#ChainedtothePastWP

Chapter 24
Criminals

"K-Kalcifer..." My lips trembled when I said his real name.

I thought he still wouldn't look at me, but I was caught off guard when he did without any second of hesitation. It was like the first time I met him back in San Isidro as Alastair.

He was wearing an aloof and cold expression while looking at me―like we were back to square one; back to being strangers who just met.

"I-iyon ang totoong pangalan mo?" Kahit malinaw na sa akin ay gusto ko pa ring madinig mismo sa kanya na iyon ang kanyang totoong pangalan.

"Yes," he briefly answered.

"Hindi talaga ikaw si A-Alastair Vertigo?" paninigurado ko pa rin.

He sighed. "Yes..."

"K-Kung ganoon... hindi ka talaga taga-Ibayo?" nauutal kong tanong. "At ano ang tinutukoy mo kaninang trabaho mong p-protektahan ako?"

Gusto kong malaman lahat upang mabigyang linaw ang naguguluhan kong pag-iisip.

Alas... No... Kalcifer exhaled a heavy sigh. "If you want to ask if I gave you a fake identity, then, yes," he said without blinking an eye. "I'm not Alastair Vertigo. I dind't come from Ibayo. I'm not a college student either. Everything you know about me is just my fake identity."

He just slapped me the truth so frankly like he didn't care at all on how I would feel about it.

"Your mother sent me to look after you in San Isidro. In order to get closer to you without being suspicious, I needed to change my identity and enroll in your school. In that case, I became Alastair Vertigo of Ibayo and enrolled as a college student in your school," he explained. "I think that answers everything. Do you have anything else to ask?"

Pati rin ba ang mga ipinakita mo sa akin bilang si Alastair, puro kasinungalingan lang din?

I wanted to ask that, but I couldn't say it out loud. I got a feeling that it would be hard for me to accept it. Siguro ay kaya hinayaan niya akong mapalapit sa kanya at pagkatiwalaan siya ay para mapaamin niya ako sa totoo kong pagkatao. Maybe the detectives just gave my mother a lead where I could be found, but Kalcifer was the one who confirmed it when I told him the truth. Kaya pagkatapos ay saka lamang dumating si mommy para kuhanin ako.

Our meeting wasn't coincidental. Fate had nothing to do with it. It was all planned. But even though he lied about it, I couldn't get angry at him. He just gave me a taste of my own medicine. Ako rin naman ay matagal na itinago ang aking totoong pagkatao. Sa totoo nga ay mas malala pa ako sa kanya.

But if there was one thing I couldn't stop myself from feeling―it was pain.

Tumayo ako at nagpasya nang bumalik na lang sa aking kuwarto upang mapag-isa. He remained standing near the entrance of the dining room, but he moved a bit to the side when I was already on my way out.

That was when I realized what I did last Monday. I sent a text message to him and confessed about my feelings! I didn't get a reply from him and my calls couldn't get through. But I just thought that it was still possible that he might had read my messages.

Saglit akong huminto nang makatapat na sa kanya.

"K-Kalcifer..." I stuttered, saying his real name.

In my peripheral vision, I saw him turned to me while I remained looking forward.

"Do you want to go somewhere?"

I shook my head. "I just want to ask something..."

"Just ask whatever you want to ask."

"L-Last Monday..." panimula ko. "Nagtext ako sa'yo... Nabasa mo ba?"

He remained quiet for a few seconds but then, he answered. "No."

My heart dropped, but I still stood firm.

"I came back to Manila last Saturday and already removed the sim I used as Alastair from my phone because I would no longer be needing it," he explained. "Why? Did you text me something important?"

I encouraged myself to be brave even just for a while in order to face him and smile. "No..." I told him. "I just apologized because we didn't get to do our plans last Sunday as I was busy with my mother. Pero mukhang hindi naman na pala kailangan..."

Looking at his stoic expression and cold eyes, it pierced thousand knives on my heart. Wala siyang karea-reaksyon. That was how unbothered he was.

"Ayon lang..." sabi ko. "Akyat na ako. Maiwan na kita."

Without further ado, I almost ran on the way out of the dining room. I just wanted to get away from him fast and locked myself inside my own space before my tears fall.

I should be happy that he didn't read my confession. I should be damn thankful. If he happened to read it and know about my feelings for him, I had no idea how to face him. I'd be so ashamed of myself for falling from something which wasn't real.

All the things he did for me, which made me fall for him, were all a part of his job.

