PAHINA PARA SA KADALDALAN NG AUTHOR

The second novel of the LAW series (Please read Defend Me, Attorney before this).

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Law Series (Chronological order)

1. Defend Me, Attorney
2. Convict Me, Attorney

BEFORE READING THIS STORY PLEASE BE ADVISED:

In court trials, I used the jury system instead of the usual bench trial that we have.

The Philippines has no jury system yet but in this series, I used the jury system for my readers to have a grasp of what would the justice system be, at some point, if we have juries instead of judges alone.

The reason will boil down to Philippine Jury Campaign International’s call for the Philippines to adapt the Jury system. I created a world where it exists so they would know how it works and how it differs from what we currently have.

The entire series revolve around my political and law campaigns. So you see, though I used a bit touch of reality, this series is STILL a reflection of how I perceive the world and how would some changes affect us.

Moreover, there are some scenes that the characters went bubbly or chaotic inside a courtroom. That doesn’t intend to show disrespect but just a solidification of the changes of the characters as the storyline progresses.

With the aforementioned scenarios, if you’re looking for a law fiction story with a hundred percent reality or closest to what we currently have, I guess, this story is NOT for you to read.

However, if you’d like to read still, please be reminded that I already warned you.

Stay safe! ♡

This is the UNEDITED version. You may encounter A LOT of typographical and grammatical errors.

CREATED : July 25, 2020

FINISHED : August 1, 2020

Book cover by Heinz Gonzales ♡

DISCLAIMER

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

TRIGGER WARNING:

The story contains violence and strong language. They are needed for the storyline and the characters to develop. The story itself does not glorify them in any means. Feel free to skip any scene that you may find yourself not comfortable with. READER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

PART ONE: THE QUEEN OF COURT TRIALS

“FOR ONE LAST TIME, I WILL ASK YOU AGAIN,” the prosecutor said, asking its own witness sitting on the witness stand. “ Nakita mo ba talaga ang suspect, by your own eyes, na sinasaktan nito ang biktima hanggang mawalan ito ng malay?“

Everyone’s eyes got fixated at the man in front. No one was even moving a nerve. Everyone was anticipating what would be his answer.

“Yes,” he finally answered without even the slightest doubt in his voice. “I did.”

Murmuring.

I closed my eyes hardly.

Ah, ang ingay.

“OBJECTION YOUR HONOR!”

That was, perhaps, what everyone was anticipating about. Like how the defense will defend the accused.

Sa totoo lang, isa lang naman ang dahilan kung bakit ko tinanggap itong kasong ito; dahil siguro it reminds me of what happened few years back.

The accused and the victim were both found unconscious in the street, both were beaten up to death. Akala nga ng awtoridad mga patay na ang na-diskubre nila. Nang dalhin sa ospital, nagkaroon ng malay ang isa at pinaratangan na pinagtangkaan s’yang patayan ng isa.

It turned out chaotic, of course, since the said ‘victim’ is a rising youtuber and a son of an actor whose recent television dramas were hits. When they posted the whole thing on social media, the so called ‘suspect’ was guilty until proven innocence. A trial by media happened.

That’s why I took the case. This time, as a defender.

This may be the product of what I have experienced from my previous trials.

Prosecutors should not prosecute just because that’s our job. They should prosecute because there’s a reason to do so. If there’s none, don’t do it just for the nature of your job. Side with the truth and nothing but the truth.

I sighed.

Pakiramdam ko nga ay na-uulit lang ang mga nangyari pero sa ibang mga tao naman at ibang konteksto.

“THE PROSECUTION IS GASLIGHTING THE CLAIM AND MAKING IT SEEMS LIKE A FACT!”

I smirked as I heard the term my co-public defender said.

GASLIGHTING.

A psychological manipulation in which a person manipulates someone and makes them question their own memory, perception, or judgement.

“THE PROSECUTION WAS ONLY ASKING CLARIFYING QUESTIONS, YOUR HONOR,” the prosecution said.

“THAT WAS A CLAIM WITHOUT AN EVIDENCE, YOUR HONOR. I SUPPOSED, WE SHOULD WARN THE WITNESS ABOUT THE POSSIBLE PERJURY IF HE FALSELY TESTIFIES.”

Damn, take that!

The prosecutor gulped, can’t think of any rebuttal to say.

“Prosecution may do so,” the judge said.

The prosecutor closed his eyes hardly and later looked at the witness.

“Article 183 of the Revised Penal Code states that perjury is committed when a person, knowingly makes untruthful statements under oath. You may face six to two years in prison by doing so. Are you still confident about your claim?”

For the first time, the man was caught off guard.

There was a long pause of silence until the man finally said, “Yes.”

“Alright,” the prosecutor. “Can you tell us what happened that night?

“Sure,” he said.

“Go on.”

“Well,” he started. “I was going home that time. It was exactly 10:04 at night. I was walking myself home, sent my girlfriend a message, and along with composing it, I heard disturbing noises.”

“You said disturbing noises, am I correct?”

“Yes,” he said.

“Can you explain to us what the noise was?”

“It was like… like… someone asking for help.”

“Asking for help, you said?”

“Yeah.”

“But that was just how the noise sounded like, am I correct?”

“Absolutely,” he said.

“Alright,” he said. “Go on.”

“As I went left at the corner of Padre Faura with 7/11 store in the right, traffic lights in front with red lights on, and Subway store in left, right beside a black car, I saw someone was being beaten up.”

“When you said beaten up, it was physical, right?”

“Yeah,” he said. “’Yung binubugbog naka black sweater and black pants, a nike sneakers and was bleeding to death. The one throwing punches wears a white shirt, a stripe jacket and a sneaker as well. ’Yung unang binubugbog biglaan nalang lumaban and it turned things upside down, he almost killed the one who first beaten him up. Until I called an emergency and that’s when the police came and we saw both of the guys completely unconscious.”

“The one who was attacking was wearing a white shirt, striped jacket and a sneaker, based on your description, right?”

“Yes.”

“Look around. Can you see his face?”

The man looked around.

“Y-Yes.”

“Can you point him out?”

Slowly, the man pointed at someone. As I expected, it landed on someone beside me.

THE ACCUSED.

Loud murmuring again.

“OBJECTION YOUR HONOR,” my co-defender. “Everything that the witness testified about was so detailed, even the time, the color, the description of the place, everything was so clearly detailed,” he posed and faced the judge.

“Your Honor, I would like to further expand the witness’ role in this case. His statement seems scripted, and the overly detailed descriptions are the evidence.”

“There’s no need for that, Your Honor,” the prosecutor said as he stood up .“His statement is not scripted.”

“How do you say so?” my co-defender. “We all know court statements as clear as that may significantly be inconsistent in further hearing.”

“That won’t happen, Your Honor,” the defender said. “The witness has an ability to remember all the things she could see.”

It rendered murmuring.

“W-What do you mean?” the defender, flabbergasted.

“I have Hyperthymesia,” the witness and a smirk blossomed on his lips. “I can remember everything that I can see.”

I heard gasps.

“D-Do you have a medical record to…to prove that?” the defender asked, as he didn’t expect the sudden twist of event.

“Of course,” the prosecutor saidn “We already registered it under the prosecution, Your Honor. You may review it if you’d like.”

That’s it.

We’re losing.

The defender then looked at me, his eyes were asking for help.

“That concludes our witness’ reliability, Your Honor,” the prosecutor said with confidence. “I rest my case.”

He walked back to his seat.

“Defense, would you like to cross-examine?”

The defender looked at me, begging.

I sighed.

“Yes, Your Honor,” I answered.

I stood up. Pero pagtayo ko palang, nagbulungan na ang mga tao.

Maybe, it’s time to show why people call me the queen of court trials.

“Your Honor,” I started. “May USB ka?”

Everyone went silent, then they all laughed.

Confusion swallowed me.

“No, I’m serious,” I said. “Anyone na may USB OTG adapter, please?”

No one was answering.

“Wala talaga?” I asked. “How about the screen? Your Honor, puwede ba ko maki-connect?”

“Your Honor,” the prosecutor. “The defense is just wasting time.”

“Of course, we are not, Your Honor, I actually prepared something while listening to the witness.”

“Your Honor, whatever she’s going to use is not yet registered,” the prosecutor.

“Eh ’di, i-register,” I said and went to the court clerk to register it.

I smiled and faced the crowd.

“First and foremost, Your Honor, I won’t be using a traditional cross examining method to the witness,” I said. “I will be using a power point presentation instead. It’s a quiz and he has to answer.”

“OBJECTION YOUR HONOR!” the prosecutor said. “THE DEFENSE IS MAKING THIS TRIAL A MERE CLOWNERY!”

“Yeah and you are the clown,” I said and smiled.

He turned red.

“Your Honor, what I am about to do will yield something relevant to the case. If not, we can just strike it out if proven irrelevant.”

“We can do that? Don’t you fear wasting evidence?” the prosecutor.

“Yeah, sure,” I said. “Besides, fear is associated with dishonesty and with the truth on our side, I fear nothing but people who keep on twisting it should.”

I smiled widely, remembering a familiar line.

The prosecutor was taken a back.

“Objection overruled, then,” the judge said. “Continue.”

“Okay na, attorney, connected na,” the clerk agent told me.

“Thanks,” I just said and faced the crowd.

I already knew the witness has hyperthymesia. I saw his name once on the internet. Kaya nang matunugan kong they will use it against us, gumagawa na ’ko ng power point presentation sa phone ko habang nag t-trial.

“Okay, let’s start—”

But before I can even finish my word, a message popped up on the screen.

“@DaugterofATamperer: Hoy san ka?”

My eyes grew bigger

“@DaugterofATamperer: Hoy reply ASAP.”

Courtney, WTF?!

“@DaugterofATamperer: Bakla ano na?!”

I can hear people trying not to laugh.

“@DaugterofATamperer: AYAW I SEEN????”

“T-Turn off the data, Turn—”

“@DaugterofATamperer: sinuot mo coat ko ’no?!”

Damn, Courtney!

I immediately went to my phone and turned off the data.

Grrr!

“Sorry about that Your Honor,” I said. “By the way, I didn’t steal this coat. I left a message and she was just dumb—”

LANGUAGE, AVERY!

“—I mean, she just didn’t see the note that I left. Anyway, let’s start.”

I swiped my phone and words flashed on the screen.

“What can you see?” I asked.

“Names of things that give light, I guess?” the witness.

“That’s correct. Are you done reading it?”

“Yeah,” he said.

“Did you see a lamp?”

“Yeah,” he said. “I did.”

“Cool,” I said and proceeded with the next slide.

People started to be curious.

“It’s an animation,” I said, pertaining to the new slide. “Let’s check,” I added.

It’s an animation about a crime scene.

“Do you remember the scene?”

“Of course,” he said, as if mocking me. “Easy-peasy.”

“Cool of you,” I said and smiled. “By the way, you’re a world history major, right?”

“Yes,” he said.

“Do you know the 9/11?” I asked.

“Yeah,” I said.

“You major in history so maybe you have seen the footage of United Flight 93 crashing in Pennsylvania?”

“Of course, I have,” he said with a slight irritation in his voice.

I smiled.

“Would you do me a favor then?” I asked.

“What favor?”

“Here’s a pen and a paper, can we go back to the question 2? Can you write down the animation about a crime you saw?”

“Sure, I can remember every details, though.”

“Thanks,” I said.

“Here,” he said, the moment he was done sketching the scene.

As I checked it, a smirk curved on my lips.

BINGO.

I looked at him.

“Slide number one,” I said. “I asked you if you saw the word lamp and you answered, yes, right?”

“Yes,” he said. “That’s correct.”

I smiled. I put the powerpoint back to the first slide.

“Your Honor, the only words written were light, shade, bulb, and table. There’s no lamp. The witness got confused because lamp is related to light, shade, bulb, and table but it wasn’t part of the slide,” I said. “Which is an irony because he’s supposed to remember them, right?”

People got shocked. Series of murmuring followed.

“Second slide, here’s what he wrote,” I said, looking at the paper.

“The crime is pick-pocketing, the man took out the woman’s wallet from her bag and put it inside his jean’s pocket.”

I faced the crowd.

“Now, let’s take a look.”

The animation was flashed and the man didn’t put the wallet inside his jean’s pocket, but inside his jacket’s pocket.

“The witness mistakenly remembered a small yet important detail,” I said. “Coincidence? I think not.”

I smirked and faced him.

“Lastly, I asked you if you saw the footage of the United Flight 93 crashing in Pennsylvania and you said yes, right?”

“I-I guess so,” he said, panicking.

I smirked.

“Honey, I’m afraid,” I said. “That footage doesn’t even exist.”

I heard some gasped.

“Your Honor,” I said as I faced the judge. “Researchers have found out that some memories can be distorted in all measures, even with people with Hyperthymesia. As clearly as we have witnessed, the witness being used against the accused have memory distortions too.”

I faced the crowd, looking at every audience’s eyes who mocked us before.

“He can remember them, but his mind is making a trick to distort them. Kung maaalala natin, ang sabi ng witness, ang nambubugbog ay naka-puti at ang binubugbog ay naka-itim. Black and white have long been associated with each other, even making it seemed like they are the opposite of each other. Similarly, the witness have mistakenly included lamp as part of the slide even though it wasn’t really there just because it is related to the given words.”

I faced the crowd.

“Question is, was the accused really wearing white that time or the witness’ memory got distorted and created a trick?”

I smiled.

“With the aforementioned cases, I hereby declare that the witness’ statement is unreliable. Hence, I’m taking out his reliability as a witness.”

I smirked.

“I MOVE A STRIKE.”

People started creating noises, the prosecutor couldn’t talk as if he just got splashed by a cold water.

“And oh,” I said. “Didn’t he just take the oath of affirmation, and got reminded of the perjury but still confidently told us he’s stating a hundred percent fact?”

I smiled cunningly.

“Your Honor, I’d like to consider perjury.”

The prosecutor’s eyes grew bigger. I looked at him with sharp eyes.

“Clownery?” I asked him and scoffed.“I don’t do that in trial court, and you won’t win against me in trial court in general.”

While looking deeply in his eyes, I gave him a mocking smile.

“BECAUSE I AM THE QUEEN.”

PART TWO: THE KING OF COURT TRIALS

I sighed.

For the thousand time now, I sighed again.

I rolled my eyes.

“Okay, so what are we supposed to do here?” I finally asked. “We are here, sitting in a car, looking outside, waiting someone to come for a DAMN half an hour already!”

“Can you lower down your voice?!” the woman sitting beside me said. “You’re irritating me!”

“Wow, Courtney?!” I exclaimed. “Just to remind you, you are inside my car!”

“That doesn’t give you an inferiority complex to shout at me, Avery!” she exclaimed. “Can you, at least, be a good friend by shutting your mouth?”

“To educate you, sweetie, we are not friends, we are just workmates! And just who the hell are you looking at that shop?” I asked and looked at the woman she was looking at.

This was the reason why Courtney kept on texting me. Right after I won the trial, she wanted me to go here with her.

What a pain in the ass!

As I looked back, what I saw was a woman who seemed so classy and sophisticated. She looked so smart yet not so intimidating.

“Sino ’yan?” tanong ko. “She looks… familiar.”

“She’s the reason why we are here,” she said, looking at the woman still. “We saw her at the hospital before. Siya ’yong humahawak kay Traise.”

I laughed. “Don’t tell me you think Traise is cheating?”

“He’s not,” Courtney said. “I hope he’s not.”

“You hope?” I asked. “You don’t trust him?”

“I do,” she said. “But not the people around him.”

“So what’s the deal?” I asked.

“Traise barely goes home.”

“So?” I asked. “It’s all natural. I mean, doktor siya at kakapasa lang ng Licensure exam. He even ranked first, of course, hospitals will go crazy over him and he’ll have loads of works more than any other regular passers. And can you stop calling it ‘home’, it’s our office, for Pete’s sake!”

“That’s the idea,” Courtney said. “One time last week, he went to our office at 2 am, right after the surgery he attended had ended. He went to my room just to look at me while I sleep and when I woke up after he kissed my forehead, I saw him just staring at my eyes. When I asked him what he was doing, he told me he just missed me. He even cuddled me while he took a nap and at 4 am, he went back to the hospital, saying he was needed!”

“What’s wrong about that?” I asked. “He seemed sweet, no wonder why I had a crush on him.”

Courtney gave me a sharp look

“BEFORE,” I emphasized.

“Avery,” Courtney said. “I visited the hospital he works at yesterday and you know what I found out? Majority ng mga nurse doon ay may gusto sa kanya! Even some patients, they do! They don’t even know he’s engaged! And not just that, that woman, that girl in that coffee shop, she ranked second in the licensure exam, right behind Traise! And staffs in the hospital thought they were a couple!”

“You asked them?” I asked with disbelief in my eyes, she nodded. “Damn, What a psycho!”

“I am,” Courtney fiercely said. “At hindi ako pinatutulog ng anxiety ko dahil doon. What if, Traise lost his love for me, since we barely see each other and what if, he fell for that woman considering they see each other every day? They are even under the same department and are working in the same environment…”

I looked at her, she seemed sad and worried.

“There’s something we can do,” I said, trying to lighten up the atmosphere.

Her eyes brightened up. “Really? Ano?”

I smiled. “Give Traise to me.”

Her smile faded. “Manigas ka.”

Inirapan ako ni Courtmey at muling tumingin sa coffee shop. Halos mapatalon ako nang biglang namilog ang mga mata niya at tumili.

“TRAISE IS COMING!”

I looked at them. Traise went inside the coffee shop and sat in front of the woman. They were even smiling at each other when their eyes met.

“No wonder why they think they are couples,” I said. “They look good together, though.”

“AVERY!” Courtney exclaimed.

“Why?!?” I exclaimed as well. “Bawal ba ’kong magbigay ng opinyon?”

“Keep your opinion to yourself,” she said, and dialled something on her phone. Few seconds later, it rang and someone answered.

“Hi wifey,” I heard Traise’s voice said. “Miss mo ba ’ko? Ako miss kita.”

I cringed.

“A…s’an ka…?” Courtney asked, panicking.

“Work,” he briefly said. “Ikaw ba?”

Courtney’s eyes seemed disappointed.

“Oh, work…” she answered, looking at them. “Okay…”

“Why? Is there a problem?” Traise asked but he was smiling at the woman in front of him.

She didn’t answer.

“Why are you so quiet?” Traise asked. “Talk more. I missed your voice.”

But Courtney didn’t talk, she looked like she was about to cry.

“Hey. I love youuuuuu!”

And Courtney abruptly turned the phone off.

“He’s cheating…” she said and cried.

“Hey, hey!” reaksyon ko nang totoong umiyak talaga siya. “Stop crying! Don’t drop any tears on my car!”

She looked at me.

“Avery, help me…” and her face went dark. “That girl deserves a beating. I’ll let her know how does the toilet water tastes!”

“WHAT?!” I exclaimed.

Immediately, she opened the door and dragged me outside but I managed to resist, and immediately closed the door. I locked it.

“OPEN IT!” I can see Courtney  shouting outside.“I SAID, OPEN IT!”

“I WON’T!” I yelled back. “YOU DO IT YOURSELF! IF THAT BECOMES VIRAL I’LL BE KICKED OUT OF MY JOB! I JUST SIGNED A CONTRACT AS A PROFESSOR, BITCH!”

“HELP ME ONCE!” she shouted back.

“DO IT YOURSELF!” I exclaimed.

“YOU WON’T?!?!”

“I WON’T!”

“FINE!” she said. “I’LL RUIN YOUR WHEELS! ASA’N BA PANG BUTAS DITO…”

“COURTNEY?”

My eyes grew bigger when someone came. Napatingin din dito si Courtney at nanlaki ang mga mata nang makita kung sino ito. Halos lamunin niya para maitago lang ang stick na napulot niya sa kalye para sana sirain ang gulong ko.

“T-Traise…?” Courtney uttered.

“What’s…happening….?” he asked, confused.

Courtney looked at me and her eyes were asking for help.

“Oh shit…” I murmured. I opened the window and smiled. “Sorry, Courtney!”

Just like that, my car departed and I left her there.

The next thing I knew, I was inside the court room and the preliminary trial of my dad’s case just ended. Of course, nag-plead kami ng not guilty. Bakit ko basta-basta nalang i-su-surrender ang tatay ko?

The prosecution, on the other side, continued to charge my dad with graft, despite of my request to just drop the case.

Courtney? Oh, she’s fine. Traise got to know what’s on her mind after I  I told him Courtney’s rants. Siyempre, galit na galit si Courtney sa akin noong una but eventually felt grateful kasi pagkatapos malaman iyon ni Traise, mas binigyan na siya ni Traise ng oras at panahon.

Turned out, engaged na rin pala iyong babae at nag-uusap lang sila tungkol sa trabaho so there’s no room for jealousy. And the mind blowing fact? Courtney had been feeling something painful on her stomach. Nang malaman ni mama, she told Courtney that she might be pregnant. And Courtney acted like she was really pregnant!

Mas naging maarte si Courtney at gustong bini-baby. Si Traise tuloy kung minsan ay ayaw nang pumasok dahil mas gusto siyang alagaan at ang baby ‘kuno’ sa tiyan niya.

I mean, she’s not even pregnant to begin with!

Nagdadalang tae, pwede pa.

I sighed.

Masiyado nang masakit sa ulo itong couple na ’to.

Nang bumukas ang elevator ay agad akong tumindig para pumasok. Ngunit akmang aakbang palang ako nang mahinto ako dahil mayroon nang tao sa loob. Nang magtama ang paningin namin ay napa-ismid ako.

“Won’t you come inside?” he asked.

Silently, I walked inside. When I looked at him through my peripheral vision, I noticed he was wearing his signature outfit: white polo tucked inside his black pants.

It was him.

It was Tyler Scott.

“I told you to just plea guilty” he then said, breaking the silence.

“And I told you to drop the case,” I said with the same fury.

Tyler faced me. “Avery, you know what my job is.”

I scoffed without looking at him. “And you know what my job as well is.”

“Avery, can you like talk to me without being shady?”

I smirked and that’s when I faced him. “Why Tyler? Will you drop the case once I do?”

“Why do you keep on asking me to drop the case?” he asked and he was somewhat frustrated.

“And why do you want to convict my dad?” I asked back.

He looked at me with a serious face when he saw my expression changed.

“Trust me,” he said. “I’m not doing this to ruin you or your family.”

“Well you just did,” I said bitterly. “Just the fact that of all the prosecutors, why does it have to be you?”

“It’s the best thing to do, Avery,” he said. “It is.”

“No, Tyler,” I said. “When you picked this job, you already picked a war with me.”

“Avery, please do understand my position.”

“I won’t,” I said. “I felt betrayed, Tyler. I still do.”

“Avery, I know you know it’s the truth. Your dad put millions of public’s money in his pockets and he needs to pay for that.”

“No,” I said and I smiled. “You have no right to say that.”

The elevator opened and I met Tyler’s eyes.

“You’re a prosecutor, so don’t simply make assumptions,” I smirked, quoting him, and I turned dead serious.

“PROVE IT.”

PART THREE: “YOU’RE UNDER ARREST.”

“WHAT’S WITH THE CHAOS?”

In no time, the class went back in its normal and formal seating arrangement as I walked inside the classroom.

I am their Political Science professor. This would be our first meeting.

“Ilang minuto lang akong na-late at mukha na agad kayong delubyo?” I sarcastically remarked.

I cleared my throat.

“A year in kindergarten, six years in elementary, another six years in high school,” I started. “Four to five years in college, some even takes additional four years for masteral and doctorate, and a year for board preparation.”

They seemed confused.

“It normally takes us seventeen years to finish studying and twenty-three years for some. After that, you have to find a job in a competitive job market that is inclined with your field. You have to qualify in certain qualifications to get admitted, and skills and knowledge to have a permanent job.”

I looked at each and everyone’s eyes.

“You have to follow certain norms set by social structures. You gonna wake up exhaustedly in the morning and sleep exhaustedly still in the evening, and same cycle every day. When the time comes, you have to retire and that’s the only time where you can enjoy your life—when your old fragile body is closer to death.”

All eyes and ears were on me, as if everyone was enchanted with my voice.

“Ang tanong, is this the life you wanna live? The life you wanna be part of? A life to take? Is it a life worth living for?” I asked the class.

No one was talking.

“What I am saying is, kids, do not be too focused on education to the point that you’ve already forgotten the essence of life. I am not saying that you should abandon your education, rather, just use education as a tool and not as a system to revolve your world around. There’s so much more than a bookish world.”

Everyone’s eyes were starting to brighten up.

“In other words,” I started, and the smile on my face faded. “ I promote drop outs.“

Everyone was caught off guard. The smile on their face literally faded.

“You,” I pointed at someone. “Why do you study?”

“T-To have a stable job,” the man answered nervously.

“How about you?” I pointed another student. “Why do you study?”

“Because I want to be a lawyer,” she said bravely.

“How about you, why do you study?”

The man stood up. “I wanna be the next chief justice!”

Everyone laughed.

“Hearing your words made me sad,” I said. “Have you noticed? You are all after your own dream. Kumikilos kayo para sa sarili, hindi ninyo iniisip ang bayan, which is a contradictory of your field.”

No one was even moving a nerve.

“Kids, we study political science to make our society better, not just for ourselves,” I said and sat on the edge of the front seat’s table.

“One character in El Filibusterismo said education is not for all, it should only be for people who have the will to fight for it, for someone deserving of it,” I said and stood up and went to the door. “So if you think you’re not deserving of the education you have…” I then opened the door and smiled. “LEAVE.”

Everyone suddenly got scared, no one was looking at me.

“Leave…” I repeated.

But no one’s moving.

“NO ONE’S GONNA LEAVE?” I asked.

I can feel the tension in the atmosphere.

“Alright,” I said and closed the door. “You guys have chosen death, then.”

For the first time, I smiled to them.

“I am Prosecutor Avery Heimsworth,” I introduced.

But the smile on my face faded.

“AND WELCOME TO HELL.”

The next few hours, I received a text message saying I have to arrest someone.

Sa katunayan, naririto na nga ako sa labas ng office n’ya to personally arrest him.

I gulped and closed my eyes.

“Sir,” I can hear him say inside. “Kailangan ko na po talaga umalis!”

His tone seemed like a child being stopped by a parent to go outside and play.

“Doctor Traise Stevens, I already told you! Walang papalit sa shift mo!”

Beat.

I smiled.

“Pero in-inform ko po kayo weeks ago that I have to leave this day and pumayag kayo. I need to watch my wife’s final trial on how will she convict that former vice president who killed my mom. Even the former defender, Newt, is there. I gotta see him and at least give him a one solid punch!”

“Courtney is not your wife yet, you are just engaged,” the doctor corrected him.

OKAY PLEASE SOMEONE CALL THE 911 SOMEONE JUST GOT BURNT HERE.

“Engaged or not, she will be my wife sir, there’s no difference,” he said. “So please?”

“Hinde,” the doctor firmly said.

“Doooooc!” Traise still continued to persuade him. “I’ll cover up your whole week shift next week, I promise!”

“Whole week? How about two weeks?”

“Why two weeks? Baka ipadala na ni Courtney mga gamit ko rito dahil napakadalang ko umuwi!”

“That’s the option Doctor Stevens if you don’t want to then—”

“I WILL!” he said. “Okay I will!” he repeated eagerly.

“You will?”

“For Courtney, I will!” he said.

“Alright, that’s a deal,” the doctor said.

“YES!!!!” Traise exclaimed.

“Take this book and let that be signed by Tyler Scott. I like his law book.”

“Why do you like my brother that much?” he said, looking at it. “And yet you hate me? I mean, I’m more good looking than him!”

“You wish,” the doctor said. “And let this be signed by Avery Heimsworth. I love her bill about death penalty.”

I smiled by just eavesdropping.

“You like that daughter of a thief?!” Traise exclaimed.

Lah? How dare him?!

“And you’re a son of a fuckboy,” the doctor said, mocking.

I smirked.

That’s it, that’s the line!

“How did you know that code name?!?” he exclaimed.

“Nakasulat sa first page of her book. She dedicated it to the sons of a fuck boy and daughter of an evidence tamperer. You guys are funny.”

“She’s my prof,” I heard a teenage voice.

“Your prof is Avery and your doctor is him. Good luck kid,” Traise said. “I gotta go, my brother might take my wife away from me if I’m late. Bye, Doc! Bye, kid. See you soon if this fat ass doctor ruined your health.”

I heard foot steps.

“Oh, by the way. In case he does ruin your health, request Doctor Traise Stevens to take over, that’s my name. I fix health and broken hearts,” he said and winkedband he disappears in their sight.

Nang buksan n’ya ang pinto, halos mapatalon s’ya sa gulat nang makita ako.

“Avery,” he said. “B-Bakit ka nandito?”

Nang makita ang posas sa kamay ko ay napa-urong siya.

I smiled.

“Long time no see,” I said and looked at his eyes.

“ YOU’RE UNDER ARREST.“

PART FOUR: THE HANAHAKI DISEASE

The trial was just around the corner.

I literally shut myself from everything and from everyone. Masyado akong nag focus sa kaso ng daddy ko. I focused on reviewing his bank account details and everything that can help me clear up his name.

Pero ang nakaka-inis, my dad didn’t want to help me. He said he’ll plea guilty, since it was a fact that he stole money from the public. But when I asked him where the money went, he never told me. He didn’t want to let me know.

Ang nakakapagtaka, wala sa mga bank accounts niya ang pera. That made me think that maybe my dad stole the money but someone else was the receiver. When I asked him about it as if I know when in fact I was just guessing, turned out, it was true and dad was protecting someone he didn’t want me to know and I knew the case was doomed.

“We’ll just email you the bank details,“  the bank manager said when I finally traced the last bank account that my dad didn’t want me to know.

“Sure,” I said. “I’ll be contacting you for the progress.”

In a blink, I saw myself outside the bank building and waiting for Courtney to come. She said she wanted me to know something and I was somehow curious about it.

Ewan ko ba sa kanila ni Traise. Last time na humingi ng favor sa akin si Courtney, ay para padalhan ng pagkain si Traise sa hospital. Si Traise naman, halos mahimatay nang biruin kong he was under arrest.

Minutes after, a car stopped in front of me and soon as I went inside, Courtney was crying.

“W-Why?” I asked, concerned. “What happened?”

She handed me a pregnancy test and turned out, it was negative.

“Does Traise know?” I asked.

She cried. “No.”

“Do you want him to know?”

She cried even hard. “No.”

“But he deserves to know,” I said.

“I know,” she replied. “But have you seen the spark in his eyes when I told him I might be pregnant? He was the happiest…”

“I’ve seen that,” I said. “But he should know, hmm? I’ll call him, I’ll help you.”

But then, we got flustered when Tyler was calling me the moment I took my phone out of my bag.

“Why would this shit call me?” I asked.

“You guys are still not in good terms?“

“Yup,” I said, and answered the call. “WHAT DO YOU WANT—”

“COME OVER HERE!”  he shouted. “COME OVER HERE IN THE HOSPITAL!”

“W-Why?!” I asked, shocked.

“MAY OOPERAHAN SI TRAISE!“ he shouted.

“So?” tanong ko. “Doktor siya, anong ine-expect mo? Mag-aalbolaryo siya?”

“HE’S JUST A RESIDENT, AVERY!“ Tyler exclaimed. “AND RESIDENTS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO LEAD AN OPERATION YET WITHOUT A SUPERVISION FROM A SENIOR, AND HE’S DOING IT! COME FASTER AND DON’T TELL COURTNEY, OKAY? SHE’LL PASS OUT! ”

I gulped, as I looked at Courtney’s face. She was tensed and dead-worried.

“T-Tyler…” I said, panicking. “S-She knows…”

——

THIRD PERSON P.O.V.

Inside the hospital, three teenagers can be seen and in their surprise, the hospital was full of patients. There were injured people from side to side, some were crying in pain, some were whining, there were relatives crying, bloods all over the floor, nurse and doctors were stressed out, everything seemed so messy.

“What the hell happened here…” one murmured.

“OVER THIRTY MORE PEOPLE ARE COMING!” announced by a doctor.

“TELL THEM WE CAN NO LONGER ACCOMPANY THEM!” shouted by another doctor inspecting a man with a burned face.

Everything seemed messed up and disastrous.

“Sir, sir,” one of the three teengers asked a doctor who was inspecting a man with broken leg.

“Oh, yes?” said by the doctor.

“What happened here?” she asked.

“Sumabog ’yong apartment na tinitirhan nila. Ang suspetya, terrorist attack,” the doctor said. “OH SHIT! IS THERE A SURGEON AVAILABLE?”

“Majority of the doctors went to the seminar,” sagot ng nurse na dumaan. “Asaan po ang magulang nitong bata? Need na po itong operahan.”

“Oh, shit…” bulong ng doktor at tumingin sa lalaking bali ang hita. “Wait lang sir, ah. I’ll get some things for you.”

Maya-maya’y umalis na ito.

“Kids, move!” a doctor shouted that made the three teenagers stand in the corner of the room.

“They said majority of their surgeons are not here,” a boy from one of the teenagers said. “Who will operate Pia?” he added, pertaining to their other friend who waa lying on bed, unconscious.

“I don’t know,” the girl said, panicking as well. “Let me call dad.”

“What is happening?” the other guy  asked.

“Just shut up!” the guy answered.

“Hindi siya sumasagot!” reklamo ng babae at bumuntong-hininga.

Until they heard someone coughing and it was a familiar loud painful cough. They panicked more.

They ran towards the owner of the sound and from here, they saw their friend lying on the hospital bed with petals surroundings her.

“Damn it!” the girl said as she turned her phone off. “Kung walang tutulong kay Pia, anytime puwede siyang mamatay!”

“I…I don’t know what the fuck is happening!” one of the three teenagers said.

“DO YOU WANNA KNOW?” the other guy exclaimed.

“DON’T!” the girl exclaimed since the two were about to pick a fight.

“Kids, kung mag-aaway man kayo please ’wag rito, maliit ang space. Doon kayo sa labas, baka sumali pa ’ko.”

Sabay-sabay silang napatingin sa nagsalita at nagliwanag ang mukha ng babae nang makita ang doktor.

“Doctor Traise!” she exclaimed.

“Oh, Jam!” Traise said and smiled. “How’s your fat-ass bald dad?”

