L O R E L E I

IT'S THE day before Christmas and I have no plans to celebrate it in my hometown...or more likely I don't want to celebrate Christmas after all.

I'd rather sleep all day long in this apartment than to be with him—the man who stole my life from me—my unexpectedly nonbiological father.

Don't get me wrong. I did care and earned my respect for him especially when he took the bullet for me. But it doesn't mean that I find comfort in him already.

The truth is... I can't, now that I already know that we're not related by blood. It's as if I was living all along with the lies that he initiated. Perhaps, the main reason why there's always this vibe of authority whenever he's around.

Enough with that. I just don't want to think about it anymore. I need to calm and refresh my mind.

I went out of my room to check my roommate and spotted him sitting on the couch with... errr.... Theodore.

"Hey." Tawag ko rito pero tila naka-glue ang pares ng mga mata niya sa piraso ng papel na hawak niya.

Mariin itong nakatingin dito kaya out of curiosity ay pumwesto ako sa may likod niya at tinignan ang binabasa nito. A little peek on privacy wouldn't kill, I guess?

Pero malinis ang papel na hawak niya. Blangko ito at walang halong kahit na anong marka. Is he just imagining things?

Umupo nalang ako sa tapat niya habang patuloy pa din siya sa kanyang ginagawa.

As soon as he had finished examining it, I can barely tell the expression on his face—there's a hint of anger, shock and confusion.

He's also muttering things like "No. It can't be." and "He's lying. She's already dead. I saw it with my own eyes."

Okay. What was it all about? Now I'm dead curious.

"Hey Loki. Anong meron?" I asked him and this time he already met my gaze.

"Oh. There you are Lorraine." It's Lori, Loki. Not Lorraine. There he goes with his misnaming habit again. No doubt, Loki will definitely be Loki. "Nothing that would have piqued your interest I suppose."

Is he serious? It had already been a topic of interest to me after witnessing him in that state. Gone was the facade image that he had. And it kills me to death just by thinking on what probably caused it.

Magtatanong pa sana ako kaso biglang may kumatok sa pintuan ng aming unit.

TOK! TOK! TOK!

Nagkatinginan kami nang dahil dito. We're not expecting any visitors by now. It wouldn't have been Tita Martha because she always opens the door right after three consecutive knocks.

Sino naman kaya 'yun?

Since Loki wouldn't bother greeting whoever it was, I walked towards the door and opened it, only to see a lady with a straight brown hair wearing a scarlet glittery dress paired with a 4-inch-heel of the same color and a Santa hat. A cheerful smile was plastered on her face but upon seeing my presence she immediately frowned.

"Good morning Lo— Oh, It's you. Where's Loki dear?" The unexpected visitor said as if she was disappointed of the fact that I was the one who stood in front of her instead of the latter. I didn't know that Santa could be that rude. "Would you mind if I ask your purpose of being here in OUR apartment?"

"I'm gonna spend Christmas Eve with Loki dear, isn't that right?" Jamie said sweetly and faced Loki who just shrugged, wearing a bored expression. Doesn't she have her own family to spend time with?

Iniwan ko na din sila dun because the thought of seeing them together and all mushy makes me want to vomit.

Pagkapasok ko sa kwarto biglang nag-ring 'yung phone ko.

Alistair. That was the first name I had in mind. Ilang linggo na din kasi ang nakalipas after our last conversation.

Hinanap ko 'yung phone habang patuloy itong nagriring. Saan ko naman kaya napatong 'yun?

Patuloy ko itong hinanap ngunit hindi ko talaga makita. Tinignan ko na ang ilalim ng unan, kutson at kama ko. Ganun din sa loob ng mga drawers ko. Wala talaga e. Where could I have placed it?

Sumuko na ako sa paghahanap and as far as I can remember, ilang beses nang nag-ring 'yung phone pero obviously wala akong nasagot ni isa rito.

And for the nth time nag-ring uli siya. Sa halip na maghagilap ako, pinakinggan kong mabuti ang tunog ng phone. Medyo kulob siya which might be an indication na it's beneath something.

