Circe Isle Andino is one of the most decorated professional surfer. Surfing is her life. During the day, she spent hours and hours riding the waves, and at night she lay contented on her bed sleeping peacefully.
There's nothing she want more in her...
I should be confident. I should feel secure. After all, that was what I was feeling just three weeks ago, right? But then it happened. I felt something shifting... changing.
Coal seems a bit distant. He's always on the phone. Always busy, always away. I understand that he's focusing on the case. Alam ko na gusto niya lang kaming protektahan ni Kaise. And it wasn't just him. I was also preoccupied with training and all the wedding stuff.
But something feels different. Sometimes he can't hold my eyes for a long time, when before he couldn't stop doing it. He rarely answers my texts when he's away. He almost never calls me. May mga pagkakataon na natatagpuan ko siya na malalim ang iniisip. Even his sleep changes. He's up early, like he's having trouble sleeping. Something he told me stopped happening when I'm sleeping beside him.
I don't know when or why it happened. Basta isang araw nagising na lang ako na may nararamdaman akong mga nagbabago. And I'm scared. I'm too scared to speak out. Too scared to ask him what's going on.
Napapabuntong-hininga na hinarap ko ang pag-aayos sa mga gamit ni Kaise. Napatigil lang ako sa paglalagay ng mga laruan na nakakalat sa sala sa kahon na hawak ko nang marinig ko ang binabalita sa TV. Kinuha ko ang remote at bahagya ko iyong nilakasan. There's another news in Siargao about missing people, and a name they mentioned caught my attention.
"Oh my god," I whispered.
Pakiramdam ko ay may gumagapang na kilabot sa akin nang ipakita roon ang larawan ng isang babae. The memory of her face flashes in my mind. Nang makabanggaan ko siya at nang minsan ko siyang makita sa Isla Brews.
I found my lips calling out Nevan. It didn't take him long to rush inside the house. His body was tight with tension, and his eyes were alarmed as he surveyed the place as if looking for threats.
Nanlalamig na tinuro ko ang telebisyon. "It's her, right? Iyong turista sa Siargao. Her name's Samantha."
The way he immediately took his phone out of his pocket and walked out of the house again was enough of an answer.
Yakap ang sarili na umupo ako sa sofa habang pinapanood ang balita. They said that her case was the same as the others. Same MO. Sinimot din lahat ng laman ng bangko niya maging ang mga dala niyang devices. Her ticket back to her country was never used. Her employer is looking for her, and so is her friend. She has no family.
Kinuha ko ang cellphone ko na nasa coffee table nang mag-vibrate iyon. A part of me is hoping that it's Coal. He was being his usual self, telling me not to worry or simply asking me if I was okay. But it wasn't him.
Binuksan ko ang group chat ng Yogi Babes. They saw the news as well, and they were all freaking out. I told them that I'd seen her. Turns out, hindi lang pala ako dahil nakita rin ni Alina si Samantha dahil nagkasabay sila sa isang session ni Ashton.