“He’s not answering his calls!” the other guy said.

“Of course he won’t,” Traise said. “I took your dad’s two weeks shift. Nasa ibang lugar ngayon ’yon, nagbabakasyon.”

“NAGBABAKASYON?!” reaksyon ni Jam.

“Yep,” he said, “Yup. He bribed me. Your dad is a sly fox.”

“DOCTOR STEVENS!” a doctor shouted. “SEE IF THIS NEEDS SURGERY!”

“Alright!” Traise shouted back and looked at the three teenagers. “See you around.”

Traise walked away and went to the patient he was told to check. The whole place seemed like a catastrophic environment where you can hear the cries and pains of every patient.

He checked the man and he was barely breathing.

“Gaano na siya katagal dito?” he asked.

“About an hour,” a nurse answered.

“This is complicated,” Traise said. “This case is kind of alarming. If we’ll take the metal stuck on his chest, it may or may not damage his organs and it will cause massive blood lost that may be his cause of death.“

He contemplated.

“However, if we’ll make it any longer, the rust on the metal may cause infection to his wound, that may enter his bloodstream and may be his direct cause of death. We have few surgeons here. This must be prioritized,” Traise said and looked at the nurse. “Call the surgery team and the available surgeon we have.”

“Okay Doc,” the nurse said and walked away.

In a minute, the patient was being moved out of the emergency room for surgery until someone called him.

“TRAISE!”

He looked back and the moment he realized who it was, Traise almost rolled his eyes.

“Sino ’yan?“ tanong ng lalaki.

“He needs a surgery. Why are you here?“

“Is that how you greet your brother?” Tyler asked and acted offended. “Anyway, nag-iisang witness ’yan sa isang kaso. Make sure to save him, okay?

“Don’t instruct me,” Traise said coldly. “I’ll do my job.”

Tyler smiled. “As you should.”

“Doc!“

Pareho silang napatigil nang may lumapit sa kanilang lalaki. Isa ito sa tatlong teenager at namumukhaan ito ni Traise.

“Remember me? You said I can ask you for help since you fix broken hearts.“

“Oh,” Traise said and flashed a smile when he remembered the boy. “Kumusta ka?”

“Sino ’yan?” Tyler asked while looking at the boy suspiciously.

“The kid from weeks ago,” Traise said. “What are you doing here?”

“Tinakbo rito ang kaibigan ko, doc,” sabi nito. “You told me last time that you fix broken hearts, right?”

“I do,” Traise said, wearing off his coat since he was preparing to assist a surgery.

“Then fix my friend’s broken heart,” the boy said. “Save her…”

Traise looked at boy, tracing if he was kidding around.

“Kid,” he said. “We have loads of patients in here. As much I want to help everyone, I just can’t,” he said.

“BUT SHE’S DYING!” the boy insisted. “Any minute now she might!”

“So does everyone in here,” Traise said. “Look at every corner of you. They are all dying and crying for help. And you know what we can only do? Giving assistance to those who can still endure and prioritize who are severe.“

“But my friend’s case is severe!”

“So does the patient we are about to do the surgery now,” Traise insisted. “Sorry, kid”

Traise walked away along with Tyler, leaving the teary-eyed boy behind.

“SHE’S DYING!” the boy once again shouted but Traise was not looking back.

The kid gulped, and he shouted, “SHE HAS HANAHAKI DISEASE!”

And from that very moment, everyone stopped. All the doctors and the nurses looked at him with shocked faces.

Traise looked back and his face seemed concerned now.

“She has what?”

The boy approached him and he has tears in his eyes.

“She has hanahaki disease. She’s been spitting petals, Doc Traise. At kanina lang, isang buong bulaklak na ang iniluwa niya. Dalawang petals nalang ang nawawala. She’s…she’s dying any minute now!”

Traise suddenly can’t move.

Did he hear it right?

Hanahaki Disease is a love disease that if someone’s love remains unrequited, they will start spitting out petals until it becomes a full grown flower and that’s when they’d die.

“Hana what?” Tyler asked, confused.

“Doc,“ the nurse approached Traise. “The surgeon needs you.“

Traise looked at the nurse, and looked back at the boy, didn’t know what to do.

Until they heard someone coughing so hard, so painful, so loud.

“Check her,” the boy said. “Check her and you’ll see!”

Traise was hesitant until he checked the patient in the end. What he saw left him flabbergasted.

“Why the fuck she’s spitting petals when she coughs?!” Tyler exclaimed, horrified.

“So it’s true…” a doctor watching them murmured. “The hanahaki disease is true…”

“Doc,” the nurse once again said. “The operation will start in five minutes.”

Traise looked at the teenager girl who was surrounded by petals, didn’t know what to do.

“Help her,” the boy begged him. “Help her, please…”

Traise contemplated, his mind was in chaos.

“Doc!” the nurse once again called him.

Traise heaved a sigh and he made up his mind.

“Tell the surgeon I won’t assist her,” he said. “And prepare the other operating room, this one needs a surgery as well.“

“THANK YOU, DOC!” the boy exclaimed and the other two teenagers almost cried out of joy.

“All the available surgeons are doing surgeries, doc,” the nurse said. “No one’s available for her.“

Traise gulped, thinking if he was still in his right state of mind.

Taking the responsibility will do him no good. He might even lose his license and worse, he might be jailed again.

“Traise, don’t even think of doing it,” Tyler warned him.

He looked at him.

“You were able to defend me in court once, what would be the difference by doing it twice?”

Tyler’s eyes widened.

“Don’t tell me—”

“Prepare the operating room,“ Traise said to the nurse and with determination in his eyes, he said,

“I will be the surgeon in charge.”

PART FIVE: ‘DEFEND ME, ATTORNEY’

THIRD PERSON POV

Inside the operating room, two nurses were present; one was a scrub and one was a surgical technician who had to ensure that the surgeon had the necessary tools. There was also a doctor assistant, one resident, and an anesthesiologist.

“For anyone who are scared, I’m giving you enough time to back out from a possible lawsuit, the door is open,” Traise said and everyone laughed. But no one was planning to back out. When he saw it, he smiled.

“Alright,” he said. “The hanahaki disease starts with the heart, and the root just scatters from heart, to the lungs and to the throat. With that, our goal is to take that root out of the heart. So we will do the open heart surgery and the duration is six hours. But since the patient is young, we have to make the time lesser than that. Are we clear?”

“Yes, doc,” they all said.

“Then let’s start,“ Traise said and he heaved a sigh. “Has she given enough anaesthesia?”

“She is asleep and pain free, doc” the anaesthesiologist said.

“Alright,” Traise said.

He closed his eyes hardly and tried to calm himself.

He’s a doctor and someone’s life was at risk.

There was nothing that he can do.

He had to do it.

He had no other option.

It was more than just a job.

It was more than just a principle.

This was what he pledged for.

He bit his lower lip, remembering every knowledge he had learned in the medical school.

Thing is, sa libro lang n’ya nakita ang lahat.

Sa libro lang n’ya nabasa ang tungkol sa Hanahaki Disease.

Ni mga matagal nang doktor ay hindi pa nakahawak ng ganitong operasyon dahil napaka rare ng ganitong bagay.

He sighed.

Wala nang atrasan ’to.

“May the odds be with me,” bulong niya sa sarili. “Afterall, I’m the Jack of all Trades.”

He looked at everyone.

“Let’s make things smooth,” he said and he finally uttered the starting point.

“Scalpel, please.“

The clock started ticking.

Traise then placed the scalpel on the patient’s chest and in few seconds, blood flowed as he opened her up.

“Gauze,” Traise said. “More gauze.”

The nurse assisted him.

“Doc, what are you doing?” one asked.

“We have to directly open her up to see what’s inside—”

“That’s 11 inch!” the assistant said “We only need 8-10 inch deep cut!”

“T-That’s 11?” Traise asked.  He looked confused with sweats on his face. “S-Sorry.”

“You seem panicking, can you really do it?” tanong ng assistant.

“There’s no backing out,” Traise said. “We opened her up already.”

Traise then started opening up her breast bone.

“Retractor.”

Traise then handled it, and in a minute, the heart now got exposed. Everyone got shocked on what they saw: the heart along with the lungs had roots surrounding it, as if blocking it from gaining blood and nutrients while some parts were even flowering.

“This is beautiful…” the nurse muttered.

“I’d like to call it a curse,” the other one said.

“Doc,“ another nurse said. “Doctor Sam is calling.“

He suddenly got bewildered. Doc Sam is his superior.

Without getting distracted, he instructed the nurse.

“Answer it.”

The moment they answered, everyone inside the operating room closed their eyes as the caller started yelling.

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!” the man on the other line exclaimed soon as he answered. The nurse was holding the phone for him while Traise was doing the surgery.

“I know what I am doing Doc,” he said. “I’m in the middle of an operation.”

“Get out of there! I’ll take over!”

“You’re drunk, sir,” Traise replied calmly.

“I AM NOT!”

“You are,” Traise insisted. “And even if you are not, you’re way too far. The patient might die the moment we waste more time. Don’t worry, I can handle this.“

“CAN YOU HANDLE THE LAWSUIT AFTER IT?!”

Beat.

He felt his heart suddenly started sinking.

That was the only concern that he was worrying about.

Eight years of his life were wasted in jail. Can he afford to lose more years?

He cleared his throat.

“This is my operation, sir. And she’s my patient,” Traise said. “I will face the consequences after. I need to save her first.“

“DOC!” the anaesthesiologist said. “The patient’s vitals are dropping!”

“WHAT DID I HEAR?!” his superior. “WHAT VITALS—”

“I’m hanging up.”

Traise ended the call abruptly.

“Let’s connect her to the heart-lung bypass machine,” Traise said while his hands were getting numb.

Did something go wrong?

In their horror, the heart suddenly stopped pumping.

Traise bit his lip.

He’s doomed.

“Is she…dead?” the nurse asked, panicking.

“Please…tell me she isn’t—”

Until it beats again

“The machine works!” the nurse then exclaimed.

They all felt the relief.

“Bypass machine took over the heart’s pumping action and removed blood from the heart via tubes. The machine then removed carbon dioxide from the blood, adds oxygen, and returns the blood to the body through the process of on pump. So it was normal,” Traise told the team.

“What’s next?” the assistant asked who seemed amused with Traise’s knowledge and skill.

“We will now remove the roots,” Teaise said, determined.

“Doc,” the nurse once again said. “Someone’s calling.”

“Tell Doc Sam I’m busy!” Traise started to lose his cool.

“It’s not him,” the nurse said.

“Who?”

“Wifey, it says.“

His heart took a sudden a leap.

If there’s someone who’s dead worried, he knew it would be her.

It would be Courtney Spencer with no doubt.

“Answer it,” he said and gulped.

“TRAISE STEVENS, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!” it shouted.

He smiled.

Somehow, hearing her voice can calm him down.

“Courtney,” he said. “Hear me out—“

“NO HEARING YOU OUT! GO OUT HERE AND STOP THIS!”

He smiled again.

He was fascinated on how her voice alone can melt down all the panic and worries in him.

“I won’t and I can’t, Courtney,“ he said, assuring her.

“WHAT?! Don’t you care about me anymore?!”

“I do,“ he said. “But this case is something I cannot just leave—“

“BUT YOU’RE NOT A SURGEON YET, YOU’RE A RESIDENT! Alam mo ba mangyayari sa ’yo, ha? Puwede ka nilang kasuhan, Traise!“

“I’m not scared,” he said. “You’re there. You’ll defend me, won’t you?”

“That’s—“

“I love you.“

He halted him.

Everyone in the operating room giggled.

“Traise it’s not—“

“I love you ulit,” he said.

“TRAISE, I’M SCARED—“

“And I love you, again, more than ever.“

“Traise I’m worried—“

“Don’t be,” he said. “I’ll do well. I’ll be the Traise that you are proud of.“

“But what if something bad happens? What if they sue you, what if… what if they put you in jail then—“

“If that happens…” he said and he smiled weakly.

“

Defend Me, Attorney…”

PART SIX: IT’S OVER NOW

Almost twenty-four hours had passed since the surgery started. Twenty-four hours and yet, wala kaming alam sa kung ano ang nangyayari sa loob. Kung successful ba ito o hindi ay wala kaming kahit na anong ideya.

They said it would only take six hours. Pero hindi namin alam kung bakit tumagal nang ganito.

Tyler can’t stop walking from here and there. Si Courtney naman, nakatulog nalang sa balikat ko kakaiyak sa sobrang pag-aalala.

’Yung tatlong bata, about 18 year-olds, mga hindi rin mapakali.

Ako lang ata ang chill dito na nagbabasa pa ng libro habang umiinom ng milk tea.

“Will things be fine?” I heard one of the kids asked the other kid.

“Let’s just hope that it will,” the kid answered, trying to be optimistic.

“Will she be fine?” the other one asked.

“OF COURSE SHE WILL.”

We all looked at Tyler who suddenly talked.

“My brother may be impulsive but he’s the best. My brother’s sacrificing his life and career to save your friend, so your friend must live or otherwise Avery will kill her.”

I looked at him with sharp eyes.

“’Wag mo naman tatukin mga bata,” I said.

“Presence mo palang nakakatakot na,” Tyler said. “Tignan mo nga may space pa sa tabi mo pero pinili nila magsiksikan sa upuan.”

“’Yun ba yun? Akala ko kasi they were trying to protect their female friend from you. Fuck boy ka pa naman.”

His eyes widened.

“Excuse me?!”

“I SAID WHAT I SAID,” I said.

I heard the kids laughed.

It was, perhaps, the first time in the whole twenty-four hours that the atmosphere lightened up.

“Ma’am, I’m a fan,” the female said.

“You know her?” Tyler asked.

“Of course we do!” the other kid then said. “She’s our prof!”

I looked at them.

“So these three are my students?” I asked myself.

Tyler gave them a disapproving look.

“Oh, poor kids,” Tyler said, giving them a pity look. “Imagine meeting Avery every day. Ah, I can’t even stay with her for five minutes.”

But before I can even say a thing as retaliation, the operation room opened and the surgery team went out.

We all stood up and Courtney was awakened.

“Thanks for the hardwork,” a familiar voice said. “Go have a rest.”

“TRAISE!” Courtney shouted.

“How was the operation?” the kids asked.

At first, Traise had no emotion on his face.

Until a smile curved on his lips.

“She’s safe now.”

It was, definitely, a relief to us.

“GUILTY.”

It echoed on my mind. Few days after Traise successfully did an operation, Tyler and I faced each other in court.

And I lost.

Miserably.

It had been days since my dad got a guilty verdict, yet my system couldn’t absorb it well yet.

I lost not because Tyler’s evidence was better. I lost because things were manipulated.

They struck out all my witnesses.

Crucial witnesses didn’t show up.

The bank did not email me the copies of transaction.

It was, perhaps, had been decided even before the trial startee.

That even before I tried to move, dad eventually pleaded guilty without telling me.

I sighed.

I opened the folder on my desk and I smiled weakly when I saw what was inside of it; a list of names who operated a student named Pia and the surgeon was Traise Stevens.

I blinked and I sighed. I started thinking again whether my decision was the best thing to do.

Until I heard the door opened. In my surprise, Courtney, Tyler, and Traise came inside.

I stood up.

“Oh, Hi—“

And before I can even greet them properly, Courtney gave me a one solid slap.

I felt like my soul flew out of my body.

I smiled bitterly, massaging my cheek that she slapped.

Tiningnan ko siya at kitang-kita ko ang galit sa mga mata niya.

“I wish that was much stronger to bring me back to my senses,” I said.

Courtney’s eyes were full of anger.

“You’re a shit!”

She exclaimed and was about to give me another slap when Traise halted her.

“Stop it” he said. “That won’t change a thing.“

“Bakit mo ginawa ’yon?!” Courtney then exclaimed. She was close to crying. “Why did you charge Traise of clinical malpractice?!”

Beat.

That’s right.

I did it.

I smirked.

“Why not?” I said.  “I saw a probable cause to do so, so why not?”

“What…?” Courtney asked with disbelief in her eyes.

I looked at Tyler who was only behind them.

“Just like you, I just did my job.”

“And does that job include ruining your friend’s life?!” Courtney asked.

“Friends?” I asked. I looked down and scoffed. “Did you even think of that when you convicted my dad?”

“W-What…?” Courtney asked again. “Avery, magka-iba ’yon!”

I looked at Courtney and I met her eyes with the same fury.

“I helped you to clear your mom’s name!”

I looked at Traise.

“I helped you be freed!”

I looked at Tyler.

“And I helped your dad to have the justice that he was deprived of!“

I then looked at all of them.

“Tinulungan ko kayong lahat pero anong nakuha ko pabalik? Pinagtulungan ninyo ako. You convicted my dad!“

“Because he did things against the law!” Courtney reasoned out.

“And Traise did too!” I argued back.  “Operating in the absence of a superior when you’re just a resident is not supported by law and is a crime, so if convicting my dad just because he did wrong why are you so mad at me for charging Traise a clinical malpractice when we all know he also did something wrong?!”

“BUT THE PATIENT WAS SAFE!“ Courtney shouted.

“BUT THAT DOESN’T CHANGE THE FACT THAT HE OPERATED HER UNAUTHORIZED!” I shouted back.

A deafening silence followed.

“Are you sure you’re doing this because of that?” Tyler finally spoke. “Or because you want to take revenge on me?”

“Both,“ I said.

The tears I had been suppressing for days finally escaped my eyes.

“Avery…” Courtney said, crying now. “Are you…even our friend?”

“Let me ask you guys that question,” I said. “Am I even your friend?”

“Of course!” Courtney exclaimed while crying still.

“I don’t think so,“ I said. “Because if you think of me as that, you won’t ruin my family. Do you even know how much bullying my younger brother is getting now from his school labelling him as a son of a plunderer? Do you even see his crying and traumatized face? You never thought of that because you’re only after  what will bring you up as a person! You never thought of how will it impact me because it is me, Avery, and I know you guys secretly hate me!“

“We don’t!“ Courtney argued.

“You do,” I said. “I never even felt like I really do belong in this group. You made me guys think like that, because that’s what you make me feel!“

“Avery, we were not that vocal to you because we know you are strong—”

“DAMN, COURTNEY!” I exclaimed  “Just because I can handle the pain doesn’t mean I deserve it!”

Silence followed.

“I hate to say this,” Courtney said. “But if you’ll pursue the case, you’ll be facing us in court.“

“I know,” I said. “It has always been like this. You three against me.“

My tears fell and I felt my legs shaking.

“And do you know what’s the best thing to do now?” I followed.

Courtney looked at me. “What?”

“Let’s consider ourselves as enemies.” I said. “Don’t consider me as your friend anymore.”

“Avery…What are you saying…?“ Traise asked.

“A-Avery” Courtney then said. “We can talk about it —”

“No, Courtney,” I said. “Let’s end things this way.”

And in a sudden, I took off the friendship ring we all four have and handed it to her, and with eyes getting blurry with tears, I looked at them.

“

Friendship over…“

PART SEVEN: THE NEW NORMAL

“This honorable court of the Republic of the Philippines with the Honorable Judge Jean Clyde Perez is now in session. All rise.”

I closed my eyes.

Ah, shit. Ito na.

“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Calling the case of the People of the Philippines versus the accused. Are you both ready?”

“Ready for the People, Your Honor,” the prosecutor said.

I gulped.

“Ready for the defense, Your Honor,” I said.

The judge looked at us. “Will the clerk please swear in the jury?”

The clerk stoop up.

“Will the jury please stand and raise your right hand?”

When everyone stood up, he cleared his throat.

“Do each of you swear that you will fairly try the case before this court, and that you will return a true verdict according to the evidence and the instructions of the court, so help you, God?  Please say I do.”

“I do,” everyone of them said.

“You may be seated,” the clerk then said.

“Prosecution, would you like to start the opening statement?”

“Yes, Your Honor,” he said and stood in front.

“The evidence in this case will prove that on Sunday, July 26, the accused tried to poison my client out of insecurity so she would not be able to attend their university pageant. The accused and my client are known as rivals in their school be it academically or extra curricular. On July 24, Friday, while rehearsing for the pageant, the accused warned my client not to attend the pageant otherwise she’d dig her own grave. Not too long after, my client was food poisoned. There was no other suspect than the accused herself.”

I can feel the crowd was looking at me now, murmuting on how would I be able to defend it.

My client with her full pack make up was sitting beside me, her legs were trembling.

“Defense?” the judge.

I stood up.

“First of all, Your Honor,” I said and put my chin up. “Tama s’ya.”

There was a loud murmuring. Even the prosecutor was caught off guard.

“Guilty po kami.”

“GIRL!” my client exclaimed to me, close to crying.

“Hindi ba?” I asked her. “Buang, wala tayong ebidensya na inosente ka.”

There were loud noises.

“Your Honor, wait ha,” I said and turned to my client.

“I-depensa mo naman ako!” she said, crying.

“You admitted to me you did the crime, akala ko ba mag plea tayo ng guilty?!”

“Defense?”

“Wait, Your Honor, two minutes!” I said and turned to my client who’s now crying. “Ano ba, ginawa mo ba talaga?”

“Hindi ko alam!” she said. “Lasing ako nun..”

I closed my eyes hardly.

“Sarap mo sabunutan!”

I then turned to the judge.

“Your Honor, hindi pa naman recorded ’yun ano? We’ve changed our mind, eh.”

They laughed.

I forced a smile.

“Anyway,” I said and stood in front. “My client was accused of food poisoning her known rival in school. However, the only evidence the prosecution has is a circumstantial evidence. There is no definite evidence that the accused did the crime. It would be unfair for her to be accussed of something that is not yet proven. And today, in this court, the prosecution must prove the accused is guilty otherwise, she is innocent.”

I said and sat back.

Damn!

I saw people nodding understandingly. Ano kaya reaksyon ng mga ’to pag nalaman nilang freestyle lang ’yon?

“The prosecution may call its first witness,” the judge said.

“The People of the Philippines call the victim’s friend who heard the threat directly from the accused,” the prosecutor.

The bailiff then took the witness to the witness stand.

“Please stand,” the clerk said, “Raise your right hand. Do you promise that the testimony you shall give in the case before this court shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God?”

“I do,” the woman said.

“Please state your first and last name.”

She stated them.

“You may be seated.”

She then seated.

“Please spell your last name for the record,” the reporter said and she did.

The prosecutor cleared his throat.

“May I know what’s your relationship with the victim?”

“We are friends.”

“We have different kind of friendships. How close are you?”

“Enough to know each other’s dirty little secrets, I guess.”

The crowd laughed.

“Can you describe the victim?”

“Sure. She’s… always humble and best at whatever she does.”

“What’s the impact of it to people around her, then?”

“They are envious,” she said. “Sometimes, insecure.”

The prosecutor smiled, probably waiting to hear that word.

Why can I see Tyler in him, though? Both are evil snakes.

“Let’s talk about the accused, then. Do you know her?”

“Of course,” the witness said.

“What’s her relation with the victim?”

“They are… like, rivals?”

“Rivals in what way?”

“In everything, actually. They are like black and white.”

“Now let’s talk about what happened last July 26. Can you still remember them?”

“Of course,” the woman said.

“Can you tell us more about it?”

“Sure. It happened when they were rehearsing for the pageant. There was an online voting and the accused was leading for one week straight. Until the last night of online voting, the votes for my friend skyrocketed and she topped the voting. The accused was mad and she attacked my friend. She was so angry and she said if my friend won’t stop cheating, she will kill her in all ways possible, even poisoning so she would die ugly.”

I looked at my client. Ni-hindi ako maka-object dahil inamin niya iyon.

“You said the accused was so mad, right?”

“Yes.”

“Mad enough to kill someone?”

“Yes.”

“Objection!” I said and stood up. “Your Honor and ladies and gentlemen of the jury, under the law my client is presumed innocent until proven guilty. The prosecution must provide actual evidence than just statements.”

“We will, Your Honor,” the prosecution said and looked at me. “You wait and see.”

“Edi wow,” I uttered.

“Your Honor, that concludes it. That shows that the accused is capable of doing so. The prosecution rests.”

“Defense, would you like to cross examine?”

“Yes, Your Honor,” I said and stood in front.

“Did you actually see the accused putting poison on your friend’s food?”

“No,” the woman said. “I guess not.”

I smiled.

“Don’t believe what you just heard because lies spread faster than truth,” I said. “Quote ’yan sa Facebook ng FB friend ko, Your Honor and that applies to it. No more questions. I rest my case.”

“’Yun na ’yon?!” my client asked me soon as I went back.

“Of course, ’yun na ’yon,” I said.

“Jurors, you will now retire to the jury room to deliberate. First pick one of you as the leader of your group. When you have reached a verdict, please let the Bailiff know. Bailiff, please take charge of the jury,” the judge said.

“Yes, Your Honor.”

There was a long pause of silence.

“Will the jury foreperson please stand? Has the jury reached a unanimous verdict?” the judge.

“Yes, Your Honor,” the foreperson said. “The jury finds the defendant…”

I closed my eyes, afraid of what would I hear…

“GUILTY.”

I opened my eyes, not suprised.

“The jury is thanked and excused.   Court is adjourned.”

The woman beside me started crying.

I rolled my eyes.

“Don’t cry,” I said. “Kasalanan mo naman ’yan. Magbabanta nalang kasi sa marami pang makakaranig. Sana ayos ka lang.“

However, the girl just cried even harder.

“H-How m-many times d-do I have t-to tell na di ko nga alam if  I did that?!” she frustratedly exclaimed, crying hard still and now covering her face with too much tears.

“You do not have evidence that you didn’t do it,” I said. “But they have the evidence that you did.”

“All they have was a cicumstantial evidence!” she exclaimed. “You’re my lawyer, so why don’t you just believe me?!”

“Girl,” I said. “In court, before everything starts, there is a preliminary trial wherein you will either plea guilty or not guilty. Ang sabi ko kasi sa ’yo mag-guilt nalang tayo so the judge will either give you a verdict with much lighter sentence, sometimes they might even just require you to do a community service and much better, sometimes, they drop the case.”

“What…are you trying to say?”

“What I’m trying to say is, kasalanan mo ’to lahat!”

“WHAT?!” she exclaimed. “YOU FUCKING SERIOUS?”

I nodded.

“YOU’RE A FREAK!” she shouted and in a flashed she was accompanied away.

Freak.

It echoed on my mind.

Familiar, though. That’s what my clients were all labelling me as.

It had been a year since I left our law firm at pumunta sa napakalayong lugar para magsimula uli. Just when I thought I can do better, I ended up being a nobody.

Would you believe that the once labelled as the queen of court trials became a laughing stock of her officemates because she haven’t  won a single case since she went here?

I sighed.

Yes.

THIS IS MY NEW NORMAL.

I stood up and was about to walk when my phone beeped. Nang tingnan ko, mga e-mails lang pala.

The most recent was from Courtney

The few hours ago was from Traise

And the days ago was from Tyler.

I shook my head.

Hindi ito ang unang beses. Ever since I left the office we built a year ago, Hindi na ako bumalik pa roon.

Nag-deactivate na rin ako ng social media accounts ko at nagbago ng cellphone number. After kong i-drop ang supposed clinical malpractice lawsuit kay Traise, umalis na ako at hindi na nagpakita. Lumayo ako at kasalukuyang nakatira sa napakalayong lugar.

Here, I built my new life and has been living here for over a year already. Nagtratrabaho ako bilang public defender ng siyudad at bilang isang professor ng isang university. Mga political science students mostly ang mga estudyante ko.

I opened the e-mails and all were just narrating their normal day, what happened in the law firm, how everyone was doing, and even sending photos of our office dog I truly missed.

They have been doing this for over a year and the most active was Courtney. I didn’t pursue the case I filed against Traise.  I dropped it the same day I left, and I just disappeared without them knowing. I just disappeared without saying goodbye and they haven’t heard anything from me since then.

Sa totoo lang, nagagalit pa rin ako sa kanila dahil sa ginawa nila sa tatay ko. At nagagalit din ako sa sarili ko dahil alam kong ginawa lang nila ang tama. Ang gulo, ano?

Hindi pa rin kinakasal si Courtney at Traise. Sa e-mail na ipinadala nila sa ’kin, ang sabi nila, hindi raw sila magpapakasal hangga’t hindi ako bumabalik at hindi kami kumpleto.

Bahala kayo tumanda d’yan.

Soon as I left the courtroom, I was about to put my earphones on but someone blocked my way.

As I looked up, I recognized who it was; it’s Heinz.

Si Heinz ay isa ring public defender at magkalapit lang ng opisina namin. Hindi gaya ko na parating nasa korte, siya naman ay natutulog lang sa opisina niya pero binabayaran pa rin siya.

Not because he’s lazy, but because in his sleep, he can predict who will going to die next.

He would draw or paint them soon as he woke up so he can know the details. Our head will forward it to authorities and the place will be guarded.

Since I went here, he had predicted over thirty deaths and only three from them were saved.

Of course, hindi lahat ay perpekto. He can predict the death but he didn’t know when.

And of course, hindi ako naniniwala.

Sa mga palabas lang naman nangyayari ’yan. Hula ko nga, gumagawa lang ’yan ng kwento para matulog sa office.

Awit.

I tried to avoid his eyes but for the first time in the whole year, he met mine. Never pa kaming nag-usap at hindi naman kami ganoon ka-close.

I tried to keep going but then he uttered my name.

I looked back. There, I noticed, he was wearing a black hoodie and his usual round eyeglasses. Bagsak na bagsak rin ang itim n’yang buhok na tumatakip na halos sa mata n’ya.

“If pinapunta ka rito para alamin ang resulta, umuwi ka na. Talo ako.”

I then kept walking.

“BLOCK 58 ZONE 3 DISTRICT 5,” he vaguely said. “BUILDING 2 KAUNLARAN VILLAGE,” he added.

WAIT.

THAT’S MY ADDRESS!

I looked back at him, confused and shocked.

But the next thing he said brought chills down my spine.

“

SOMEONE’S GONNA DIE THERE.“

PART EIGHT: HE WHO SEES DEATH

“ SOMEONE’S GONNA DIE THERE.“

How would you react when someone said someone’s gonna die in your house? RIGHT IN YOUR PLACE?

And to think na mag-isa ka lang sa bahay?

Will you panic? Will you cry? Will you be anxious? Mapapa search bigla sa google? Mapapasulat ng last will?

CUZ SAME.

After he said that, I became paranoid. Lahat ng tumitingin sa ’kin, feeling ko papatayin ako. Hindi pa nga ako makatulog. Oras-oras kong tinitingnan kung na i-lock ko ba ang mga pinto. Minsan kapag dinadalaw na ’ko ng antok, magigising ako para tingnan kung na i-lock ko ba talaga nang maayos.

Nakaka-paranoid!

As I searched about Heinz, I found out na bago pa ako dumating dito, ginagawa na n’ya iyon. Ni-rerespeto s’ya ng mga kinauukulan dahil mahigipit three hundred deaths na ang na-predict n’ya ng tama.

Syempre, wala pa nga halos sa twenty ang nakaligtas. Napapanaginipan n’ya ang pagpatay, kung anong uri ng gamit ang ginamit sa pagpatay, nakikita n’ya rin ang lugar, at ang mga huling salita ng biktima.

Kaya nga may paniniwala sa lugar na ’to. Na kung may pumapatay sa’yo, isigaw mo ang pangalan n’ya at ang hitsura n’ya, dahil ilang araw pa man bago ito mangyari, napapanaginipan na ni Heinz lahat iyon.

Parang plot lang sa mga fiction novels, ano? Tinatawanan ko lang ’yan noon pero ngayon, isa na rin ako sa natatakot.

Minsan pa nga, sumisigaw na rin ako sa bahay ng mga huling salita dahil baka any time bigla nalang may sumaksak sa akin.

Naalala ko nanaman tuloy ’yung death threat na nakuha ko noon:

“ I’m a graduate of education. We were trained to get our shit together kahit na sobrang gulo na ng isang classroom na hinahandle namin. We must act ethically and accordingly pero… PUTANGINA MO AVERY MAMATAY KA NA HAYUP KA SANA MASAKSAK KA SA TIYAN AT LUMABAS YANG BITUKA MO TANGINA KA HAYUP KA.“

Tinatawanan ko lang ’yan noon pero ngayon napa-paranoid na ’ko dahil baka mayroon talagang bigla nalang sumaksak sa tiyan ko.

Kung mamamatay lang ako, sana sa pagtulog nalang. Para katatapos ko lang mag skin care. Wag naman karumaldumal, please lang. Ayokong mamatay na kulay violet ang mukha.

For the next days, ganoon na ang naging set up ko. Napaka paranoid ko sa lahat nabg bagay. Until ilang araw na ang lumipas, unti-unti ko nang nalimutan ang mga bagay-bagay.

Huh.

Someone’s gonna die here?!

Eh, the only thing that died were my brain cells when I tried to comprehend my upcoming cases!

Whatever that Heinz was, scam s’ya. Period. PeriodT. Periodism. Periodically. Periodicity. Periodical table.

Tomorrow morning, I was in the office. While everyone was reviewing their cases, here I was, watching Funny Vines.

I smiled, trying my best not to laugh and in the end, I ended up laughing so hard to the point that everyone in the office who literally secretly hated me looked at me with sharp eyes.

“Avery,” one finally said. “Sssh,” she said, poker faced.

“Mama mo sssh,” I murmured.

To refrain myself from grinning much, I opened my e-mail and my smile faded when I saw who recently sent me one.

Courtney.

I sighed and closed it.

No, I have no thoughts of coming back.

Ano maipagmamalaki ko?

Na umalis ako para maging ganito?

I gulped.

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO THAT CLIENT?!”

I immediately looked at the man standing in front me, as he exclaimed with face so intimidating.

“Sinong client, boss?” tanong ko.

“Aba, sa sobrang dami na ata ng naitalo mong kaso hindi mo na sila matandaan?”

I bit my lower lip.

“Baka nakakalimutan mo, Avery, tinanggap lang kita rito dahil akala ko—scratch that—akala namin magaling ka!”

“Don’t meddle with my work, boss,” I said.

“Don’t meddle?!” he exclaimed. “You never won a single case ever since you went here! You keep on dragging down our name!”

Beat.

He’s right, though. I never won a single case I handled ever since I went here.

I ended up pleading them guilty, or eventually losing in court. I don’t know, I have no will to fight tooth and nail.