Bigla akong napatingin sa basket na naglalaman ng mga labahin kong damit. Although it sounds ridiculous, nilapitan ko pa din ito hoping to find my phone there.

Sa tingin ko tama ang hinala ko dahil habang papalapit ako sa mga damit ay siya ring paglakas ng tunog nito.

Hinalungkat ko agad 'yung mga damit. I checked all of my pants kasi dun ko lang naman posibleng mailagay 'yun.

Nung nasa pangatlong pants na 'ko I can sight a bulge in the pocket section of it. Sa wakas nakita din kita! Sa sobrang pagod ko siguro kagabi hindi ko namalayang na'ndoon pala 'yung phone ko at dineretso kong ilagay iyon sa basket.

The ringing had stopped and I saw 5 missed calls from Alistair. I smiled with that thought.

Seems like I'm right. Pero bakit kaya siya tumawag? To answer my own question, I dialed his number and after a few rings, he already picked up.

"Why didn't you answer my previous calls?"

"Sorry. I had just finished an episode of a quest in finding my phone." I, then, heard a manly laugh from the other line.

"Heh! Stop it."

"By the way, aren't you gonna spend Christmas here?"

For a few minutes, I was stunned by his question. Good thing I immediately recovered from it.

"H-hindi. Alam mo naman 'yung sitwasyon, Al."

"I know. But I just kind of missed you right now."

"Don't worry. I feel the same. If only you could celebrate Christmas with me here."

"Why? Aren't you with Loki?"

"Nah. He's with his former braided chick."

"Ooh. I smell something fishy Lorelei."

"What?"

"I meant it literally, silly. Haha. Mom's cooking fish for an early lunch unless you—"

"Al!"

"Haha. I gotta go now. I just checked you out. Bye. Merry Christmas, Lorelei."

"Merry Christmas too, Al. Thanks for the call by the way."

"You're always welcome."

Then he hung up. Habang kausap ko si Al, I heard noises coming from a vehicle. There really is something fishy over there.

He should have been inside the house due to his statement. But who cares? It's his life anyways.

***

What to do now? It's only 11:30 in the morning and I'm really bored. If only there's some mystery to solve here.

But before that, I think I need to eat first. Al got me hungry with that fishy conversation.

As I got out of my room I noticed that the lovebirds weren't around. Maybe they're on their Christmas shopping spree. I just shrugged with that thought and cooked the eggs and bacon that I found inside the refrigerator.

Kumain na din ako pagkatapos magluto and it really satisfied my hunger.

Since wala na din naman akong gagawin I just took a bath and decided to lay down on my bed all afternoon while I check on my blog.

It's been months already since I came here in Pampanga. Lots of thing had happened. Lalo na 'yung sapilitang pagsali ni Loki sa'kin sa club—in which he had resorted to blackmailing of course. That was indeed the turning point of my life.

At first, there was just Loki and me occupying that small clubroom. Now, there's already Jamie and Al and I think they're good enough to accompany us—Jamie with that God-given retentive memory of hers and Al being the mediator of Loki's unorthodox tricks.

As I read most of my prose, I kinda missed getting involved with mysteries and deductions. Matagal tagal na din bago kami nakapag solve ng kaso.

But it seems like I am a living irony. I'm fond of unraveling mysteries; little did I know that my whole life is a mystery itself. It's hard to deal with it since I'm being manipulated from the start.

Maybe Luthor's right—Loki sure does see me as a huge mystery to solve.

Nang matapos ako sa pagbabasa nakaramdam ako ng pagkauhaw. Reading surely does take a lot of time. I looked at my phone for the time. 1:00 na pala. Also there's a red light flashing on it. Kailangan ko na sigurong i-charge 'to.

Teka, wala pa din ba sila? They sure took their time shopping together. But knowing Loki, he would go home early because shopping is not his thing. There's no way that he could've enjoyed it, he'll get bored eventually.

