Chapter Four: A Life's Worth

Still feeling some ache throughout his body, V tended to savour the feeling of being rested on his bed for another hour. However, he was met by the sudden realization about how on the face of the fucking earth did he get on his bed when all he remembered was he was somewhere near La Primera the night 

before and was attacked by his enemies and caused him to bleed so much? He immediately opened his eyes to reassure himself that he was really in his room and as he did so, his eyes were met by the presence of his friend Marco who was examining him. He immediately got into his senses for he was shocked to see his friend's face so close to his, and hurried to get off his bed,  away from Marco.

"What the hell was tha-..ugghhhh!" V attempted to confront his friend's weird examination but got interrupted by the pain on his belly. 

"V! V, are you alright, dude?" Marco hurried to V but V just raised his free hand to let Marco know that it's fine and that he did not need to go near him. And so Marco went back to his char while V tried to sit comfortably on his bed again.

"You scared me, you asshole," said V while trying his best to be calm.

"I was just examining you, dude, to see if there are any trace of hickeys on your neck or whatsoever that could prove she did not do something to harass you," said Marco as silently as he could.

"What? What the hell are you talking about? Besides, why are you in here in the first place?" uttered V exasperatedly, as if not taking Marco seriously.

"I think I should be asking you the same question: why is THAT woman in your house in the first place?" Marco asked, pointing his fingers somewhere outside the room  while still trying to make his voice low. 

"Woman?"

"V, you did not show your fucking face up in LP last night, but then the cops said, according to that worthless Alcantara boy, that you were involved in the fight scene last night, which happened near LP. But the most intriguing part was of that story was the fact that you were not seen in the act last night. Not even a trace. And so I called you and obviously you did not pick up the phone. Then I went here this morning, as early as possible to check for your well-being, and, surprisingly, found that ghost woman doing weird things in your living room. Now, care to give me an explanation?" bellowed Marco; hands on his waist like he was V's mother.

Left with no clue as to what exactly happened after the scene, V did not say anything, thus, making Marco exasperated enough to lead him downstairs to see what he was talking about. And so, in the kitchen they went and finally found the lady Marco was referring to. She was standing relaxedly while facing them, and was still wearing her usual demeanor. 

It was really an odd moment for V, for she was also the woman, the exact woman, who happened to be the last person he saw last night. He remained stiff for a moment as he realized that it was really neither an illusion nor a dream. It was real. She was real. But as for what he felt last night, he thought for a second, 'was it real, too?'

They were now face-to-face with the girl. Both sides were unable to utter anything, until Marco interrupted the silence. 

"And what exactly is your unwanted presence doing in this kitchen, ghost princess?" Marco tried to intimidate her, but instead of answering, the lady just fixed her eyes on V to measure his state up whether or not he was actually allowed to get off his bed. 

"Hey," started Marco again but was stopped by V.

"That's enough. I got this," he said, still not taking his eyes off the woman before him. "Were you...was it real?" he asked, although he kind of made his statement timid upon realizing that he sounded so curious, which was not his image.

"What was real?" she responded nonchalantly.

"Why were you there last? Why did you save me?" he may not want to ask it at that moment but what had been asked had been asked. 

"Saved you? This ghost woman saved you?" asked Marco, who was still confused as to what was really going on. 

"For an obvious reason, you were dying and my help was needed. And for the record, I have a name and it is Ligaya," she answered matter-of-factly, still not looking onto Marco's direction, although her last statement was pertained to him.

"I wasn't born this morning, young woman. I saw you, stalking me in school yesterday. You were following me and you even enrolled in all of my classes. Who exactly are you? What do you want from me?" uttered V. He was really trying to be patient and calm since he's not that well and she was still the woman who happened to save him. 

"I guess I'm left with no choice anymore but to tell you what these things are all about. I ran away from my realm and now, I need a new home," she said coolly, as if it's the simplest thing in the world.

"And? What, you expect me to get you some house? I don't even know you," answered V; irritated. 

"By helping you, I exposed my location to the Malignobons. And because of that, this place is the safest place I should be now," Ligaya started to explain again, still wearing an emotionless expression.

"Because you helped me last night? What a lousy reason," said V who was still agitated and confused.

"Because a part of me resides in you," she said the words with utmost sincerity and seriousness, but it seemed liked the two boys in front of her were now trying to keep a straight face because they, in a 

million fucking universe, could not believe what she had just said.

"A part of you resides in me? Oh woman, stop reading Harry Potter. What, you think you're Voldemort and I'm your fucking Horcrux?" questioned V. He was annoyed. On the other hand, Marco was chuckling.

"I can't believe you're dumber than I thought," Ligaya said nonchalantly.

"What did you say?" insulted, V tried to act threatening but was failed by the unforgiving wound on his belly. 

"I don't know what you are talking about, but I am giving you the truth," she began pacing toward them.

"What are you doing?" confronted Marco, but now, fear was in his voice.

"Drink that," she said coldly while handing a glass of some sort of weird-looking fluid in it to V. "You're not yet healed and you shouldn't be out of your bed yet. Don't worry, it's not a poison, not a love potion either. You need this to make your recovery fast."

"You still haven't given me the answer I want," said V, still, looking directly into Ligaya's eyes.

"The answer that you want is not the truth. I have already given you the truth and all you have to do is accept it."

"And how am I supposed to believe you? We are not in a magical world. We are humans and there is no such thing as magic."

"I did not talk about magic, and it is not magic that I am talking about, it's zest."

"And how is zest different from magic?" asked Marco.