Pakiramdam ko nga ay nawala na ang talinong mayroon ako noon. Kung saan na napunta ay wala akong ideya.

I never liked being like this and being like this had never been my choice. I just woke up one fine day, tired, and no longer good at things I was so passionate about.

“That’s—”

But then my phone beeped and it was my alarm.

“Ooops,” I said. I stood up and get my bag. “Saved by the alarm!”

“W-Where are you going?!” he asked.

I smiled. “I’m a professor, sir, remember?”

The next thing I knew, I was inside the University President’s office, facing him.

“What can you say, Professor Heimsworth?”

But then, nothing was coming out from my mouth.

Tiningnan kong muli ang ‘poor’ na evaluation sa teaching performance ko at ang mga statements ng mga estudyante ko na wala silang natutuhan.

“Do you think you even deserve to be a professor at all?” he then asked. “The school has been receiving bad reviews about the quality of teaching the professors give, and you’re on top of them. On top of the poor performers, to be exact.”

“So what are you trying to say?” I asked.

“I’m afraid, Ms. Avery. Maybe we overlooked your capabilities. To be honest, we are disappointed. Your popularity didn’t match your performance.”

“But I was the most paid prosecutor,” I reasoned out.

“Notice the word, Avery,” he said. “Was. A past tense.”

“What do you mean?”

“That you’re not as good as you were before.”

I felt a massive pain on my chest.

Then, he handed me a paper. As I read it, my heart almost skipped a beat.

They’re firing me.

“We’ve got no choice,” he said.

I closed my eyes hardly.

What should I do?

I opened my eyes and forced a smile.

“You don’t have to kick me out,” I said. “I’m resigning.”

In a blink, I went out of his office and went to a nearby rest room and locked myself in a cubicle.

I need to compose myself.

Soon as I sat on the toilet, I sighed hard and closed my eyes hardly.

Hindi ko inakalang maging ang teaching profession ko ay napapabayaan ko na.

Sa totoo lang, wala akong planong magturo. Gustong-gusto kong magturo. Gumawa lang ako ng resignation letter just in case na maisipan nilang tanggalin ako ay kunwari mag re-resign ako para lang maisalba ko ang pride ko.

I stood up and was about to come out when I heard footsteps coming.

“I heard your professor got kicked out?” one asked.

I held my breath.

“Some says she resigned, I don’t know,” the other one said.

“She’s pretty, though.”

“Pretty with no brain,” one said. “I never learned anything from her. My dad even said her salary is a waste of public tax. I don’t even know why she used to be popular.”

I felt a bang in my chest.

“Tara na,” one said.

Just like that, the two vanished and I was left there, getting numb. As I opened the door, I saw my reflection in the mirror.

Even my reflection can’t recognize me anymore.

I smiled weakly.

“What happened to you?”

I went out with a heavy heart and went to the nearby bus stop to go home.

Habang naghihintay ng bus ay napakaraming pumapasok sa utak ko.

Si Traise ay malapit nang matapos sa fellowship training niya at kilala bilang isang general surgeon resident.

Si Courtney naman ay unti-unti nang nagiging sikat na lawyer-writer at ang mga libro niya ay critically acclaimed even internationally.

Habang si Tyler ay naging highest paid prosecutor at na-imbitahan pa sa International Criminal Court.

At ako, heto.

A loser who was kicked out from her job.

I smiled bitterly as I felt tears were about to form in my eyes.

You really wouldn’t expect how life would turn out.

Natigil ako nang huminto ang bus sa harap ko. Pag pasok ko sa loob ay puno ng mga tao.

Tumayo nalang ako at humawak sa handrail.

Suddenly, the bus stopped at tumama ako sa katabi ko

“Sorry!” I said.

The guy I bumped to didn’t say anything. Kinuha niya lang ang libro niya na nalaglag dahil sa pag bangga ko sa kanya. Nang makuha n’ya, humawak uli s’ya sa handrail at muling nagbasa.

As I looked at him, my eyes grew bigger.

“HEINZ?!” I exclaimed.

I didn’t recognize him!

Madalas siyang nakasuot lang ng hoodie or sweaters at gulo-gulo parati ang itim n’yang buhok na naitatago ng bangs n’ya at ng salamin n’yang bilog.

Pero ngayon, naka-brush up ito. Wala rin s’yang suot na salamin. Naka itim s’ya na polo at naka tuck-tin iyon sa itim n’yang slacks.

Hindi niya ako tiningnan at tuloy pa rin siya sa pagbabasa.

“Nababasa mo ba ’yan?” I asked  “Baka nalaglag din salamin mo sa lapag, gusto mo bang hanapin ko?”

“Nope,” he said without looking at me.

“Baka kasi ’di mo nababasa—”

“I wore my contacts,” he said.

I nodded.

So nagsusuot pala s’ya n’un? Kung titingnan kasi, mukha s’yang soft sweater boy na gugustuhin mong yakapin. Pero syempre, sabi ’yun ng mga officemates ko. Na we-weirdohan kaya ako sa kanya.

Kada nga makikita kong natutulog ’yan at suportado pa ng lahat, isa lang pumapasok sa utak ko.

NAWA’Y LAHAT.

I was about to say something but he halted me.

“Please don’t talk,” he said in his most calm voice. “Tinatamad ako makipag-usap.”

I just shut my mouth up the whole ride.

Until suddenly, he finally talked.

“Remember what I said,” he uttered while looking at his book still.

Confusion swallowed me. I looked at him.

May sinabi ba s’ya? Ayaw nga n’ya makipag-usap, ’di ba?

Unless…

Don’t tell me it’s about—

I looked at him with terrified eyes. Heinz met my eyes and his face was completely emotionless.

“My dream,” he said and I saw how  the corner of his lips twisted a small smirk. “It has never been wrong.”

I felt chills down my spine.

As I looked at his book, I finally saw its title: “

TONIGHT, I DIED.“

My eyes widened.

Fuck.

I can’t talk.

“Avery,” he uttered. “Be warned.”

Just then, the bus stopped. He walked away without looking back at me. As he went out, the bus moved again and before he completely faded from my sight, he looked back and our eyes met.

I felt my legs were about to disown me.

I have never been this scared!

Am I gonna die tonight?!

LITERALLY TONIGHT?!

Hindi ko alam kung saan o kanino ako dapat matakot.

Dapat ba ’kong matakot dahil mamamatay na ’ko o dahil ba hindi ko kilala ang papatay sa ’kin at posibleng kakilala ko pa iyon?

Ah, Heinz! Damn you!

As scared as I, soon as I went out of the bus, I remained at the waiting area.

Should I call Courtney now?

Kumustahin ko na ba si Traise?

Batiin ko na ba si Tyler?

Should I tell them my last words, at least?

Eh, paano kung scam talaga si Heinz?

Gaanong kahihiyan nalang aabutin ko?

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA YAWAAAAAA.

I was going nuts when something came up on my mind.

Right.

Heinz said someone’s gonna die in my place.

But what if, wala ako r’un?

That’s it! That’s the answer! God, Avery! Bakit ang talino mo?

With smile on my face, I stood up. I looked at my watch. It’s 8PM.

Basta! Hindi muna ako uuwi tonight. Bahala na.

Saan kaya ako pupunta?

Oh, sa hypermarket! 11PM pa naman magsasara ’yun.

But just when I walked, a commotion was in front of my eyes.

“TULONG! TULONG!!!”

I suddenly stepped back when a woman wearing just a shirt and her underwear with scars on her face approached me, crying, and in pain.

“Bakit po?” kinakabahan kong tanong. “Anong… nangyayari?”

Nang tingnan ko ang paligid ay walang ibang tao roon bukod sa amin since the city isn’t that populated. Kapag nga na-murder ka sa daan, baka kinabukasan ka pa mapansin.

“Tulungan mo ’ko,” sabi niya at nanginginig sa takot. “Andiyan na siya! Andiyan na siya!”

“Sinong siya?” tanong ko. “May humahabol po ba sa inyo?”

She just cried hard.

“Sino pong siya?” tanong kong muli. “Calm down first, please!”

“Help me get away from here!” she said. “Please…please…”

“Do you want me to call the police?” I asked.

Hindi na makasagot ang babae dahil iyak nalang siya nang iyak.

In a sudden, a man with a face mask came. He was panting.

“Andiyan ka lang pala!” sabi ng lalaki habang hinahabol ang hininga niya.

The moment the woman saw him, she hid behind me and fear can be detected on her face.

“’Wag mo ’ko ibibigay sa kanya, parang awa mo na…” she whispered to me, crying.

“What…do you want?” I asked the man while the woman was at my back.

“Miss,” he said. “Look, asawa ko siya at mentally-challenged siya. Naka-alis sa bahay at tumatakbo. Kailangan na naming umuwi bago pa siya maligaw.”

I looked at the woman, but she’ was too scared to even talk.

“Bakit siya may… may mga sugat?”  I asked, observing him as he was walking slowly towards us so we were stepping back. “And almost naked?”

“Sinabi ko na sa ’yo, may mental illness ang asawa ko. Madalas niyang saktan ang sarili niya,” katwiran nito. “Bigay mo na siya sa ’kin bago pa niya saktan ang sarili niya, please.”

I observed him more.

“Give me an evidence that you are married,” I said.

“Live in partners kami,” he said, “Pero kung gusto mo, pwede ako magpakita ng sex video namin bilang pruheba.”

My eyes widened.

Awit sa’yo bhiE?!?

“Please?” the guy said. “Ibigay mo na siya sa ’kin bago pa siya tumakbo papalayo. Hindi ko kakayanin ’pag may nangyari pa sa asawa ko.”

I contemplated things and in the end, I made up my mind.

“O-Okay,” I said, and stepped aside.

The moment the woman saw him again, she screamed.

“No! No! AAAAAAAH!”

The next thing I knew, she ran away again, shouting, asking for help.

“See?” the guy told me.

“Ganyan ba talaga siya?” tanong ko habang ino-obserbahan ang lalaki.

Matangkad ito at moreno. Sa braso nito ay may tattoo siya ng isang eagle.

“Oo,” sabi ng lalaki at maya-maya’y hinabol na ang asawa.

I watched them fade from my sight and I shrugged. The woman looked familiar, though. I think I saw her somewhere.

That’s why I hate marriage, it’s chaotic.

It was 11PM when I finally decided to go home. There was nothing that I can do. I just have to face my death, I guess.

Wala akong kaibigan na pwedeng tuluyan. Four hours away ang malapit na hotel. At wala akong pamalit na damit. Ayoko mangamoy sa office.

“BLOCK 58 ZONE 3 DISTRICT 5 BUILDING 2 KAUNLARAN VILLAGE,”

I told the driver.

In a snap, we departed.

Alas onse na at baka abutin ng isang oras ang biyahe namin. Malayu-layo rin kasi itong pinuntahan ko.

Whatever capability that Heinz has, I’ll prove he’s a cam and every little thing he predicted or saw in his dream were all coincidence.

Never been wrong?

Huh! Watch me!

In no time, I went out of the taxi and just when I looked at our building, my eyes grew bigger.

There were medias and police everywhere. Napakarami ring taong nakiki-usyoso.

Anong meron?

As I joined the crowd, I heard one gossiping.

“NAKITA SA LOOB NG KWARTO, BUTAS ANG TIYAN AT NAGKALAT ANG LAMANG LOOB SA LAPAG! PINUTOL DIN ANG MGA DALIRI AT INILAGAY SA BUNGANGA! NAKAKATAKOT!”

Nanlaki ang mga mata ko at halos maduwal ako sa pagkaka-kuwento.

Just then, inilabas ang biktima mula sa building at lalong nanlaki ang mga mata ko nang makita ko ang mukha niya.

IT WAS HER!

IT WAS THE WOMAN WHO WERE RUNNING AWAY!

Pakiramdam ko’y binuhusan ako ng malamig na tubig.

Kaya pala siya pamilyar…dahil nakatira kami sa iisang building.

Pakiramdam ko ay nanlalamig ako.

“M-May mental illness po s’ya, ’di ba?” tanong ko sa mga nagkukumpulan.

Tiningnan ako ng matanda. “Walang sakit iyang batang iyan!”

DAMN.

“E-Eh, ka live in po n’ya, n-nasaan?”

“Iha ano bang sinasabi mo?” sagot ng isa. “Mag-isa lang sa bubay ’yan.”

MY EYES GREW BIGGER.

SHIT.

FUCKING SHIT.

IT MEANS…

SHE WAS MURDERED?!

AND I LET THAT HAPPEN?!

Just then, few more people walked outside the building. A prosecutor, a police, a detective, one from forensics, and there, I saw him again with his black polo.

“Heinz…” I uttered.

That’s when I realized everything.

Tonight, in BLOCK 58 DISTRICT 5 BUILDING 2 KAULANLARAN VILLAGE, someone died.

From that moment, Heinz looked at me as well.

As our eyes met, something echoed in my mind.

“My dream. It has never been wrong…”

Indeed.

He

sees death.

PART NINE: THE ANGEL OF DEATH

“YOU SAID YOU WITNESSED THE CRIME?” 

I gulped.

“N-No,” I said, stuttering in front of the detective. “B-But I saw her with someone few hours before the crime happened…”

The detective and the police exchanged eye contacts.

“Anong nakita mo?” tanong niya.

“A woman,” I said. “No, I mean, the victim. She was… almost naked at may mga… galos sa katawan. She was like… screaming for help. She was totally out of herself.”

The detective didn’t even blink.

“Tapos… lumapit siya sa ’kin,” pagpapatuloy ko. “Humihingi ng tulong. And then, a man came and he said they are live in partners at may mental illness daw ang babae that’s why she was running away. She wanted to hurt herself.”

“At ibinigay mo siya?” tanong sa akin.

Tumango ako.

“Mga anong oras iyan, miss?”

“8, I guess,” I answered with my heart trembling inside.

He checked something and he sighed.

“Officer,” he talked to a police nearby. “Nandiyan ba si Heinz?”

“I’m here detective,” a voice said.

We all looked at him.

“Heinz!” the detective. “We got a testimony from a witness. Nag-match sa kung anong nasa panaginip mo.”

So hindi talaga s’ya scam?!

The officer looked at me.

“Sige, miss. Makaka-uwi ka na. We’ll just contact you if we need more information.”

I stood up. “Thank you.”

“Grabe, Heinz. Tugmang-tugma sa itinawag mo sa amin noong isang araw at kanina,” rinig kong kwento ng detective kay Heinz. “Ang sabi ng witness, sa malapit na lugar, nakita n’ya ang biktima na hinahabol ng suspek. Tapos ang isang witness naman, ang sabi may lalaking nagbuhat sa biktima pabalik ng unit nito, ang sabi lasing daw ang biktima. ’Yun ata dahilan kung bakit wala silang narinig na ingay sa unit. Patay na siguro ang biktim bago dalhin at pira-pirasuhin.”

I continued walking as I felt my stomach turned upside down.

Fuck.

Kung makikita lang ninyo ang crime scene, nakakasuka. Nagkalat ang laman loob sa lapag mismo.

Soon as I went out, I sighed.

Not too long after, someone went outside too. As I looked at him, our eyes met.

“Go home,” Heinz said. “It’s safe now.”

Safe?

After someone just got killed in our building?!

“You…” I said. “Why didn’t you tell me that it wasn’t me? Alam mo ba kung paano ako na-paranoid?”

“That’s actually what I wanted,” he said. “I wanted you to panic. I wanted you to be anxious enough to develop trust issues.”

My eyes widened.

Just…

Why would he?

Does he hate me?

“Why?” I asked. “At least give me a valid reason why I deserve to feel those way.”

“Because it was the only way,” he said.

Confusion swallowed me. He met my eyes deeply.

“It was the only way to stop that death.”

My mouth opened but nothing came out.

“Only if you were anxious enough, you won’t give her to him. You won’t believe his lies. You will call the police. There was no other way, Avery. You were the only variable.”

I felt my heart beating fast inside.

Everything’s just creeping me out!

“Who are you to do those?” I asked. “What are you to do that?!”

However, his eyes were too expressionless. There was no trace of emotion on his face.

“I told you,” he said and he looked in my eyes deeply. “I am the living angel of death.”

For the next days, things were uneasy. Na-g-guilty pa rin ako sa pagkamatay ng kapit-bahay ko, siyempre. It didn’t put me to sleep ’till now. Pero syempre, tuloy pa rin ang buhay.

Soon as I finished reviewing a case, I immediately went to the printing machine to print out some details. While I was waiting for my materials, I looked at the room near it and I saw Heinz. Nasa loob siya ng opisina niya at ang ulo ay nakapatong sa lamesa, natutulog.

Anong eksena ng pagpatay naman kaya ang napapanaginipan niya ngayon?

Minsan, ang sarap na rin makigaya. Sarap kaya ng sinu swelduhan ka para lang matulog.

“Weird, noh?”

I almost jumped mid-air when someone talked.

I looked at the owner of the voice and it was one of the older employees.

“Tingnan mo siya,” sabi nito habang nakatingin din kay Heinz. “What do you think of him?”

“Huh?” tanong ko at lumunok. “Well, he’s cute but weird.”

She laughed.

“He is,” she said. “Especially kung malalaman mo ang kakayahan na mayroon siya.”

I looked at her. “Is it… real?”

She laughed again.

“That’s actually the question everyone’s been asking us kapag bago sila rito. Pero oo, base na rin sa mga napatunayan n’ya, totoo,” sagot nito at ngumiti. “He once even saved me. Sabi niya sa akin noon, huwag daw akong sasakay sa sasakyan na may multiple zeros. That time, mag bu-bus na sana ako papuntang Maynila. Sa takot dahil sa sinabi niya, nag-eroplano nalang ako. Just few minuter after I landed, a bus with multiple zeros routing to Manila fell off a cliff. That was the time I realized he was real.”

My jaw partly dropped. “Seryoso?!”

Tumango siya habang nangingiti.

“He had predicted over a hundred deaths in this city during his two years of stay. Only if the authorities took it seriously, mapakikinabangan sana.”

“They… don’t believe him?” I asked.

“Sometimes,” she said.

“It must be good to have that capability, then,” I said.

“For us, yes, but for him? It’s a curse.”

“Why?” I asked. “Ang laking benefit kaya n’on. Alam mo kung ano ang dapat iwasan at hindi.”

“Can you handle dreaming someone else’s death?” she asked me. “That you can see how they were murdered, the sound of their pain, and their last words?”

My heart sank.

Damn.

’Di ko nga kaya ’yon.

“And there’s another reason,” she followed

“What is it?” I asked.

“He dreamt his parents’ death, but he wasn’t able to save them. He was orphaned since twelve.”

I felt pain hit my chest.

The woman smiled.

“Gising na s’ya. Mukhang may napanaginipan nanaman.”

As I looked at his office, Heinz’s eyes met. With his sweater, round eyeglasses, and messy black hair, he stood up and closed the door.

Since that day, I started feeling different about him. I still feel creepy, of course, but there was a part of me who pitied him.

Imagine having the capability to see your parents’ death and having no control to stop it?

Mabubuang siguro ako n’on.

Sa mga nagdaang araw na mina-matyagan ko siya, na-realize ko na halos magmukha siyang outcast sa office. Wala siyang kasama parati at wala kahit ni-isang kaibigan. Nang tanungin ko minsan ang dati niyang kaklase sa law school na officemate rin namin, ang sabi, ganyan daw talaga siya noon pa man.

“He’s creepy but he’s cute so it doesn’t matter,” one of our female workmates said.

“He might be a psycho,” said by one. “I mean, aren’t they intellectuals?”

“If he’s a psycho then he’s a smart-ass psycho. I was his member in our senior year’s thesis. He almost did everything.”

That was the idea. He was quiet, but whenever he talked, you can sense in his statement that he knew a lot of things. Literally his every statement had a content and coherence.

As I observed him every day, I found myself fascinated on how his mind worked.

Was he just timid in nature, or he was faking it and beneath that mask was a demon no one in the office would like to see?

Tahimik lang ba talaga siya or pinipiling manahimik pero sa isip niya ay isa-isa na kaming jinu-judge at tinatawanan dahil wala kami sa level niya?

Wala ba talaga siyang pakialam o nagkukunwari lang siya at ang totoo ay nakikinig at inaalam ang mga kahinaan namin para alam niya kung paano niya kami sisirain kalaunan?

Napa-iling nalang ako dahil kaunti nalang ay mawawala na ako sa katinuan.

I stalked his facebook wall. It was too dark and all the things he was sharing were about philosophy, capitalism, and so on.

He’s weird.

One time in the office, my workmae came furiously. She literally attacked my other workmate who, according to her claim, was talking shits about her.

My workmate of course, fought back and the two ended up crying, cursing, tea spilling, with the whole office now in division on whom to side with. Nang dumating ang superior namin, lalo itong nagalot dahil sobrang stress na siya sa trabaho at nagkakagulo pa ang office. Akala mo may giyera sa loob at napakarami nang nag-iiyakan at nagsasagutan.

Nang tingnan ko si Heinz na nasa loob ng office niya sa ’di kalayuan, nakita ko siyang nanunuod sa kung anong nangyayari. Behind his mysterious yet emotionless face, I saw that something darker flashed.

Heinz smirked—As if he was enjoying the mess he witnessed.

Tomorrow afternoon, nakita ko siyang mag-isang kumakain sa pantry. Umupo ako sa harap niya at minatyagan siya.

Minutes had passed yet, he didn’t even throw a glance at me. So I cleared my throat. Yet, he didn’t look at me still.

“Put your earphones down,” I said. “I know there’s no music playing and that’s only your mechanism so no one would talk to you.”

That’s when he stopped reading his notes. He looked at my eyes with absolute coldness which brought chills down my spine.

Slowly, he put his earphones down. “How did you know?”

He placed his earphones on the table. “Were you observing me?”

The look in his eyes seemed like je was giving me a warning. It felt like meddling with his life equated burying my feet in my own grave.

“T-That was just my assumption,” I said, stuttering. “Now you fell into my trap and confirmed it yourself.”

“Trap?”

His face turned darkly emotionless. Then he looked down and smirked. “You’re good.”

That’s when the fear inside me  slowly faded away.

“Why do you do that?” I asked.

“Do what?” he replied.

“Pushing people away,” I said.

“I don’t push people away, if I do I won’t be talking to you now.”

Beat.

That made sense.

“Then why you don’t talk to us?” I asked. “Why do you avoid socialization?”

“Ewan,” he said nonchalantly. “Let’s say…nakakatamad?”

“NAKAKATAMAD?!” I exclaimed.

“Yea,” he said. “Nakakatamad magsalita.”

“Bakit?” I asked.

“Basta, nakakatamad.”

“I’m just curious,” I said, taking the opportunity to open it up because this might be the last time I could talk to him. “What goes around your mind?”

His face turned emotionless again. “What do you mean?”

“What’s your impression of us?” I asked.

“You are all shits,” he said.

My eyes grew bigger

“But it’s your choice to prove me that you guys are not. That’s how my mind works.”

Flabbergasted yet understood his stand, I asked a question again.

“Why are you so quiet?” I asked. “Aside from tinatamad ka lang, what’s on your mind?”

He looked at my eyes deeply. “You won’t understand.”

“I’ll try to,” I said

He shook his head. “You won’t and you can’t.”

“Then try me,” I said.

“You’re just wasting time.”

“No,” I said eagerly. “I would like to know.”

“Why?”

“I’m interested.”

He looked at me deeply, contemplating. He then sighed.

“It’s dark,” he finally said. “Too dark for anyone to see, to vague for anyone to understand.”

“I said try me,” I told him. “Let’s see.”

He smirked and his it faded as his fae turned dead serious.

“I can see death.“

I opened my mouth but none came out.

“It’s an every day battle,” he said. “Dapat ko bang hayaan na mamatay sila gaya ng kung anong naka-takda sa kanila or should I meddle and save them?”

At a loss of words, I can’t think of anything to say.

“Avery, pwede ka na umalis if you want. My anxiety convinces me that everyone hates me and people only interact with me due to pity and moral obligation,” he said.

Then he looked at me and he smiled weakly. “Just like you.”

I bit my lower lip.

Why was his life this depressing?

“What if I don’t?” I asked.

“Then what would be the reason?”

“What if I like you?”

“Stop kidding.”

“And what if I’m looking at your lips now because I want to kiss you?”

His eyes grew bigger.

“W-What?”

I then stood up and inched the gap of our face with the table in between of us.

I looked at his eyes, down to his lips.

“Don’t assume people’s intention, honey,” I said, and placed my lips near his ear. “Especially if it’s from a queen like me.”

His eyes grew more bigger but his face retained emotionless. Until suddenly, a smile curved on his lips.

Just then, he moved his face closer to the point that our nose’s bridge were touching each other and I can feel his warm breath on my face.

My heart took a sudden leap.

“Why, Avery?” he asked in the most airy voice possible. “You can’t handle?”

I gulped.

He moved closer to the point that I can now feel his lower lip on top of mine.

“Does your heart flutter?”

He smiled.

“I may look naive but I know how to play too,” he said while looking at my lips then up to my eyes. “I can be a soft boy and a wild bear all at once.”

I felt my cheeks were burning.

Damn.

Just then, his smile faded and he turned dead serious again. He stood up and was about to walk away.

“Oh, Heinz!” our manager. “Buti naman—Teka, bakit ka namumula? Nag blush on ka ba?”

“P-Po? H-Hindi po…”

He then looked at me and I saw how red his cheeks were.

“Halata!” our manager said.

“Sabi ngang hinde, eh!” Heinz said and like a little kid, he ran away.

What… was that…?

Did he just… blush?!

Why, so?

Wait.

DID HE BLUSH CUZ OUR LIPS TOUCHED?!

My eyes widened as I watched him running away. He really looked so awkward.

CRUSH BA NIYA ’KO?!

HUH!

HOW DARE HIM TO ACT LIKE THAT?!

WILD BEAR?!

Since then, mas lalo kaming naging awkward sa isa’t isa. He would always blush whenever he saw  me.

Until one day, I was waiting for a bus when he stood right beside me. This time, hindi na siya nag b-blush. Wala na uling kahit na anong emosyon ang mukha niya.

“

PADRE FAURA ROAD BARANGGAY SOCCORO.“

I looked at him, confused.

“Huh?” I asked.

“Always use bus. Don’t take taxis.”

Nang magtama ang paningin namin ay doon ko napagtanto kung ano ang ibig niyang sabihin.

DEATH

.

Again.

“What should I do to stop it?” I asked, nervous. “Sinong mamamatay?”

He looked deeply in my eyes, he seemed hesitant. Until he gulped.

“

You…“

My eyes widened.

Gustong bumuka ng bibig ko ngunit hindi ko magawa. Mas napapangunahan ako ng takot.

“So be careful and don’t go to that road. Don’t take taxi. Avoid black cars. Always use bus. That’s the only way.”

He then turned his back.

Fuck.

I can’t process it.

So it means…

…mamamatay na ’ko?!

“What’s my last words then?” I asked, halting him to go and my voice cracked.

He stopped for few seconds and he looked back.

“Your last words,” he said and he looked thoroughly in my eyes.

“You were calling my name…”

It was a tough information to swallow. At first, again, I was paranoid. Hanggang na-isip ko na kung mamamatay man ko, dapat i-enjoy ko naman. At iyon ang raon king bakit bihis na bihis ako ngayon.

Suddenly, my phone beeped.

“Don’t forget 10 pm at the usual club, okay?”

In a flash, I found myself inside the club, with the man in front of me.

Iyong kapwa ko professor sa dating university na pinagtuturuan ko ay ni-set up ako for blind date. Ang sabi niya, three to five years ang tanda sa akin ng lalaki, mayaman, msy hitsura, at matalino. Sawa na rin kasi akong mang-ghost ng mga tao kaya napag-isipan ko na kung mamamatay man talaga ako, dapat maranasan ko manlang makipag-date.

I finished the glass of wine, and sighed when I looked once again at the man in front of me. Taliwas ang  nasa harapan ko ngayon sa description na ibinigay sa ’kin.

“I said I want a date, not a sugar daddy,“ sabi ko rito.

Natawa ito. “Are you disappointed?”

Natawa ako at tumango. “But it’s good to see you, it’s been a while, officer.“

“Yes, it’s been a while,“ the officer said. “The last time I saw you was when you visited Traise in the query room.“

“Let’s not talk about tha,“ I said. “Why are you here?”

“Job,” he said.

“Oh, I see,” I said.

“Just so you know,” he said. “Hindi talaga ako ang ka-blind date mo.  It was my friend, but he had sudden errands to do so he sent me here so it won’t look like…like….”

“Like he ghosted me?” I asked, smiling. “This is the first time I got ghosted, officer. Feel the honor.“

“That’s awful,“ the officer said. “Oh, wanna grab some pizza outside?”

“No, officer,” I said and stood up. “I gotta go. It’s glad seeing you again.”

Umalis na ako sa table and few minutes later, I found myself in the wild crowd; dancing, drinking, and even flirting with random people. Many approached me, and I had fun, until things started to get blurry, and I was totally drunk. I can’t even walk properly.

“Okay ka lang?” a deep voice asked.

“Do I look like I’m fine?” I asked without looking at him. I heard him laughed.

“You’re tough,” he said.

“And pretty,” I added.

“Yes,” he said. “You are.”

“Oh, thanks!” I  said and looked at him. Everything was blurry but I recognized him as someone with a good body built.

“Wanna see my bed?” he whispered.

I smirked. “No thanks, I have my bed ’di naman ako homeless.“

He laughed. “How about take you home?”

I looked at him  “You won’t rape me, will you?”

“I never laid a sexual hand on a woman unless they want me to.”

I looked at his eyes once more and with the hopeless drunk state, I passed out.

When I opened my eyes, I saw myself inside a car that was in an endless dark road. I felt my head aching and my body seemed paralyzed.

Napangiwi ako dahil parang pinupukpok ang ulo ko.

“Gising ka na pala,” a voice asked. “How are you?”

“Where am I?” I asked.

“In my car,” he said.

“Where are you taking me to?”

“Home,” he said.

“Whose home?” I asked, puzzled, and my eyes were blurry.

He twisted a smile. “My home.”

Doon nanlaki ang mga mata ko atsaka ko naramdaman ang isang kamay ko na naka-handcuff sa kotse.

Nang tingnan ko siya ay naka-suot nalang siya ng itim na sando at wala na ang kaninang polo.

“What…what are you gonna do to me?” I asked, panicking.

“You’ll see,” he said, and there I notice a familiar tattoo on his arm; an eagle.

Bigla niyang binuksan ang radyo at  ang ibinabalita ay tungkol sa babaeng natagpuang patay at pira-piraso ang kalamnan sa loob ng unit nito. Habang dine-describe ay nanlaki ang mga mata ko nang makilala ko iyon.

THAT WAS MY NEIGHBOR WHO WAS MURDERED BY THE MAN WITH AN EAGLE—

Wait.

EAGLE TATTOO…

My heart pounded hard.

Oh, shit.

The man who took the woman has a good body built too, but he wasn’t this tall.

BUT BOTH OF THEM HAVE AN EAGLE TATTOO!

“Now you know,” the guy mumbled in between his smirk.

“You…“ I said with tears starting to build up from my eyes. “What are you…?”

“That’s for you to find out once I dissected you,” he said, smirking more.

As I looked at his car, I found out I was inside a black car.

As I looked outside, I saw from the road sign that we were in the Padre Faura Road, approaching Baranggay Soccoro.

Shit.

Then suddenly, Heinz came in my mind.

“

PADRE FAURA ROAD BARANGGAY SOCCORO. So be careful and don’t go to that road. Don’t take taxi. Avoid black cars. Always use bus. That’s the only way.“

At ngayon, nandirito ako.

Lahat ay nagtutugma.

Habang nanginginig ay unti-unti akong kinukuha sa bag ko na nasa ibaba. Nang mahawakan iyon ay pumikit ako nang mariin at buong tapang na ini-spray-an ang mukha ng lalaki gamit ang pepper spray na nakuha ko. Napasigaw siya nang malakas dahil sa hapdi at nagkaroon ako ng pagkakataon para agawin ang paddle ng kotse sangi para mag gewang-gewang ang kotse sa kalsada.

“Let’s die together, you son of a vitch—”

I got halted when he slapped me but that didn’t stop me. Patuloy kami sa pag-aagawan ng manibela dahilan para lalo kaming mag gewang-gewang.

“HEINZ!” I shouted. “I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME! HELP ME, HEINZ! IT’S A GUY WITH AN EAGLE TATTOO! HEINZ! HELP ME!”

Just then, Heinz’s words came to my mind once again.

“Your last words…You were calling my name.”

Fuck. Everything turned out right.

I just kept on shouting, asking for help but no one else was coming. Until I saw a light coming near  beside the driver’s seat and the next thing I knew, a car hit us and our car went upside down. It crashed.

I moaned when I felt blood  from my head. Few minutes later, the guy with an eagle tattoo managed to escape while I was left inside and trapped.

“H-Help…” I moaned. “Help…”

Then something moved outside. Nang buksan niya ang kotse ay nagtama ang paningin namin at tuluyan nang tumulo ang mga luha ko.

“Don’t worry,” the familiar voice said. “You’ll be safe now.”

“W-Who are y-you…” I struggled. “Help me…” I followed, barely surviving.

“Long time no see,” the man said.

As my blurry eyes started to become clear, I recognized who was the guy in front of me.

“Defense Counsel….” I murmured.

“I have a name,” he said. “I am Newt.”

“Ah, shit! Nabali ata buto ko r’un ha? Sayang itong kotse ko, brand new pa naman ito!”

Napatingin ako sa may-ari ng isa pang boses. Nagmula iyon sa lalaking kalalabas lang mula sa kotse na bumunggo sa amin.

As the guy looked at me too, our eyes were fixated at each other. And before I even lose my consciousness, I uttered,

“Tyler…“

PART TEN: THE DEATH CHASERS

“OKAY KA LANG?”

Bumuntong-hininga ako habang papalabas ng police station. Matapos ang aksidente, dumating ang mga pulis para i-rescue kami.

They insisted to have me checked on the hospital, pero hindi ako pumayag. Tutal, okay naman ako bukod sa minor scratches. Hindi naman ako nasugatan nang matindi.

In my surprise, si Newt at Tyler nga talaga ang nagligtas sa ’kin. Sabi nila, Tyler was supposed to go to a blind date na nauna na n’yang tinanggihan pero nagbago kabigla ang isip n’ya.