I don't know why but I felt nervous all of a sudden. This so-called trepidation. Should I just ignore it? Maybe—maybe not.

Pero kaya naman ni Loki sarili niya. He's not easily to fool nor deceive because he's the one doing it.

I just went to the kitchen and fetch my favorite tomato juice. Habang nainom ako nakita ko si Theodore na mag-isang nakaupo sa couch.

Ngayon ko lang napansin, he was wearing the same cloth that Jamie had—all glittery and such. Why did Loki approve such thing?!

Theodore's a stuffed toy. He's not some petty Barbie dolls to dress him up like this.

Tinanggal ko 'yung suot niya pero kapansin pansin din ang pagkapit ng glitters sa kamay ko. Kumalat din ito sa may couch. Jamie's really getting on my nerves this time.

I just washed my hands and cleaned the couch as well. Madugong paghuhugas ang ginawa ko kasi hindi basta bastang natatanggal 'yung glitters.

After that, I'm still left with nothing to do. Bumalik na lang ako sa kwarto at napagdesisyunang tawagan si Alistair. Pero as I look at my phone, I was shocked that Loki had texted me nearly 2 hours ago.

Loki (11:11 AM): Jamie left already. In case you're wondering of my whereabouts, I just went to Clark to settle some personal matters.

How come that I haven't noticed nor heard my phone when he sent that message?

Bigla kong naalala, 'yung pulang ilaw, it doesn't mean that I need to charge my phone. Pinalitan ko nga pala sa settings 'yun para 'pag nakita ko 'yung pag-flash ng red malalaman ko agad na si Loki 'yung nagtext.

My former classmates were still texting me but I don't see any importance on it. Mas mabuting may sign na agad ako kung 'yung nagtext sa 'kin ay mahalaga o hindi.

Nevermind. Sinabi naman niya na he's going to Clark. Is he his new friend? Or maybe he's going to fetch someone in Clark Airport? Imposible namang involved si Moriarty sa sinabi niya. The last time I checked, when he's referring to personal matters, it doesn't really involve us and he's doing it for his own sake.

My thoughts were interrupted by sudden knocks on the door.

Sino na naman kaya 'yun? Loki and Tita Martha are crossed out on the list again. Si Jamie? Nah. She wouldn't stand to be alone with me. We share the same sentiments, though.

Binuksan ko 'yung pinto and was surprised to see my childhood friend.

"Al!" I said as I wrapped my arms around him. He also returned back the hug.

"Hindi mo naman ako ganun ka-miss 'no?" He playfully said as he flashed out a wide grin.

"I was just surprised to see you here. Who would have thought that you'll come over here when you're busy preparing earlier?"

Sabi niya kasi kanina nagpeprepare ng pagkain si Tita. But I guess it was just a bluff. If so, then my auditory information was correct.

"Oh, that was just a lie. I was on my way here already. Tumawag lang ako para i-sure na hindi sayang ang pagpunta ko dito. By the way, where's Loki?" So that explains the sounds I heard from before.

"He said he's going to Clark to settle some matters."

"Kasama niya si Jamie?" Just by that question, my mood suddenly changed.

Bakit niya pa kailangang banggitin 'yung babaeng 'yun? She's a two-faced witch. Pero syempre sa 'kin niya lang pinapakita ang side niyang 'yun. I really don't get her.

"Nope. He's alone." I sat on the couch and played with Theodore. It may somehow lighten up my mood again.

Hindi ko alam pero ang bilis mag-shift ng mood ko lately. Is it an aftershock of the revelation? Or maybe it's just a girl thing?

"Anong gagawin niya sa school ng mag-isa?" Tanong nito habang napagawi rin siya sa direksyon ko at dahan-dahang umupo. Bigla akong napatingi sa kanya...

"School?"

Anong kinalaman ng school namin? Loki said he's going to Clark... Shoot!