Pero hindi ko lang alam ngayon kung bakit ako nanghihinayang na hindi niya nalaman ang aking tunay na nararamdaman para sa kanya. Deep inside me, I wanted him to know that I like him so much. That our secret moment in front of the vast ocean during that night was everything to me.

Napahawak ako sa bracelet na bigay niya sa akin. Ibinaba ko ang tingin ko rito. Mapait akong ngumiti at unti-unting tinanggal sa aking palapulsuhan ang suot na bracelet. Just then, I realized that I didn't bring the box of the bracelet with me and left it back home in San Isidro. Kaya ang ginawa ko ay inilagay ko na lang ang bracelet sa isang drawer sa loob ng aking walk-in closet.

I spent the whole day locked inside my room. I didn't want to be bossy, but I even asked Ate Sally to send my lunch inside my room because I didn't want to go down.

"Nandyan pa po ba si K-Kalcifer?" tanong ko bago pa lumabas si Ate Sally sa aking kuwarto.

"Oo, nandyan pa sa baba at may tinatrabaho sa laptop niya," nakangiting sagot ni Ate Sally. "Gusto mo bang tawagin ko siya? May gusto ka bang puntahan? Sasabihin ko sa kanya―"

"Hindi po!" agap ko at medyo napataas pa ang aking boses kaya bahagyang nagulat si Ate Sally. Yumuko naman ako. "T-Tinatanong ko lang po."

It was a great decision then to just eat lunch inside my room. We used to eat together back in San Isidro whenever we spent the day together, but now, I couldn't think about comfortably eating with him again.

"Oh, sige. Huwag kang mahiyang magsabi kung may kailangan ka pa. Babalik ako rito para kuhanin ang pinagkainan mo."

Tumango-tango ako at ngumiti kahit na nahihiya.

Gusto ko pa sanang magtanong patungkol kay Kalcifer dahil baka may alam si Ate Sally tungkol sa kanya pero pinigilan ko na ang aking sarili. I'd rather ask my mother about him.

After eating my lunch, Ate Sally came back like what she said to get the dirty dishes. I slept the whole afternoon after reading 3 chapters of some book I randomly picked from the bookshelf. Nagising ako sa pagtunog ng aking cellphone nang wala ng liwanag mula sa labas. Since I didn't turned on the lights earlier, the room was filled with darkness.

Kinapa ko ang aking cellphone at nabuhayan ng loob nang makita ko kung sino ang tumatawag. Agad kong sinagot ang tawag kasabay nang pagbangon upang buksan ang ilaw.

"Nay!" masaya kong sabi.

"Lia!" Sa nangingibabaw na boses ni nanay ay nadidinig ko ang pangungulit ni Freah na gusto akong makausap.

Hindi ko mapigilan ang mapangiti. Parang kahapon lang ay nakikita ko pa sila, pero ngayon ay miss na miss ko na agad sila. I missed the warmth of the Hernandez, especially my cute little sister.

"Sandali lang, anak, makakausap mo rin ate mo." Dinig kong sabi ni nanay kay Freah. "Lia, kumusta ka na riyan?"

"Maayos naman po, nay," sagot ko. "Kayo po? Nakauwi na po kayo?"

I quickly glanced at the time and saw that it was only seven-thirty in the evening. She should still be at the eatery, but she was surprisingly home now.

"Oo, nasa bahay na ako. Maagang nagsara ngayon ang eatery," paliwanag niya. "Tumawag ako para sabihing dadayo pala ang tatay mo sa Ibayo sa Biyernes. May gusto ka bang kainin mula rito o ipabili? Ipapadala namin diyan sa inyo."

Napaisip ako at naalala ko ang box ng regalong bracelet sa akin ni Kalcifer.

"Wala naman po akong gustong pagkain, nay, pero... puwede po bang ipadala ninyo po ang box na lalagyan ng bracelet sa may pinakaibabang drawer sa kabinet ko?" pakiusap ko. "Kulay puti po ang box."

"Oh sige't kukuhanin ko na agad pagkababa ng tawag para maihanda ko na. Iyon lang ba?"

"Opo, nay. Thank you po."

Pagkatapos kausapin si nanay ay kaming dalawa ni Freah ang nagbabad sa cellphone upang mag-usap. Kinailangan ko nga lang ibaba ang tawag nang kumatok si mommy at inaya na akong kumain ng hapunan.

She was already wearing a comfortable satin dress. Mukhang bagong ligo rin dahil medyo basa pa ang buhok at wala ng kolorete sa mukha.

"Did you talk with your family back in San Isidro?" she asked me with a gentle smile.