Nang isama n’ya si Newt, nakita raw nila na may buhat-buhat na babae ang isang lalaki. Namukhaan kaagad ni Newt na ako raw ’yun, kaya sinundan nila.

Nang makita nilang pagewang-gewang ang sasakyan, they had an idea of what was going on inside. Kaya imbis na sa kung saan pa kami bumangga, binangga nalang nila kami.

Mga tanga, ano? Ano ba pinagkaiba n’un? Eh pareho lang disgrasya.

Ayon naman sa pulis, tumawag daw sa kanila si Heinz, sinabi ang detalye na nakita n’ya sa panaginip n’ya. Nang matunugan nang awtoridad, dali-dali silang pumunta at iyon na nga ang nadatnab nila.

Nang makita ko ang paligid, wala na ang lalaki. Kahit sila Newt at Tyler, hindi rin nila napansin kung paano ito nawala.

I sighed again.

“Pwede ba ’wag kang puro buntong-hininga, kanina ka pa eh,” reklamo ni Tyler. “Pareho kayo ni Courtney. Para kayong magkaibigang kambing.”

I looked at him.

He was wearing his usual style. White polo tucked inside his black pants, he was wearing black shoes and his hair was brushed up. But he had scratches on his cheek and nose, not to mention the scratch at the corner of his lips too.

“Kung ako ang kambing, ikaw ang damo,” I said out of irritation.

“Eh ’di, kakainin mo ’ko?”

My eyes widened.

“KADIRI KA HA!”

He laughed along with Newt.

That’s when I noticed Newt. He was wearing a plain white shirt tucked inside his jogger pants, a pair of white sneakers, his hair all down, and a silver eyeglasses.

“Ano bang ginagawa ninyong dalawa rito, ha? Miss n’yo ko?”

The smile on their face faded.

“Kilabutan ka nga,” Newt said.

“Ayos pa ba utak mo? Untog nga natin ’yan,” said by Tyler.

“Eh, ba’t kayo nandito?” I asked.

“Work,” Newt said.

“Work?” I asked. “Bakit dito? Napakarami namang work sa Manila, ah?”

“We were personally contacted to be here,” Tyler said. “You’ll find out soon why.”

I scoffed.

“As if interesado ako.”

“Matagal ka naman na talagang interesado sa ’kin, ’di ba?”

I looked at Tyler with disbelief in my eyes.

“Well, ’di naman kita masisisi,” Tyler said. “I mean, who wouldn’t, right?”

“Alam mo, Tyler,” I said. “Napakalaki ng ulo mo!”

He smirked.

“Which one?”

Confusion swallowed me.

“Ha?” I asked.

Newt laughed.

“Anong ulo, ’ka ’ko,” he said and shrugged. “Well, doesn’t matter. Pareho naman malaki.”

Newt and him started laughing loudly.

What does he—

My eyes widened.

“IKAW!” I exclaimed and started hitting him. “Napakababoy mo!”

He got shocked and kept on dodging.

“ARAY—ANO BA! MASAKIT! ’WAG D’YAN, MAY SUGAT D’YAN—ARAY SABI!”

“YOU DIRTY SHIT!”

I kept on hitting him and he kept on dodging.

“TAMA NA! ANG BIGAT NG KAMAY MO!”

“HOW DARE YOU TO CORRUPT MY INNOCENT MIND, HUH? BWISET KANG YAWA KA!”

“ANONG CORRUPT? TATAY MO LANG CORRUPT!”

That’s when I started hitting him more.

A YEAR HAD PASSED AND HE BECAME MUCH WORSE!

“Ayaw mo tumigil ha!”

Napatili ako nang bigla nalang niyang hablutin ang buhok ko at sinabunutan ako nang matindi.

As a return, I grabbed his hair too.

And the thing, he wasn’t going easy on me. He was grabbing my hair harder the same way I was grabbing his.

“AYOKO NA! BUMITAW KA NA!” he said.

“IKAW MUNA!”

“IKAW MAUNA!”

“IKAW NA! WALA AKONG TIWALA SA ’YO!”

“MAS LALO AKO, ’NO!”

“’PAG IKAW HINDI BUMITAW LALAGYAN KO NG BUBBLE GUM BANGS MO PARA IPAPUDPOD MO!”

“TRY ME!”

“OKAY IN 3…2…1… LET GO!”

At walang bumitaw sa aming dalawa.

What would I even expect?

“ITO NA,” he said.

“PROMISE?”

“PROMISE.”

“OKAY. IN 3… 2… 1…”

I let go of his hair.

BUT HE DIDN’T LET GO OF MINE!

“WHAT THE—”

“YARI KA NGAYON!”

He grabbed my hair harder and I screamed.

“Ang tagal tagal ko nabg gustong gawin sa ’yo, ’to. Pinahihirapan mo buhay ko!”

“MASAKET!”

“SABIHIN MO MUNA PLEASE MASTER!”

“ANO AKO, BALIW?!”

I tried to grab his hair but I can’t reach it anymore.

“TAMA NA!”

“AYOKO!”

“SASABUNUTAN MO ’KO PAG PINAKAWALAN KITA!”

“HINDI NGA!”

“OO!”

“HINDI NGA SABI!”

“OO NGA—”

“PUTANGINAAAAAAAA!”

We then stopped.

It was Newt.

“JUSKO, HANGGANG DITO BA NAMAN ANG GULO GULO?! HANGGANG DITO BA NAMAN HINDI AKO MAKA RELATE?!”

Tyler then let go of my hair.

“BAKIT PARATI NALANG AKONG THIRD WHEEL? GUSTO KO RIN NG DIALOGUE! GUSTO KO RIN MAKASAMA SA EKSENA. GISTO KO RIN MASABUNUTAN! NAKAKA TANGINA EH!”

He then walked away.

Tyler and I looked at him as he started to walk away.

“A-Anong problema n’un?” I asked.

“No idea,” he said.

We then looked at each other and laughed at each other’s appearance.

“Mukha kang kinuryente,” I said, laughing.

“Ikaw mukhang sinambutan ng sampung unggoy.”

We laughed.

“Tyler…” I said and he looked at my eyes. “Thank you. For tonight.”

He smiled weakly. “Wala ’yun. By the way, gusto mo sumama?”

“Saan?”

“Kakain kami ng mami, baka ’ka ’ko gusto mo.”

I smiled.

“I have somewhere to go to. Next time nalang.”

“Sure,” he said.

We then looked at each other awkwardly, didn’t know what to say next.

“Una na ’ko…?” I asked.

“Oh, sige lang,” he said.

I just smiled and started to walk away when he called my name.

“Avery,” he uttered. “I’m glad you’re fine.”

I stopped.

“I know it’s cheesy to hear but we missed you.”

My heart took a leap.

I looked back, meeting his eyes.

Under the moon guiding us amidst the darkness of the night, he smiled weakly.

“I missed you.”

Just few minutes then, I saw myself walking inside the office.

It was eleven in the evening and the office was close to the police station that’s why it didn’t take me that long.

As I walked at the sixth floor, I felt the relief when my deduction wasn’t wrong. Nakabukas pa rin ang bintana ng office niya. Malamang ay hindi nanaman ito umuwi.

Naalala ko tuloy iyong sinabi sa ’kin ng babae sa office noon.

“Heinz often doesn’t go home, lalo na kapag may napapanaginipan s’ya. Naaalala kasi n’ya sa loob ng bahay nila ang mga magulang n’ya. Mas lalo s’yang na-tri-trigger.”

Nang silipin ko ang office niya, nakita ko siyang naka-upo sa swivel chair at may kausap sa cellphone.

“I’m glad she’s safe,” he said. “Now I can finally rest, officer. Thank you for your hard work. No, it’s fine. Makakabawi naman ako ng pahinga. Her safety should be the priority. I’ll be hanging up. Bye.”

I gulped.

I saw him put his head on the head rest, took off his eye glasses, and closed his eyes. He then massaged his eyes.

He stood up later on, untangled his neck ties, and started unbottoning his polo.

“Do you have anything to say to me?”

I almost jumped mid-air.

“It’s getting late, though,” he followed without looking at me.

I gulped, calming myself.

“Y-You know I’m here? Why didn’t you talk?”

“I knew just now,” he said. “I saw your reflection. Do you have anything to say?”

He wore off his polo and placed it on top of the table.

I saw his muscular back.

I gulped.

In my horror, he faced me.

There, I saw his chest, down to his abs.

I gulped again, I felt the pressure building up.

How can he hide this perfectly built body behind his usual sweaters?!

He pulled out a black sweater from his bag. Without looking at me, he uttered something.

“You can touch them if you want to know they’re real.”

“H-Huh?” maang kong tanong.

After wearing his sweater and eyeglasses, he looked at me.

“Do you need something?”

I got tensed.

Wtf, Avery?

“N-No,” I said. “I-I just… left something in the office.”

“Okay,” he said.

Nagsimula siyang magkalad at maya-maya’y may nalaglag na pakete ng sigarilyo mula sa bulsa niya. Dinampot niya iyon nang parang wala lang.

“Naninigarilyo ka?” I asked, partly shocked because he has this ‘innocent and good boy’ image.

“Yes,” he said.

I opened my mouth but nothing came out.

“You seemed shocked,” he said and smiled.

I actually was.

“We all have our own dirty little secrets, Avery.”

I looked at him.

Why…is he so unpredictable?

He then walked out of the room. The moment he stepped out, I called him by his name.

“Heinz…” I said.

He stopped without looking at me.

“Everything you’ve said…” I said and I gulped. “…they all turned out real.”

That’s when he looked back at me.

“Thank you…” I said when I met his eyes.

He was emotionless for few seconds, until a smile curved on his lips.

He didn’t say anything.

He just put his hands inside his pockets, turned his back, and walked away.

Tomorrow morning, I became an instant celebrity in the office. I was even named

The Girl Who Lived.

“Harry Potter ka ghorl?” biro ng isa sa mga ka officemate ko.

“Buang, baka Avery Potter!”

They laughed.

Habang lahat ay nag e-enjoy sa bago kong nickname, ako naman ay nagsisimula nang mailang.  I was labelled as the The Girl Who Lived simply because I avoided my supposed death, all thanks to Heinz.

Since majority ng mga na-predict ni Heinz ay nangyayari and only mine was altered, interesado tuloy ang lahat sa nangyari sa akin.

Nakakaloka.

Aside from the news about me, there was another source of commotion; it was Tyler.

Apparently, he will be working in the office from now on. As for why, I got no idea at all. Nang malamang kaibigan ko si Tyler, lahat ay gusto akong kaibiganin.

Kahit nga ’yung ’di ako pinahihiram ng ballpen or p8nahihingi ng bond paper noon, bigla nalang ako kinakausap.

I sighed.

Ano ba namang buhay ’to?

I just continued skimming my upcoming cases when one of my superiors stood right in front of me.

“Stop worrying about that cases,” he said. “I have a special case for you to handle.”

My officemates created a “oooooh,” sound, since special cases can only be handled by lawyers whose expertise was unquestionable.

Tapos, mai-o-offer sa ’kin?

Confusion swallowed me.

“Come with me,” he just said and walked away. Confused, I followed him. We stopped in his office.

“Go inside,” he said. “They are waiting for you.”

I calmed myself before going inside.

Just when I was about to knock, I frowned.

Ba’t ang ingay?

Just when I opened the door, the noise stopped and two pairs of eyes looked at me.

“WELCOME!” Newt said.

“…TO THE CLUB!” said by Tyler.

The hope inside me to get back my reputation went back to zero.

I immediately sat in front of them.

“Good morning,” Tyler said. “Coffee?”

“No,” I said. “Get straight to the point. What do you have to tell me?”

“Calm,” he said. “Besides, we are waiting for another member.”

Another member?

Just when I was about to ask who, the door then opened.

“He’s here.”

Just as I looked at who came, my eyes widened.

“Heinz…?”

He semmed confused.

“Dito,” Tyler said, instructing him to sit beside me.

Tyler then stood up.

“Shall we start?” he asked and handed us papers.

As we looked at it, it was the crime scenes happed in this area for the whole year.

“All of those are deaths,” Tyler said. “And all fall under what kind of death?”

He then looked at us.

“Murder.”

I felt chills down my spine.

I scanned the papers and they were enough to make me vomit.

“For the past twelve months, this place has been the center of deaths. In condo units, hotels, houses, parking lot, kahit pa sa mga talahiban. Noong una, na-alarma ang publiko dahil napakarami nang kriminal ang nagpaligid-ligid sa lugar. Pero paano kung hindi iba-ibang tao ang gumawa, kung hindi isang tao o iisang grupo?”

I looked at him. “What do you mean?”

“Ganito,” Newt joined him. “Turn to page four, please. Kung titingnan ang autopsy ng mga biktima, iba-iba ang uri ng pagpatay. Mayroong nilason, binugbog, sinakal, sinaksak, binaril o sinagasaan. Pero ang nakapagtataka, parating mayroong nawawalang parte sa katawan nila. Mata, iling, bibig, labi, daliri, even the nipples at organs, isa-isang nawawala sa biktima.”

“So,” Tyler halted. “Posibleng iisang grupo ang nasa likod nito. Maaaring mula sa black market na binebenta ang laman loob, hindi natin alam.”

Grupo?

Wait.

Both the guys have an eagle tattoo.

Could that be it?

“O di kaya’y kagagawan ng taong pumapatay para lang sa kasiyahan.”

Tyler then stopped and he looked in each and everyone of us.

“A serial killer.”

My eyes widened.

“Serial killers are known to have the pride of getting one of his victims’ organ as sort of a trophy. And that’s our goal. Whether or not they are a group or a single person, we have to find out. We have to catch them.”

He faced us.

“That’s why you are all here,” he said.

“I, Tyler Scott, have the full blast of knowledge about criminal laws and thus in the field of crime.”

He looked at Newt.

“You, a former defense who also have an experience of being a detective will help us decipher the evidence.”

He looked at me.

“You, a former prosecutor who can play anyone in your palm.”

He then looked at Heinz.

“And of course, our asset, who can see the death. Thus, we can manipulate things, stop them, and catch whoever they are. We are composed of a good team, then, aren’t we?”

But before I can even talk to argue, the door opened and someone sent a box.

“We saw it outside,” the man said and looked at Heinz. “It was addressed to you.”

Heinz then opened it, and what we saw made us scream.

AN EYE.

A FUCKING HUMAN EYE.

Heinz’s eyes grew bigger, shaking.

“T-They are sending a message to us, t-this is a warning!” Newt exclaimed. “They know what we are doing! And this only means one thing!”

“W-What?” I asked.

Newt gulped.

“I’m watching…”

I felt my system almost shut down.

I have never been this scared before.

“It started,” Tyler said. “The war between us and the criminals, it started. They just confirmed their existence and declared a war.”

We all looked at him.

“ Starting today, the death chasers are born,“ he said.

He looked at us and he smirked.

“Let’s waste no time and let’s convict them, attorneys…”

PART ELEVEN: THE TRICKS OF HIS DREAMS

“And you, a prosecutor who can play anyone in your palm.”

I sighed.

For the hundredth time today, I sighed again.

Sa totoo lang, hindi ko alam kung ano ba dapat kong katakutan.

Kung ’yung katotohanan ba na may nagpadala sa ’min ng totoong mata ng tao.

Kung ’yung katotohanan ba na parte ako ng grupong tutuligsa rito at ano mang oras ay pwede ako mamatay dahil doon.

O ’yung katotohanan na I wasn’t as good as I was before? That I am no longer the prosecutor who can play anyone in her hand? That I turned out now as a nobody who can’t win even a single case?

What more sa ganito pang ka komplikadong kaso?

I sighed again.

Kung nandito lang si Tyler, aasarin nanaman ako n’ung para akong kambing.

Speaking of Tyler, of all cases bakit ito pa ang tinanggap n’ya? And of all people bakit ako pa isinali n’ya?

With irritation arising in me, I walked inside the room and placed my bag on the table.

I was inside our staff room.

Napag-isipan ko munang ’wag umuwi. Nakakatakot na rin kasi. Baka mamaya, bigla nalang may manakal sa ’kin habang natutulog. Ayoko nga sabing mamatay nang kulay violet ang mukha.

I looked at the staff room. Maybe, I can stay here as much as I want to. Okay na ’to, kaysa mapahamak pa.

I looked at the bed at may nakahanda nang unan doon. Dito nanaman siguro matutulog ’yung officemate ko na ginawa nang bahay ang staff room.

Maybe, a hot shower will do.

Dali-dali kong hinubad ang mga damit ko at tiningnan kung may extra ba akong dalang underwear sa locker, at mayroon nga.

Sabi ko na mapapakinabangan ko ’tong freebies ng bumbay, eh.

Kumuha ako ng tuwalya at pumasok na sa C.R nang mapansin kong may naliligo.

“Aha!” I said, referring to my officemate. “Mukhang may friction na magaganap, ha!”

Natawa ako sa sarili kong biro. Pero nang ihawi ko ang kurtina, iba ang tumambad sa ’kin.

LIKOD

NG

LALAKI.

My eyes widened.

AT

WALA

S’YANG

KAHIT

NA

ANONG

SAPLOT!

The guy then looked back, and when our eyes met, both of our eyes widened.

“Avery…?”

“T-Tyler…?”

He looked at my body back to my face.

I looked at his body back to his face.

And the next thing I knew, our screams filled the whole building.

“AAAAAAAAA MANYAK MANYAK PUTA KA MANYAK!!! AAAAAAAA!!!!”

I started throwing him every shampoo bottles I can throw.

He then covered his thing, panicking, and when he successfully covered it with a towel, he started dodging my every throw.

“BWISET KA MANYAK AAAAAA DEMONYO!!!”

“ARAY—WAIT— TEKA LANG— MASAKET! ARAY—”

“MANYAK KA!”

“PAANO AKO MAGIGING MANYAK KUNG IKAW KUSANG PUMASOK DITO! NI-HINDI KA PA KUMAKATOK!”

“AH BASTA MANYAK KANG BWISET KA!”

That’s when the door opened and Newt along with our manager saw us.

The moment Newt saw us, his eyes widened.

“Anong….ginagawa n’yo….?”

He looked at Tyler and back to me.

“Did you guys…”

He then created an O shape by his fingers and placed another finger inside the O.

Kaagad akong kumuha ng isa pang bote ng shampoo at ipinukpok sa kanya.

“Isa ka pa,” I said.

Not too long after, we were sitting on the coach, facing each other.

“Naliligo lang po kasi ako,” Tyler reasoned out. “Tapos bigla s’yang pumasok nang hindi manlang kumakatok. I was…naked! As in… as in naked! She might’ve even saw the…the—”

“The kikiam,” I halted him.

“Excuse me?!” Tyler exclaimed. “To correct you, it’s hungarian sausage.”

He looked at our manager.

“See? It was her fault! Kaya wala s’yang karapatan manakit!”

“Nye nye, iyakin,” I just said.

Ang hirap pala, ano? Kapag nasa kalagitnaan ka ng argumento tapos mapapansin mong mali ka pala talaga pero kailangan mo paring ipaglaban pride mo.

“Nyenye bulaklakin,” he replied.

My eyes widened.

SHIT.

“Anong bulaklakin?” Newt asked, confused.

DAMN.

IT WAS MY UNDERWEAR!

“DO YOU HAVE TO BE THIS LOW?!” I exclaimed

“I’m just lowering my level to match yours?” he said.

ABA.

SINUSUBOK TALAGA AKO NITO HA!

“Tsaka ka na magyabang kapag malaki na ’yan!”

His eyes widened.

“Excuse me, kung ano man ang nakita mo, hindi pa iyon ’yon. Hindi ka siguro deserving kaya hindi mo nagising.”

My eyes grew more bigger.

“Talaga ba? Eh mukha ngang puyat ’yang iyo?”

“PUYAT?!” he exclaimed. “EH SAYO NGA SA SOBRANG LIIT WALA NANG MAKUKUHANG GATAS ANAK MO MULA SA’YO.”

I stood up.

“DO YOU HAVE TO SPECIFY THAT?!”

“WHY NOT?! YOU WERE SPECIFYING MINE, ’DI BA?!”

“WHEN DID I?! ALAM MO IKAW, MASYADO KANG MAYABANG!’

“KUNG MAYABANG AKO EH ’DI SANA SINABI KONG MUKHANG GALING SA BUMBAY ’YUNG UNDERWEAR NA BITBIT MO!”

“HOW DARE YOU?! GUSTO MO TALAGA MASAKTAN ANO?!”

“’WAG MO ’KO SUBUKAN, MAY BUBBLE GUM AKO. BAKA GUSTO MONG PUMASOK KANG MAY POKNAT?!”

“TALAGA BA?! BAKA GUSTO MO LAGYAN KO NG SILI ’YAN!”

“OSIGE NGA!”

“TALAGA!”

“NGAYON NA—”

“PUTANGINAAAAAAAAA!”

We all shut up.

“ANO BA?! HINDI BA KAYO TITIGIL HA?!” tanong ng manager namin. “SUMASAKIT NA ULO KO SA INYO! ANG GULO GULO!”

Newt looked at us.

“Oh, ’di na ako ’yan ah,” he said.

The next moment, the manager explained to me what happened. Ang nangyari pala, Tyler and Newt will stay in the staff room for the mean time dahil wala silang matutuluyan. Napakalayo ng mga hotels dito sa amin at wala ring nagpapa-upa sa ngayon.

It was a tough moment when we decided to call it a day. Nag reprisinta na si Newt na matutulog na lang daw s’ya sa couch at ako na sa kama n’ya. Dalawa lang kasi ang kama rito. Double deck pa. Sa ibaba ako, sa taas si Tyler.

Isang oras na halos akong nakahiga pero hindi pa rin ako makatulog. Siguro nga, napaparanoid ako sa nangyayari.

Gusto ko lang ng trabaho, ayoko mamatay.

“Gising ka pa?”

I heard someone talked. I almost believed it was a ghost not until he talked again.

“Ako ’to, tanga.”

Tyler.

With his words.

“Paano mo alam?” I asked.

“Naririnig ko buntong-hininga mo hanggang sa panaginip ko,” he said. “Daig mo pa windmill.”

I laughed.

“Why do you like teasing me all the time?” I asked. “Am I some sort of an entertainment for you or something?”

“Nothing, I don’t know,” he said, his masculine voice sounded sleepy. “I guess because I’m comfortable with you.”

I didn’t expect that.

“Ilang ako sa maraming tao kaya calculated ako gumalaw at magsalita, even with Courtney. But with you, things come out naturally. I don’t know but I feel comfortable with you. Honestly, I feel I am the realest me when I am with you.”

I gulped.

I really never expected it from him.

“Speaking of Courtney, have you guys talked?”

Beat.

I smiled bitterly.

“No.”

“Okay,” he said.

“Won’t you ask why?” I asked.

“You might feel uncomfortable,” he said. “Besides, you will tell me if you did.”

I felt good inside.

“It’s okay, Avery,” he said. “Accepting apologies take time. No pressure. Besides, if what happened hurts you, it hurts you. There’s no overreacting or whatsoever. Take your time to heal. We will wait for you ’til you’re ready enough to come back.”

“What if I won’t come back?” I asked. “Or what if it would take so long?”

“Then we’ll wait for you still,” he said. “Afterall, you are worth the wait. Always.”

Beat.

I literally gulped as my heart just fluttered.

“Avery, do you know why our name is death chasers?”

“Why?” I asked, thanking the heaven that he changed the question because I literally didn’t know what to react.

“Because we chase death. We are digging our own graves by fighting against an enemy that we have no idea who.”

I shivered.

“So there’s one thing I want you to promise me,” he followed.

“What?” I asked.

“Be safe, always…”

Kina-umagahan, mag me-meeting sana kami sa office kaso natutulog si Heinz kaya hindi namin magawa.

“Ba’t ’di nalang natin gisingin?” tanong ni Newt. “As if naman na pwede nating i-urong itong meeting na ’to. Kung tatagalan natin, mas marami pang buhay ang mamamatay.”

“At isa ka r’un ’pag ginising mo ’yan,” I said. “Yari ka kay manager.”

“Totoo ba talaga s’ya? Napapanaginipan ba talaga n’ya?”

“Oo,” I said. “Napatunayan ko na rin.”

“Pero bayad s’ya kahit natutulog?” Newt asked.

Tyler nodded.

“Wow,” Newt said. “Salmong tugunan?”

“

NAWA’Y

LAHAT,“

we all said.

We all laughed so hard that people in the office started looking at us.

As I looked at Tyler, I kinda felt different about him after our talk last night.

Just when we decided to go and walk away, Heinz’s office swinged opened. When we looked at him, it seemed like he bathed with his own sweats. He was panting as well, chasing his breath.

“Ballpen…” he said and started to look for one. “I need a ballpen…”

Yet, no one was moving. We were all just looking at him, confused.

“I need a pen and a paper, please!” he exclaimed and someone lent him one.

As we looked at what he was writing, we saw him writing an address.

“GOV. PASCUAL, 10TH AVE., GRACE PARK.”

My eyes widened.

It only means one thing.

Tiningnan kami ni Heinz at nag-pa-panic ito.

“A black car,” he said. “Someone will be hit by a black car. It wasn’t an accident, I… I saw the dream. As if… As if I was personally there. It…It’s different… I mean… It’s—”

“Calm down first, okay? Take it easy,” I said while looking at him. He was literally shaking, his legs were even trembling. He was sweating hard and his eyes were uneasy.

“What do you mean it was different?” Tyler asked.

“Whenever I dream of their deaths, it was… it always feels like…like I wasn’t in the scene. I was not in the scene as Heinz. It was always like… like I was the victim, that’s why I can see the every detail and hear their every agony…” he said.

I bit my lower lip.

So it wasn’t just about dreaming deaths.

It also seemed like it was him who was getting murdered.

Damn.

Paano niya nakakaya ’yon?

“B-But now… now in my dream… I… I wasn’t the victim. It seemed like I was in the scene. Like… like I was watching. Normally, I would be on the point of view of the victim. B-But now… I was watching the victim. T-That’s why I saw a car, hindi s’ya gumagalaw, n-nakaparada lang. And when it saw the victim, h-he moved and along in the Gov. Pascual 10th Avenue, Grace Park, as I saw on the road sign, the car hits the victim…and…and… c-crashed its face…”

We gasped.

Damn.

“W-We gotta go there…” he said, tears in his eyes. “T-The victim… s-she just had her pregnancy test a-and she was… she was pregnant. She was going to show it to her boyfriend b-but she… she died—No, she was killed. Let’s go there. Please… parang awa n’yo na…”

I felt like my roots were about to disown me and as if something just pierced my heart.

Heinz was sweating and trembling harder than before.

Nagkatinginan kami ni Tyler bago niya tingnan si Heinz muli.

“Where did you see it again?” Tyler asked.

The next moment we knew, we were inside a car, looking at the woman buying inside the 7/11 store.

“Punta na ba tayo r’un?” tanong ni Newt.

“Mainit sa labas,” sagot ni Tyler.

We laughed but someone did not move even a single muscle on his face. Just then, my eyes landed at Heinz who was sitting just beside me.

Sa totoo lang, hindi s’ya mapakali. Palinga-linga s’ya, siguro’y hinahanap ang itim na kotseng sinasabi n’ya.

I mean, if I were him, I’d definitely feel the same. Napakahirap ng sitwasyon n’ya. Isipin nga lang anong kakainin ko every lunch na s-stress na ’ko, burden pa kaya ng kamatayan ng ibang tao? Awit na awit na ’yon.

In a snap, we saw the woman went to the cashier.

“Now’s the time, Avery,” said by Tyler.

Lumalabas na ako ng kotse at bago tuluyang pumasok sa convenience store, na-alala ko ang naging plano namin.

“Ang

panaginip

ni Heinz ay

tungkol

sa

babaeng

namatay

matapos

masagasaan

habang

papunta

siya sa boyfriend niya para ipa-alam na

buntis

siya. She knew she was pregnant through a pregnancy test kit. But what if, she has no idea that day that she is pregnant?“

“What do you mean?” Newt asked.

“What I mean is we’ll try to stop it from happening. The common denominator is her consciousness about her pregnancy. Kaya susubukan nating pigilan s’yang malaman na

buntis

nga s’ya para hindi na s’ya umalis ng bahay at pumunta sa boyfriend n’ya .“

He looked at us.

“By that, we killed the fruit by destroying its root…”

And now, here I was. The first contender.

“Eto po,” the woman said to the cashier, handing a pregnancy kit secretly, probably shy for the public to know.

I smiled.

“ATE, PREGANCY TEST BA ’YAN? BUNTIS KA?” biglaan kong tanong.

Everyone looked at us.

The woman’s face turned red.

“AY BUNTIS NGA!” sigaw ko. “BAKIT ANG LIIT NG TIYAN MO? PARA SAAN ANG PREGANCY TEST? ’DI KA PA SURE? KAILAN BA HULING MENS MO? AKO NA MAGBIBILANG MANU-MANO!”

People laughed.

I saw her becoming uncomfortable.

“A-Ano bang sinasabi mo?” the woman asked. “K-Kilala ba kita?”

“Hindi,” I said. “Ang alam ko lang buntis ka.”

The woman looked around.

“’Wag kang nangingialam sa buhay ’ko!” sabi niya at kinuha ang gamit niya. “Miss, ayoko nang kuhanin ’yan.”

I smirked.

That’s it.

That’s the goal.

I want her to feel shy.

To feel mad.

And to walk out leaving the pregancy test to save her pride.

Yes!

I succeded!

“Ah, ma’am na-punch na po, eh,” the cashier said.

Wait.

WHAT?!

“Iyo na ang sukli!”

The woman then grabbed the pregnancy test and threw me one deadly glare before walking away.

I looked at our car and I saw them watching.

I gave them a thumbs down, a sign that I failed.

The next contender was Newt. He literally bugged her around, pretending to be a recruiter.

“Ma’am, apply ka? Hiring kami ngayon.”

I can’t count how many times I laughed. He was trying to buy some time so that she can go home late and tired. However, he did not succeed as well.

“ISA PA IPAPA PULIS KITA!”

The woman walked away furiously after threatening him.

He looked at us, giving us a thumbs down too.

The next thing I knew, we were outside her house, waiting for her to come out. Heinz, on the other hand, was uneasy inside.

We were praying that she would never show up. Natunaw ang pag-asa namin nang makita naming lumabas siya ng bahay nila.

“That’s it,” Heinz said. “That’s what she was wearing.”

“I’ll try to convince her,” said by Tyler. “You watch how should we settle things diplomatically.”

Soon as he went out, he blocked the woman.

He looked at her in the eyes.

“MAMAMATAY KA NGAYONG ARAW.”

My eyes widened.

“What the fuck?” Newt murmured.

In a sudden, the next thing we saw was Tyler receiving a one solid slap and getting yelled at.

“BALIW!” sigaw dito ng babae at naglakad papalayo.

Tyler looked at us, massaging his face and he gave us a thumbs down.

“SO THIS IS HOW YOU SETTLE THINGS DIPLOMATICALLY?!” galit na sabi ni Newt. “YOU SCARE THE HELL OUT OF A PERSON?!”

But then, Heinz walked out. We kept on calling him but he wasn’t looking back.

Nang maabutan ni Heinz ang babae ay agad niyang hinatak ang braso nito at iniharap ito sa kanya. Gulat na gulat ang babae habang si Heinz ay napakaseryoso ng mukha.

“YOU’RE GOING TO DIE TODAY AND IF YOU WANT TO LIVE, BELIEVE US AND GO BACK HOME.”

The woman was rather disgusted than alarmed.

“ANO BANG—”

“You’re going to your boyfriend to tell him that you’re pregnant, right?” Heinz asked.

The woman was shocked.

“H-How did you know…”

“Because he can predict death,” I answered, approaching them.

“Ikaw?!” sigaw ng babae nang makilala ako. “Ano bang trip niyo?!”

“Just believe us,” Heinz said. “It’s the best way to save you and your baby.”

The woman was confused, looking at us four.

“HUH!” she later then said. “KUNG PUBLIC PRANK MAN ’TO, I SHOUT OUT N’YO NALANG AKO SA CHANNEL NINYO. HINDI KO ALAM KUNG NASAAN ANG HIDDEN CAMERA NINYO, PERO PAKI EDIT OUT NALANG AKO. ADIOS!”

At gaya ng inaasahan, naglakad na siya papalayo. Sinubukan pa rin namin siyang pigilan at kumbinsihin ngunit natigil ako nang bigla nalang huminto sa paglalakad si Heinz habang si Tyler at Newt ay patuloy na kinakausap ang babae.

I stopped to look back at Heinz and from there, I noticed that he was staring at something. His lips were mumbling something.

As I looked at what he was looking at, my eyes grew bigger.

GOV. PASCUAL 10TH AVE., GRACE PARK.

Shit.

Bago ko pa man ma-process ang nangyayari sa utak ko ay natigil ako nang marinig na sinigawan ng babae sina Tyler at Newt.

“TANTANAN N’YO NGA AKO!”

Tumakbo ito papalayo.

I looked back at Heinz and I saw how tears started to form in his eyes.

“They’re here…” bulong niya habang nakatingin sa malayo.

As I checked it out, I also saw it; a black car started to move, approaching a running woman.

“No…” I heard Heinz said. “N-No, NOOOOOOO!”

Bago pa man may makatakbo sa amin ni Heinz para isalba ang babae, we heard a loud bang which caused the woman to fly in the air and later hit the ground.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” tilian ng mga tao ang maririnig.

But nobody between us could talk. Our eyes widened, jaw dropped.

As she landed on the ground, the car stepped back and its wheels crashed her face.

The car then departed, in the fastest way it could.

Heinz lost his strength, his legs gave in. He sat on the ground, his jaw was dropped, and tears escaped his eyes.

“TUMAWAG KAYO NG AMBULANSYA!” sigaw ni Tyler.

My legs almost gave in.

“It happened…” Heinz murmured while another wave of tears were building up in his eyes. “It happened the way I foresee it…”

“Heinz…” bulong ko habang nanginginig sa takot.

He looked at me. “A-Avery… It’s my fault…”

I heard people were gathering around the dead woman.

I can’t talk. All I can feel was nothing but fear.