"Yeah. Clark is our institution hindi ba?" Naiintindihan ko ang naging reaksyon niya—his eyebrows knitted as if I had asked the stupidest question ever—after all nakakapagtaka nga naman na hindi ang school namin ang unang pumasok sa isipan ko. What's with me anyways?

Then that's when I realized that maybe my gut feel was correct. Almost 3 hours had passed and Loki's still not here. Maaaring nag-o-over react lang ako but I chose to rely on my instincts.

"I think we need to follow him." Sinabi ko kay Al and explained to him the further details of it.

Loki. Please be safe.

***

Bago kami dumiretso sa school naghanap muna kami ng clues or hints na magsasabing sa school nga talaga pupunta si Loki. Baka kasi false alarm lang pala. Then our efforts would be in vain.

That reminds me. He was holding a piece of paper earlier. Iniwan niya kaya 'yun?

I lock picked his room and eventually I got inside of it. I'm getting good at these kinds of tactics thanks to Loki.

Tinawag ko si Al para tulungan akong hanapin 'yung sinasabi kong papel.

Nabigo kaming makita ito ngunit ng napadako ang tingin ko sa librong And Then There Were None ay kinuha ko agad ito.

If I'm not mistaken, this was the book that he was reading when I moved in here. Hanggang ngayon ba di niya pa din tapos?

I flipped the pages of the book and something caught my attention. It was a line from the book that says "I've known a murderess—known her, I tell you. And what's more I was crazy about her... god help me, sometimes I think I still am... It's hell, I tell you—hell. You see, she did it more or less for me... Not that I ever dreamed... Women are fiends—absolute fiends—you wouldn't think a girl like that—a nice straight jolly girl—you wouldn't think she'd do that, would you?"

I suddenly thought of Jamie as I read the last part of it. Looks can truly be deceiving. What I thought was a nice innocent young girl with a pretty face was really wicked after all... to me of course.

I was about to put down the book and put an end to the search when surprisingly, a piece of paper fell down from it.

Eto siguro 'yung kinikilatis niya kanina. Ano bang meron dito? It's just a plain paper.

Busy ako sa pagtingin tingin ng kung ano mang meron sa papel na 'to nang biglang inagaw ni Al sa'kin 'yun.

"It's the old paper and pencil trick." He's in his confident state. Samahan mo pa ng maayos na tindig at seryosong tono ng pananalita. Halata mo talagang he's into this mystery. Al surely is reliable at this kind of situations.

"Look. You need to shade the paper using the pencil and the secret message will be revealed."

Kumuha siya ng pansulat at dahan dahan niyang nilapatan ng abong marka na galing sa lapis ang papel. Mapapansin din ang mga naiwang parte na hindi gaanong nalagyan ng marka.

I was amazed on how he got into that conclusion even though it's just a basic one.

The note says:

Rhea's still alive. She's with me. Meet me here at Clark. Alone.
—M

One who had read it would think it's a hoax. But no it isn't. It even has Stein's signature beneath it. E kami lang naman ang nakakaalam ng tunay niyang pagkatao. If that's the case, then Loki lied to me... sort of... His personal matter is Rhea. I should've figured it out earlier.

"Lori. Call Jamie. Sigurado akong malaki matutulong niya. After all she's really concerned about him."

'Yeah right. Ako din naman concerned ah?' A tiny voice on my head said.

Kinuha ko ang phone ko na nakasilid sa bulsa ng suot kong shorts kasama ang stun pen ko. Who knows? This might come in handy.

I dialed her number and called her but unfortunately—or more likely fortunately—cannot be reached.

"Cannot be reached Al. Tawagan nalang uli natin pagkadating sa school." He just nodded and we soon set out our voyage to our dear school.

Malapit lang naman siya mula sa apartment—hence, the reason why most of the tenants are students of the latter—kaya mabilis lang din kaming nakarating. Dagdag mo pa na dala ni Al ang kulay asul niyang Subaru.

Since hindi namin alam kung saan muna pupunta, we first went to the clubroom hoping to find some hints of Loki's whereabouts.

