FEROX FOREVER 1: Nothing Sinful ✓

Kabanata 10

Veric

I woke up abruptly, my head pounding as I attempted to shake off the grogginess of sleep and the hangover. God, I'm an idiot for getting myself drunk. Marami pa naman akong gagawin bukas. Kailangan kong bumisita sa warehouse at pier para mangasiwa ng supplies na manggagaling sa Mexico at Columbia. There would be a lot of paperworks to be signed and a lot more negotiations to be settled between the Cartel from Latin America and the Mafia based in Southeast Asia. And since I was handling the Southeast Asian operations, I should be there making some sweet talks and blow smoke up some asses to strengthen the alliance.

Groaning, my eyes wandered around. It was dark in my room but I could make out the faint outline of the kid standing at the doorway like a ghost. And then I heard it--his soft whimpering coming from his direction, the main reason why I was disrupted from my sleep. I was a light-sleeper. Sicario ako dati at isa sa mga kailangang taglayin ng mga sicario ay ang pagiging alerto sa lahat ng oras. Never let your guard down. Iba na ang ranggo ko ngayon sa organisasyon pero mahirap pa rin alisin ang nakasanayan, kaya kahit na kaunting ingay o tunog lang sa paligid ay sagap ko na agad kahit pa nasa kailaliman na ako ng tulog. It was a force of habit. Hindi mo alam baka may nakatutok na pa lang baril sa sentido mo.

"Hey," pasimula ko. "Everything all right, bud?" I asked in Italian. I rarely talked to Cal nowadays but I hoped he wasn't afraid of me. I tried to sit up, my eyes gradually adjusting to the dim light filtering in from the window. The moon was out but it was a starless night. "Come're. It's okay."

Slowly, he took tentative steps toward the bed. Huminto siya sa tabi ng kama. I reached out to touch his shoulder and felt his small body trembling beneath my hand as if any moment now, he would break.

"Mav-y?" His voice was barely above a whisper, and it was clear he was still half caught in what I could only peg as a bad dream.

It didn't lost on me that he was calling me by my nickname--Mavy, a endearment derived from my last name. Even Cal's father usually called me that since we basically grew up together in Sicily.

"I'm here, buddy," I said in our native language again, my own voice low. I tried to make my tone soothing, enough to assure him that he was safe. "It's okay. What happened?"

"I had a nightmare," he said thinly in Italian as well. Despite Cal understanding at least two to three languages, he could only speak in his mother tongue.

"It was just a dream, and they weren't real. Everything is fine."

Fat tears were creeping down his cheeks, head still bowed as he clung to the lower end of his crumpled shirt as if that was the only lifeline he had. I could only tell he was trying to still his breathing, to will the fear away from his heart.

I put my arm around him, pulling him close and hoisting him up onto the bed with me. He was cold like ice, but I could feel the tension in his body slowly starting to relax as his limbs sagged against me.

"Shush... What was it about?" I asked, trying to keep my tone light.

"Mama and papa," he mumbled against my collarbone, his voice muffled through my cotton shirt. "They were being chased by monsters with no faces."

"Monsters with no faces? Mmm..." I said, rubbing his back gently. "Well, your parents are strong and brave people. Maybe they were not actually running away from them. Instead, they were running for their weapons so they could both defeat those monsters hunting them."

Cal was silent at that.

"You know, whenever I had a bad dream when I was a kid, I couldn't remember a thing about what I'd dreamt about. But what I could only remember was how the nightmares made me feel. And sometimes, we don't need to remember our nightmares. It's more than enough just to know that they're not real and they can't get you, little bird. You're safe here. With me."