“I-I think I know now why I saw it in a point of view where I was watching the accident and not as if I was the victim…” Heinz said.

He looked at my eyes and he seemed disturbed.

“Avery…” he said. “The scene was meant to have me in here… that in order for it to happen, I have to be here…”

I opened my mouth to say something but I can’t find the right words to say. Tears fell straight from my eyes.

“My dream…” he said. “It’s tricking me now, Avery. I-I caused her death…”

“Na record ko lahat!” sigaw ni Newt. “Kaso walang plaka ’yung kotse pero na videohan ko kung paano umalis.”

Newt then checked his phone.

“Shit, wala. ’Di ko ata napindot ’yung record!”

Tyler then approached us.

“The car threw it to the victim before he left,” he said.

As I looked at it, it was a wrist watch.

Its hands weren’t moving. The time was stuck at 11:59.

“What does this mean?” asked by Newt.

“Time,” Heinz answered.

We all looked at him.

“

They’re telling us we’re running out of time…“

PART TWELVE: WHEN THE MOON AND THE SUN COLLIDE

“I’M QUITTING.”

We all looked at the man in front of us with understanding eyes.

He was standing there, looking devastated. Stress was written all over his usual baby face. He looked so weary, as if he was tired of everything.

Not to mention the dark circles around his eyes and how much sweat he was releasing. He also looked so tensed.

“WHAT?!” our manager exclaimed. “H-Heinz, baka naman pwede natin itong mapag-usapan pa? Alam mo namang—”

“No,” he said. “I have decided. Ayoko na.”

I gulped.

I can’t blame him, though.

We were inside a room in the office. We came here straight right after we testified in the police station about the crime that had happened. Since then, no one beween us could talk. Even Heinz, he was just trembling.

“Heinz naman!” our manager. “Alam mo naman kung gaano ka ka-importante rito. Alam mo namang—”

“You don’t understand!” he exclaimed. “I-I caused that woman’s death! Ako ang dahilan! I… I dreamt I was watching the scene…which was different from my usual dreams na ako mismo ang biktima. I… I personally went there to save her, only to find out I was an instrument for that happen…”

I saw tears forming in his eyes. I felt the pity.

“K-Kung ’di ako nangialam, k-kung hindi ko sinabi at hindi kami pumunta, b-baka hindi iyon nangyari… See? It was my fault. Kaya ayoko na. P-Please let me leave…please…”

“Heinz, it wasn’t your fault,” said by our manager. “M-Maybe it meant to happen that way—”

“NO!” Heinz exclaimed. “IN MY DREAM, I WAS WATCHING! IF I DID NOT COME THEN MY DREAM WON’T COME TRUE! IT WAS MY FAULT!”

“Heinz—”

“My dreams are tricking me now,” he said, bitterness and pain in his voice. “Before, I was dreaming of them to save them. Now… now I’m becoming part of the dream. What if in attempt to save them, ako na mismo ang nagiging instrumento para mangyari ang mga iyon?!”

I felt the chills.

“What if I’m no longer the angel of death but an instrument to cause death?”

No one between us can talk. Newt and Tyler were just watching, sympathy on their faces.

“What if instead of helping them, ako pa ang maging dahilan ng pagkamatay nila? Just because I unconsciously fulfilled the dream? How many lives do I have to risk just for this fucking stupid ability?!”

“Heinz, it’s not stupid—”

“IT IS!” Heinz shouted. “WHAT IF I AM FIGHTING AGAINST THE WILL OF GOD FOR THEIR TIME?!”

I bit my lower lip.

“My parents…” Heinz said. “I tried to save them all I might… thinking I can prolong their life. But what happened? They died…the way I foreseen it…”

Our manager lost his guard.

“And remember when I became a suspect of the deaths just because I tried to stop them? Telling I am  conspiring with the killers? I WAS A GODDAMN HIGH SCHOOL WHOSE PARENTS HAD DIED AND BECAME ORPHANED AT 12, HOW CAN I KILL PEOPLE AND EVEN CONSPIRE?!”

I bit my lower lip again. Mixture of pain and anger were in his voice.

“I became an outcast in school. My relatives abandoned me because they thought I was going nuts. I started living alone, taking multiple part time jobs at once. I even slept in the street just because our house reminds me of my parents and even to this day I can’t step inside it. This ability… it’s not a gift, it’s a curse…”

There was a long pause of silence.

“Heinz…” our manager said, tears in his eyes.

“I can’t even sleep properly because I can see them and their death. The night always scares me because I know the moment I close my eyes, I can hear their pain and their last words. I’m exhaused physically and mentally. Ayoko na…”

His tears fell.

“Gusto ko na maging normal…” he uttered as his voice cracked. “Ayoko na maging ganito….”

Tesrs started to fall from my eyes too.

“So, please,” he said. “Hayaan n’yo na ’kong umalis. Ayoko nang mangialam pa sa kamatayan ng iba. Please lang… tama na…”

Our manager didn’t say anything, as every little thing Heinz had said made sense.

Heinz then get his jacket on the table and stormed out.

Everyone of us in the room exchanged looks.

“Grabe,” Newt uttered. “Para akong nanunuod ng pelikula.”

Our manager sat on the chair and sighed.

“What happened to his parents?” Tyler asked.

“They were murdered right in front of his eyes,” our manager said. “I was working in the police station before. He kept on calling us, telling us someone will kill his parents but no one believed him. He called multiple times but we thought it was a prank call.”

He then sighed and smiled bitterly.

“Until one night, someone came in the police station. Napakalakas ng ulan nang gabing iyon kaya basang basa ang bata nang mapunta roon. It was Heinz. He was crying. He had scars and scratches on his body. Dumudugo pa nga ang ulo. Isang oras halos ang layo ng bahay nila sa police station, kaya malamang isang oras tumatakbo ang bata habang umuulan, sugatan, at nakayapak pa.”

Tears started to form in his eyes again.

“Sabi n’ya, may pumatay sa mga magulang n’ya, at ipinakita pa sa kanya. Nakatakas ang bata at pumunta sa amin. Siyempre, prime suspect agad s’ya. Pero nang imbestigahan, biktima rin ang bata. May mga fingerprints na nakita pero ni isa walang tumugma sa kanya. Kumalat iyon sa buong lugar. Hindi s’ya tinanggap ng mga kamag-anak n’ya dahil natatakot sa abilidad n’ya. Sa eskwela, parating mag-isa.”

He gulped.

“Hanggang minabuti nalang ng awtoridad na dalhin s’ya sa ampunan. Pero pati roon, kinatatakutan s’ya. Hanggang sa tumakas, tumira sa kalye nang ilang linggo. Hanggang sa nakuha n’ya ang naiwang yaman ng magulang at ginamit pampa-aral sa sarili. Simula noon, hindi na s’ya bumalik sa bahay nila. Naririnig daw n’ya ang sigaw ng mga magulang n’ya nang gabing patayin sila.”

He wiped off his tears and stood up.

“Kayo na muna ang bahala rito, ah? Kakausapin ko lang si Heinz.”

Just then, he walked away.

Since that moment, I started to know why everyone in the office called him as the weird sweater boy they need to protect. Because behind his cold aura was a fragile and vulnerable guy who’s a product of countless battles.

During the whole day, Tyler, Newt, and I just started to brainstorm for potential leads that we can have.

So far, ang na-notice namin ay lahat ng biktima ay brutal na mga pinatay.

Aside from that, THEY WERE ALL WOMEN RANGING FROM 19-25.

And aside from the last victim, all other victims had missing organs or body parts with them.

“I really think it’s not a serial killing,” said by Newt. “I mean, it may be a gang. Like, those gang na nangunguha ng bata para kuhanan ng lamang loob at ibenta sa black market?”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Ganito,” Newt said. “On this kind of web, nandoon ang mga gangs or anyone who needs something. Like, hired killers, gun men, or even sex tapes. Similarly, mayroon din doon mga nagbebenta ng droga o lamang loob. If you posted you want a cornea, some dealers on that web will abduct and kill someone to get their cornea. Ganun.”

“That’s… disturbing…” I said. “Pero bakit mga babae lang?”

“I don’t know,” said by Newt. “Siguro by request or siguro kasi they’re not as physically strong as men to fight back?”

“That made sense,” I said. “The woman who died and the man who abducted me, they have this… this eagle tattoo.”

“Tattoo?” Tyler asked.

I nodded.

Tyler and Newt exchanged eye contact.

“O-Okay,” said by Newt. “I’ll take note of that.”

“Why?” I asked.

“That’s actually a usual mark of syndicates,” Tyler said.

“Whoa!” Newt said. “Then we have a lead. This thing may not be a serial killing but we’re chasing a gang syndicate. Nice. Pwede na tayo i-cast sa action movie. Can’t wait to go back in Manila!”

Tyler smirked. “Akala mo mabubuhay ka r’un ’pag nakita ka ni Courtney o Traise?”

I smiled, knowing our ill-fated relationship before.

Then, something came in my mind.

“Wait,” I said. “How about the things that they were sending us?”

“What do you mean?” Tyler asked.

“The eye and the time,” I said. “What if they were sending us a message for us to decode?”

“Wattpad pa,” Newt said.

They laughed together.

“SERYOSO AKO!” I shouted.

“It just means one thing,” said by Newt. “Gutom lang ’yan, halina’t lumamon.”

“But what if there’s something deep about those things? What if we only need to crack those codes?”

“Ang mag cra-crack lang dito ay utak ko, Avery,” sabi ni Newt at isa-isang pinulot ang mga gamit niya sa lamesa. “Kumain nalang tayo.”

Just then, he stood up and walked away.

I looked at Tyler.

“Ba’t ang tahimik mo?” I asked.

He smiled, uneasy.

“Kanina pa ’ko binubulungan ng banyo…” he said.

“Ha?”

“Ang sabi ko, ang daldal mo natatae na ’ko,” he then stood up and ran.

The next moment, things in the office were uneasy. Everyone was looking for Heinz and he was nowhere to be found.

“There’s no way na uuwi sa kanila ’yon,” sabi ng manager namin. “Wala ring kaibigan na mapupuntahan iyon. Napakalayo rin ng hotels at ilang oras pa ang biyahe papuntang bayan. Tiningnan na namin sa staff room pero wala rin. May history ng suicide attempts iyon. Naku, Dios ko.”

We were all concerned.

We tried to find him but for the whole hour, we found nothing. His things were inside his office, including his phone and wallet.

“Matanda na ’yon, kumpleto na nga buhok n’un sa katawan. Kaya na n’ya sarili n’ya,” said by Newt.

I gave him a sharp look.

“Ito na nga, maghahanap na.”

Yet, we literally found nothing.

“Avery,” called by my superior.

“Yes?” I asked.

“Bili mo kaming kape.”

I was shocked.

Tyler and Newt looked at me.

“P-Po?” I asked.

“Ang sabi ko, bili mo kaming kape. Bingi ka na ba?”

Tyler and Newt were both dumbfounded.

“Bakit ho ako?” I asked.

“Anong bakit ikaw? Dati mo naman ’tong ginagawa. The usual flavors ha. Paki bilisan.”

She then handed me her card and walked away.

As I met Tyler’s gaze, his eyes were inquiring. I dodged their looks.

“I-I’ll just… just buy coffee,” I said and walked away.

When I reached the elevator, I sighed.

Yes.

I reached this low.

I smiled bitterly.

Who would’ve thought that the once great Avery will be bossed around by her superior?

I shook my head.

Soon as I went out of the building, I immediately ordered. When I went out, rain was already pouring hard.

I sighed.

Paano ako makakabalik nito?

I squatted on the floor, watching the rain as it dropped on the ground. I stayed on that position for a couple of minutes, until the rain in my front stopped dropping and it was replaced by feet.

As I looked up, I immediately recognized him with his usual round eyeglasses and sweater.

“Heinz…” I uttered.

Yet, no trace of emotion was on his face. He was staring in my eyes deeply, as if seeking something deep within it.

“Come,” he uttered.

I stood up.

He placed his coat on top of us and the next moment, we were running, fighting against the strong wind and heavy rain.

As I looked at him, I noticed majority of the coat was on me and he was getting drenched by the rain. I can even see how the rain dropped on his shoulder and head.

As a result, basang-basa siya nang marating namin ang entrance.

I looked at him.

“Thanks…” I said.

He just looked at me for few seconds.

“Don’t over work yourself,” he just uttered before going inside.

In a blink, I also moved and walked towards the entrance only to get halted when I saw Tyler was there. He was watching us with an umbrella in his hand.

“Sa’n ka pupunta?” nakangiti kong tanong.

Yet, he was so serious that my smile literally faded.

“Where do you think?” he asked and then he turned his back and went inside the office again.

Problema n’un?

The following days, we heard nothing from Heinz. He literally won’t say if whether or not he dreamt something. He would always stay in his office, reviewing his upcoming cases.

Not until another death happened. The victim was 19-year-old woman, her lungs were missing. Her breasts were cut off. And something was written on her body: Z1K1H. It was crafted on her skin by a blade.

It creeped us out.

It became a wild topic in the area, since that may be a mark of the killer, or a message for us to decode.

A human eye.

A watch pointing at 11:59.

Now Z1K1H.

Anong ibig sabihin nila?

It triggered our team to catch them, and it triggered Heinz to get more depressive. In fact, he was nowhere to be seen again and our manager was going nuts.

“Avery, sweetie,” our superior again.

Ah, ito nanaman.

“Paki kuha naman kami ng bond paper sa storage room, please.”

Tyler and Newt looked at me again, probably expecting me to fight back like a wild and mad dragon.

“Sure,” I just said and walked away.

I went to the storage room and immediately took a box of bond papers. Just when I was about to go out, I heard a sound. No, it wasn’t a sound. It was a song.

I walked slowly, going to the back part of the storage room where the sound was coming from.

I gulped as the song hit my chest. It was Beautiful Girl by Jose Mari Chan. It’s a really good senti song that the new generation haven’t discovered yet. Only few people knew about it, and majority of them were either dead or grannies.

Since curiousity was rising inside me, I started walking nearer and nearer to the source of the music.

Just when I reached the end, I saw someone sitting at the corner with his head on his knees. He was there as if he was a child hiding from everyone and afraid to be discovered.

As I observed him, I can hear his every tears. I immediately felt the lethal chest pain building up inside me.

“Heinz…” I uttered.

I walked slowly towards him and stopped in front of him. I also squatted, my hands on my knees, looking at him thoroughly.

I smiled weakly, feeling myself giving him empathy.

“So you’re here…” I said in the most calming voice possible.

Just then, he looked up to me, meeting my eyes. He probably won’t notice my existence if I did not talk. That’s when I saw how emotionally wrecked he was. His eyes were all red with tears forming in it. He looked devastated, and devastated was not even enough to describe how emotionally disturbed he seemed.

I smiled at him weakly as I gently pat his head, feeling his soft hair through my palm, calming him.

“Your ability is the curse, not you,” I said.

Yet, he wasn’t saying anything, he was just looking at me while more tears were forming in his eyes.

“You did well,” I said. “Despite of everything, you’ve done well, Heinz. I meant it.”

That’s when, from that very moment, the tears he was trying to suppress finally fell from his eyes.

“You have been stereotyped as someone cold and strong that’s why when things seemed heavy, you are hiding yourself for anyone not to see your weakness.”

I looked at him deeply.

“ Just because you’re strong enough to handle the pain doesn’t mean you deserve it ,“ I uttered, remembering a familiar pain.

“Kaya don’t blame yourself,” I said. “It’s okay to cry. It’s never wrong to feel weak.”

He just looked at me in the eyes, saying nothing at all.

There was a long pause of silence and no one between us was initiating anything. We were just looking at each other’s eyes, as if we were communicating through our soul. Suddenly, Heinz started to move.

In a blink, he was inching the gap of our face, like everything was in a slow gravitational force. Everything zoomed out aside from the song playing in the background. My heart started to race inside my chest as if something was chasing it.

Just then, from maintaning an enigmatic eye contact, he closed his eyes as his lips were coming close to mine.

And then, like a magical and poetical moment as if the moon and the sun just collided after centuries of chasing each other, our lips finally met.

WE KISSED.

PART THIRTEEN: THE MOMENT HER HEART BEATS

WE KISSED.

The fact that we did never put me to sleep for the following days.

I mean…

JUST WHY WOULD WE?!

What happened seemed like a sudden burst of emotions. It was like we were both bewitched to let that happen. Since then, we started getting awkward around each other. We didn’t even look at each other’s eyes, not even once, not even close.

I can still feel his lips at random times, as if it was already imprinted on mine—which was something that always made me wanna scream. If it was because of embarrassment or whatsoever, I had no idea at all.

On the other hand, Tyler, Newt, and I continued solving the cases. We already acquired fingerprints and DNA samples from the crime scenes. We were just waiting if it will match someone.

“DAMN!” I heard Newt exclaimed. “THE ANTI-TERROR BILL WAS SIGNED!”

I looked at him, shocked.

“I thought that would get veto-ed?”

Getting veto-ed is when the president refused to sign a bill that passed the Senate and the Congress.

“Well, I guess not,” Newt said. “It will take effect by next month.”

“I actually like what the Anti Terror bill states,” Tyler said. “But our current government, I guess, does not have the power yet to execute it.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“The Anti terror bill states that activism is not considered a terrorism unless there will be violence,” said by Tyler.

He looked at us.

“But with or without the violence, cops may just label anyone as a terrorist knowing how incompetent some, not all, of them are.”

“True,” said by Newt.

“Can you still remember how that certain senator violated the Quarantine protocol when we had a pandemic and endangered loads of people but no action was made against him? Can you still remember how a police officer threw out a  birthday party despite the government prohibited mass gathering? On top of that, they did not take actions to discipline him because thry said they were hard to replace but the jeepney drivers who protested WITHOUT violence got arrested for violating mass gathering protocol?”

We nodded, remembering those controversial times.

“That’s why this Anti terrorism law would not be as effective as they foreseen it. Their kind of law does not aim to protect the people, but to control the poor and tolerate the ruling elites.”

Tyler gulped.

“I had been supporting the government for their efforts I perceived as beneficial to its constituents, because my dad, I mean, both of my dads—”

“The former Chief Justice and the fuck boy?” I asked.

He smiled.

“Yeah,” he said. “They were part of the government and I personally witnessed how they struggle everyday but this Anti Terror Bill, this whole damn thing,  it’s a plain stupidity. In order for it to go well, a good justice system must be present—which is something we highly lack.”

“True,” I said. “How can you expect the law enforcers to exert the law well when they can’t abide it themselves? Imagine their incompetent ass red tagging people who just speak for their rights and eventually got arrested and later on freed but the emotional trauma will be there and it will create a chilling effect for others not to speak up otherwise they’ll experience the exact same thing.”

“This ain’t a direct problem with me as I support the government often,” Newt said. “But just because it won’t affect me while others will suffer doesn’t mean I have to adhere with silence because there is something above the law—THE WELFARE OF ITS PEOPLE.”

“Laws like this don’t mean to protect the people, they were designed to control them as the law doesn’t apply to those who rule. See? This is a clear oppression and an abuse of power. That needs to get junked. NOW.”

Natawa kaming tatlo.

“Whoa,” said by Newt. “It feels great voicing out your political beliefs with people who’d understand.”

“Indeed,” said by Tyler. “But just because other people won’t understand doesn’t mean we have to ignore them. We should normalize having no opinion yet until we are knowledgeable enough to talk. And we must normalize changing opinions after being presented with facts. That’s how we grow.”

Newt clapped his hand and I just smiled, seeing the same Tyler with his principles.

In a moment, we went outside the room to finally have lunch. However, my senior ordered me something.

“Avery, xerox mo ’to. Twenty copies ha. Bilisan mo.”

Newt and Tyler said they will go to the cafeteria and they will just wait for me there.

Right when I was waiting for the papers to come out, I scoffed.

“Napakatamad. Baka gusto niya ako na rin mag-subo sa kanya ng lunch niya?” bulong ko sa sarili.

Right after, I went to the cafeteria. Just when I went in, I almost got petrified. I almost stepped back when I saw someone with his usual sweater and round eye glasses, on the same table with Tyler and Newt.

I was about to walk away because I felt awkward but Newt waved at me already. Left with no choice, I walked towards them and sat beside Tyler and in front of Heinz, who was silently eating his meal.

“Ba’t ang tagal mo?” Newt asked.

“Bakit ka ba pakialamero?” I asked back, kind of irritated and panicking.

“Nagtatanong lang,” Newt said with his mouth full of rice, looking offended.

Tyler was viewing something on his phone while he was eating.

As I looked at Heinz, he was just silently chewing his meal.

He never went back to our team. He had decided already that he won’t come back, even after the countless attempts of our manager to win him back.

I was drinking my water while looking at him, but then he looked back.

Our eyes met.

And I choked on my water.

Literal na naibuga ko at may lumabas pa sa ilong ko. Newt and Tyler were complaining, while Heinz was looking at me, expressionless.

When we settled, Tyler looked at Heinz.

“Pumipikit ka na,” Tyler told him. “Hindi ka pa natutulog?”

We all looked at him.

“Yep,” he just said.

That’s when I noticed how bad the dark circles around his eyes were.

“Ilang oras na?” Tyler asked back.

“32,” he timidly said.

“Idlip, ayaw mo?”

“I’m afraid I might see something again,” he just said.

We all fell silent.

I was about to eat when he talked.

“Why are you avoiding me?”

My spoon was left mid-air along with my hands.

He said those without looking at me.

Newt cleared his throat, “H-Heinz we weren’t⁠—”

Heinz then looked at me.

“Did I do something wrong?”

Beat.

Tyler looked at me, his eyes were suspicious.

“H-Heinz⁠—”

Newt got halted.

“Why, Avery?” he asked. “Is it wrong to like you?”

My eyes widened, so did Newt’s and Tyler’s.

“Was it something so sinful that you’ll feel awkward around me? Was it something worth condemning for you to avoid me?”

I opened my mouth but I can’t think of anything to say.

“If you’ll avoid me, then at least tell me what’s wrong.”

“Heinz⁠—”

“If liking you is a crime then why don’t you convict me, attorney?”

My eyes widened.

My heart skipped a beat.

“H-Heinz,” said by Tyler, confused on what was going on. “What do you⁠—”

“WE KISSED.”

Tyler’s eyes grew bigger, and then it became expressionless as he met my eyes.

He smiled bitterly.

“Oh,” he said and he gulped. “Okay…”

I bit my lower lip.

I stood up and was about to walk out but Heinz held me by my wrist.

“Didn’t your heart flutter?” he asked. “Because mine did.”

“H-Heinz, let’s just… talk in the other day, I wanna⁠—”

Just then, Tyler stood up as well and held me by my arm.

“It doesn’t require an IQ of 200 to know that she doesn’t want to talk to you,” he said in the most calm yet threatening voice possible as he glared at Heinz. “Let go of her hand.”

“Between us, it is you who have no right to meddle, Tyler, you are just workmates,” Heinz talked back with the same tone.

“Don’t talk about something you know nothing about,” Tyler said. “You don’t wanna see how a Tyler Scott works. I’m not the son of a fuck boy for nothing, Heinz.”

He then stopped and looked in Heinz’s eyes. “Don’t disturb the sleeping giant in me.”

And he smirked.

“You won’t like it.”

Heinz’s face went emotionless for few seconds until he flashed a smile.

“Too bad,” he said. “I don’t feel even the tiniest fear. Don’t talk, Mr. Scott. Prove it.”

“I will,” Tyler said and smiled.

Just then I pulled my hands from theirs and without uttering anything, I walked away.

It was 11PM when the full blast of the club’s music resonated in the whole place. We were inside a club, celebrating one of our susperiors’ birthday.

“DO YOU WANNA HAVE SEX WITH ME?”

A cold, husky, airy, yet masculine voice whispered at me. I looked at the guy beside me and there, I noticed his weary and tipsy eyes along with his red face.

“Fuck off, Tyler,” I said as I took another shot.

He laughed, and the sound of his laugh blended with the club’s music.

“Why not?” he then asked.

The few buttons of his usual white polo tucked inside his slacks were unbuttoned, showing some portion of his chest getting red as well, a normal reaction from the alcoholic drink we were savoring.

He took another shot and he looked directly in my eyes. His black eyes, a contradictory of Traise’s golden brown eyes, complemented well with his messy black hair.

He smiled provocatively when he noticed me inspecting thoroughly the every detail of his face.

“I’ll do good,” he said while looking at my lips up to my eyes, “I’ll be gentle.”

I smirked as I felt his fingers were softly rubbing my fingers.

“Why don’t you just dance there?” I jokingly asked, my lips pointing at the dance floor. “And let girls who wanna get laid on come to you like what you used to do?”

He softly laughed.

“Let’s say I’m tired of meeting random girls?” he asked as his tongue licked his lower lip.

“Tss,” I reacted.

“I want something permanent. I want something long lasting, something so sure,” and he looked directly in my eyes, as if he was trying to see my soul trhough it. Tyler smiled but this time, it was flirtatious. “From someone like you…”

I smiled back. “Is that your common script, Tyler?” I asked and took another shot. “It’s not working. Better go for revision, I suggest.”

“Why?” he asked smilingly. “Ain’t it good to hear that someone who used to have a principle of ‘I don’t want commitments because it feels like having one shirt and promising it’s the only thing I’m  gonna use though there are loads to choose from’ has finally changed and now wants to settle?”

“Why are you so defensive?” I laughingly replied. “I just said it did not work on me. Did it hurt your pride that much?”

He licked his lower lip.

“Is there any way that I can put your guard down?” he asked, looking just in my eyes, smiling.

“None,” I said back, smiling as well.

“Well you haven’t tasted my lips yet,” he said. “Maybe…we can sort things out somewhere else,” he said, his eyes pointing at the club’s restroom.

I somehow laughed.

“Stop it.” I said.  “I might believe things and you might regret doing this when you’re sober enough to think about things tomorrow.”

He laughed as well. “Normally, when I talk about things like that, girls will immediately get trapped but when it comes to you, it has no use.”

“Because I’m not just any other girl,” I affirmed.

“Yea,” he said, “Because you’re a mystery to me,” and he stared in my lips, “A mystery I wanna unravel.”

That created a bang in me.

“In what kind of unraveling, huh?” I jokingly said.

“It’s up to you,” he said. “It could mean something deeper, or going through something deeper.”

We laughed.

“You sure you don’t wanna try me tonight before anyone else takes me out?” he asked. “My performance is directly proportional to my face, both are good.”

I laughed again.

“All right, then. Just gonna have fun over there.”

And just like that, he partied and blended with the crowd while I was left here, watching him partying. Few moments later, girls started to come to him and Newt as if they were some sort of a magnet that they were inevitably vulnerable to.

On the other hand, Heinz did not attend. Which was a good thing because I won’t be able to handle the awkwardness if ever.

In a snap, Tyler looked back at me, bragging the girl who almost seemed like throwing her body to him.

I just smiled.

Until he came back completely wasted. Minutes had passed, and no one’s talking between us. We were just watching the people enjoying their lives, dancing, laughing, drinking.

Until in a sudden, he broke the ice.

“Avery, how do you wanna be remembered?”

He looked at me, with now a serious face.

“I mean,” he added, as he took a gulp pf his drink. “You were a dean’s lister, academic awardee, you were a great school journalist, you have a great family background and even expertise in the field of law. So how do you wanna be remembered?”

“That’s so random,” I said.

“Come on, just answer.”

“I don’t know,” I said. “To be honest I don’t really know.”

“Pwede ba ’yun?” he asked.

“Is that even necessary?” I laughingly said.

“With a talent of yours, of course!”

I shivered as I watched him emptied his bottle.

“How do I wanna be remembered?” I asked myself with my eyes fixated at him.

“Yes, baby,” Tyler mumbled as he placed down the bottle.

“I don’t wanna get remembered by just anyone,” I said.  “I…wanna be remembered by someone I treasure and love the most. I wanna be remembered by someone who means the whole universe to me. I don’t wanna be remembered as something, I wanna be remembered as someone.”

As I met Tyler’s eyes, he was deeply looking at mine, until he smiled.

“Then I’ll remember you…”

My heart took a sudden leap.

I cleared my throat as the atmosphere started to be uneasy.

“You?” I asked him. “How do you wanna be remembered?”

“Me?” he asked back. “Nothing special. I sometimes wonder what has had been my role in everybody’s life. I don’t even know if I’m worth remembering at all.”

He then sighed. I can’t read his face.

He looked at me. “Feels like I’m gonna pass out soon, can you take me to the staff room?”

I laughed. “Hello, I’m the girl here?”

“Yeah,” he said and he smiled. “But you’re not just a girl, you are Avery Heimsworth.”

We laughed.

“Everything’s getting blurry, I’ll just… take a nap.”

Just then, he fell asleep.

I sighed.

Almost all of his buttons were unbottoned and I can literally his body. So I fixed them.

While doing it, I couldn’t help myself but to look at his lips.

I gulped.

His lips and cheeks were reddish. His hair was messy. His neck was reddish as well due to the alcohol.

Few minutes later, I put my face on the table, facing him, feeling the alcohol hitting my body.

Suddenly, Somebody Out There by A Rocket To The Moon played.

I was just looking at his face when his eyes suddenly opened.

We were just staring at each other for so long, no one was talking.

“Would it be silly if I’ll tell you I took this job because you are here?”

I met his gaze, yet I didn’t say anything.

“I missed you…” he then uttered, looking in my eyes, his voice seemed like a whisper and I even felt his warm breath touching my face.

I gulped.

I didn’t say anything.

“Looking in your eyes now after a year of longing, everything was worth it,” he said. “You are always worth it.”

I was about to say something but he talked.

“Ssssh,” he halted me with eyes tracing every detail of my face. “Let’s stay like this for a while.”

And for the few minutes, we were just there, staring at each other.

The following hours, naglalakad na kami sa kalye dahil naiwanan kami ng van.

“Ba’t ang bilis mo maglakad?” tanong niya.

I looked back.

“Hindi ako mabilis, mabagal ka lang!”

He walked faster than normal and soon as he reached me, he tapped my shoulder so hard that it actually made me shout in pain.

“Kakalagay ko lang ng salonpas d’yan!” I said as I gave him a sharp look.

“Serves you right,” he said as he teased me with him sticking out his tongue and walked away.

I followed his lead and now we’re walking in the same pace.

“Are you seeing someone?” he asked.

Beat.

Was he talking about Heinz?

“Are you, perhaps, kidding me?” I asked back.

He laughed then his face turned dead serious.

“No. When was the last time you had a boyfriend? Was it that Carlo—”

“Carl,” I corrected.

“Whoever that dog-faced is, was apparently your last, so far. We’re not going any younger. Why don’t you try something new? For experience.”

“For experience?” I asked. “You mean like what you always do, one night stand then shut them away?”

“WHAT?!?” he exclaimed.

We stopped walking.

“Look, I’m just concerned, If ever I offend you, I’m….sorry, okay? I was just being a—”

“Then don’t be!”

“Don’t be a what?”

“Stop being something to me!” I said and walked ahead of him.

“You know,” he shouted. “Don’t make things complicated for you!”

I stopped.

“AND WHAT’S SOMETHING THAT’S MAKING THIS COMPLICATED FOR ME, HUH?!”

“YOU AND YOUR PRIDE!”

“DON’T TALK TO ME AS IF YOU ARE SOME SORT OF A LOVE GURU WHEN IN FACT YOU CAN’T EVEN FIND A STABLE RELATIONSHIP!”

“AND WHY DO YOU THINK SO?!”

“I DON’T KNOW MAYBE YOU WERE AFTER THE LUST!”

“WHAT LUST ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? HINDI BA PWEDENG I AM JUST WAITING FOR THE PERFECT TIME TO TELL SOMEONE THAT I LIKE HER?!”

“UGH! ANOTHER MAN WITH HIS USUAL PERFECT TIME SCHEME. WHEN WOULD BE THAT PERFECT TIME, HUH?!”

“TONIGHT!”

“THEN DO IT TONIGHT, MORON!”

“TALAGA!”

“TALAGANG TALAGA!”

“TALAGA! NOW DO IT TO HER, IF YOU ARE SO SURE ABOUT HER. TELL HER TONIGHT AND LET ME SEE. GO ON! GO ON!”

He then stopped and looked at me.

“SIGE!” he said.

“ANO NA BOY?!” I asked. “BA’T ’DI MO S’YA TAWAGAN AT—”

“BAKIT KO S’YA TATAWAGAN EH KASAMA KO NA NGA S’YA?!”

I looked at him with disbelief.

“ASAN?! WALA AKONG NAKIKITA!”

“KASI IKAW ’YON, BOBO!”

“ANONG AKO—”

I then stopped talking.

Wait.

WHAT?!

I looked at him with my eyes widened.

“AVERY!”

We both looked at the owner of the voice.

It was Heinz, waiting for me outside the building.

“Avery…” Tyler then said. “Don’t come to anyone.”

He gulped, he seemed shy.

And the next thing he said made my world stopped.

“

GO OUT WITH ME, WILL YOU?“

And that moment, with Tyler in front of me and with Heinz watching, I felt my heart beats.

If it was for Tyler or for Heinz, I can’t distinguish which…

PART FOURTEEN: THE WAR AGAINST TIME

“

HOW WILL YOU KNOW IF YOU LIKE SOMEONE?“

The woman in the office looked at me.

“What do you mean?” she asked, chewing her meal. “Don’t tell me you’re dating dzai ha, ’wag mo akong unahan!”

“I was just curious,” I said. “Does it happen naturally? I mean, how can you make sure that the feelings you have for a certain person is different, or much intense than the others? What if… you feel the exact same emotions for two people at once?”

I looked around to see if there’s a customer in the store but there was none.

“Ano ’yan, girl? Sana dalawa ang puso?”

“Seryoso ako!” giit ko.

She looked in my eyes and made up her mind.

I sighed hard.

“Okay, okay,” she said and sat in front of me. “Let’s do this since you are curious, okay?”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Close your eyes,” she said.

“But why—”

“Just do as I say,” she said.

And I then closed my eyes.

“What’s next?” I asked.

“Think of him,” she nonchalantly said.

“Who?” I asked, confusion swallowing me.

“Him.”

“Who’s him?”

“Bitch!” she exclaimed. “The one you immediately remember with the word, ‘him’.”

“O-okay…” I said, eyes closed still.

I tried to remember anyone.

Then something came to my mind.

