I rolled my eyes when Parker came out of the bathroom while only wearing his boxer shorts and exposing his upper body along with his drippy, wet hair covered with a towel. He suddenly smirked upon noticing that I was checking him out. Feeling hot na naman si tanga.

“Am I no longer filthy?” He teasingly asked. I grimaced at him and let my middle finger salute him, making him laughed, “Napakaarte talaga. Aah, kakaiba.”

“Bobo ka.”

“Amira, amira, amira—”

“Napupuno ka ng grasya.” Mahina siyang tumawa dahilan upang lalo akong mabugnot. Kasalanan talaga ‘to ng mga magulang ni Spencer e, bigla na lamang kaming pinalayas dahil may tea party pa raw sila at dito lang kami puwede kasi ang ingay naming dalawa.

Inis kong binato kay Parker ang damit n’ya at sumandal sa headboard ng kama. Dahan-dahan kong pinikit ang mga mata ko hanggang sa maramdaman ko ang pagbigat ng kama.

“May kama ka ro’n. Doon ka tumambay, ‘wag dito.” Pinandilatan ko s’ya ng mata ngunit nag-beautiful eyes lamang sa ‘kin si gago.


“Ayaw… Ayaw ni Parker umalis sa tabi ni bebe Amira…” I tried my best not to laugh when he suddenly began to talk like a kid, “Amira will get jelly-jelly if Parker—”

“Stop it!”

“Hmph! Bad naman ng filthy hand ni Parker! Ba’t kasi pumapayag kang hawakan ka ng iba? ‘Yan tuloy nagagalit ang bebe Amira—” Hindi na niya nagawang matapos ang mga katangahan niya nang takpan ko ang bibig n’ya.

Parehas kaming natatawa dahil nakakahiya talaga ang ginagawa n’ya. Feeling ko kung nandito sina Spencer at Tyler, sigurado akong aasarin nila ang isang ‘to. Nang parehas kami matigil sa kakatawa ay ngumuso s’ya sa akin at naupo sa sahig sa may gilid ng kama ko.

“Walang blower… Pa-dry ng buhok ko,” utos nito na agad ko namang ikinangwi ko, labag sa loob kong kinuha ang towel sa buhok n’ya dahil feeling boss si Parker sa pagtalikod n’ya sa akin, “So, what came in to your tiny head para magpakita ka sa mga apostles?”

I twisted my lips while brushing his hair with the towel, “I saved Sadako.”

“Sadako?”

“Yes, Sadako… The white lady that came out the television—”

“Oh, look at you two…” Both Parker looked at door when we saw Mr. Del Valle leaning on the door while watching us with a smirk, “Parang kanina lang halos mahalnit na ang mga lalamunan n’yo kakasigaw niyo sa isa’t-isa tapos ngayon para kayong magkakasintahan—”

“You’re making them feel awkward, Stephen.” Principal Del Valle interrupted. I looked at Parker and threw him the towel, making him cleared his throat.

“It’s alright lang po. Nagseselos lang po si Amira kanina kaya po mukha siyang tigre na gustong mangain kanina.” I immediately kicked him. I leered at him as soon as he stood up and fixed his hair. Puro kabobohan talaga ‘tong lalaking ito e. Ba’t naman kaya ako magseselos sa pangit na Sierrang ‘yon?

I slowly shifted my sight towards the couple and curiously eyed them, “Which reminds me… We stole your RV, wait, is it called stealing even though Spencer permitted us to use it?” I asked.

“Spencer is with you? Where my little Spencer?” Principal Del Valle asked. I slowly pointed to the ground, which made her flabbergasted, but on the contrary, Tito Stephen acted way differently.

He suddenly gasped and covered his mouth while acting as if his heart was aching, “Sabi ko na nga ba sa ibaba ang diretso ng nag-iisa kong anak e…” Oh, boy. May pinagmanahan talaga ang batang iyon. Siguro anak talaga nina Tito Stephen at Tito Tristan ang batang ‘yon.

“Tito… I mean, the underground base. He’s with Tito Tristan and the others,” I explained. All of a sudden, Principal Del Valle facepalmed and whispered something like, ‘Why is my son with that retard?’ She immediately shook her thoughts and looked at us with a straight face.

“So… Does it mean the Lycoris Albiflora scent was coming from the underground base? I didn’t expect that they will use our laboratory, especially that LIVE Corporation’s laboratory was way more useful and equipped,” Principal Del Valle stated. I glanced towards Parker, who was looking at them curiously.

Dahan-dahan na pinakrus ni Parker ang kanyang mga braso bago ito nagsalita, “They were kicked out by Tito August. Which reminds me… paano po kayo nakapunta rito sa Besodiah City? Kung umalis kayo sa Laodicea katulad namin, Malaki ang tyansa na makita namin kayo sa paglabas ng city katulad noong makita namin sina Tyler.” He has a point. At kung hindi naman namin sila makita sa Laodicea ay pwede pa rin naming silang makita sa ibang city.

“Wait…” Tito Stephen mumbled. Nagtatakha itong tumingin sa amin habang lukot ang mukha, “August saved us when the Apocalypse started and hid us here.”

Ilang beses akong kumurap bago nilingon si Parker. Tinatago ba ni Daddy sina Tito Stephen sa iba nilang kaibigan? But why?

“We should go down… Gusto ko rin malaman kung naghahasik na ng lagim si Sadako,” nakangiti kong sambit.

