#TPTG26

"Where have you been Fey? The court hearing is about to start," Christian reminded

"I had to take care of something. Let's talk later," I replied and fixed my coat

Ilang sandali ay nagsimula na rin ang court hearing. I took a deep breath to relax myself.

"Please rise, the court is now in session, the honorable Atty. Erick Diaz presiding," the court staff announced

We do as we were told. I stood up, my feet firm on the ground.

"Please be seated. Please call the case," the judged said

Umupo na kami pagkatapos.

"Criminal case number 53871, entitled People of the Philippines versus John Miguel Esperanza, now comes for hearing," anunsiyo ng court staff

"Counsels, make your appearance."

I looked at the Prosecuters in front of us. The three of them stood up.

"Your honor, my name is Atty. Reese Dominguez and I am representing the People of the Philippines in this case," pakilala ng isa

"Your honor, my name is Atty. Harold Zamora and I am representing the People of the Philippines in this case," pakilala ng pangalawa

"Your honor, my name is Atty. Miguel Fernandez and I am representing the people of the Philippines in this case," pakilala ng pangatlo

Sumunod naman kaming lawyers ang nagpakilala. Ako ang huling nagpakilala.

"Your honor, my name is Atty. Felicity Maeve Cervantez and I am representing the accused in this case."

"Is the prosecution ready?" the judge asked

The prosecutors stood up. "Yes Your Honor."

Binalingan naman kami ng judge. "Is the defense ready?"

The three of us stood up at the same time. "Yes Your Honor."

Pagkatapos namin sabihin iyon ay umupo na ulit kami.

"Does the prosecution wish to call any witnesses?" called the judge

One of them stood up. It was Atty. Reese. "Yes Your Honor. The prosecution would like to call Shella Marie Reyes to stand."

I diverted my attention to the witness. She stood up facing one of the court staff.

"Please raise your right hand," the court staff ordered

The witness raised her right hand and stood firmly on the ground.

"Do you swear the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth in this case?"

"I do." The witness went to the stand and sat down

"Please state your name and other personal circumstances," the prosecutor ordered

Nakita kong huminga muna ng malalim ang witness. "I am Shella Marie Reyes, 32 years old, a Certified Public Accountant of the Accounting Division Philippines and a resident of Unit 3 East Apartment Manila."

"Your witness," sambit ng court staff

The prosecution has started. Atty. Reese proceeded to ask her questions about the case. Tahimik lang kaming nakikinig sa kanya. After an hour, the court hearing ended. We have a few minutes lunch break before we continue for the next hearing.

"San ka galing?" Christian asked. Sabay kami ngayong naglalakad palabas ng court.

"I told you. I had to take care of something. It's not a big deal."

He nodded and put his hands on his pockets. Hindi na siya muling nagtanong pa tungkol sa'kin.

"You think we'll win this case?"

"About eighty percent. For me, the evidence that was presented in the court was not enough. We can't really tell. It's up to the judge's decision. May susunod pa naman na hearing."

"Right. Want to grab some lunch?" aya niya

I stopped and faced him. "Sure," tipid kong sabi at dire diretso ulit na naglakad

We went to have lunch at the near fast food chain. There were so many people so we decided to take out food instead. We're inside his car eating. Medyo mahirap kumain dahil maliit lang ang space at walang patungan.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"You're already asking," I replied

He sipped on his coke before facing me. "Would you defend someone who's guilty?"

I chuckled softly. "That's your question?"

"Yeah."

"Ang dami na ring nagtatanong sa'kin niyan eh."

"Really? Me too. Well, we're both criminal defense lawyers so..." he smiled

I sighed and faced the window in front. "It's a very common question for lawyers in general. Based on research, the answer is two-fold. There is a difference between legal guilt and factual guilt. Second, lawyers have a legal responsibility to their clients that they must uphold.

The job of a criminal defense lawyer is to defend you against the charges that are presented. When charged are brought, there's has to be a "probable cause" that you might have committed a crime. At trial, the prosecuting lawyer's job is to prove "beyond a reasonable doubt". It is a high standard intended to make conviction difficult. There's also a saying "innocent until proven guilty."

"I get your point but what if the truth comes out? What if the client admits that he's guilty?" he added

"It depends 'di ba? We can never be truly certain if our client is guilty. They could be lying or trying to cover up someone else. There are different circumstances."

There are standards in place to keep lawyers honest. They cannot lie if they know that information pertaining to their clients legal guilt, and they also cannot offer evidence they know is false.