“If liking you is a crime then why don’t you convict me, attorney?”

“Go out with me, will you?”

I bit my lower lip.

How should I decide when it was clearly both of them?!

“Now, think of his eyes. Attractive, ain’t it?”

Then I remembered Heinz’s eyes when we were staring at each other in the storage room.

I also remembered Tyler’s eyes when we were looking at each other inside the club, our face on the table, facing each other.

“Now the bridge of his nose, down to his aesthetically crafted soft lips, Imagine that irresistible feeling of kissing him.”

I bit my lip.

I suddenly felt the burst of emotions when Heinz kissed me.

At the same time, I also felt the tension when I was observing Tyler’s features, from his nose down to his lips.

“Hear his voice, soothing, isn’t it?”

“Be safe, always…”

“I can be a soft boy and a wild bear all at once.”

“How about the warmth of his hug? The feeling of being secured whenever his hands are intertwined with yours?”

The feeling of being secured?

I suddenly remembered how I called Heinz’s name when I was abducted.

I also then remembered how the fear in me faded when Tyler came to rescue me.

“Now, can you imagine his face? Kilala mo na ba siya?”

I saw Tyler’s melancholic smile as he asked me to date him

I also saw Heinz’s melancholic face as he closed his eyes as he inched our gap to kiss me.

“Whoever that person is, that’s where your heart belongs…”

Beat.

Confusion swallowed me.

That’s where my heart belongs?

But I can literally see them.

BOTH OF THEM.

“Did it help?” she asked.

I felt more confused than I was before.

“I don’t know,” I said. “Napakagulo.”

I sighed.

What should I do?

My eyes then landed on the television.

“Anong palabas ’yan?” I asked.

“Tuned In,” my officemate said.

“By the way what do you like to drink? Coffee or Orange Juice?” a woman asked. She was wearing a lab gown who looked like a scientist.

“ Coffee,“ a teenager woman said timidly but in an instant, the woman gave her a juice.

“I said coffee,” the teenager complained.

“ Yeah, I heard that ,“ the scientist said. “ But come to think of it. Do you really need a coffee? Why? Because of its taste? Okay, it’s yummy. How about after drinking it? You feel the sudden anxiety, right? The sudden panic attack, you become uneasy, there will be chest pain. But if you’ll choose the orange juice, it’s fine. You’ll just be as calm as you are before, during, and after drinking it. No anxiety, no panic attack, no nervousness, and no chest pain.“

Napakunot ako ng noo.

Ano pinagsasabi nito?

Sino ba script writer ng palabas na ’to?

“What are you trying to say?” the teenager asked.

“What I’m trying to say is you should be with someone who can calm you down, with someone you feel so comfortable with.”

My eyes widened.

Just few minutes ago, I was overthinking whom do I really like between Heinz and Tyler, now this!

But how will I do that?

“It’s easy, darling,” the scientist said.

My eyes widened.

Did the character on TV just… just heard what’s on my mind?!

“ You just have to ask yourself, are you willing to experience shits with the coffee or live a plain life with an orange juice?“

I listened to it attentively, as if the character was advising me directly.

“ Sure, they’ll give you both butterflies and bees in your stomach or even the whole zoo inside you. Sure, they’ll make your soul at peace, an instant comfortability, an instant connection, undeniably a home in human form. Sure, they’ll love you, but love isn’t just about feelings and ain’t just about the strings that have been knotted.“

I gulped.

That was deep!

“ Love also is a choice. A choice to keep things going, a choice to make things work. A choice to choose each other more than anything, to overlook for possibilities to make things work, to overlook reasons to hold on still and WON’T EVER loosen up each other’s grip.“

I was loterally drowning from too much words but I can’t take my ears off it.

“ Love is a mixture of fate, feelings, and choice. Honey, pick someone who sees the future in you and sees the entire universe in your eyes. Be with someone who sees you as too hard to have and too important to lose. Never force love, love is natural. As natural as water.“

“ So what do you wanna say?“ the teenager asked.

“What I’m saying is, pick the one with the purest intention, the one your soul finds its comfort. Like this water…”

My officemates then screamed with giggles.

“I KNEW IT! SI AXES ANG WATER!”

“NO, BITCH! SI ZERO!”

My eyes widened.

That’s it.

That’s the answer.

But who has the purest intention?

Was it Heinz who saved my life twice?

Or Tyler who I have long known?

But whom can I find my soul’s comfort?

Both were making me panic.

I closed my eyes hardly. This shit was confusing.

I immediately stood up and went to the vending machine to buy a drink but the drink wasn’t coming out.

“Problema nito?” I asked.

“You should kick this area once.”

I looked at the owner of the voice beside me.

“Heinz…”

He didn’t meet my eyes. He just kicked a part of the vending machine and a drink came out. He took it and handed it to me.

“Thanks…” I awkwardly said.

He then picked a drink and inserted coins.

“Will you go out with him?” he then asked.

I looked at him, shocked.

Sinipa niyang muli ang area na sinasabi niya at lumabas ang inumin niya.

“It’s fine,” he said and he took his drink. He then stood up and looked in my eyes.

“I can’t force you to go out with anyone,” he said. “But please keep your heart open for me.”

I felt a loud bang inside me.

My heart was fluttering.

He smiled weakly.

“That’ll be enough.”

He then turned his back and walked away.

“AVERY!”

I looked at the owner of the voice and it was Tyler.

Ah, what a great entrance it was.

I felt torn.

He smilingly went to me.

“I got the results!” he said, smiling so wide.

“Of what?”

“Of the fingerprints!” he said. “Luckily, walang fingerprint na nag-match kaya safe tayo sa information leakage.”

“Okay,” I said.

“AAAAND!” he enthusiastically said, probably trying to cover up the embarrassment of confessing to me last night. “I went to the local government and legally tried to link any of the fingerprint to citizens living in this place. They have this law kasi na you have to register your fingerprints and no citizen’s record matched the fingerprint we acquired.”

“What does that mean?” I asked.

“It means the criminals are not from here.”

But before I can even say a thing, we heard a loud BLAG sound. As we looked at where it originated, we saw Heinz fell on the floor, unconscious.

The next thing I knew, we were in the hospital.

“Pahinga lang kailangan n’ya,” the doctor said. “I bet he was awake for more than 72 hours without eating anything kaya nahilo at nawalan ng malay.”

Tyler, Newt, and I looked at each other, knowing why Heinz probably tried not to sleep for more than 72 hours. He was probably afraid on what would his next dream be.

“We injected him something that would guarantee him a great rest. Nothing to worry.”

The doctor then walked away.

“He’ll be asleep for too many hours due to what the doctor injected him,” said by Newt. “Imagine how many deaths he’ll be dreaming of? Oh, poor thing.”

I looked at Heinz and he was asleep.

Nananaginip na kaya siya ngayon?

My thoughts were halted when Tyler’s phone beeped.

Newt smiled.

“Sige na, kung may lakad kayo, puntahan n’yo na. Ako na bahala rito, ito lang naman silbi ng mga third wheel.”

Tyler laughed.

“Thanks, man,” and he looked at me. “Can we talk?”

The heaven knew how much I panicked ’cuz I thought he would open up his confession last night, and glad he did not. Actually, he just told me someone offered him a professor post in the nearby university and he wanted to recommend me. Since I missed teaching, I was glad and I accepted. We were set to meet in the office at 5PM. Tyler went to the forensics for a follow up and I went back to the office to resume my work.

Lately, things were easy. There were no recorded deaths. Whether or not there were really no deaths or their body hasn’t discovered yet, we had no idea at all. Afterall, it was only Heinz who can foresee and tell. His departure from our group impacted us negatively.

With a smile on my face, I walked inside the office only to get halted by my officemates gossiping about me.

“Avery?” a female voice asked, and it was my superior. “Huh. Queen of Court Trials? Nakakadiri. Hindi n’yo ba alam kung paano ko lang utos utusan ’yon? Nanginginig pa nga ang kamay.”

They laughed.

“Atsaka, ano ba maipagmamalaki n’ya? Tatay n’yang naka kulong? Anti-Death penalty bill n’yang wala nang nakaka-alalang s’ya ang may gawa? ’Yung straight winning streaks n’yang sinira ng puro talo n’yang cases dito? Girls, that girl is the most stupid woman I have ever seen. The only thing that’s making her relevant is the fact that she has connections with Ms. Spencer, Mr. Stevens, and Mr. Scott. Other than that? Wala. Bagay pa nga s’yang alila.”

They all, again, laughed.

I bit my lower lip.

I felt the anger rising within me.

Suddenly, one of my officemates saw me. She pointed me by her lips and everyone looked at me. They all went back to their seats while my senior was smiling.

Naglakad na ako papunta sa table ko at hindi ko na lang sila pinansin.

“No shade, honey! Just facts!” she shouted.

I closed my eyes hardly as I reached my station.

Calm, Avery. Don’t let this ruin your day. After all, they don’t deserve the energy.

You will be recommended to be a professor again. Calm, okay? Calm.

The thought of I would be able to teach again helped me to calm myself.

Until 5PM came. Naka-receive ako ng text message mula kay Tyler na nagsasabing magkikita kami kasama ang dean sa coffee shop sa tapat ng office namin. Matapos kong mag-badge out for work ay dali-dali akong pumunta roon.

Tyler waved at me when he saw me. I went to the table and smiled soon as I sat down.

“Good Afternoon,” I said.

“Good Afternoon,” the guy said.

“Anyway, sir, this is the person I was talking about.”

“Of course she is,” the guy said. “Just her presence is oozing with confidence and expertise, Tyler. You really have the best eyes when recruiting people, huh?’

Bahagya silang nagkatawanan at kinakabahang ngumiti lang ako.

How do you react ba when someone compliments you? Bakit pakiramdam ko parati joke time sila?

“Then it’s settled,” Tyler said. “You got a new professor, sir, congrats!”

Wait.

THAT FAST?!

“Are you sure you don’t wanna teach, Mr. Scott? Even not a full time one will do. Just earn few units and we will be very much delighted.”

“As much as I want to, my schedule is overloaded, sir. Maybe next time.”

“I’ll hold on to that next time ’til you fulfill it.”

They once again laughed. The guy then sipped his coffee and looked at me.

“I’m so sorry, miss, what was your name? I forgot to ask.”

I smiled.

“Avery,” I said. “Avery Heimsworth.”

The smile on the man’s face faded and he turned serious.

“A-Avery?” he asked. “The same Avery Heimsworth who got kicked out from the nearby school because her students never learned anything from her and always scored failure in every teaching observations and assessments?”

It felt like as if something pierced my heart.

“S-Sir…” said by Tyler, alarmed. “T-That’s offensive. Y-You could’ve just filtered it or made it sound nice…”

“What’s something nice to say about her, though? All the schools in this area have verbally blacklisted her because she dragged her former school’s performance ranking.”

“Sir…” said by Tyler, looking at me. “M-Maybe you can test her first. I mean, isn’t it unfair to judge people easily? Maybe you can see first how she works and then you decide.”

“No, Mr. Scott. I don’t want any negativity in my school. If you won’t accept my offer, okay lang pero kung siya ang recommended mo, I doubt I have to turn that down. I respect you, I always do but I don’t want any incompetent educator in my school. She’s a waste of pay, of space, and of public tax.”

The grip on my skirt tightened.

Tears were forming in my eyes.

“The only incompetent I could see is you and your judgement, sir, with all due respect,” said by Tyler. “The woman you are mocking in front of me was the first person, not just a woman, who almost beat me in court. The woman you were calling a waste of the public tax was the same woman who faced Me, Courtney, Traise, and Newt all alone and she even destroyed us just in one trial.”

I looked at Tyler when he started defending me.

Bakit ka ganyan?

“And she was the same woman, no, the only woman rather who had the bravery enough to accept a murder case that your A-listed prosecutors and detectives can’t handle.”

I bit my lower lip, trying not to cry.

“And mind you, she’s not just a woman,” he said and looked at the guy’s eyes. “She’s Avery Heimsworth. The one who controls the game.”

He then stood up and grabbed me by my wrist.

“If you have nothing else to say, off we go.”

Just like that, he dragged me out of the second floor and just when we reached the first floor, he let go of my hand.

“Order anything you like,” he said.

“Hindi mo man lang ba ako tatanungin?”

“About what?” he asked.

“About sa mga sinasabi niya. About sa pagkakatanggal ko sa trabaho.”

He smiled.

“I want you to tell me once you’re ready,” he said and faced me the menu. “Pick anything you like. Hindi ka manlang naka-inom o nakakain. Go on. My treat.”

I looked at him, didn’t know what to feel.

“Baka mailang ka pa kumain ng libre,” Tyler said, grinning. “Use this card. Punta lang ako sa book store doon sa tapat. Tawagan mo nalang ako ’pag tapos ka na.”

Tyler left his card and went to the bookstore. I did as he say. I ate. When I finished it, I texted him. I went out of the coffee shop.

When I went out, I saw him on the other side, waving at me.

I laughed.

I started to walk towards him.

This guy….

I’m at a loss of words for this guy.

He will pretend he doesn’t care about you and might even offend you with his choice of words, but deep inside, he cared and was genuine. Maybe, his way of saying his unspoken thoughts were through teasing you.

“I am the releast when I am with you..”

I can hear his voice.

Is it him?

The water that I had been looking for?

The one that my soul can find its comfort?

The one that can calm me and put me at ease?

We were slowly inching our gap, our eyes were fixated at each other.

Could it be really him?

If the heaven can hear me, please do give me a sign.

A sign enough for me to make decisive actions.

“Don’t go to anyone.”

If I won’t go to anyone, will this be the best choice?

Heaven, please give me a sign.

One solid sign.

As I was inching our gap, my mind was begging the Creator above.

Please….

Just then, I saw how Tyler’s eyes grew bigger.

“AVERY!” he shouted.

Suddenly, I saw a light coming to me.

There, I noticed it was a car.

It was so close to me and will hit me any second now.

What the hell…

Until I felt someone grabbed me, and the next thing I knew, I was inside his embrace, my head on his chest, hearing his unusual heart beat. As I looked up, my eyes widened.

“Heinz…”

In a snap, the car that almost hit me passed by.

As I scanned him, he was still wearing his hospital dress, he seemed like he escaped from the hospital.

“B-Bakit ka nandito—”

He then looked at me, tears forming in his eyes.

“13 EXTENSION, FERNANDO BOULEVARD MAIN ROAD OUTSIDE THE BO COFFEE SHOP IN FRONT OF THE XIAO LAWFIRM AND BOOK FOR THE LESS BOOK STORE.”

My eyes widened.

Iyon ang eksaktong lugar kung nasaan kami ngayon.

I gulped.

“D-Did you… dream of me?” I asked.

He nodded, more tears forming in his eyes.

“A-And you escaped after dreaming it?”

He nodded again.

He then weakly smiled.

“I did it…” he said, and tears fell from his eyes.

“

I saved you…“

PART FIFTEEN: AWAKENING THE SLEEPING DRAGON

Flashes of camera.

Gasps coming from anyone who’d look at the scene.

Voice of cops asking people to step back.

I gulped and I looked around.

I saw Tyler talking to detectives and Newt scanning everything he can see.

There were bloods on the floor.

The victims’s organs were missing.

She died with one of her eyes had a stick stuck on it and they were wide open, as if what happened will never put her to sleep even in the afterlife.

Her tummy was opened and when we came, there were rats eating her. If the killer took out her organs or the rats ate them, we had no idea at all.

“This is…utterly…tragedy….” Newt murmured, scanning everything. I joined him in his search.

“Kailan pa itong bangkay na ’to?” I asked him.

“No idea,” he said. “Mamaya palang natin malalaman sa autopsy.”

He then sighed.

“They started again,” I said. “After days of stopping from killing someone, they are on the killing spree again.”

“But what if hindi talaga sila tumigil?” asked by Newt. “What if marami na silang pinatay ulit pero kagaya nito, hindi pa natin nadidiskubre?”

He sighed hard.

“This is why we need Heinz,” he then said.

I felt a pierce in my heart.

Joining back will be a torture to Heinz emotionally. But in order to win this, we need to win him back.

Suddenly, what happened yesterday flashed back on my mind.

“I did it…” he said, and his tears fell. “I save you…”

It brought chills down my spine.

Pumasok lang daw si Newt sa comfort room para maghilamos pero nang lumabas siya ay wala na sa higaan niya si Heinz.

Ayon kay Heinz, agad siyang tumakas nang mapanaginipan niya akong nasagasaan. Mabilis siyang nakarating dahil sa labas lang ng office namin ang lugar ng posibleng krimen.

Hanggang ngayon napapa-isip ako.

If Heinz did not pass out and did not dream of us, would I still be alive? I wonder. I really do.

“I found something!” Newt exclaimed.

As we all looked at it, at the back of the victim, there were words crafted by a knife.

“I’m always in between. I watch over you.”

“Fuck!” Newt exclaimed, standing up.

The authorities went to us and examined what we discovered.

Just then, medias came to us and in a blink, flashes of camera blinded my sight.

“Ano pong masasabi ninyo sa krimen?”

“May leads  na po ba kayo?”

“Ano pong plano ninyo?”

“Tingin n’yo ho ba sindikato ang may gawa nito?”

“Any message po sa mga taong nasa likod nito?”

Newt and I stepped back, didn’t notice the number of reporters surrounding us. We tried to avoid but we were cornered. They were even shoving their mics on our faces and Newt and I looked like we were being harrassed.

“I’ll answer,” said by a voice.

Tyler.

Everyone gathered around him, asking the exact same question.

“Kung mapapansin po ninyo, sunud-sunod ang pagpatay sa lugar na ito. Kung iisipin, sa lahat naman ng lugar may namamatay, ngunit sa lugar na ito, kakaiba ang uri ng pagpatay. Binibiktima nila ang mga kababaihan edad 19 - 25. Kumukuha rin sila ng lamang loob at ginagawang karumal-dumal ang krimen, animo’y ipinagkakalandakan na sila ang may gawa ng mga pagpatay.”

Tyler gulped and made sure he was perfectly balance in all cameras.

“Ang mga ganitong klaseng krimen ay labag sa batas ng Diyos at ng tao. Bilang alagad ng batas na pumo protekta sa karapang pantao, sisiguraduhin kong ang imbestigasyong ito ay magpapakita ng hindi lang ngipin, kun’ ’di ang pangil ng batas.”

He looked around, meeting everyone’s eyes.

“At ang hinihingi ko lamang ho sa inyo ay ang inyong kooperasyon. Kung lalabas ng bahay, siguraduhing ’wag aalis mag-isa. Kung matutulog sa gabi, siguraduhing na i-lock ang mga pinto at bintana. ’Wag basta-basta makikipagkita o magpapapasok sa bahay, kilala man ninyo o hindi. Malinaw ho ito. Tayo ay may kalabang hindi natin alam kung sino at ano.”

He then looked at one of the cameras.

“Kung nasa’n ka man at kung sino man, sisiguraduhin kong manginginig ka sa takot. Afterall, you’re not only fighting against the rule of law.”

He then smiled and he turned serious.

“You are fighting against Tyler Scott.”

Just then, we walked away from the scene. Hours later, we got the autopsy report. The victim died 48 hours before we discovered. She was long been dead.

“Ilang biktima pa ang late na nating ma-di-discover?’ galing na tanong ni Newt.

“True,” I said, worried. “Baka marami pang katulad n’ya na hindi pa natin nadidiskubre.”

“And the hints!” Newt said.

“First, a human eye. Second, a watch pointing at 11:59. Then a Z1K1W. Now, a message saying ‘I am always in between. I watch over you.’”

Tyler looked at us.

“We need Heinz,” he said. “There’s no other way.”

“Man,” said by Newt. “You know what happened to the guy the last time he helped us. He was traumatized and hospitalized.”

“We have no other option,” said by Tyler. “Nakikita lang natin ang biktima ’pag patay na sila. Wala tayong magawa dahil nangyari na. All we can do is to look for any hints and that’s the most stupid idea we can come up with. It’s like we’re chasing someone through their footnote. It will take us forever to know them. But what if we can meet them along the way? That’s why we need Heinz. He can see the death real time, all before they happened. We can either stop it or catch the killers on the spot.”

I gulped.

It made sense.

“We have to win him back,” Tyler said and he looked in our eyes. “NOW.”

Just few minutes later, I was with Heinz and looking at his eyes persuasively.

“No,” he said. “I won’t come back.”

I sighed.

“But we need you,” I said, persuading him.

He looked back.

“I don’t want the team to need me,” he said and he looked in my eyes. “I want you to need me.”

My face went blank but my heart just took a leap.

“Until then, don’t give me false hopes, Avery. Just don’t close your heart for me.”

Bahagya akong napanganga at naglakad na siya papalayo.

I opened my mouth more but nothing was coming out, not even a single word or sound.

Huh!

Since when did he become that straight forward?!

That Heinz…. he will be the cause of my death!

I immediately went inside the office to tell Newt or Tyler that there’s no way that we can convince Heinz to go back.

Just when I walked inside,  I got halted when there was nobody there aside from a man sitting on a chair, his face on the table, sleeping.

Wala ba ’tong bahay?

I walked towards it and I noticed it was Tyler.

I sat beside him.

“Ayan, punta-punta ka pa rito ha, ano ka ngayon, boy? Pagod ka ’no?” I said smilingly as I took off his eyeglasses silently in a way that he won’t be awakened.

I also arranged his books and paper that were scattered on the table and on the floor.

I looked back at Tyler who was sleeping soundly, his lips were almost pouting since his cheeks were getting squeezed by the table.

Napangiti ako nang makitang may hawak pa siyang ball pen. Nakatulog siguro siya habang nag-rereview ng mga kaso.

Among anyone of us, si Tyler itong overwork parati. He will literally go anywhere to get any leads and information that we can use. Maybe, that’s the reason why I barely see him every day. He’s way too pre-occupied with what’s ahead of us, lalo na’t nai-announce na sa publiko. Dahil nga siya ang lider, masyado siyang naka-focus sa kaso.

I smiled as I saw him wearing his earphones still.

What music does a Tyler Scott listen to, though?

I also placed my head on the table, facing him.

How can a man like him get those eyelashes he doesn’t deserve?

I chuckled.

I then noticed a dirt on his cheek. I was about to wipe it off through my finger but when my finger was coming near him, he opened his eyes.

And from that moment, I got stupefied.

“What are you doing?” he asked in the most airy yet masculine voice possible.

His eyes were as if invading what’s beneath my eyes, as if he was exploring what’s hidden within it.

His lips were almost pouting still while his hair and his bangs were somewhat messy.

“I’m asking.”

“D-Dirt…” I said. “T-There was…there was dirt…”

He remained expressionless for few seconds. He was just looking in my eyes intently until I saw how his eyes started to show a trace of emotion.

“Am I dreaming?” he asked, his voice was like a whisper.

“Huh?” maang kong tanong.

“If it is, can we stay like this forever and don’t ever wake up?”

I gulped as I felt my heart was pounding.

Just then, he took off one of his earphones without breaking the eye contact with me and he placed it on my ears.

The instrumental came and soon as the music started playing, I felt my heart aching.

Aubrey by Bread.

It was my name. Aubrey was the name my mom first gave me but later changed it because I grew up as a prone to illness child. Only few people know this.

I looked at him in the eye, but he wasn’t saying anything.

Tyler…

What’s with you?

I was about to say something but he just smiled.

“Let’s stay in this moment until I wake up, hmm?”

I gulped

He was just looking in my eyes, as if he was adoring every detail of me.

“Why are you making me feel this way?” he asked, his voice was airy yet masculine. “Why does your smile make me wanna live for a while?”

He smiled weakly.

“Tyler…” I uttered.

“I like it when you do that,” he said, his voice was almost a whisper. “I like it when you call me by my name and not by a fuck boy you hate.”

He smiled again, meeting my eyes.

“Would it be silly if I’ll tell you I am fighting the urge to kiss you now?”

He then smiled.

“But I shouldn’t,” he said. “If I do, I might get awake and won’t have the bravery to look in your eyes and make you feel how precious you are to me.”

His eyes began to get teary.

“Let’s stay in this way until I wake up, hmm?”

From then, for the whole hour while the song was playing on the background, we were just looking at each other eyes, not initiating any more talk.

Tomorrow morning, I went to the office as if nothing happened. Soon as Tyler fell asleep, I went out and pretended as if that thing did not happen.

Nang makita niya ako ay tinanong niya ako kung nasaan daw ako kahapon. Ang sabi ko, nagta-trabaho at naniwala naman siya. Ayokong maging awkward siya sa ’kin kaya mabuti na ’yon.

Soon as I went inside the office, my senior approached me.

“Pa-xerox mo ’to, ito i-summarize mo, then this, submit it to the heads, then bili mo na rin kami ng coffee sa tapat. The usual flavors. Bilis ha, I need everything done in 30 minutes. Go on! Go on! Move!”

I closed my eyes hardly.

Come on, Avery.

Don’t lose your temper.

It’s your senior, okay? Calm down.

When I started to walk, I saw Tyler watching us.

Damn.

In my horror, he walked towards us. He grabbed my senior’s card from my hand and placed it on the table.

“If you want a drink, go get yours.”

I looked him, shocked.

Everyone in the office looked at us.

My senior scoffed.

“Excuse me?”

“Ang sabi ko, kung nauuhaw ka, kumuha ka ng sarili mong inumin. Hindi ka naman someone with special needs, ’di ba?”

“Tyler!” I exclaimed.

Yet he was not looking at me.

“Teka lang ha,” my senior said. “Hindi ka naman regular dito. Bisita ka lang. Wala kang karapatang makialam.”

“At sa pagkaka-alam ko rin, hindi ikaw nag papasweldo sa kanya. Wala kang karapatang mag-utos.”

Some gasped.

It was the first time that someone fought back against her.

My officemates were entertained, but not me.

“Look, dirty little bitch,” she said and looked at me. “Seems like you got yourself a knight in shining armor, huh?”

I gave her a sharp look.

“’Wag mo ’kong tingnan nang ganyan kung wala kang kakayahan lumaban,” she said and smirked.

She then inched our gap.

“You’re nothing but a good for nothing bitch who has nothing to be proud of aside from your connections.”

She smiled and looked at Tyler.

“Do you even know that she got kicked out from the school that she was teaching dahil bagsak s’ya sa lahat ng evaluation?”

Tyler was caught off guard.

I felt myself getting embarrassed.

She then faced everyone.

“YES, GUYS!” she shouted. “AVERY WAS KICKED OUT, SHE DID NOT RESIGN!”

I felt tears building up in my eyes. Chest pain started to crawl in me as well.

“AND GUESS WHAT?! SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE TERMINATED BUT OUR KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOR HERE PERSUADED OUR HEADS NOT TO!”

My eyes grew bigger.

I looked at Tyler.

Anong… ibig n’yang sabihin?

“Avery…” he said. “I will explain things.”

Yet, I didn’t say anything. I was feeling pain that was enough to make me feel numb.

As I looked in front of me, I saw Heinz, he was watching too.

“Kaya ano pa bang pwedeng maging silbi ng pabigat?” she asked and she looked at me. “Eh, ’di maging alila.”

There were murmuring and some was laughing.

“Kaya sorry to say, Mr. Knight In Shining Armor. Wala kang alam sa sistema kaya wala hindi importante ang opinyon mo.”

She then get the card on the table and handed it to me.

“The usual flavors, my dear,” she said. “You have 30 minutes.”

She started to walk away.

Tears were forming in my eyes uncontrollably and I was feeling a lethal pain inside me. Until it got accompanied by a massive amount of anger.

Shit.

No…

No, Avery.

Don’t.

Just…. just don’t.

Calm yourself!

Calm—

Suddenly, the way I was holding the card got tightened.

From face in pain, it got accompanied by a smirk.

“Paano kung ayoko?”

She stopped walking. She looked back.

“Huh?” she asked.

“Ang sabi ko, paano kung ayaw ko?”

She scoffed. “Can you hear yourself?”

I smiled but my eyes were glaring.

“You fucked your professor at 16,” I said and started walking towards her.

Her eyes widened, everyone started to get tensed.

“You aborted your child at 17,” I added.

I took another step while my arms were crossed.

“You stole your friend’s boyfriend at 19.”

She was shocked and shaking.

“You were caught smuggling drugs at 20.”

I took another step.

“You let 3 old man fuck you just to have a position in this lawfirm.”

There, I stopped in front of her.

“And you have the right to shame me just because of my struggles when you chose an easy way out…through your pussy?”

Her eyes widened.

“H-How dare—”

She was about to slap me but my palm hit her face faster than hers.

She ended up on the floor, looking up to me with a scared face.

I looked down on her and smiled.

I then sat on top of her and started slapping her continuously.

“Do you think you can win against me, huh? Take this, this, this, and this, you basic slut!”

No one was even helping her, she was trying to dodge my every slap but with the force I was using, she can’t.

I stopped when blood started to come from her lips.

I wiped it off through my finger and started to play with it.

She was crying and panting.

“Alam mo kung bakit ako kinatatakutan sa Manila?” I asked her and smiled. “Because I’m a psychotic bitch who eats people alive.”

She trembled in fear.

“And guess what? You awakened the sleeping dragon in me.”

I smiled, seeing how scared she was.

“There are too many people who are taking videos of me, look,” I told her. “You have to make sure that those will be taken down.”

I then put my lips on his ears and whispered, “…unless, I’ll leak yours.”

Her eyes widened.

“You…” she uttered with so much anger. “You dirty little—”

“Playing dirty is my cup of tea. You have 30 minutes to finish it….” I then smiled and turned serious. “… superior.”

I then stood up and faced the crowd.

“SPREAD THE WORD,” I said.

Everyone was murmuring.

And I smirked.

“THE QUEEN IS BACK.”

PART SIXTEEN: WHEN DEATH CHASED YOU

“Anim na kababaihan ang

walang

awang ginilitan

nang

buhay ng hindi pa nakikilalang mga suspek. Ayon sa ulat ng pulisya, ang unang biktima ay inatake sa harap ng isang abandonadong botika.“

The reporter then gulped.

“ Hiwa ang mukha ng

biktima

at nawawala ang isa nitong mata. Sa ’di kalayuan ay ang ikalawang biktima na natagpuang putol ang dila. Ang ikatlo’y basag ang bungo, ang ikapat ay binutas ang bungo. Ang ika lima’y may butas sa tagiliran at ang huling biktima ay may hiwa mula sa lalamunan hanggang sa tiyan.“

Makikita ang kaguluhan sa likod ng reporter. Maraming pamilya ang tumatangis at ang iba’y  nagwawala pa at patuloy lang silang pinakakalma ng mga pulis.

“ Ayon sa pulisya, ang mga biktima ay hindi magkakalayo ang agwat ng lugar ng kinamatayan. Sa katunayan, ilang metro lamang ang pagitan nila. Hinala ng awtoridad ay isa itong murder spree mula sa hindi pa nakikilalang personalidad o grupo. Ang lokal na pamahalaan ay humihingi ng tulong sa gobyerno upang lutasin ang mga kagimbal-gimbal na pagpatay sa lugar na ito na pumalo na sa 36 sa loob lamang ng isang buwan.“

Makikitang nagwawala na halos lahat ng pamilya ng mga biktima sa likod ng reporter.

“Ayon sa imbestigasyon, ang mga biktima ay edad 24, 21, 19, 24, 19, at 21 at puro mga kababaihan. Ang impormasyong ito ay lalo lamang nagpatibay sa kuro-kuro ng mga awtoridad na ang mga target na biktima ng mga hindi pa nakikilalang suspek ay mga kababaihan na nasa edad 19 hanggang 25.”

Flashes of camera can be seen.

“ Ayon sa panayam kay Prosecutor Tyler Scott, katuwang ang mga awtoridad, pinapa-alalahanan ang lahat na kung aalis ay mabutihing umalis nang may kasama at ’wag nang lumabas sa gabi. Ito si Jessabel Columna ang inyong lingkod, nag-uulat.“

Newt turned the TV off and looked at us, in despair.

“Lumabas na,” he said. “Ano nang plano?”

The atmosphere seemed depressing. No one between us can talk.

Last night, we were all called to go to a crime scene after the police discovered 6 dead bodies that had been slaughtered in the same area.

When we went there, no one between us can talk. Newt even vomitted.

There were six women who were killed and there was no primary suspect. No CCTV. No witness. No fingerprint.

It was a perfect crime.

Tyler then sighed and placed on the table the note that the killer left.

‘I am part of the whole’

“I can’t think of any meaning aside from the killer basicaly telling us he is part of us,” Newt said, frowning.

True, though.

“Of course, the killer didn’t mean that,” said by Tyler. “If he did, he’s basically letting himself get caught. Madali nating ma na-narrow down kung sino s’ya and one of the most stupid things that you can do as a killer is to give the authorities a decisive clue about your identity. So the message means something different and the killer wants us to decode it.”

“How should we decode things kung hindi nga natin maintindihan?” I asked.

“Then let’s make sense of them,” he said. “What did we get, again?”

“A human eye,” said by Newt.

“A wrist watch stuck at 11:59,” I added.

“A Z1K1H,” Newt followed.

“I am in between. I watch over you,” I said.

“Aaaand, the I am part of a whole,” Newt said.

“Then, let’s start making sense of them,” sagot ni Tyler. “Any idea?”

“All right!” Newt and I said but no one was moving between us, we were all like looking at the paper, on the ceiling, or on the floor, trying to know their meaning but we can’t think of anything.

“The eye must be I am watching you,” said by Newt.

“And the wrist watch was you are running out of time,” dagdag ko.

“And the Z1K1H means chiki ibig sabihin pangit s’ya,” Newt said, grinning.

“And I am in between I watch over you kasi walang gustong kumaibigan sa kanya dahil ayaw nila sa chiki,” I added, laughing.

Newt laughed so hard.

“T-Then what about the I am part of a whole?!” Newt asked in between his laugh.

“Baka…baka pinagsisiksikan n’ya sarili n’ya pero nag s-stand out mukha n’ya kasi chiki nga s’ya.”

We ended up laughing so hard that the whole room was filled with Newt and I’s laughter.

When I looked at Tyler, I caught him smiling as he stared at me.

“Baket?” I asked, smiling as I felt the pain in my stomach due to over laughing.

“Nothing,” he said. “Nothing at all.”

When Newt and I went back to our senses, Tyler cleared his throat.