Tatlong palapag ang bahay na ito at ang unang palapag ay walang pinto maging mga bintana at ang tanging lagusan papasok at palabas ay ang sikretong daan sa pader. Ang pangalawa at pangatlong palapag lamang ay may bintana ngunit walang kahit na anong veranda ro’n, samantalang ang rooftop ay malinis at walang kahit anong nandon maliban sa matataas na grills.

Tahimik akong humikab at sumilip sa bintana, gabi na at halos magdamag na akong hindi nakakatulog dahil sa pagpigil sa akin ni Parker kanina.

Saglit na naghanda ang mag asawa sa mga gamit na kanilang dadalhin, samantalang ako ay sumandal sa likod ni Parker saka bumulong dito, “Buhatin mo ‘ko, please.”

“Ganda ka?”

“Sabi mo dati!”

Ngumiwi sa akin si Parker saka pinitik ang noo ko, “Kailan? Hindi ako na-inform.” Natatawa niya akong tinayo upang maglakad patungo sa mag asawang Del Valle.

Nang makuha na nila Tito Stephen ang mga researches nila tungkol kay Alejandra ay agad kaming bumaba sa bintana, hindi ko rin alam kung bakit. Madilim ang paligid at ang tanging nagbibigay liwanag sa paligid ay ang buwan maging ang mga flashlight ng mga guwardyang nagroronda ngayong gabi.

Hindi naman naging mahirap pagpunta namin sa underground sewer dahil may malapit lamang na lagusan at minamadali ko talaga sila dahil inaantok na talaga ako.

I yawned as soon as we reached the hidden door for the underground base and when the door opened. The usual welcoming decontamination smokes greeted us. I quizzically looked in front when I noticed a lot of people in the living room, and some were not familiar faces.

“What the hell…” I whispered when I saw Sierra. Her eyes immediately glimmered when she saw Parker, who was walking ahead of us. I grimaced when she flirtingly walked towards Parker.

Parker looked behind and shrugged at me. I was about to walk past them when he suddenly pulled me and wrapped his arm around my waist, making Sierra’s jaw drop. Panis ka!

He slowly leaned towards my ears and whispered, “Still jealous?”

“Idiot.” I stump on his foot, but he just laughs. I rolled my eyes to Sierra, who was still in shock while looking at Parker’s hand. My eyes automatically search for Sadako, but when I failed to see her, I settled to her son, “Have you seen a white lady? The one with a long dark hair and white dress—”

Agad naman akong napakamot sa ulo ko nang may namaltok dito ng isang matigas na bagay. Nang lumingon ako sa likod ko’y nandoon si Tita Alleona kasama si Tito Tristan habang nakasimangot sa ‘kin, “Hi, Tita Sadako—I mean, Tita Alleona! Ang ganda-ganda naman ng Tita ko, nasaan na ‘yong bag ko—”

“Walang laman na kahit ano ‘yong diary, kung ‘yon ang gusto mong malaman.” Tumaas naman bigla ang kilay niya nang makita n’ya ang kamay ni Parker sa baiwang ko, “So… Your jealousy actually paid off, huh?”

“What the hell are you saying?” I acted clueless, which made her smirk.

She eyed Parker and smiled, “She was watching you earlier when we are escaping through the ceiling vent. Kulang na lang ay bumaba s’ya roon para putulin ang kamay ng batang si Sierra para bitawan ka lang.” My jaw dropped while looking at her with disbelief. Samantalang tila nasisiyahan si Parker sa naririnig n’ya.

“Si mommy palihim din talagang malandi e—OH! My real mommy and daddy!” I heard Spencer said. He just came out from the kitchen with a chocolate bar in his hand. He runs towards his father, who caught him. Umikot sila na parang mga tanga at maging si Tito Tristan na kanina ay nasa tabi ni Tita Alleona ay nakisali rin sa pag ikot nila.

Mga tanga.

Tumingin ako sa ibaba saka ko napansin na ‘yong diary pala ang ibinato sa aking ng multo kong tita. Nang buklatin ko ang mga pahina nito ay wala nga itong laman katulad ng sinabi ni Tita Alleona.

“Tita… Have you tried the Nakamura Clan’s—”

“Not yet. Let’s try.” Tangina nito. Hindi pa ako tapos magsalita e.

She suddenly stole the diary and tore each page as she aligned each paper in the table and heated it. And just like what happened when I saw Lola Antoinette’s letter, each paper revealed the hidden messages embedded in them.

But unlike before, there are no messages. There are only numbers written in each paper which made us befuddled.

333444333844666333588555999

What the hell is that? We were all brooding at the numbers when the decontamination room opened and revealed Cara and Kelly.

“Oh my gosh! You’re safe, Amira!” She ran towards me and stole me from Parker’s grasp. Cara was hugging me tightly when she noticed the paper aligned in the table, “Is that Vanity Code?”

“Malay ko,” sagot ko ngunit hindi ako pinansin ni Cara.

Saglit na tinitigan ni Cara ang mga numero at umakto ni ginagamit ang kanyang utak saka kami nilingon, “Fifth of July? Isn’t that two days from now?”

I suddenly felt myself being drained after hearing what Cara has said. Two days from now is July 5.

Kelly cleared her throat and crossed her arms, “So… What’s with the Fifth of July? May alam ba kayo? Maybe a connection with Tito August or the apocalypse?”

Fifth of July…

The fifth of July is my twentieth birthday.

#