"Besides, it's not our job to discern true guilt. The court does," I added and looked at him

He nodded. "I just don't get why people often ask that question. 'How can criminal defense lawyers defend guilty people?' But no ones ever asks, 'How can a prosecutor condemning an innocent person?' What if hindi naman pala siya guilty? And those innocent people suffer and die in prison. At the end of the day, who can really tell if a person is guilty? Most of the time there weren't any witnesses, and the evidence can be a lie."

"That's why it our job to defend the defendant until the final moment. Their life is at stake. It's in our hands," I firmly said

Pagkatapos ng mahaba naming pag-uusap ay pinagpatuloy namin ang pagkain. Tumingin ako sa kanya na mukhang may malalim na iniisip. Nakakunot pa ang noo niya habang ngumunguya.

"Do you have client that's guilty?" I abruptly asked

He looked at me, surprised. His mouth gaped open. "Of course not! I mean how would I know-" he groaned

I chuckled. "You're guilty."

His face turned sulky.

Umiwas nalang ako ng tingin at uminom sa softdrinks ko.

"Why did you did you decided to become a lawyer? I mean, do you want to be one in the first place?" he asked

"That's too personal."

"Says the one who asked a personal question a while ago," he fired back

I rolled my eyes. "That wasn't too-" I paused and sighed. "Fine," sabi ko at pinagpagan ang kamay. "I've always wanted to become a lawyer."

"That's it?"

I nodded. I glanced at my watch and put my seatbelt on. "We need to go for the second court hearing," I said urgently

He panicked and immediately cleaned up our mess. I helped him and put our trash inside a plastic bag. Ilang sandali ay binuhay niya na ang makina at nagsimulang mag-drive.

"You didn't answer my question," he said

"What question?"

"If you would defend someone-"

He wasn't able to continue his sentence when my phone rang. It was one of my clients.

"Yes Mr. Dela Cruz?" I answered. "Yes, speaking. Sige po, I'll send you the details later."

I glanced at him and he frustratedly ran his fingers through his hair. Tumingin nalang ako sa labas ng bintana.

Honestly, I feel like I'm destined to become a lawyer. Some would answer they want to serve justice, they want to fight what is right, they want to help the poor, and so on. Of course, I want that too. I live in a democratic country but it doesn't capture the essence of democracy. People are suffering especially the oppressed. Hindi lahat ay nabibigyan ng hustisya dahil sa bulok na sistema. They can't even fight for their rights, instead, it were deprived from them.

It's beyond incomprehensible how the justice system works in my country. It's a form of hierarchy. Those who are privileged---the one's who has a higher social status, can easily bend the law whereas the poor are treated unfairly, even the innocent!

My once called family revolves around politics. I must say it's a very unfortunate life for me. I don't want to generalize because I know that there are still good leaders out there. Ang malas ko lang dahil lumaki ako sa maling pamilya.

Maybe that's another reason why I want to become a lawyer. I don't want to be like my stepfather nor anyone in the family. They all have done the dirty work. Hindi nila ako madadaan sa yaman nila. Whatever happens, I stick on my own principles. I stick to what is right.

Pagkabalik namin sa trabaho ay nakita kon pinagtitinginan ako ng mga tao. I looked at Christian beside who's also clueless. He just shrugged and kept on walking. Some of my fellow workers were throwing glances at me while whispering something.

"Do you think they're related?"

"Hmm, possibly. She's a Guevarra right?"

"So she's related to a murderer?"

"Can you lower your voice? Baka marinig niya tayo."

"Why? Pare parehas lang naman din tayong baguhan dito."

They immediately avoided my gaze when we made eye contact. I have no idea what they're talking about.

"Oh shit." I heard Christian beside me

My brows furrowed. "Why? What is it?"

He immediately hid his phone behind his back. "Nothing."

"You don't have to hide it from me."

Umawang ang labi niya sabay iwas ng tingin. "It's not that important."

"If it's not important then why won't you let me see it?"

Magsasalita na sana siya pero biglang sumulpot si Pia sa gitna namin. "Hey Fey, have you heard the news?"

"What news?"

She took out her phone and played a video to me. My mood suddenly changed when I saw the person in the video.

"Archie Fernandez II won as senator for this year 2020 election," she said

In the video clip, I saw him waving at the crowd with a proud smile on his face. Some of them booed and threw hate on him. Perhaps most people were not in favor him. Well, basta mayaman at may impluwensiya ay siyang mananalo. Malakas din ang kapit niya sa governor eh.