“There’s a reason why we are failing,” said by Tyler. “It’s because we can’t predict what’s about to happen. We don’t know what they are up to. Ni hindi natin alam ang lugar at kung sino. Nalalaman nalang natin lahat kapag may nabiktima na.”

“Wala tayong magagawa,” Newt said. “We’re not as gifted as Heinz.”

I gulped with the name of Heinz being mentioned.

“Yes,” Tyler said. “Kaya kailangan natin s’yang makumbinsi na bumalik. By hook or by crook. We won’t win this case without him. We are fighting against death. We chase death that’s why we are death chasers. Pero paano kung hindi natin alam o kilala o nakikita manlang ang hinahabol natin? That’s why we have our ace, the one who sees death. We need Heinz more than anything.”

There was a long pause of silence between us.

Until Tyler’s phone beeped.

“Ano ’yan?” Newt asked.

Tyler just smiled bitterly. “Wala.”

“Death threat nanaman, ano?” Newt asked again.

I looked at Tyler with worried eyes.

“Walang wala ’to nang tinanggap ko kaso ni Traise noon. Wala lang sa ’kin ’to, no need to worry. Snack lang ’to.”

But I was worried. Knowing how he exposed himself in front of the public and even declared a war with the killers, I won’t be suprised if someone would attempt to hurt him one day.

“Are you sure that’s something we don’t need to worry about?” I asked.

“Of course,” he said.

“Will you be safe?” I asked.

“I have to,” he said. “I can’t just let anyone have you.”

He smiled.

“Time for lunch, I guess?”

It was a long awkward day in the office. Lahat ay kusa na lang na mapapatingin sa akin. Kumalat na sa buong office ang nangyari sa amin ng superior ko at sa totoo lang ay hindi ako natutuwa.

“Wow,” Newt said. “Instant celebrity ka ghorl?”

Tyler laughed.

“May pa I am the Queen pang nalalaman ayan tuloy napatawag for desciplinary warning ng HR.”

Newt and Tyler laughed.

I gave them a sharp look.

It was true.

I was almost suspended.

When the HR asked me to apologize, I just said, “We are always taught to give people what they deserve and I just gave her one.”

“Well, at least ’di na n’ya ko uutusan,” I just said and continued eating my meal.

It’s true, though.

It’s never wrong to fight back kung naaabuso ka na.

No one wants to be a demon unless being one is the only choice they have , I can remember that line still.

In a snap, someone suddenly sat beside me and placed his plate on the table. Tyler and Newt, who were in front of me, looked at him too.

It’s Heinz again, with his usual sweater and round eye glasses. But this time, hindi bagsak ang buhok n’ya. Naka-brush up ito.

“Don’t look at me,” he told us. “Wala nang pwesto kaya ako nandirito.”

“Wew,” we heard Tyler uttered in his meal.

I looked at him, he rolled his eyes.

Wtf?!

“Natulog ka ba?” I asked, watching the dark circles around his eyes getting bigger.

“Don’t show your concern for me if you have no will to come to me.”

My eyes grew bigger.

HERE HE IS AGAIN WITH HIS STRAIGHT FORWARD SCHEME!

He smiled.

“Why?” he asked while eating his meal. “Did that make your heart flutter? If it did then why don’t you date me?”

I choked on my drink pero bago pa man ako makapag react, naibuga na ni Tyler sa amin ang tubig na iniinom n’ya.

“Ano ba!” reklamo ko nang makitang basang-basa ang braso ko at ganoon din si Heinz.

“Oops,” Tyler said. “Sorry.”

Heinz looked at him.

“Nananadya ka ba?”

“Kung nananadya ako eh ’di sana pati baso binato ko sa’yo.”

“Tyler!” I exclaimed.

“Okay,” Heinz said. “Forgiven.”

Kakain na sana uli kami nang biglang uminom si Heinz at ibinuga iyon sa mukha ni Tyler.

“Oops,” Heinz said. “Sorry.”

What are these two up to?!

“Gumaganti ka ha!” Tyler said.

“I am not,” Heinz said. “If I did eh ’di sana buong baso ibinato ko sa’yo.”

The smile on Tyler’s face went gone after the sudden backfire of his words.

“Saet?” Newt asked, grinning.

I almost laughed.

“Avery, saan ka pala matutulog mamaya?” Tyler suddenly asked. “SA TABI KO BA?”

Heinz’s eyes grew bigger.

“Y-You are sleeping together?” he asked, eyes wide opened.

“N-No,” I said, shocked yet embarrased. “Natulog lang kami sa staff room once⁠—”

“SO YOU DID?!” Heinz exclaimed.

“YES WE DID!” Tyler exclaimed back.

“HOW DARE YOU TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HER WEAKNESS?!”

“I DID NOT TAKE ADVANTAGE OF HER WEAKNESS, SHE CAME TO ME!”

“I DID NOT!” I also exclaimed.

“YES YOU DID! YOU EVEN TRESPASSED THE CR AND SAW MY JUICY HUNGARIAN SAUSAGE⁠—”

“IT WAS KIKIAM!”

“WHAT ARE YOU GUYS TALKING ABOUT⁠—DON’T TELL ME IT’S⁠—”

“NO, NO, HEINZ DON’T BELIEVE⁠—’

“OF COURSE HE WILL BELIEVE ME ESPECIALLY IF I’LL SAY YOUR UNDIES WERE⁠—”

“TYLER!” I exclaimed.

“DID YOU SEE EACH OTHER NAKED?!”

“NO—”

“YES⁠—”

“ANO BA?!”

“AUBREY WHY ARE YOU LYING⁠—”

“DON’T CALL ME AUBREY!” I exclaimed.

“DON’T CALL HER THAT!” Heinz exclaimed.

“WHY NOT?! IT WAS HER ORIGINAL NAME!”

“THERE’S A REASON WHY HER FAMILY CHANGED IT! CALL HER ANYTHING ASIDE FROM IT!”

“ANYTHING?” Tyler asked.

“ANYTHING!” said by Heinz.

Newt closed his eyes hardly and uttered something as he blocked his ears.

“Ito na, ito nanaman aaaaaaah.”

In a sudden, Tyler looked at me.

“What about, you’re my Honeybunch Sugarplum~”

My eyes grew bigger, so did Heinz while Newt was covering his ears, panicking.

“Pumpy-umpy-umpkin~ You’re my Sweetie Pie ~ You’re my Cuppycake~”

“STOP IT!” Heinz exclaimed while I was just cringing.

“Gumdrop Snoogums-snoogums~”

“AAAAAAAA LALALALA,” uttered by Newt, distracting himself from hearing it.

Tyler was acting like a kid and trying to be cute at nililiitan pa ang boses n’ya.

“You’re the Apple of my Eye~”

“TYLER STOP!” I exclaimed.

“STOP IT!” exclaimed by Heinz.

“And I love you so~ and I want you to know~”

“AAAAAAAA PUTANG INAAAAAA WALA NAMAN ’YAN LAST SEASON AAAAAAA,” said by Newt.

“That I’ll always be right here~ And I love to sing sweet songs for you Because you are so dear~ ♡”

Tyler then winked and gave a finger heart.

“How’s that for a name, huh?” he asked Heinz.

“Ayoko na… pagod na pagod na utak ko…. nakikinig lang naman ako…” uttered by Newt.

“Tyler…” I said. “YOU. ARE. EMBARRASSING. US.”

That’s when he looked around and there were people taking videos of us.

“Normal naman ’yan,” he said. “Gwapo kasi ako.”

I cringed.

Heinz then took a gulp of his water.

“I never thought you can be this childish, Mr. Scott,” he said.

“And I never thought you’d be interested in me, Heinz.”

Heinz smiled.

“Of course, I would be interested in you. I always wonder why a guy who can’t make a move built a fense so high for someone he can’t even risk his life for.”

There was a intension building up between them.

What’s going on?

“How sure are you that I can’t?”

“You can’t even tell what you feel directly without confusing her, what more to risk your life for her? You’re in love with your job more than you are in love with the woman, Mr. Scott, and I don’t. Let her be happy. Step aside and let anyone take the risk that you are so afraid to take.”

Tyler looked at him with the same deadly glare.

“Who said I’m afraid to take a risk?”

“It’s on your face, Mr. Scott.”

“My face has many layers, Heinz,” he said. “You wouldn’t want to see what’s beneath.”

“I’m afraid, Mr. Scott, I don’t fear you. Not even once, not even close.”

There was a long pause of silence until Newt cleared his throat.

“Uh… pwede ba kumain nalang tayo….?”

Since then, the atmosphere in the office started to feel uneasy. There were times I would notice Tyler looking at me but when I looked at him, he will look at the other things but he never talked to me since then. Kung bakit ay hindi ko na rin alam.

Mas lalong naging magulo ang misyon namin. We were receiving countless death threats every day and the murder cases went up.

We tried to talk to Heinz but he just said this:

“Ayoko nang makialam sa kamatayan ng iba. Siguro, will na ng Diyos iyon at ayoko makialam sa kalooban ng Diyos. Alam mo naman nangyari last time, ’di ba? I became an instrument for someone’s death and I don’t want that to happen ever again. I’m out of this, Avery. I’ll learn to control my ability so it will no longer destroy my life. I wanna be normal. I wanna experience a great sleep just for once. So please, don’t ask me again because I won’t come back.”

And that, Your Honor, was the reason of our distress. We were hopeless and didn’t know if whether or not there was a chance still that we can win this case.

Tyler, as workaholic as he was, of course, did not give up. Sinusubukan niya pa ring i-decode ang mga codes at pumupunta pa sa iba’t ibang siyudad para lang sa forensics.

It was 6PM when I went outside the bus. Malamig ang gabi kaya napangiti ako. I shivered as I placed my hands inside the pocket of coat.

I looked around and the night city just started. Sa totoo lang, I took an early out para pumunta rito sa bayan at mag-enjoy. Kailangan kong mag-unwind, napaka stressful na ng mga bagay-bagay.

At hindi nga ako nagkamali. Napakaraming bukas na mall, mga amusement park, restaurant, and even local stalls. Nakakain pa nga ako ng turon at binatog na sa Manila ko pa huli nakain.

Nagpalakad-lakad ako hanggang maramdaman ko na ang pananakit ng paa ko.

I don’t know but I always enjoy being alone and doing things alone.

Siguro kasi, when you are with yourself, you can be real and have no pressure to impress anyone or adhere with someone’s norms. Ewan ko ba.

I continued walking until I made an eye contact with someone.

He was wearing an all black attire— from his shirt, pants, and even his shoes. He was kinda mascular, like someone with daddy issues will easily be attracted to.

No one between us was dodging each other’s eyes, until when we slowly walked passed each other, I noticed the tattoo at the side of his neck.

AN EAGLE.

Eagle…

Nanlaki ang mga mata ko.

I looked back with my eyes tensed but I can no longer see him, as if he vanished instantly amidst the big crowd.

I felt my heart pounding hard.

I tried to look for him again but the whole place was crowded with students, workers, families, vendors, and everything.

I can’t be wrong.

I saw it not just once but twice!

And those two incidents were enough for me to distinguish whether or not ot was the mark.  l

Binuksan ko ang phone ko para tawagan si Tyler or Newt pero drained ito.

Napamura ako.

Paano na ’to?!

I looked around and from there, I noticed a familiar black car na nakaparada. May lalaki sa labas at nakatingin ito sa akin habang naninigarilyo.

Napatingin ako sa paligid ko at sa magkabilang gilid lang ay may dalawang lalaki na nakatitig sa akin at parehong may marka ng agila.

Shit.

What the hell.

What the fuck.

Are they gonna kill me?

Am I the next victim now?

Or will they kill me because I am part of the case?

Damn it.

Fuck it!

Nagsimula akong maglakad nang mabagal, pinakikiramdaman kung susunod ba sila. In my horror, they did.

SHIT.

I’M DOOMED!

My run started from slow until it became tensed and the next monent I knew, I was almost running for my life.

Calm, Avery. You’ll be safe. Besides, public space ito at napakaraming tao, as in crowded so there’s no way that they can abduct you.

Just… just outsmart them, Avery, you can do this. Come on!

But they were all around me. I tried to squeeze from people to people, hoping na maililigaw ko sila pero sa dami ng tao ay hindi ko na alam kung sino ang mga kasabwat nila.

Am I gonna die tonight?

If I will…

Then Heinz can probably hear me.

Heinz….

If you can hear my thoughts, look around.

Whether I die tonight, just remember their faces. I will make sure you will be able to see them so you can bring justice to me and on the other victims.

Heinz…

If you are dreaming now, if you are asleep now, there’s no way that you can save me. The office is 3 hours away from this place.

So do me a favor.

Just remember everything that I would see. I will scream everything, okay?

I felt tears forming in my eyes.

Let’s do this, Avery.

At least, you will die with a purpose.

I bit my lower lip.

Nang makita ko ang dalawang lalaking papalapit sa akin ay tinitigan ko ang mga mukha nila.

Remember these bastards, Heinz.

Sa likod ko ay may papalapit na rin.

I closed my eyes hardly.

Let’s die with dignity, Avery.

Let’s do this.

As I opened my eyes, I felt someone grabbed me. But instead of getting abducted, the person hugged me. My head was on his chest and I can hear his heart beating faster than the usual.

As I looked up, a pair of black eyes met mine.

“T-Tyler…?”

Tiningnsn niya ako at ngumiti siya ng tipid.

“Were you scared?” he asked.

That’s when the tears in my eyes fell.

I nodded.

“As you should,” he said and smiled weakly.

That’s when I noticed tears were forming in his eyes.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

As I looked at the guy who walked passed me, I saw how he hid his knife with blood on it inside the pocket of his jacket.

My eyes widened.

Anong nangyari?

Don’t tell me—

“See? I can also take risks.”

I looked at Tyler and that’s when I noticed blood was coming out from his side.

I met his eyes and he smiled at me weakly as tears started to fall from his eyes. And before his eyes closed, he uttered,

“Be safe, always…”

PART SEVENTEEN: ARRESTING THE MASTERMIND

For how many times I had cried, I have no idea at all.

I can see nurses and doctors running, and many families crying the same way I did.

It had been hours now since Tyler was sent to the hospital and it had been hours since my eyes kept on releasing tears.

Soon as he passed out, I shouted for help and people helped us. Good thing nasa bayan kami at may malapit lang na ospital.

I can remember how he tried not to close his eyes completely. I can remember how tears were coming out from his eyes. I can remember how he hardly breathe, I can still feel how he held my hand firmly ’til we reached the hospital.

I can remember them and I can’t calm myself.

Turned out, I was the one who was suppose to get stabbed but he hugged me to use himself as a shield.

If this wasn’t enough to kill me with pain, I have no idea at all.

What if something happened to him?

What if…

What if he died from saving me?

I… I can’t handle that…

I will never be.

So, Tyler, please…. don’t just tell me to be safe.

You keep yourself safe as well.

Bakit ba napaka selfless mo?

Bakit mas inaalala mo pa mga tao kaysa sa’yo?

You risked your life to save Traise.

You put yourself in danger by helping Courtney.

Now you took the stab that was supposed to be mine.

You love us so much to the point that you forgot you deserve the peace as well.

I bit my lower lip as I tried to not to make any sound as I cry.

Fuck, Tyler.

You don’t deserve to die yet.

Please…

Please survive…

Survive not for us but for yourself…

I cried harder.

The image of him spitting blood while he smiled at me weakly while tears were forming in his eyes was enough to murder my soul.

Just then, I heard people coming. As I looked at it, it was Newt, our manager, and Heinz.

“Ah, shit! Shit! Shit! Tyler… ahhhh,” he started getting emotional as he punched the wall and put his head on it, crying.

Our manager was tensed, he was biting his nails and looked like he was about to cry.

On the other hand, Heinz sat beside me. Soon as our eyes met, he weakly smiled at me.

“It must had been traumatic,” he said. “Cry more. It will make you feel better.”

And I did. Tears automatically formed in my eyes.

I started crying again.

“You don’t have to tell us anything,” Heinz said. “The police already did.”

I looked at him.

“If it hurts, it hurts, Avery. I know you’re worried. Just cry. I won’t leave you alone. I won’t go anywhere.”

I gulped.

“He won’t die, won’t he?”

Heinz held my hand, pressing my palm. He then gave me a weak smile.

“I can see death, remember?” he said. “I didn’t dream of his death. It means, he won’t die. Trust me.”

That somehow comforted me.

I bit my lower lip again, looking down.

Heinz placed his earphone in my ear.

The instrumental played.

I looked at him.

He smiled at me.

“It’s If by Bread. It may help.”

But the song didn’t help much. I just ended up crying again.

Until finally, the doctor came out. We immediately stood up.

“We can’t guarantee yet his condition but something that we can say is he’s safe now,” the doctor said. “We will be needing to perform tests on him to see if the stab that damaged some of his organs won’t create complications.”

I felt the relief.

Newt and our manager finally sat down and heaved a sigh.

Whether or not it was a good news, I don’t care anymore. The only thing that mattered was finally, Tyler was alive.

The following days, Tyler did not go the office. He didn’t accept any visitations as well unless necessary. Sinubukan kong pumunta pero hindi siya humaharap kanino man.

He isolated himself, completely out of the world. Regardless of who the person was, even if it was me.

Of course, it hurts. Pero ano bang magagawa ko? I need to give him the time and the space he needed.

On the other hand, the case was totally hopeless. Ni-hindi namin alam ni Newt kung paano ba namin iyon ipagpapatuloy ngayong pati si Tyler ay wala.

Halos mawalan na kami ng pag-asa pero tinulungan na kami ni Heinz dahil sa awa. Ang sabi niya, tutulong siya hangga’t makabalik na si Tyler.

He was able to predict another death but they were few minutes late. When  we arrived, the woman had already been slaughtered. No clues or whatsoever was found. Apparently, the women called to an emergency hotline and we were just waiting for the copy of the record.

We also considered the fact that the killer may be inside the office. That’s why during our annual general check up, we advised our company physician to seek for an eagle tattoo.

Yet, we found nothing.

We tried to decode the clues we got.

A human eye.

A watch pointing at 11:59

Z1K1H

‘I am in between. I watch over you.’

‘I am part of a whole’

Pero wala kaming ma-isip na kahit na ano kaya hinayaan na lang namin na detectives ang mag-trabaho para roon.

The next day, I went to the office with a bad mood because I left my phone at home. During the whole office hour, I was too irritated about anything and to anyone.

Until I heard my officemates screaming in joy.

I was confused for few seconds but when I looked at the commotion, I felt my heart got petrified as I met his usual black eyes.

“Tyler…” 

When our eyes met, he smiled.

“Let’s talk.”

Few minutes later, nakita ko na lang ang sarili ko na kasama si Tyler sa rooftop. I smiled soon I saw the sun was setting.

“How are you?” he asked.

“Good,” I said and looked at him.

He looked so weak. He lost more weight and it was visible that he was sick.

“Nice to hear,” he just said and looked at the sun set.

“Why did you prohibit anyone from visiting you, huh?” I asked jokingly.

“Introvert things you won’t understand,” he just said.

We then laughed.

He cleared his throat.  “Why? Did you miss me?”

The smile on my face faded as I looked at him.

He was looking at the sun set still, with a facial expression that I cannot read.

“If you missed me, you should say it. Who knows, it may hold me back.”

That’s when I started to feel uneasy. Instead of his usual bright smile, all I can see was a smile that seemed like a product of a massive pain.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

He smiled once again while looking at the sun set.

“Avery, what do you think of me?”

It caught me off guard.

“Tyler…” I uttered.

He seemed different.

“I just wondered,” he said. “All this time, did I make an impact on you? Did I make your heart flutter? Was my presence significant? Or was I too late?”

I gulped, pain was written all over his face. It was utterly visible.

“Tyler…” I said. “I don’t understand.”

He smiled bitterly.

“I just want to know where to place myself, Avery. What am I to you? What exactly part of your life am I part of?”

He then stopped and looked down.

“Was I even worthy to occupy a place in your heart to begin with?”

Minutes had passed but I was still at a loss of words.

“Tyler…”

“If you’ll tell me I was a good friend, please don’t. When you love someone, you can’t just be her friend forever.”

I gulped but I can’t say anything.

He sighed and finally looked at me.

“Avery, I love your name. I love the way you say my name, too. I love your personality. I love your facial expression. I love your smile, your laugh, your sense of humour. I love the friendly flirting, sometimes.”

He then somehow laughed.

“I love that you care for me. I love that you’re never awkward around me. I love your positive mind. I love how you trust me. I love how we became friends after being rivals in court.”

He then smiled.

“I love that I was able to meet you and fall for you.”

He then looked in my eyes.

“I love you.”

I opened my mouth but nothing was coming out.

Silence both swallowed us. I was holding all my tears but I didn’t know why it went all out.

“Tyler, look,” I said. “I like you too but it’s just… just…”

“Just you’re confuse?” he asked. “Avery, if you’ll be confused between me and another person, please don’t choose me. I know how torn you are and I don’t want you to waste the time that you should’ve been spending with someone that can make you not just happy but the happiest. Don’t waste those time worrying about who to choose.”

“What are you trying to say?”

“What I’m trying to say is to drop me from your choices,” he said, his eyes getting teary. “I just… love you so much that I literally want nothing but the best for you.”

“Tyler, do you think dropping you will be the best for me?” I asked, my voice cracked.

“I don’t know,” he said. “But all I know is Heinz is a really good man who can protect you the way I will.”

He smiled weakly.

“I saw how in love he is to you with his every stolen glance and shy smiles. I know because I am a man myself, Avery.”

He looked deeply in my eyes.

“He saved you not just once, not twice, but thrice and with the ability he has, he can save you for countless times. While me? I… I can’t even protect myself from the death threats, what more to you?”

He gulped.

“Avery, that night… I got a death threat saying they will kill you that night if I won’t show up. If I didn’t come… you might had the stab and not me. With the kind of threats in my life, I may just endanger you just like what happened that night. But with Heinz… he can change it. He can protect you better than I did.”

He then smiled bitterly.

“As a lawyer, one of the characteristics we have to master is the art of the perfect time. The perfect time to present facts, the perfect time to throw questions during cross examining the witnesses, and the perfect time to show our evidence. I mastered them all but why did I lose the perfect time to come in your life?”

His tears then fell as he smiled at me weakly.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m sorry for coming in your life way too late…”

I bit my lower lip as tears started to escapef my eyes too. My sight started to get blurry with tears.

“Avery, can you do me one more favor?”

I didn’t answer, I just met his eyes.

“Be happy…”

Just then, like the sun poetically setting in the West as it bids its good bye for the day, Tyler as well turned his back and walked away…

Things weren’t easy for me.

No, it will never be easy for me.

Ni-hindi ko nga ma-absorb lahat ng nangyayari. Not to mention I also left my phone and I can’t distract myself from Tyler’s words that cut deeper than any other knife. They didn’t make me feel at ease. I can even hear them still as if he was whispering the every single word right in my ears.

I sighed hard. I started to walk slowly when I was just few steps away from the building of my unit.

I yawned, feeling exhaustion occupying my system. 

It was a really long day for me.

Just when I rerouted my eyes on my way, I suddenly stopped when I saw someone outside the building. He was playing the stone on the ground with his shoes while he was standing and his hands were inside the pockets of his hoodie. As I observed him, he was wearing his jogger pants, black hoodie, and his usual round eyes glasses.

“Heinz?” taka kong tanong.

Bakit siya nandito? Anong oras na.

He suddenly stopped what he was doing when he saw me. From his usual expressionless face, it turned into a smile.

“Hey,” he said, approaching me.

“B-Bakit ka andito?” I asked.

“I kept on calling and texting you but you weren’t answering kaya pumunta na ’ko rito. The land lord did not allow me to walk inside the building kasi exclusive for female tenants lang pala ’to. That’s why… I… uh…. waited for you here…”

“How long have you been here?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I lost count of the time. No, I mean, I did not count at all. I was determined to see you, maybe that’s why.”

I looked at him in the eyes He just smiled back at me.

Who would have thought that this soft boy can be this genuine?

That after all of his usual poker face, he would smile at me like this.

“So the most cold guy in the office can finally smile that way, huh?” I asked.

He laughed.

“I may be cold, but the inside me melts only for you.”

Shoot.

It caught me off guard.

“B-Bakit ka pala… pumunta rito? Is there… anything you wanna say to me?”

“Oh,” he said. “N-Nothing, I just… wanted to see you.”

He then turned madly red.

He hid his face.

“I-I know my cheek’s burning please don’t mention it,” he said shyly.

I smiled weakly.

Maybe, Tyler was right.

Maybe, it was not a matter of whom do I like more.

Perhaps, it’s a matter choice.

I looked at his nice.

“Heinz.”

“Hmm?” he asked.

“Let’s date.”

His eyes grew bigger as he looked at me. “W-What are you—”

“Go out with me, Heinz,” I said. “Let’s give it a try.”

For the next few minutes, we were just looking at each other’s eyes.

Until he smiled.

And I did too.

Under the moon and the celestials guiding us, I felt my heart fluttered.

And from that very moment, it was the start.

The following days, things were uneasy in the office especially wheneverTyler was around. I would often catch him looking at Heinz and I and then he would look away.

Maybe, that was the reason why he became more workaholic. There were even days he won’t show up in the office as he was doing his own investigation about the current deaths.

With Heinz, on the other hand, it was unpredictable. He was unpredictable. Sometimes he’s cold, sometimes he’s clingy. But whenever he tries to hold my hand, he would blush to the point that the entire office will be teasing him.

It was a rollercoaster ride of emotions.

One day, we were inside the room and was cracking the codes but we can’t find anything. Heinz himself tried to but he can’t.

“An eye, watch stuck at 11:59, Z1K1H, some random words and shits. I can’t think of any possible meaning, though,” Heinz said.

“We already tried to decode that, Heinz,” said by Newt. “We found nothing. So don’t stress yourself at kumain ka nalang.”

“Later,” Heinz said, as he was trying to decode them. “I just need to find any connection or representation, eh. By that we can crack these codes. Just a single lead will do.”

“Do you think we didn’t think of that?” I asked as I opened my snack and threw him one. “Just eat.”

“Give me 5 minutes,” he said. “Na cha-challenge ako rito, eh.”

I just shrugged as I finished my snack.

Just then, the door suddenly opened and Tyler, along with a detective and some police walked inside.

The three of us stood up.

“W-What’s happening?” I asked.

“Drop the act,” Tyler said. “Don’t even pretend that you are shocked. We already seen your true color.”

I was confused.

Was that for me?

I meet his eyes, I saw him looking at the side where Newt and Heinz were standing at.

“T-Tyler what’s… what’s wrong?” I asked, tensed.

“Put your hands behind your back like when you are praying,” he said.

“Tyler, I don’t know what’s going on!”

Yet, he didn’t meet my eyes, as if I was non-existent.

“Here’s the warrant of arrest,” a police said. “You are the mastermind of countless manslaughters in town.”

Nothing but hate could be seen in his eyes.

“You have the right to remain silent and refuse to answer questions. Anything you say may be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to consult an attorney before speaking to the police and to have an attorney present during questioning now or in the future.”

My eyes widened.

So… they will arrest someone?!

Tyler then looked at the side where Newt and Heinz were standing.

And with glaring eyes, he uttered something that turned our world upside down.

“PROSECUTOR NEWT DAHMER, YOU’RE UNDER ARREST.”

PART EIGHTEEN: CRACKING THE CODES

“PROSECUTOR NEWT DAHMER, YOU ARE UNDER ARREST.”

My eyes widened.

It got accompanied by a deafening silence as if everyone just zoomed out.

Heinz dropped the bottle he was carrying, didn’t know what to say or react.

In a sudden, Newt got stupefied. He wasn’t even uttering anything, he had no facial expression as well, he was just staring at Tyler, his eyes were glaring.

“No wonder why you were always the one who first discovered your so-called hints. You implanted them and spied on us. The fingerprint did not match any residents here because aftervall, they were all yours.”

Tyler’s eyes were flaring with anger.

“It’s been a while, you fucking snake.”

Newt wasn’t saying anything, he was emotionless for few seconds, until in a snap, a dark smirk flashed on his lips.

“As expected from you, Tyler. You never disappoint. You caught me.”

Just then, the police handcuffed him and he was dragged out of the room. Everyone was looking at us, trying their best to have a grasp of the situation.

In a snap, Tyler, Heinz, and me were left in the room, no one can talk between us. Heinz even lost his strength and almost stumbled, his jaw partly dropped.

Tyler then turned his back to walk away along with the authorities when I halted him. He just looked at me professionally and smiled.

“I think that’s self-explanatory,” he said before he walked away.

Just like that, Heinz and I were left in the room. Pareho kaming gulat at hindi makakibo.

So it was Newt, all along…

But…

But how can he?!

I mean, yes, he had a history of betrayal, like of what he did to Courtney and Traise pero ’yung aabot sa ganito katindi na he will kill people and will conspire to kill people?

That’s when things came to me like a wildfire. I held my chest as the pain started to swallow me.

What the hell?!

The emotions that I felt were coming to me all at once and I can no longer handle them.

All this time the killer was with us.

The

human eye

made sense.

He was watching because he knows what we are doing.

The time , he was telling us perhaps that it will take us forever to capture him since he was having fun fooling us.

The

‘I am in between’.

He was always the thirdwheel and he had long been hinting about it!

The ’

I watch over you

’ because whenever we argue, he was just there, sitting, observing.

The

‘I am part of the whole.’

Why were we so stupid to make sense of it in a deeper scale when it literally suggested that he is one of us?

During the time that we were joking bout it, was he laughing because of the jokes or because he was mocking?

Natatawa ba siya dahil napakadali na ng mga clues pero hindi pa rin namin napapansin?

I felt as if something just pierced my heart.

I treated him like a friend, like a brother I genuinely care about, only to get played and betrayed this way.

Is this God’s way of punishing me when I conspired to fool Courtney before?

I can remember how I was laughing seeing her getting fooled by someone she trusted the most.

Now it happened to me.

The hell.

Heinz and I looked at each other, tears visible in our eyes.

“It’s over…” he said and smiled weakly. “It’s over now.”

For the following days, it was chaotic. The whole building seemed depressive, since they also felt betrayed.

Imagine, nasa loob lang pala ng office ang salarin at wala kaming ka-ide-ideya.

However, some felt happy. Kasi sa wakas, hindi na kailangan ng iba na mangamba pa kapag umuuwi sila ng gabi.

They deducted that with the capture of the mastermind, matatakot na ang mga kasama n’ya na gumawa pa ng krimen dahil kahit papaano ay ipinakita namin na may pangil nga ang batas.

The following weeks, a lot of things happened. There were celebrations and praying sessions to pray for the soul of the victims.

On the other hand, just few days ago, I found a significant improvement in me.

I JUST WON A CASE.

Heinz helped me a lot in the process and all those sleepless nights paid off. I never thought that love can affect us this significantly. It made me realize that you will really glow different if you are with the right person.

This made me think that perhaps, Tyler’s sacrifice was worth it.

Speaking of Tyler, after the capture of Newt, mas lalo siyang naging busy. He wasn’t releasing anything since ilalabas niya lahat sa korte.

Tyler and I barely see each other. Sometimes, we’d just walk pass each other and will smile. No talk at all. In fact, as far as I can remember, the last time that we talked casually was when he let me go that night. After that, we bounced back to being colleagues.

Until one Saturday, he personally told me to go to the rooftop since he has something to say. Soon as I went there, I saw him looking at the sky.

My heart froze.

The sun was setting again.

When he looked at my direction and saw me, he waved his hand and smiled. I approached him.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey,” I replied.

“Why do we suddenly look so awkward? Loosen up!”

We laughed.

From that moment, a song played in the store in front of our office.

It was If by Bread.

“It’s a nice song,” he said, smiling weakly.

“It is,” I said. “A themed song in what movie again?”

“Taking A Step Closer To You,” he said. “By Josh Gonzales.”

“Oh, yeah, I remember now,” I said, fighting against the awkward atmosphere.

“Traise and Courtney will arrive here tonight for an event,” he said.

I looked at him.

“Cool,” I just said.

“Don’t you like to see them?”

I gulped.

Am I really ready?

Am I really fully healed?

“I don’t know,” I just said.

He laughed silently.

“You know they’re not coming just for the event, Avery. It was to see you.”

“I know,” I said as I smiled weakly. “But I’m afraid, I have a date tonight.”

He went expressionless until he smiled again.

“It’s nice to hear that you’re happy now.”

“W-What will you do here, then?” I asked to change the subject. “W-Will you go back to Manila?”

“I have to,” he said and looked at me in the eyes. “Afterall, I no longer have any reason to stay. All was well.”

It was a good news, but I felt a pain inside me.

I smiled weakly as the song played again. I saw how it affected Tyler’s emotion as well.

“Avery…” he then said and looked at me with face full of pain and longingness.

“In Taking A Step Closer To You, there was this famous scene…” he said.

He then looked deeply in my eyes.

From then, he took a step.

“One step,” he said.

“Two steps,” he said as he took another one.

“Three steps,” he said and he took another one.

“Four steps,” and from then, we were now facing each other, looking at each other’s eyes with tears building up in them.

“How many steps do I have to take for you to know that I love you?” he asked and his voice cracked.

“I’m just wondering,” he said. “If I went here early or if I solved the case faster and I focused on showing you how much love I have for you, would you feel confused still?”

“Tyler…” I just uttered as his voice had so much pain in it.

“I’m sorry, Avery,” he said, more tears forming in his eyes. “I’m sorry for coming late…”

His tears fell.

In a moment, I was walking now in the amusement park when I saw a familiar figure. I smiled as I saw him with his usual sweater.

He was there, squatting as he was petting a stray cat.

His eyes smiled along with his lips when he saw me. With one last stroke to the cat, he stood up and ran to me.

“I’m glad you came,” he said and he gulped. “I was… scared…”

I met his eyes.

“About what?”

He smiled weakly.

“You talked, right?”

I didn’t answer.

“I was… I was overthinking that maybe… maybe you’ve…you’ve changed your mind…”

I smiled at him.

“Do you think I’ll go here if I didn’t choose you?”

I was expecting him to smile but he was rather shocked. From then, I saw his cheeks turned red again that made me laugh.

Next moment, we were holding each other hands as we walked. At first, it was awkward dahil nagdidikit daliri namin, not until he personally grabbed my hand and held it, intertwined with his.