Pagkapasok na pagkapasok namin, the place became nostalgic. There were random numbers just like noong unang punta ko dito.

Also, there's this little Christmas tree that was placed near the room's table and it even has decors on it.

Was Loki responsible for this? I think not.

When I first came in the apartment and in this room, I just ignored those random numbers but this time it's different. I looked closely at it and thought hard on how it would help us. It must have been some sort of a clue.

Pareho naming tinitignan ng mabuti 'yung mga numero.

X 32 15 42 42 54 13 23 42 24 43 44 32 11 43 —32 Y

Bukod sa mga numero ay may letra ito sa magkabilang dulo­—X at Y. Parang pamilyar sa 'kin 'yung ganyang ayos ng numbers. It's in the back of my mind, hindi ko lang siya gaanong matandaan.

"Have you figured it out yet?" asked Al na halos katabi ko lang. Hindi niya rin siguro alam kung anong code 'to. Snagot ko lang sya sa pamamagitan nang pag-iling.

"First things first, what's the significance of the letters X and Y? Mainly, they are just the coordinates of the graph."

What did he just said? Coordinates? Now I remember! Polybius Square! That was the code that Loki used in his faux abduction.

Sinubukan naming i-decipher ang nasabing code.

Merry Christmas —M

As soon as I had read those words, my knees felt weak. Muntik na akong bumagsak dahil hindi ako agad nakahawak sa lamesa. Buti nalang na'ndiyan si Al para alalayan ako.

It's just suggesting that Moriarty went here and left this message. I can really smell a Moriarty vibe from here. Lalo pa't ginamit niya ang Polybius Square kung saan nagpatulong pa kami ni Jamie sa kanya noon tungkol sa code na 'to.

Pero wala pa ding definite evidence na nagsasabi kung nasaan si Loki. I'm—I mean we're—really worried right now.

Sinubukan pa naming maghanap-hanap ng posibleng clue pero wala na kaming nakita.

Napaupo nalang ako sa favorite swivel chair ni Loki habang tinitignan ang mga pangalan na nakasulat sa isang papel. Nasa ibabaw ito ng table. It's an attendance sheet.

Wait a second...

Anong ginagawa ng isang classroom attendance sa clubroom namin?

Ebrila, Mark James W.
Gonzalez, Mikee Rein T.
Almazora, Marcus John H.
Cuevas, Margo Mae I.
Jose, Miko Lewis E.
Hewlett, Miley Kate H.
Buenafe, Minzy Gale E.
Forteza, Maze David I
Delacruz, Martha Lyzel S.
Ingrid, Maxine Leila M.

I looked at it very closely and I noticed something. All their first names started with the letter M. Coincidence? Or not?

Maybe the latter. This attendance sheet might be another code that Moriarty had up in his sleeves.

Pero bukod doon there's something that bugs me about their surnames. It's initials can be arranged alphabetically without missing nor skipping any letter.

Para malaman kung tama nga 'yung deduction ko, I tried to sort the names by the first letter of their surnames.

Almazora, Marcus John H.
Buenafe, Minzy Gale E.
Cuevas, Margo Mae I.
Delacruz, Martha Lyzel S.
Ebrila, Mark James W.
Forteza, Maze David I.
Gonzalez, Mikee Rein T.
Hewlett, Miley Kate H.
Ingrid, Maxine Leila M.
Jose, Miko Lewis E.

Okay. What now?

Sinubukan kong basahin 'yung pangalan isa't isa. Is there a hidden word or something?

I narrowed my eyes into slits as I looked on that piece of paper while on the other hand, Al is still busy searching for some hints. Ilang minuto ding naka-glue ang mata ko sa attendance sheet na 'to.

To my surprise, I figured out the trick that he used. It has something to do with the students' middle initials.

Almazora, Marcus John H.
Buenafe, Minzy Gale E.
Cuevas, Margo Mae I.
Delacruz, Martha Lyzel S.
Ebrila, Mark James W.
Forteza, Maze David I.
Gonzalez, Mikee Rein T.
Hewlett, Miley Kate H.
Ingrid, Maxine Leila M.
Jose, Miko Lewis E.