Ligaya, who lacked emotions, looked at him as if for the first time. She could not believe he or they did not know what the difference was between the two. Of course, who would anyway? These two words were synonymous to each other according to the dictionary.

"Magic is the feeling you get from caring for someone, zest is the strength you get from understanding and enduring the lessons it gives you. It's the same thing as comparing an illusion to something that's real. It is also something that my realm only has."

V and Marco slightly turned their heads to face each other. Ligaya might not had that drive to express her emotions through the way she spoke, but they knew she's serious. Although, they both were still clueless as to how to believe stuff like what she was saying.

"Okay, you may have chosen your words wisely, but that does not guarantee my trust, especially to someone I don't know."

"Do you really think that the thing you felt last night was just an illusion?" she questioned him. It seemed like she's disappointed by his behaviour. 

"Tss. . .How would I know? I was dying," V defended himself.

"And that's exactly the reason why, even with those efforts my Datawi and I did, you haven't recovered completely yet, because you're faithless."

"What? Are you kidding me?"

"I'm a spirit dweller."

"What the hell?" 

The two men seemed confused.

"But I associate myself as the Sole redeemer of our realm. I came from a tribe called the Ibawnon.Your kinds colloquially call us shamans, but we are more than that. We dwell with spirits, we heal sick people, and we usually distinguish ourselves from your kind because we're not born normal, we have been  chosen by the Guardians and the Almighty to fight and stop the Malignobons, the evil spirits' dwellers, not just for our tribe, but also for your kinds. And you, Mr. Jalandoni..." She stopped, probably contemplating what she should be saying next. 

"What? What about him?" asked Marco, who seemed to be very curious about the topic now. V was just standing there and was not even showing any signs of reprimanding Ligaya to say what she was about to say. He was serious and it was reflected on his eyes. He may not wanted to believe her, but he wanted to hear her out. 

"Seven years ago, your mother knew about our tribe's existence and did everything to go into our place. She brought with her a boy, her son, who happened to be you. You were very sick that time, so close to dying to be exact. You were so ill and unconscious. She pleaded for help with everything that she could that my tribe saw her great love for her child, for you. And so they accepted her request. You were brought into the Lipayaw, the Ibawnon's house for the ill ones, and they started to examine you. Your mother had told them that you had been diagnosed to a certain disease called cancer, but my elders did not hear of it before. They believed that you were possessed by something dark and incomplete. So insufficient that it needed to be filled immediately. Only they did not know what. They tried to heal you but none of them succeeded, so they told your mother about it. She was so sad and broken. She did not even know what to do anymore. You were an inch away from dying until I came and saw everything that was happening in the Lipayaw. Like you, I was still too young to be aware of what I was doing. But my Datawi pushed me to your way and I did not know what happened then after I held your hand. Everything went blank, yet the feeling was unbearably painful. You opened your eyes and stood up, as if nothing had happened. Your zest and life had been revived while a part of me had been gone," she said seriously and everyone was silent for a while.

"So. . .if what you're telling him is that he became conscious at your place after you healed him, then why does he have no memory of it, right dude?" Marco interfered.

"Because that's what humans like you acquire when you come out of our place. You will lose that part from your memory and will just continue life as it is."

"That's impossible."

"Yeah, that's ridiculous," added Marco.

"I know it's weird, but it's true. And it is engraved in your very skin. You do know what I'm talking about, don't you?"

"And what if you saved me? I'm sure my mother already paid the price for it, didn't she?"

 

"Ask her if you're still doubtful about what I am saying. She knows everything."

"Are you kidding me?! How can I ask someone who-" V couldn't complete his sentence. It may had been years already since his mother died but he still had not yet recovered from the loss. He sighed due to irritation and exasperation but he did not want to show this side of him. He was about to walk away from the scene but was stopped by Ligaya's words.

"I know, but it's the only way for you to believe me," she said calmly, still wearing an unreadable demeanour. 

"I'm tired of this bullshit. Get out of my house." His back was on her when he said that. He did not want anyone seeing his expression right now. Not even Marco, who seemed running out of words and was just standing right where he had positioned himself awhile ago. Of course, V did not want to believe any word from a stranger, especially a stranger who was using his beloved mother to lure him to give in to what she wanted.

"Where do you think I got the information about you and your location from? As I said, she's the only way for you to believe me and you have to ask her. . .I can make you talk to her spirit."

Marco was about to utter something but began to realize what she just said.

"Didn't you hear me earlier? I am a spirit dweller, and I can be a spirit medium as well," she said calmly. 

"Okay, you're funny enough, but I think it's too much.You can go home now," Marco once again tried to make her give the topic up but she seemed determined to prove herself. V, although not facing her, was still fixated at his spot. He may not want to admit it, but he was actually dying inside with his curiosity. 

"Stop it," he simply said.

"Really? You don't want to talk to her?"

She may not have the flare of modernization, but she's not stupid enough to easily lose a situation like this. She had gone so far and she could not take a 'no' for an answer. And it seemed like her tactics were working. They silenced V, and she was sure that that silence meant she had just won her case. She started closing her eyes, which frightened Marco, but even before she could utter a word, V began to speak once again, making her stop what she's about to do.

"She hasn't given the payment yet, has she?"

"Wait, what? Why are you asking such a thing, dude? Don't tell me you now believe her?" Marco couldn't believe V was asking this thing. 

"She reluctantly agreed on it, but she agreed on it nonetheless. Although, the payment hasn't been granted yet."

"What is it?"

For a brief moment, V didn't want to hear it, for he already had the hint on what the payment really was. But he knew he had to hear it first hand, to confirm it. And when she had finally spoken the words, he knew then that his life was going to change forever.

"It was you."