"The netizens were furious! I mean seriously, how the hell did he won? He's charged with crimes before and he easily won the election?! Wala pa ngang tatlong buwan simula nung nakalaya siya eh," Pia said, aggravated

We didn't bother to finish the video. She immediately put back her phone inside her pocket and let out an exasperated sigh.

Naiintindihan ko ang nararamdaman niya. Even I can't accept the fact that Archie's free. That son of a bitch.

"Hindi talaga uunlad ang bansa kapag ganito ang administrasyon natin." She shook her head in disappointment before leaving us.

Binalik ko ang tingin sa harap. They still wouldn't stop looking at me suspiciously. Wala naman akong kasalanan pero grabe sila kung makatingin. I can't blame them. I guess some of them didn't know that I'm not a real Guevarra. They must think that I'm related to Archie.

"Ignore them Fey," Christian said

"They're not worth my time," I simply replied and went straight to my office.

After work, I went to the nearest coffee shop to buy myself a drink. Today is very draining due to the amount of work I have. Sunod-sunod din ang naging hearing.

"One iced latte."

Tumingin ako sa paligid at nakita ang isang grupo ng pulis. They were 3 or 4 of them at the table. I was surprised when one of them looked at me. He even smiled and waved at my direction. Kumunot ang noo ko. 

Is he waving at me or behind me? Wait. I think I recognize him. I think I've seen him somewhere.

"Here you go ma'am."

Binalik ko ang paningin sa harap at tinanggap ang kape ko.

"Thank you—"

Hindi ko na natuloy ang sasabihin ko dahil nagulat nalang ako nang makarinig ng sigaw sa bandang likod ko. My eyes widened when I saw a stranger behind me being held down by a police officer on the table. I looked at the police and it was Nicholas! Siya ang may hawak sa lalaki na ngayon ay namimilipit sa sakit.

"What happened?!" I blurted

The police officer looked at me. "Nagtangkang dukutin ang bag mo ma'am. Naiwan niyong bukas ang zipper."

Agad akong tumingin sa bag ko. He's right. My bag is wide open. I immediately checked my things if some were missing but thankfully, there's none.

"May nawala po ba?"

Umiling ako. "None."

Binalik niya ang tingin sa lalaki. Unti-unti niyang pinakawalaan ito. Biglang may lumapit na kasama niyang pulis at kinausap ang lalaki. I diverted my gaze back to the police who helped me.

"Thank you for saving me."

Humakbang siya palapit sa'kin.  "No problem ma'am."

"I didn't notice there was a man behind me."

"Mag-iingat nalang po kayo sa susunod."

I nodded and held my bag tightly. I should be more vigilant from now. I was just tired from work that's why I was not fully aware of my surroundings. Good thing he saved me.

My brows furrowed as I stare at him closely. "You seem familiar."

A small smile crept on his lips. "It's the second time around ma'am Felicity."

"Right. It's uh, really you."

Pinagmasdan ko siya. He's the same officer named Nicholas who gave me a ticket for overspeeding. He's wearing his police uniform. Medyo malaki ang pangangatawan niya. He has fair skin and he's pretty tall too, even taller than me. His deep dimples show everytime he smiles.

I can't believe we'll meet each other again. What a coincidence! Kaya pala kinawayan niya ako kanina. He remembered me. But I still find that weird.

"Nicholas Villamor," he introduced and extended his hand. Medyo nahihiya pa siya sa ginawa niya

I stared at his hand for a few seconds not sure if I should take it or not but in the end, I did.

"Atty. Felicity."

His lips parted. He seems flustered. "Ahh, lawyer po pala kayo."

"Yes."

He nodded and avoided my gaze. He fixed his cap and glanced at his fellow police officers on the table.

"Hoy Niko! Tagal mo naman diyan. Nanchichicks ka na noh?" pang-aasar ng isa

He looked at me, embarrassed and shy. 

I rolled my eyes at their insulting jokes. "I'll get going. Thanks again," paalam ko kay Nicholas at nilagpasan na siya

"Ingat po Atty. Felicity!" pahabol niya

Hindi ko na siya nilingon pa. Dire-diretso akong naglakad sa kotse ko. I opened the door and went inside. I wore my seatbelt and faced front. I can see them through the glass window of the cafe. Nakita kong tumingin sa direksiyon ko si Nicholas. I sighed and drove away.

Habang nasa kalsada ay nakakita ako ng maliit na tindahan na nagbebenta ng mga halaman. I pressed the breaks and looked outside of the window. I smiled upon seeing the plants outside.
Agad akong bumaba para bumili.