As you read the middle initials vertically, it says 'HE IS WITH ME'.

Loki's with him?! No! It can't be.

"Al! Hanapin na natin si Loki." Al looked confused with my request so I gave him the attendance. We both had the same reaction.

"Pero kailangan pa nating maghanap ng clue tungkol sa kinalalagyan nya." Kahit na alalang-alala din siya, he still chose to be careful with our actions. But I can't wait anymore. Loki might be in danger.

"Libutin natin 'yung buong campus." I suggested but he just rejected the thought.

"No we can't. Masyadong malaki ang campus para isa isa pa nating libutin."

Edi maghiwalay kami sa paghahanap? It would save time I guess. I was just about to turn this thought into words when he suddenly got ahead of me.

"I know what you're thinking. The answer's no. Pano kung mapahamak ka? I won't be there to save you. Now we just need to calm first and look around." I just sighed in defeat. Maybe he's right. Hindi dapat kami magpadalos dalos.

I did what Al said and just walked towards the Christmas tree. I think that it can relax me somehow. The vibrant colors of the Christmas balls hanging from it truly bring out the spirit of Christmas. We surely owe that person who arranged this.

Habang nirerelax ko ang sarili ko, Al was still searching. Hanggang sa...

"Lori. Look at what I found." He said as he gave me a piece of note. Sa'n niya kaya nakita 'yun? Siguro nakadikit lang siya sa isang lugar tapos 'di namin agad napansin. Kakulay kasi nung pinagsulatan 'yung pader ng kwartong 'to.

"Let me see."

You see but you do not observe.
If you only knew what a magic wand can do, you'll surely get what you deserve.

Sa background ng note ay may Christmas tree. Does it have some sort of connection with that thing inside our clubroom?

I took another glance at the tree. Come to think of it, napaka-organized ng pagkakalagay ng Christmas balls. Magkakasama sa isang level 'yung magkakakulay. Practically, pinaghihiwalay ang mga ito to form a balanced pattern of colors that indulge the eyes of many. Do the colors have any significance?

The colors of the Christmas balls per level of the tree are as follow:

2 Blue Balls
3 White Balls
1 Blue Ball
1 Red Ball
3 Orange Balls
2 Green Balls
1 Yellow Ball

Going back to the note, the main clue there is what a magic wand can do.

"What does a magic wand do? It casts a spell obviously." I heard Al saying his thoughts out loud.

Hmm. It sure does cast a spell.

Casting a spell...

A Spell...

Spell...

That's it! Thanks to Al. For the second time around, his thoughts helped me deciphering the hidden message from the codes.

Kumuha ako ng ballpen at isang scratch paper. I wrote the spellings of the colors of the Christmas balls per level.

BLUE
WHITE
BLUE
GREEN
ORANGE
RED
YELLOW

Kung ganyan nga 'yun, para saan naman 'yung bilang ng Christmas Balls?

"Hey Al. Any other thoughts about it?" I tried to reach out for my childhood friend's help.

"What if, the quantity of the balls pertains to the position of the letter that we need. For instance, there are two blue balls on the first level. The second letter of the word 'blue' is 'l', and so on and so forth." He has a huge point there. Sinubukan ko 'yung sinabi niya at eto 'yung naging resulta:

BLUE
WHITE
BLUE
GREEN
ORANGE
RED
YELLOW

The LIBRARY! Loki's in the library!

"Lori, tawagan mo na ulit si Jamie." Al requested. Okay na sana e.

Pero there's no other choice than to call her, kaya ginawa ko nalang. Naka-ilang tawag na'ko pero tulad nung nauna, cannot be reached pa din.

Hinayaan nalang namin ni Al and we hurriedly went into the library. Nadatnan namin si Loki na naglalakad papalapit sa isang babaeng may braid ang buhok—Wait what?!

I-is t-that Rhea?!

