harapan ka na n'ya, hindi man lang s'ya gumawa ng paraan to take you home. B