"Ate, magkano po itong cactus?" tanong ko

"One hundred forty lang hija."

"Sige po bilhin ko." I took some cash from my wallet and gave it to her

Tumingin pa ako sa iba niyang tindang halaman. There are different variations of it with different sizes. Natutuwa ako kapag nakakakita ako ng mga halaman. It just gives me a positive energy.

"Ano pong tawag dito?" I asked and pointed at one of them

It looks very familiar. I've already seen it on the internet, I just the forgot the name. Marami din akong nakikitang tao na nag-aalaga nito.

"Snake plant."

I nodded. It's very eye catching because of its long leaved and yellow and green details.

"Indoor plant 'yan. Natubo 'yan hanggang anim na inches pero mabilis siyang malanta kaya kailangan alagaan ng mabuti," she explained. "Bibilhin mo ba?"

I didn't realize that I was staring at it for so long. "Ah, hindi po. Sa susunod nalang po siguro."

Ngumiti siya pabalik at inayos ang mga pananim.

Another plant that caught my attention was the bamboo plant. It's so cute and appealing. I wanted to buy it but I'm budgeting my money. Pwede naman akong magtanim nalang pero hindi ko alam kung mabubuhay ba sila. Baka mamatay sila lang kapag ako ang nag-alaga.

"Sige hija. Balik ka sa susunod. Marami pa kong mga halaman na idadagdag."

"Sige po. Salamat." I turned around and went back to my car

While driving, I kept on glancing at my plants beside me. I can't help but to smile. I've always wanted to buy an indoor plant for my condo. Ang boring kasi tignan ng condo ko. Walang kabuhay-buhay. I want to decorate it with plants if I have time. Sa susunod ay maglalaan talaga ko ng oras sa pagtanim. The love I have for plants grew more and more as I become older. If I'm not a lawyer right now, I'd probably be a florist or a gardener. I am a certified plantita!

"Magandang hapon ma'am," the guard greeted me

I smiled. "Goodafternoon."

Tumingin ako sa dala kong halaman hanggang sa makarating sa condo unit ko. I stopped when I noticed a small box in front of my door. Tumingin ako sa kaliwa't kanan ko at walang katao-tao sa hallway.

I stared down at the box again. Kumunot ang noo ko habang nakatingin doon. I don't remember ordering something online. I'm also not expecting a package from anyone.

Pinulot ko iyon. I took my keys out of my pocket and opened the door. I placed my plant on the kitchen counter together with the box. I held it and observed it. Walang pangalan iyon. It was just a regular brown cardboard box. May tape lang iyon sa gitna. I was already curious of what's inside of it so I took my scissors from one of the drawers and slowly cut the tape off from the center.

As soon as I opened it, I screamed and my eyes widened in shock. Napaatras ako at muntikan pang ma-out of balance. Napakurap-kurap ako habang nakatingin doon. My heart started pounding wildly inside my chest. Bigla akong nanghina.

Inside the box was a dead bird and there was blood all over it. My stomach turned due to the awful smell. I almost threw up. Umiwas ako ng tingin at tinakpan ang ilong at bibig ko.

I quickly removed my plant away from the box. Eventhough I couldn't stand it, I tried my best to remain calm. 

I noticed that there was something else inside. Hindi ako sigurado kung ano iyon. I slowly took it out. I was completely disgusted of it. My eyes widened in terror by what I saw. They were pictures of me na may bahid pa ng dugo. They were all stolen shots of me. In my car, outside my condo, on my way to work, in the cafe, everything! 

Bigla na lamang nadulas sa kamay ko ang mga litrato. I held my hand to prevent it from shaking. 

Hindi ko alam kung sino ang nagpadala sa'kin nito. I can't think of anyone at all. Who would even—shit! I can't believe this is happening! Is this a death threat or what? Sigurado akong may galit sa'kin ang nagpadala nito. This isn't just a prank. I can feel that someone is coming for me. My body shivered in fear because of the thought.

Agad kong nilibot ang paningin sa condo ko. I checked the windows and doors making sure they were locked. Pinuntahan ko din ang mga kwarto. I also checked inside the drawers and under my bed if there were any hidden cameras. 

My mind can't help but to overthink. What if someone is stalking me? What if someone barge in here without me knowing? Hindi naman pwede dahil mahigpit ang security dito.

Napaupo nalang ako sa kama ko sa kaiisip. I couldn't think properly right now because I'm still in complete shock! But I will find out who's behind this.