Pero paano nangyari 'yun? Sinabi ni Loki na patay na siya. He even saw it with his own eyes. Officer Bastien and Moriarty also confirmed it. So how...

Maybe that's what caused his eccentric behavior earlier.

I stared at the girl for a while. She has this brown braided hair that falls on her shoulder. I couldn't see more of her features because of the blindfold and tape in her mouth. Pero kung pagbabasehan mo ang malaporselanang kutis nito, you can indeed say that she's a disciple of Aphrodite—the Greek Goddess of beauty.

'Tis the moment of truth. Magiging masaya na ulit si Loki. He'll be reunited with her once again.

I don't know why but I suddenly felt a pang of pain in my chest.

"Hey are you crying?" As I was drowned with my thoughts, nawala sa isip ko na may kasama pala ako. Pero anong sabi niya? Kung umiiyak ako? Huh?

Kinapa ko 'yung mukha ko. Oo nga, may luhang tumulo mula sa kaliwang mata ko. Maybe it's a tear of joy. Masaya lang siguro talaga ako para kay Loki. Oo. 'Yun nga.

"H-hindi. Napuwing lang ako." Palusot ko. Buti nalang 'di na uli siya nangulit.

Instead of calling out Loki, Al and I decided na tignan na lang muna ito mula sa likod ng isang book shelf. We don't want to spoil their moment.

Patuloy kong tinignan si Rhea ngunit bigla akong nagtaka kung bakit wala si Stein. Siya ang nagpasimula nito. He summoned Loki here because of Rhea but he's the one missing in action. Is he still lurking around the shadows? If so, then we're still in danger.

But he's not that type of guy. Kung pinapunta niya si Loki dito, I bet that they will face head-on. It would surely be unfortunate if he—the master manipulator—would hide in the dark and wait for the right opportunity to kill Loki. He would definitely like Loki to suffer first. Atsaka naalala ko din yung sinabi ni Daniel Guttierez, one of his minion's, Moriarty doesn't want Loki dead.

While I was on that thought, I noticed something weird on the girl sitting at the wooden chair.

First, her hands are not tied. Loki wouldn't have notice it because he's facing her directly. Pero sa posisyon namin ni Al kapansin pansin ito.

"Al, did you find something weird about the girl?" I asked out of the blue.

"It's about her hands, isn't it?" I just nodded in response. Edi pareho nga kami ng nakita? Hindi ako namamalik-mata.

I shot a glance at her again and noticed that there's something shiny at her back. Maybe it's safe to assume that it's just a silver watch.

Patuloy ko lang siyang tinitignan habang ang papalapit na si Loki ay tila yata na-estatuwa sa pwesto niya. Tears were pouring down on his face. There's this pain again.

I just averted my gaze to the girl. I really can't take my eyes off her. It's like there's some magnetic force that is pulling me towards her. Wait... there's something glimmering in her arms.

Come to think of it. It's just like the glitters that were left in my hands when I tried to remove the cloth from Theodore—

Oh God. I think I know what's happening here.

"Loooooki! She's just fooling you!" Bigla kong sigaw na kinagulat naman ng kasama ko.

There's something wrong with my idea earlier. After encountering Moriarty for a couple of times, I can conclude that he really is that kind of person. He is the King and he has his pawns, rooks, bishops, knights and queen to protect him. He lurks in the shadow while his minions do his works. This upgraded version of minions of his—the Moriarty's Generals.

As soon as he diverted his gaze to us, the girl removed her blindfold, stood up and in a swift glance, she stabbed Loki.

And that she—Jamie—is one of Moriarty's generals. The fact that she knew about Stein being Moriarty and used her resemblance to Rhea to their advantage clearly means that she's an accomplice.

That's why there seems to be a strong Moriarty vibe in this building. Moriaty had planned it with Jamie all along. The math problem, the attendance sheet, the christmas tree. It was all their idea.

Pagkatapos niyang saksakin ito. Kumaripas ito ng takbo paalis habang ang sinundan naman siya ni Al.