Tumango ako. "Kinumusta po nila ako at tinanong kung mayroon akong gustong ipadala."

"I'll also talk to them tomorrow," she said. "I'll ask them if they could come on your welcome party. Of course, I want to give them enough gratitude and recognition for raising you."

As much as I wanted to see them again, I don't think they'd like to gain so much attention. Pakiramdam ko ay hindi papayag sina nanay at tatay. But if they could come here even for a short time, I'd be very much happy about it.

"Anyway, let's go and have dinner. Kanina pa nakahanda ang hapunan sa hapag," pag-aya ni mommy. "After that, we'll discuss something on my office with Kalcifer."

Nanlaki bahagya ang aking mata. "Si Kalcifer po? Nandito pa po siya?"

"Yes." My mother smiled. "I asked him to wait 'til I'm home since we have to talk about something very important."

"S-Sige po..." sabi ko na lang kahit agad akong ginapangan ng kaba.

Bago bumaba kasama si mommy ay nag-ayos muna ako kahit papaano. I simply combed my hair and put on a lipbalm. Pagkababa sa dining room ay nakita ko kaagad si Kalcifer na nakaupo katapat ng aking upuan kaninang umaga.

Kalcifer glanced at me for a second and immediately averted his gaze back on the table.

Tahimik akong umupo sa kanyang tapat at si mommy naman ang nasa kabisera. Lumapit si Ate Sally sa akin upang ilapag ang inumin sa lamesa.

Nilingon ko siya. "Hindi po kayo sasabay ni Steffie sa amin kumain?"

Nakangiti siyang umiling sa akin. "Nauna na kami ng anak kong kumain kani-kanina lang."

I just nodded even though I hoped they would share the table with us. It would be less awkward if they joined us.

Sa pagkuha ng pagkain at nang nagsimula ay hindi ko pa rin pinapaunalakan ng tingin si Kalcifer na nasa aking harapan lamang. Si mommy ay paminsan-minsang nagtatanong sa akin ng mga ginawa ko ngayong araw na aking sinasagot agad.

"By the way, Kalcifer..." After asking me a few questions, my mother turned to Kalcifer. "Did you finish the preparations for the party this weekend?"

"Yes po, Tita," he answered. "My men are already briefed about the event. They already know their stations. There's nothing to worry about Clementine's security. I assure you that the venue's heavily secured."

"That's great! Thank you very much, Kalcifer."

"No problem, Tita."

Ngumuso ako habang patuloy sa pagkain. He called my mother 'tita.' Sa tingin ko ay malapit sila sa isa't isa, hindi lang dahil sa trabaho ni Kalcifer.

Nang matapos sa pagkain ay pumunta kaming tatlo sa opisina ni mommy rito sa bahay. Nagsimula ang pag-uusap sa pagpapaliwanag ni Kalcifer kung saan niya ide-destino ang kanyang mga tauhan. My mother approved of his plans, while I was still clueless about it.

I knew my mother promised me that she wouldn't allow me to be put in danger again, but the large-scale welcome party that she was planning was so ironic. She could've just hidden the truth that I was still alive, but instead, she wanted the whole country to be informed about my survival from that tragic night.

"'Mmy, wouldn't it be better if we won't have a party?" I asked my mother which made both of them go silent. "Mas okay po kapag walang ibang makakaalam na buhay pa ako, 'di ba po?"

My mother sighed and came to sit beside me. "I already thought of that, darling..." she said. "But I want to give you justice. I won't stop until I get to the bottom of this and catch the mastermind behind your abduction. I won't let the person who made me lose you for years be free."

The anger I'd seen from my mother for my father couldn't be compared to this. Her eyes were screaming murder. My mother was oozing with determination to do anything just to give us justice. No one would be able to stop her.

"To be honest, I thought about hiding about this from you, but Kalcifer told me that it would be much better if you're aware of our movements. That way, you could cooperate with us," she told me. "Kung wala kang alam ay baka mapahamak ka lang kahit na mayroong mga magbabantay sa'yo kahit saan ka magpunta."

I glanced a bit on Kalcifer. He was just calmly staring at me, so I looked away again.

"Before we work on our main plan, we wanted to make sure that you're safe with us first," my mother started to tell me their plans. "Ginawa ko ang lahat para mahanap ka dahil gaya nga ng sabi ko, naniniwala akong hindi ka patay. And now that you're here with us, we can proceed with our plans."

"A-Ano po ang mga plano ninyo?" kuryoso kong tanong.

