Heaven Academy

33 - Flash of Truth

33 - Flash of Truth

"But your mother has all the time in the world, Erisk."

I froze.

"If your father was the first angel before with Aster, where do you think your mother's name is on that list?" Charlotte asked. "Hindi mo ba naaalala? Hindi naman chismoso si Dom pero halos tumakbo siya palabas no'ng namalayan niyang dumating ang mom mo at hindi ka niya iniwan hanggang sa office ni Mr. Diaz. Takot na takot siya no'n, Erisk. Akala namin, oras mo na."

Napayuko na lang ako. Hindi ko na alam kung paano ipoproseso ang lahat ng nalaman ko.

Narinig kong bumuntong-hininga siya. "We're not really sure kung pang-ilan ang mom mo sa listahan, but we're certain she's on the top. I'm sorry that I have to bring the news like this, Erisk. I don't know another way to tell you everything."

I felt my cheeks being wet from tears and I was actually surprised, I didn't know that I was crying. I bit my lower lip and closed my eyes. "It's a cruel world we live in, isn't it?"

"This might be the price of all the luxury we were born with." Charlotte smiled bitterly. "We didn't ask for them, though."

"I wonder how Luther would react to this. He's also here. His father will also benefit from this... whole Heaven Academy scheme, right?"

"Yes, he's also an angel." Charlotte slightly nodded. "Siguro kahit hindi nakiusap si Aster, hindi ko rin pipiliing sabihin kay Luther lahat. Hindi ko ma-imagine kung paano niyang tatanggapin na 'yong sarili niyang tatay ang bumuo sa school na papatay sa kaniya."

"Do you know that he blamed his self for Aster's death?! He might have taken that bullet for me because he was feeling all the guilt!" Hindi ko alam kung bakit pero nakaramdam ako ng inis nang mga oras na 'yon. "You should've told him!"

"Keeping it a secret from Luther is the best—"

"That whole keeping-it-a-secret-from-Luther took all the time for him and Iris! He didn't pursue her because he thought that he was the one who killed Aster! And now Iris is gone!"

Napayuko si Charlotte. Of course, nauna niya nang isipin 'yon. Nalulungkot din siya para do'n. Nag-iwas ako ng tingin. Binalot ulit kami ng katahimikan hanggang sa lumapit sa amin ang staff ng cafeteria.

"M-Mga ma'am, sorry po, pero kailangan ko nang umuwi—" Mabilis akong tumango sa kaniya. Alam ko namang hindi siya papansinin ng kasama kong nanatili nga lang na nakayuko. "Pasensya na po talaga, ma'am. May sakit po kasi ang anak ko at—"

"You don't have to explain," I said, cutting her words. Bitter na kung bitter, pero matapos ang lahat ng nalaman ko, hindi ko kayang makinig sa isang ina na tunay na may pakialam sa anak niya. "Go home."

"S-Salamat po," parang hindi pa makapaniwalang sabi niya. "Pero wala pong maiiwan sa counter. Hindi pa po dumadating si Ofelia, 'yong kapalitan ko. Mamayang umaga pa po ang mga tagaluto."

"It's okay. We're just sitting here."

"Sige po." Yumuko siya. "M-Mauna na po ako."

Silence filled the entire cafeteria again when the staff left. Charlotte was still looking down and I was trying to process everything in my mind. There were dots that I was able to connect but there are also new questions that made my head hurt.

"Why didn't you leave?" hindi ko na napigilang itanong kay Charlotte. "If you know that Heaven Academy would kill you, why did you stay? Why did Aster have to kill his self when he could've just left? Cutting ties with our parents is not new in our family anyway. Why?"