If only I had noticed it sooner.

Her sudden change of hair style.

Ginawa niya siguro 'yun para ibang style amin buhok niya ang ma-rehistro sa utak aming. She can clearly use it to her advantage.

The unattended phone call.

She seemed to left her phone or turned it off 'cause it might interrupt the plan.

Her immediate disappearance.

The shiny thing on her back.

It was really a knife and not a watch.

The glitters in her arms.

It was from the dress that she wore earlier. Hindi imposibleng makapitan siya nito kasi punong puno talaga ng glitters 'yung suot niya. Also, as a living proof, hindi agad natatanggal 'yung glitters sa katawan.

If only I had noticed it sooner, then Loki would still be alive.

"L-Lori. Im s-so-sorry. I let him fooled m-me. If thi-this will be our l-last C-Christmas to-together, I w-would like to tell yo-you tha-that I lo—" Those were the last words that he said before his body became a cold corpse.

"Loooooooki!" I shouted his name with all might. Sana maibalik nun ang buhay niya. My dear Loki. Anong nangyari?!

Tears were streaming down my face. Bumalik na din si Al pero mukang hindi niya na naabutan si Jamie. It's as if she vanished through thin air. Q.E.D club can never be the same without him. What a great Christmas it was for me. Patuloy ako sa pag-iyak habang yakap yakap ko ang malamig na bangkay nito. Hindi ako makapaniwalang sa isang iglap, mawawala na lang siya bigla.

Evil had prevailed. It's a game over for us because the spider lost its head.

***

"Loooooki!" I screamed to the top of my lungs...

Only to find out that it was just a gruesome nightmare. Oh, how horrible it was.

Nagulantang naman ako ng bigla biglang bumukas 'yung pinto revealing Loki in his pajamas while carrying Theodore.

Halata mong bagong gising palang siya dahil sa magulo niyang buhok, paulit-ulit na paghikab at pagkukusot ng mapupungay niyang mata.

"What happened Lorelei?" He said in his husky voice. Patuloy pa din siya sa pagkusot ng mata niya.

I immediately ran towards him and hugged him tightly. I started to cry again. I can even hear my own sobs. That dream had a great impact on me.

"H-hey. Anong meron?" He awkwardly said. Hindi niya siguro alam kung anong gagawin when it comes to to this kind of situation. Pero naiilang lang siguro siya kasi bigla bigla ko nalang siyang niyakap.

"Thank God you're still alive." I blurted. "Huh? Ofcourse I am. Matagal mamatay ang masasamang damo." He seriously joked.

I just rolled my eyes at him for his remark.

"Seriously. What happened?" It seemed to have piqued his interest. I motioned him to sit with me on my bed. This will surely take long.

I told him the details of my dream...or should I consider it a nightmare? I can fully remember the sequence of it because it's a nightmare to be remembered. As for Loki, he was just laughing all throughout my narration.

"Meh. Your cognitive presence had underestimated me. I'm not gullible especially when it comes to dealing with Moriarty." He then let out a soft chuckle.

"Yeah, I know. That's why it felt weird."

Kaya pala parang andaming out of place na nangyari. Just like when Loki somehow believed that Rhea's still alive and most of all 'yung part where Jamie was revealed to be an accomplice of the dark side.

"But it was good knowing that you cared for me." He said genuinely and also gave me a sincere smile.

I just looked away from him. I can't believe that Loki can speak compliments.

"It's only 4:00 in the morning. We both better go back to sleep. Hope that you wouldn't encounter such nightmares again." Sabi niya habang ginugulo ang buhok ko.

Tumayo na ito mula sa pagkakaupo sa kama ko at akmang palabas na nang bigla siyang tumigil.

"Say..."

"Hmm."

"She's not one of Moriarty's Generals. Jamie dear would never do that... Merry Christmas, Lorelei. " He said leaving me speechless and dumbfounded.

I can't find the right words to say. But one thing is for sure:

Please tell me it's just another nightmare.

###

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