"We've been having a private investigation after the court filed charges and sentenced the kidnappers into prison when they admitted that they killed you and throw your body in the ocean near their hideout," Kalcifer took over the talk and sounded so serious. "When I went through their statement in the court, I was already skeptical about it. The criminals admitted the crime willingly, without pleading for innocence and refused to say anything else, which was already doubtful. Well, that's unless they are a psycho..."

Hindi ko maiwasan ang mapatango dahil tama ang sinasabi ni Kalcifer. Ang iba'y susubukan pang makakawala at ipasa sa iba ang kasalanan o kaya'y pipilitin na sila ay inosente. It was somehow rare for criminals to willingly admit their crime and pay for it unless they were promised of something even better than freedom...

"We investigated the family of the criminals caught and knew that their families are living a well-off life up until now," my mother added. "Nalaman namin na nakatanggap ng tig-iisang milyon ang pamilya nila. It was all in cash. No transactions made from the bank so, it was hard for us to trace where it came from. Ang sabi lang nila ay may lalaking naka-sumbrero at itim na face mask ang nag-abot sa kanila. Ibig sabihin ay binayaran lamang ang mga kumidnap sa'yo."

"Whoever the mastermind of this crime, they didn't want any ransom from your parents. They just want you gone," Kalcifer told me. "And that's why the criminals stated that they killed you even though you were able to escape. Now that you're here with us, we can counter the criminals' statement. We can motion a new trial regarding your case. We can also investigate more freely instead of doing a private and secret investigation."

That was very logical, but I just couldn't think of what would the mastermind gain from wiping me out of this world. I was only a kid back then. If they didn't want ransom from my parents, what did they want from my death?

"Now, we will hold a welcome party for you in order to threaten the enemy and lure them out," he stated their objective for the upcoming party this weekend. "Your presence would be a great threat to them that they would, most likely, take action again. It would be easier for us to confirm the identity of the culprit, especially now that we already have a suspect in mind."

"S-sino ang tinutukoy mong suspect?" tanong ko kay Kalcifer.

"Drizelda Grieta," he simply answered.

Drizelda Grieta? That's Tita Drizelda! Arlene's mother! It couldn't be her.

Nilingon ko si mommy at umiling ako sa kanya. "Mommy, hindi puwedeng si Tita Drizelda ang kumidnap sa amin," sabi ko. "Arlene's also kidnapped! She was... She... She was killed by those kidnappers. If it was Tita Drizelda, she wouldn't put her daughter in danger. She wouldn't let her be killed!"

My mother kept her hard expression. "And that's why Arlene's still alive, Clem..."

Nagparte ang aking mga labi. Muntikan na akong mabuwal mula sa aking kinauupuan.

"B-buhay pa si Arlene?" nauutal kong paninigurado habang unti-unting napupuno ng luha ang aking mga mata. "Buhay pa siya, mommy?"

She nodded. "She's still alive," she confirmed. "She was brought home that night. The kidnappers said that she was able to escape when they were busy killing you."

Umiling-iling ako. "H-hindi 'yon ang nangyari!" Tumaas ang aking boses. "W-we were helped by a stranger, 'mmy! Sabay kaming tumakas. I-Iniwan ko siya upang makatakas ako dahil hindi na siya makatakbo pa kasama ko. I... I heard the gun... T-they killed her..."

Tears shed down my face.

My mother immediately held my hand to try and soothe me. "She's not dead, Clem..."

A huge burden was lifted off my chest when I heard that my childhood best friend was still alive. I cried in tears of joy inspite of the fear that my mother would disown me because I finally told her that I left my best friend to ran for my own life.

"Pero dahil sinabi mo 'yan, mas lalo lamang lumakas ang kutob kong si Drizelda nga ang gustong magpapatay sa'yo," mariing sabi ni mommy at hindi na inisip ang ginawa kong mali noon. "Those criminals really did spare her daughter. You're their only target. They just kidnapped Arlene so that she wouldn't be accused."

Napaangat ako ng tingin kay mommy. "P-pero, 'mmy, ano naman po ang dahilan ni Tita Drizelda para ipahamak niya ako? Ano po ang makukuha niya? She treated me like her daughter."

Mommy's jaw clenched before she answered. "She's your father's mistress, Clementine." And then, mommy looked at me straight in the eyes and said, "Arlene is your half-sister."

Nanghina ang aking buong katawan sa nadinig.

Kung kanina ay natutuwa ako nang nalaman kong buhay si Arlene, ngayon ay hindi ko na alam ang mararamdaman ko. Gulong-gulo na ang isipan ko sa lahat ng mga nalaman ko ngayong araw.