I never thought that it can feel this good. That someone can make you feel safe and sound by just holding your hand.

“What ride do you want?” he asked me. “You may ride that, that, that, and that,” he said pointing at different rides until he pointed himself, “Or me. No pressure.”

We ended up laughing.

For the whole 3 hours, we were just enjoying the every moment like a little child.

Until the amusement park closed and we didn’t wanna go home yet.

We were walking in the street when he spoke.

“Avery, thank you.”

I looked at him. “For what?”

“For letting me come inside your heart.”

I just smiled.

“Avery, I… I have long been wanting to say this,” he said.

I looked at him.

With his serious face, panicking eyes, yet burning cheeks, he said,

“I love you.”

He then gulped.

“I know it’s too early but you made me feel the things than no one else did. You seemed like my exposition, you introduced me to different kind of feelings, you awakened my long dead heart, you made me start a new worth living life.”

His eyes were expressive.

“You are my rising action, you keep on triggering me to do things only associated with you. You’re my climax, everything you do caught my interest and the thought of you always, and never failed, to excite me.”

I felt my heart just waved.

“You’re my falling action, seeing you crying makes me weak, seeing your smile makes me weak as well, everything you do makes me weak, like you’re my kryptonite but in a good way. You are my denoument, my resolution. You make me wanna quit everything and just be with you, you make me think of my future with you, to abandon everything and run away with you and to settle down with you.”

He then smiled, “If you ask me to runaway with you tonight I might even will.”

I smiled weakly, my eyes getting emotional.

“You’re the every element of me, Avery, you composed me. You are a part of me, a part of my system, you’re inseparable with me. If you’ll break my heart, I’ll still pick them up and will give them back to your hands. That’s how much love I have for you.”

“Heinz…” I uttered.

It felt great.

To be loved and valued the way you should be.

I smiled back at him.

“I love you, too…”

For few seconds, we were just staring at each other’s eyes and from then, the rain suddenly dropped.

“T-There’s no available transportation at this hour. My parent’s house is just around the corner… w-would you like to… to spend the night with me?”

I looked at him.

I suddenly remembered his trauma about that house.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “It’s time to face my fear, I guess. But this time, with you…”

In a snap, we were inside their house. It was a really huge and cozy house.

“I hired a caretaker,” he said when he noticed that I saw how clean the house was.

“It was my only way to honor my parents,” he said.

I nodded understandingly.

“Do you need anything? A drink, maybe?”

“Sure,” I said.

He just smiled at me and walked away.

The thought of we will be spending the night together made him panic.

Isn’t that cute?

Suddenly, I heard him played a song on the music player. Probably to lessen the awkwardness. I somehow laughed.

I sat on the couch and finally opened my phone. I turned it off para walang abala kanina.

Just then, a notification from my email popped up. It was from the police station na pinag request-an ko ng copy ng 911 call ng last victim.

Awit sa inyo ha, sarado na ang kaso tsaka kayo nag send.

As curious as I was, I listened to it.

“1:18 D-1 unit  return to department headquarters,” said by someone who I think was a dispatcher, the one who answer the calls.

“Copy that,” said by the other line.

“1:18 receiving call, add to log. This is 911, what is your emergency?”

I put my ears away from my phone when someone let out a high pitched scream.

“MAY PUMASOK SA BAHAY! PAPATAYIN NILA AKO! TULUNGAN NINYO AKO!”

“Ma’am, can you please calm down. What seems to be the problem?”

“MAY GUSTONG PUMATAY SA ’KIN! DALAWA SILA, MAY… MAY DALANG KITSILYO. TULONG…”

She sounded scared and panicking.

“Ma’am, it is hard for me to help you if you can’t talk normally. Slowly yet clear, can you tell me your name and tell me what happened?”

“I-I am Ysha and… and… OH MY GOD THEY’RE COMING! THEY’RE FUCKING COMING PLEASE HELP ME… PLEASE…”

“All units close to the area, we have a possible 169, ears out for address once obtained. I repeat we have a possible 169, ears out for address once obtained. Any unit close to the area respond STAT once address is given!”

The dispatcher’s voice then softened.

“Hello, Ysha arw you still there? Cou give me your address?

The woman atated it.

“All units, I repeat all units, those that are close to the address respond to the scene as soon as possible. Anyone who can hear me?”

“Unit A-4 is close to the address. On route now.”

“Copy that A-4.”

The dispatcher then responded to the victim.

“Okay,  Ysha, an officer is on their way to your house, you have nothing to worry about. Are you hiding right now?

“Y-Yes…”

“Okay. Now you have to remain there until the officer comes, okay? Can you tell me what happened?”

“Someone broke into our house and they tried to kill me with a knife but… but I was able to run away and now I’m hiding in the CR…”

The woman then screamed.

“They are here! They know I am here! They are trying to open the door OH MY GOD PLEASE HELP ME!”

The loud banging on the door can be heard.

“FUCK OFF!” the woman shouted, crying.

“Miss, can you hear me?” the dispatcher.

“Y-Yes…”

“Can you see a window there?”

“Yes…”

“Do you think you’d be able to escape from there?”

“I-I’ll try to…”

A loud banging on the door as if destroying it can be heard.

“OH FUCK THEY’RE COMING!”

“Okay, Ysha, just… tdy to escape from that window, okay? Do it now.”

Just then, a sound of a woman openimg a window can be heard but it got accompanied by loud screams from her as per someone as if was waiting for her to open it.

“PLEASE DON’T CALL ME PLEASE AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH PLEASE FUCK OH MY GOD DON’T… DON’T STAB ME PLEASE AAAAAAAH.”

“Oh fuck,” the dispatcher, “Any other units nearby, proceed to the address! WE NEED BACK UP!”

“Dispatch, we are near the residence, will backup A-4 as soon as we respond to a message we received.

“This is A-4, Approaching scene now.”

“Copy that A-4.”

But then, they all got halted with the victim’s final scream.

Everything went silent.

“Y-Ysha… a-are you still there…?”

Suddenly, someone picked up the phone.

“Death is inevitable,” said by a dark masculine voice. “So are we.”

It ended there.

I was left staring at the ceiling, didn’t know what to say or to react.

That was…

Disturbing.

Imagine Heinz dreamt of this kind of thing EVERYTIME HE SLEEPS?

SHOOT.

Natigil ako nang nag-ring ang phone ko. As I looked at it, it was a call from Tyler. I answered it immediately.

“I KEPT ON CALLING BUT ALL MY ATTEMPTS ARE UNSUCCESSFUL, WHERE ARE YOU?”

“I was on a date. Why?” sagot ko.

“I DID IT! I CRACKED THE CODES!”

“Need pa ba ’yan? Eh nahuli na natin ang mastermind. It was Newt.”

“AVERY, LISTEN. THAT WAS JUST A SET UP. A PSYCHOLOGICAL GAME!”

“What do you mean?”

“IT WASN’T NEWT. IT WAS SOMEONE ELSE SO NEWT AND I PLANNED THIS TO SEE THE OFFICE’S REACTION.”

“WHAT?!” I exclaimed.

“YES,” he said. “NOW YOU LISTEN TO ME. I’LL TELL YOU WHAT THE CODES MEANT.”

I felt my legs were trembling.

“THE EYE. IT’S NOT ABOUT THE KILLER WAS WATCHING. IT WAS LITERALLY AN EYE, THE LETTER I .”

I gulped.

“Next the wrist watch stuck at 11:59. It’s not about we are running out of time. 11:59 is the time before noon. IT IS THE AM IN 11:59AM!”

Oh, damn…

“Next, the Z1K1H. This is what I found tricky! The killer used binary code for alphabet. Z means Zero, 1K means 1000 and 1H means 100. If you’ll combine them, it’s 01000100, the binary code for letter ’d .”

DAMN.

THAT WAS THAT?!

“Next is the ‘I am in between. I watcher over you’. As I searched it up online, I found out that in Christian beliefs, there is something that stands in between of God and the human, and each of them was assigned to each human to guide and watch over them. Guess what that is? AN ANGEL !”

My eyes widened.

“And lastly, the ‘I am part of the whole’. As I asked for my linguist friend, there’s a preposition which stands as something that is part of a whole. And it’s the preposition ‘of’ “

Tyler was tensed.

“And lastly⁠—”

Just then, the call got disconnected.

“Hello?” I asked.

So he decoded it.

The eye as in I . The 11:59 as AM

Z1K1H as ’D

I am in between, I watch over you as ANGEL

I am part of a whole as OF

Then together, that will be,

“I am the angel of⁠—”

“DEATH.”

My eyes widened as Heinz suddenly showed up with a glass of water in his hand.

“It was I am the angel of death…”

My eyes grew more bigger.

He smiled at me widely, until in a snap, the smile faded. He turned dead serious, totally dark and emotionless and he glared at me.

A smirk suddenly curved on his lips.

“What took you so long to find out…”

PART NINETEEN: THE BLOOD OF AN EAGLE

TRIGGER WARNING: The following scenes contain violence and sexual assault. They are needed for the story to fully develop. The author does not glorify them in any means. Reader discretion is advised.

“

Ang gwapo naman ng anak mo!“

A child can be seen being accompanied by his parents. His hair was brushed up. He was wearing his usual sweater, his eyes glasses, and expressionless face.

“Saan pa nga ba magmamana?” a man said. “Syempre sa ’kin, sa tatay!”

They all laughed but the child was only observing them without any trace of emotion on his face.

His dad noticed it and gave him a glare.

“Pag tumatawa ang nasa paligid mo, makikitawa ka,” he sharply said.

The child then let out an awkward smile.

Just then, the door bell rang.

“They’re here,” the father said and looked at his wife. “Fix this child and make sure we won’t get humiliated in front of our guest!”

The mother then grabbed the child and placed him in front of the mirror, brushing his hair, making him more pleasing in the eyes.

“We’re all set,” the woman said.

That’s when the visitors came.

“Oh, good evening! You probably travelled so far just to get in here. Come on, come inside. You guys are welcome here,” said by the mother welcoming their guests.

As the child looked at them, he saw two tall men and another two with an average height. They all looked as someone in their thirties and were blue-eyed.

“Sit,” his father said. “As what my wife said, you guys are always welcome here.”

The four men laughed and they started narrating how their flight went and how heavy the traffic was in Manila.

They were all laughing not until one of the visitor’s eyes landed on him.

A smile out of amusement curved on his lips.

“Is that him?” he asked.

They all looked at him.

“Certainly,” his dad replied.

“A beautiful boy you got here,” the man said  and smile at him. “Come here, boy, let’s meet properly.”

Yet, the child was hesitant. He looked at his mom and to his dad, they both nodded.

He went to the guy and the guy let him sit on his lap.

“Are you sure this is your child?” the man said. “He looked so good to be your child.”

They all laughed.

Until the man started to sniff his neck.

“He smells good,” he said.

“And obedient too…”

He looked at his mom and dad, both were smiling at him.

The four were looking at him as if he was some sort of a meal.

The guy stood up and looked at the other 3 guys.

“I’ll go first.”

He then looked at his parents.

“Let me see the room, please,” the guy said.

“It’s at the second floor,” said by his dad.

The man held his hand as he accompanied him away.

He looked back and he saw his parents giving him an encouraging smile.

“What’s your name again?” the man asked.

“Heinz…” the child uttered.

The guy just smiled.

They went inside a room, the guy locked it and lights went off.

He was 8.

He didn’t know what was happening. He just knew, he had to obey his parents all the time without questioning. It went like that for few more years, his father was letting him get sexually abused by pedophiles in exchange of a high pay. Afterall, he was a beautiful child worthy of the money.

Not until as he grew up, he started having his own consciousness different from what his parents groomed him to be. He started to know what was wrong and what was right. But he can’t do anything

about it.

Afterall, they were his parents.

Not until one night, his father himself touched him for pleasure. His mom knew but she remained silent. It did not even happen once, not twice, not even thrice as he lost count of how many nights his dad would go to his bed at night and will touch him.

Until he had enough.

He can’t take it anymore.

There was no way out.

They had to die.

But he was scared, he didn’t know if doing it would benefit him. Afterall, he was just twelve.

So he let the destiny to meddle. He called the police.

“I DREAMT MY PARENTS WILL DIE TONIGHT,” he said. “PLEASE SAVE THEM!”

But the police did not believe him as they perceived it as a prank.

So that night, on their table, he put a liquid good enough to make his parents dizzy. And with the knife from the kitchen, he killed them.

He struck the knife on his dad’s eyes and blood naturally came out from it. He started slicing him, opening his body to see how the bones inside looked like.

On the other hand, he just struck the knife on his mother’s chest, enough to directly pierce her heart—

an instant death.

In a snap, they were both dead.

He stood up and saw his own reflection. He was full of blood.

Until he heard the rain was pouring so hard. He went out and started running as if someone was chasing him, out of the blue, he felt tears in his eyes.

A tears of joy, perhaps.

He reached the police station. He faked what happened. They believed him. As people started to give him sympathy, he can’t help himself but to smile inside.

He felt like he did nothing wrong.

“They deserved it…” he murmured to himself.

He became an outcast in school not because of what happened to him, but because he will glare at any student and will make them shake in fear.

When he was placed in an orphanage, he wasn’t bullied. He was actually the bully. He often food poisoned some kids and will put pillows on their face while they sleep so they can’t breathe and later die.

He sneaked out of the orphanage because the desire to kill people and the sound of their pain were pleasing for him.

He wanted more.

He was thirsty for more.

But while on a run, a group of men wanted to abduct him, as they said, they wanted to create a new religion to honor the devil.

And he liked it.

He liked the idea of being a god, the thrill he would get by controlling their lives.

And that’s how he was reborn.

In order to attract followers, he had to show why he is a god.

So he started as a prophet who sees death.

Whatever he will say, he will do it for him. They will kill them, as an honor to him, perfectly the way he imagined it.

And he wanted the publicity. He wanted the popularity as they know seeing death equates a demonic power so he publicized his faked ability, as if it would be an asset to the authorities.

He wasn’t wrong.

Just then, many joined his religion.

And he was known, as the eagle.

They kill women because it’s a mutual desire of its people.

Everything was fine, not until he predicted the death of Avery Heimsworth but his follower killed the woman living next to her unit.

It was the first time that someone survived.

So he predicted it again.

This time, it needed to be perfect.

But the woman survived again with the help of her friends and he was amused.

It was the first time that someone survived not just once, but twice.

He found out a team was created to capture him and he was even included in the line up. He wanted to laugh. When the human eye was delivered, he can’t control how much he wanted to smirk seeing how terrified they were.

“Isn’t it suspicious na he can predict the death? What if he orders it?”

He heard Tyler once said to Newt. Indeed, the guy was smart.

So he tried to win their trust by looking as if his ability was real. He framed up the death of a pregnant woman with a twist; a change of the point of view of his dream.

Indeed, it was successful. He won their trust, and even Avery’s.

He found out Tyler had this thing with Avery. That gave him an idea to distract Tyler by confusing Avery’s feelings.

He planned them.

The kiss.

The sleepless hours.

The hospital.

And the moment he saved her.

All was well planned and they fell for it.

He had been giving hints for them to know who he was not until tonight, they cracked the codes…

AVERY.

"Heinz..." 

I uttered as tears fell from my eyes. 

He planned everything. 

And we fell for it!

We then heard the rain pouring hard outside.

Heinz smiled. 

"Don't you know the last time the rain poured hard when I was here, 2 people were killed." 

"H-Heinz... no..." I said as I stepped back since he was inching our gap.

"I tried to kill you thrice but you survived them all," he said. "Tell me, little bitch, how did you do that and how will you do that tonight that your knight in shining armor is nowhere to be found?" 

I gulped.

I saw Tyler in my peripheral vision. 

I turned my location on the moment he was narrating things, enough for Tyler to locate me.

"Won't you at least beg for your life, Avery, you cheap slut?"

I gulped.

I have never been this scared before.

I can even feel my knees trembling with fear. 

"H-Heinz..." I said. "Y-You are just... just confused..." 

His face turned dark as he revealed the knife from his back. 

"No," he said. "I know what I'm doing." 

"How about the tattoo?!" I asked. "Y-You don't have it..." 

"

Of course, I don't have the mark,"

 he said and he smirked. "

Because I AM THE MARK."

He smiled as he touched the edge of the knife. 

"We're wasting too much time, Avery," he said. "It's time to see some blood!" 

Just then he looked back and stabbed Tyler to his stomach. 

Tyler who was trying to sneak to knock him off was shocked. 

I screamed.

Heinz put all the knife inside Tyler's stomach, enough for Tyler to spit blood. 

"You cannot outsmart me, you moron," Heinz said, grinning as he rotated the knife inside Tyler's stomach. 

"Y-Yeah," Tyler said and grinned. "But she can."

Just then, I hit him with the chair on his head, enough for him to fall on the floor and moan in pain. 

Tyler also fell to the ground, moaning because of his stab.

I immediately went to him, my eyes were teary. 

"Come on, Tyler, let's... let's get out of here!" 

Tyler once again spitted blood, his hands were coveeing his wound and the blood was flowing like a river. 

I guided him to stand up but just when we were walking away, Heinz grabbed me by my hair and hit my head on the wall, causing me to fall on the floor and writhed in pain.

"SINO SA TINGIN NINYO GINAGAGO NINYO HA?!" Heinz exclaimed, holding his head that was bleeding. 

Tyler was smirking at him. 

"T-The authorities are coming... you're good as dead, you son of a bitch."

"Really?" said by Heinz. "Then might as well  bring you guys with me. Let's all die together!" 

He then hit Tyler with a chair on his face, causing Tyler to almost lose his consciousness.

When he saw I was trying to stand up, a solid slap landed on my face causing me to hit the ground and my lips to bleed. 

Heinz looked at me, laughing. 

"Look at yourself, bitch," he said. "I tried to kill you thrice and now in the fourth attempt, I'll make it successful." 

He then get his knife.

"Let me predict this just for the formality," he said. 

"6TH STREET, MAIN ROAD, TAFT AVENUE CORNER," he said. "IN MY RESIDENCE." 

He smirked. 

"YOU'LL DIE!" 

Heinz was about to hit me with the knife. I screamed as closed my eyes, welcoming my ill-fated death but then it stopped. Instead, I felt blood spitting in the air and some landed on my face. 

As I opened my eyes, I saw Heinz with a knife stuck on his neck, initiated by Tyler.

Heinz fell to the ground, he can't say anything as death was slowly embracing him. 

The place was flooded by Heinz's blood. 

He writhed in pain. 

He was trying to reach me with tears in his eyes. 

Until finally...

He closed his eyes. 

HE DIED.

With tears in my eyes, I looked at Tyler. 

He was standing there, his hand on his stomach wherein the blood was continously coming out. His face had blood as well.

No one was talking between us, and the only sound we can hear was the sound of the rain outside and the song playing through the music player.

If by Bread.

He met my eyes.

And with tears forming in it, he gulped, and he uttered, 

"Convict Me, Attorney..."

# PART TWENTY: GAME OVER 

"Convict Me, Attorney..."

He smiled at me weakly, tears were falling from his eyes. 

"Tyler..." I uttered. 

Sinubukan niyang lumapit sa akin pero agad siyang tumumba at hindi na nakatayo. Kahit na anong takip niya sa saksak niya ay tuloy lang ang agos ng dugo mula roon.

I crawled towards him and soon enough, I reached him. Unti-unting nawawalan ng lakas si Tyler at pumipikit na ang mata nito. Ipinatong ko ang ulo niya sa hita ko at marahang umiyak.

"W-Will... Will you convict me...?" he asked, tears in his eyes as he chased his breath. 

"Don't think of that now, okay? Y-You have to survive first... hmm? And whatever would be the charge, I will defend you. We will defend you," I said as I tried not to cry hard.

Namuo ang luha sa mata ni Tyler. Halatang unti-unti na itong pinapatay ng sakit at hapdi. Hinawakan ko ang pisngi niya at sinubukang alisin ang mga dugo roon habang tahimik na umiiyak.

"Avery..." he said. "I-I'm tired already... C-Can I... Can I close my eyes?" 

"Tyler..." I said, crying as I held his hand. "Please...please hang in there. Please... darating sila, darating ang tulong so please 'wag mo kaming iwan. 'Wag mo 'kong iwan..."

"O-Okay..." he said. "I-I'll hang on..." 

Tinitigan niya ako sa mga mata at tuluyang tumulo ang mga luha niya.

"Don't close your eyes, Tyler... please..." 

I bit my lower lip as the pain was strong enough to kill me more than my bleeds.

"Tyler, please..." pagmamaka-awa ko. 

Ngumiti siya sa akin habang tinititigan ang mga mata ko.

"Ang ganda mo..." mahina niyang bulong at nagsimula na siyang kapusin ng hininga.

"Tyler! Tyler!" pag-iyak ko.

"Avery..." he said. "I-I wasn't late..." he uttered, "I-I came on time. I saved you..." 

"You did," I said. "You surely did. So do me a favor, hmm? Don't close your eyes..." 

He smiled weakly as another wave of tears eacaped his eyes. 

"I have something...to tell..." he said. "I-In the officem.. I knew I wasn't dreaming. I knew....that...that was real... I... I pretended as if... as if I didn't know so I have the bravery to confess to you and to look at your eyes," he then gulped. "Like now..."

"You are worth it," he said. "Always worth the wait..."

His eyes became teary and he was slowly closing them.

"Tyler? Can you hear me?" I asked, panicking. "Tyler! Ano ba!'

He smiled while his body was slowly dying.

"Sorry for... for being late Avery," he said. "If the heaven will allow me to have another life, I'll fall for you twice."

My eyes widened. 

He was... closing his eyes. 

"I-I feel so sleepy. Can I... rest now?"

"Tyler...No... please... No!" 

I cried hard. 

He just smiled at me for one last time and with his last remaining breath, before he left and completely ending the pain, he uttered something that tripled my pain.

"Mahal kita..."

And it was the moment that I cried harder than I ever did in my life.

The police came along with Courtney and Traise. They cried. 

When Traise checked Tyler with pain on his face, he uttered something my system will never accept. 

"TIME OF DEATH: 11:26 PM."

Things after that weren't easy and they will never be. Courtney and Traise were as devastated as I. The news echoed in the whole nation. 

Courtney wanted me to go back to Manila. Traise was too emotional to even talk. 

Heinz was confirmed as the killer. 

Newt was freed.

And Tyler...

I closed my eyes hardly.

After Tyler's death, I can no longer process normally. 

How can I accept that he's dead when I can feel him beside me? 

How can he be dead if I can still remember how we met in the school during a political forum and we debated? 

How can he be gone if I can still reminisce how we became acquaintance knowing our families are political allies? 

How will I accept that he's no longer alive if I can still remember how we fought in court during our trials with Traise? During the time that I went to his unit to declare a war against him for charging my dad of graft?

How will I forget his laughs blending with the whole room along with Newt, his Cuppycake song, his unusual way of confessing his feelings by teasing me? 

How will I forget his eyes when he was asking me not to go to anyone? The tears in his eyes when he got stabbed by saving me? And when he let me go? 

How will I move forward if his every memory was as fresh as yesterday in my mind? 

His burial just ended and it felt like my life ended along with his life. 

I walked in the rooftop and the sun was setting. 

I cried again. 

How will I look at the sunset again if all I can remember was his genuine smiles while looking at them? 

Damn. 

I bit my lower lip and ended up crying again.

Tyler, the son of a fuck boy, how did you make me learn how to love the every detail of you but not how to stop? 

Tears escaped my eyes. 

Maybe, in the other life, we will have the happy ending that we didn't get. 

Maybe, at that time when we meet in the school forum, we won't argue. 

Maybe, at that time, we won't face each other in court as rivals but as partners. 

And maybe, just maybe, at that time, there will no hindrances. 

There will no longer be threats. 

No taking risks. 

All will be well. 

And maybe when the time comes that I will be in danger and seeking for help, like the sun chasing the moon for the most awaited eclipse, you will go to me again, like that magical night, and from that time, we can try again...

AUGUST 1, 11:26 PM. YOU WILL ALWAYS BE REMEMBERED.

Rest well, Tyler. 

The pain stops now.

THE END.

# FEEDBACK

This page is for you guys to share your thoughts.

Feel free.

Ps. TYLER BEST BOY

# SPECIAL CHAPTER (as requested)

3... 

2...

1...

The door bell rang.

A smile curved on his lips.

He had been waiting for this all day. 

He looked at himself in the mirror. 

"Does it look like I prepared for this?" he asked himself. 

Irritatedly, he messed his hair and his eyes to look like he just woke up. He even wore off his shirt and threw it somewhere. 

The one ringing the bell was an obvious impatient. 

He smiled. 

"Avery with her usual behavior," he murmured before finally opening the door.

Soon as he opened the door, he wasn't wrong. 

It was Avery. 

She scanned him from head to toe and God knows how it turned him on and at the same time made his heart flutter.

"Where do you think you're looking at?" he asked, trying his best to say it in the deepest and masculine yet sort of husky voice.

She retrouted her gaze at his face, meeting his eyes.

"At a piece of shit," she uttered. 

He was caught off guard. 

She trespassed his unit without even asking for his permission and he liked it. No, he loved it.

She scanned his unit and saw how messy his bed was. 

He wanted to laugh with the way she showed her disgust but he found every expression her face made something adorable that he would like to see for the rest of his life. 

Until she noticed a woman's undergarment, he immediately hid it.

"What do you want?" he asked.

The woman then tried to go to the comfort room but it was locked.

The woman smirked. 

She knocked on it. 

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" he asked, tring to show dominance but it didn't sway her.

"Don't worry, girl," she said to the persom inside the CR. "I won't take long. Hide there for few minutes." 

"Are you out of your mind?" he asked her.

"Tyler, Tyler, Tyler," she said. "The son of the fuckboy just became a fuckboy himself." 

She then opened her bag and threw a condom on his face.

"In case you need," she said. "See, I'm a good friend!"

He wanted to smile since the way she was bitching him was really turning him on but making his heart melt all at once.

"I'm not a fan of condom," he said, though he can feel his cheeks burning. "What do you want, Avery?" 

She sat on his bed, and she smirked.

"You, Tyler, What do you want?"

He gulped. He didn't expect this. No, this was his secret weakness 

"I...I-I don't-"

"Don't stutter," she said. "I'm not just a legend in court, but in literally anything."

His heart got petrified with her sudden seductive look.

She then stood up, her finger on his chest, tracing and going down to his tummy. It made him took a step back, and later he got pinned on the wall.

He gulped again, meeting her eyes.

"Wanna try me?" she asked.

He had never been inpressed this much to any woman before.

"I... I don't know what you're up to I----"

"Tyler," she said, looking at his lips, and went back to his eyes, "Wanna mess with me?" 

God knows how he wanted to say yes.

"Avery," he said. "Just go straight to the point what---"

"You're the prosecutor in my dad's case, aren't you?" 

His face turned serious when he noticed her expression change.

"I saw a probable cause, and it's my job to---"

"To what?" she asked. "To ruin his life?" 

And she walked again, sitting back on the edge of his bed.

"Tyler, I have some good news for you," she said. "I took the defense job. You'll be facing me in court." 

"Oh," he said, though he knew it already. "Then see you in court, Defense Avery Heimsworth."

"See you, Prosecutor Tyler Scott," she said and Imshe stood up, she looked at his eyes.

"The war between the game creator and game manipulator starts now, I must say," he said, smirking.

"Yes," she said, and her expression dead serious. "But I must warn you. When I'm in court, I take things I seriously. I chew people, alive." I added.

He smiled, whether he was intimidated or impressed, he can't think which.

She twisted a smile as well, a smile that she often do that made all of her other opponent in court were afraid of. 

She looked deeply in t his eyes, she inched their gap, her lips on his ears, and while her finger was playing on his chest, she whispered,

"I'll ruin you..."

It made him shiver but in a good way. 

The woman their smiled and walked away. 

He watched as she faded in his sight.

Just as he had expected, she was the only woman who can make him feel all different emotions in one strike. 

Just then, the door opened and his cousin went out. 

"Bro, sino 'yun?" he asked. 

"Avery," he just said. 

"Heimsworth?" the guy asked. "Kung hahawakan ko sanang kaso ng tatay kaso kinuha mo?" 

He just nodded and threw on his face the underwear that Avery saw. 

"Pinatira lang kita rito dahil pinalayas ka sa inyo, I didn't give you the permission to fuck anyone in my bed and leave a remambrance." 

The guy just laughed.

He then looked at the window and he saw her coming out of the building. 

There was a reason why he took the case.

If anyone will take the case, they will make sure her dad will be given the maximum punishment. He took it so he can minimize it. Afterall, that was the only way that he can help her. 

"Why don't you confess instead of just stealing glances?" his cousin asked.

He laughed.

"In the perfect time," he said and adorably watched her opening her car. "I just wish I won't be late." 

"That woman is ambitious," his cousin. "I bet she may not consider marriage not until she's 40." 

"Then I'll wait," he said and smiled genuinely as she finally opened the car.

"Afterall, she's worth the wait. Always..."

# CMA IS COMING! 

THE LONG WAIT IS OVER! 

CONVICT ME, ATTORNEY book is here!  

![](https://img.wattpad.com/02bb40cbd832c629594689de2ea8f3dbd0374bd6/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f593336704e5769784d6934514a513d3d2d3231372e313636646164303831663531663661343434333435303935373730322e6a7067)

PRE-ORDER DETAILS: 

Pre-order period: 

March 19 - June 30, 2021

Release Date: 

August 18, 2021

GOOD NEWS! May 
10% discount
 until April 6, 2021! 

BOOK DETAILS: 

~*~

Size: 5.25 x 8
Paper: Imported bulky newsprint
Pages: 288
Cover: Matte and embossed book cover
SIGNED COPY
WITH SPECIAL CHAPTER!

BOOK VERSIONS AND PRICE: 

1. Book Only ( PHP 569.00)

![](https://img.wattpad.com/53d3190fb4ac3a6fdadbf19c1781ca46ddd651af/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f325539353338395f3742466f59773d3d2d3231372e3136366461643336306334383762326132363434323138383434352e6a7067)

FREEBIES:
 CMA Pin and book mark

2. Tender Loving Crate (TLC) (PHP 1,199.00) 

![](https://img.wattpad.com/c6cea565c9b7295e2a4c4fe8686af566e7c32ee4/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f5259626e327667656c34543661673d3d2d3231372e313636646164336135343636393532333630303132313739373934302e6a7067)

Inclusions:

~*~

SIGNED COPY
Eagle bracelet by Tala by Kyla (exclusive on TLC only)
Heinz's specs with pouch 
Law Series Magnetic bookmark
Photocards and postcards:
Avery (solo)
Death Chasers (Tyler, Newt, Heinz and Avery) group photo
Tyler and Avery (Table scene)
Q&A with Josh Gonzales
10 weird facts about Josh Gonzales 
CMA PIN
Bookmark 

TO PRE-ORDER: 

Place your order online through Precious Shop: https://www.preciousshop.com.ph/home 

If hindi sanay mag-order online, you may send Precious Express a message on Facebook at sila mag pro-process ng order ninyo. 

Pwede ring mag-pre-order through PHR's Authorized Resellers and dealers. 

Good luck, unveilers! ♥️

# CMA IS HERE!

Hi! As of August 11, 2021, I am officially done signing all the pre-order copies of 

Convict Me, Attorney (Law Series #2). 

![](https://img.wattpad.com/ae89e2c3ee1e73ed909da7cff5d349eb19282c9f/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f45354547564e686f7879333471773d3d2d3238372e313639613338646633396136336234303132313933303534323037322e6a7067)

![](https://img.wattpad.com/7f5fe404137e504efefff1d98a9983ad9df4319a/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f4f4c52326969777a582d6f6237773d3d2d3238372e313639613338653963613265656134303530353335383531303431332e6a7067)

![](https://img.wattpad.com/349afa2da98cbc47117d2e9e8271e75ae2815dfc/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f347a456d325664496a4d6c7144413d3d2d3238372e313639613338656635633662653139633832323136373135323133392e6a7067)

![](https://img.wattpad.com/68b7720564379862cec3f2c2b189dd69178c429a/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f734d522d77677a314f38744a33413d3d2d3238372e313639613338663134313563383363353637373339393139323430322e6a7067)

![](https://img.wattpad.com/fa97a8e2f6901e5a54c40b965ca9c44a56bab61b/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f6b42546c657465585765737663513d3d2d3238372e313639613338663361656636613735363133313737363933383237342e6a7067)

Maraming-maraming salamat sa suporta! Ramdam na ramdam ko kahit hindi pa tayo lahat nagkikita. I know pandemic and buying my books should be your least priority (prioritize your needs, please!) but in spite of the situation, you chose to support me. Thank you for believing in me, unveilers. Let's grow and improve together. 

As promised, may special chapter ang CMA book na wala sa Wattpad. Yes, Tyler POV po ito at ang pinakamahabang chapter sa buong book. 

![](https://img.wattpad.com/5f51a59a6bd4d6b4814f57ac574afddc4c50bf2c/68747470733a2f2f73332e616d617a6f6e6177732e636f6d2f776174747061642d6d656469612d736572766963652f53746f7279496d6167652f624e34653846395a386c755952413d3d2d3238372e313639613339316666626263613337303134373636363633393034392e6a7067)

Aaaand, ang full name ni Heinz ay nasa book na rin. Paunahan na lang maghanap hahaha. 

The book will be released around August 20. Sa mga magtatanong kung puwede pang mag-order, available lang po ang premium copy sa pre-order period nito. After that, wala na pong second batch or re-printing ng premium copies. 

Good news is, may limited excess copies naman po ang ilang resellers. Inquire na lang po kayo sa kanila and make sure to transact with legit resellers. Shop safely!

Again, again, and again, thank you, unveilers. The fact that CMA sold higher than DMA, indicator na 'yon na unwavering talaga ang pagmamahal n'yo. 

Thank you for supporting a flawed man like me. Kaya kahit matatanggal na ang daliri ko dahil sa libu-libong libro na pinirmahan ko ay nakaka-motivate pa rin. 

I'll improve everyday para maging deserving ako sa suporta ninyo. You made all of these possible. Achievement n'yo 'to. Achievement natin 'to. Hanggang sa muli! 

P.S 

See you next, Death Chasers Second Gen. See you soon, Kill Me, Attorney ♡