Growing up in a well-known family, Celeste Aragon always lived in unending rules. And among all of the rules, there's one rule she should never violate: Never ever show her special ability to anyone. Her being illusionist should be a secret. But Cel...
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HOLDING a mug on my right hand and my laptop on the other, I sat at the dining table.
Kaninang umaga pinadala nina mom 'yong mga gamit ko rito, including this laptop. Hindi ko kilala 'yong nagdala sa akin kanina, probably one of Dad's men.
I put my laptop down the table and sipped on the coffee that I prepared. I typed the words Danyl Soledad on the search bar and wait for it to load. Lumabas sa screen ng laptop ang ilang articles ng ilang mga celebrities. My brows drew together.
I was searching for Danyl Soledad, bakit ito ang mga lumabas?
I squinted my eyes and looked closer at the texts written on the screen. Hmm. He was probably the author of these articles. Nag-try akong magbukas ng isang article about sa isang artista na may history raw about illegal drugs and the moment I opened it, I saw the name "Danyl Soledad" as the author.
Oh yeah, I remember, journalist nga pala siya. I changed the words on the search bar and added the word "journalist" before his name. Halos walang lumabas na information about sa kaniya, halos karamihan ay puro articles about sa iba't ibang personalidad na for sure ay siya ang author. As I scrolled down, some of his blogs also showed up.
He wasn't that popular as I was expecting him to be. Kilala lang siguro siya sa paggawa ng mga blogs at kung ano-anong website, just like that website of his called Open Secrets. Ni hindi naka-appear doon sa website na 'yon kung sino ang author pero marami pa ring mga tao ang nakakaalam sa website niyang 'yon.
He was hiding his identity from us, scaring us with that website that he created. Siguro ang akala niya ay habang buhay na hindi malalaman nina Dad kung sino ang may pakana noong Open Secrets na website na 'yon.
I didn't see that much about him, so I just looked through the images that popped up when I searched his name. He looked like he's in his early 30s. May kaunting balbas sa may baba niya at mukhang pala-ngiti siyang tao. I stared at his images, memorizing his face. After searching him on internet, I turned off the laptop and continued sipping on my coffee.
Silence immediately invaded my ears. Deafening silence. As I sipped on my drink, I suddenly remembered the friends I had here in Enfanta. Sina Ashley, I wonder how are they doing right now? Ang tagal na simula noong magkausap-usap kami. They didn't call or message me when I was in El Salazar. At sa malamang, mas lalong hindi na nila ako tatawagan ngayong lumabas ang ganitong isyu tungkol sa akin.
"Mga fake friends," I uttered under my breath. They were there when I got everything. Nasaan na sila ngayon? Wala. Naglaho na sila na parang bula.
All these thoughts were making my head ache. I thought it was that easy to apply what Aria had told me, the "making the right choice". I thought it was that easy to fully embrace that my life right now would probably the life that I will have forever.
I was still holding onto that hope that a miracle might happen or Dad might do something. . . na baka may mangyayari pa para matakasan ko 'to. I mean, hindi rin naman inexpect ni kuya dati na gagawa pala ng paraan si Dad para itakas siya sa isyu niya dati, hindi ba? For sure, he wasn't expecting any of it. So, baka magulat na lang din ako na may plano na si Dad.
But, then, maybe it was just me convincing myself that everything will be fine.
Wala sa sariling napatitig ako sa pader habang iniisip ang mga bagay na 'yon. Seconds later, I closed my eyes in frustration. Napahilamos ako sa mukha ko at napailing-iling. Babaliwin talaga ako ng pananatili rito buong maghapon. I stood up, left my empty mug on the sink, and left the apartment building with only my phone and my wallet.
I headed to the strip mall inside this institution. It was, somehow, refreshing to think that there was a shopping place inside here, kahit na maliit lang. Suot-suot na naman ang electronic bracelet sa kanan kong palapulsuhan, naglakad ako papunta sa naturang shopping place.
The huge space in front of the strip mall was flooded by people, some were walking to the strip mall while some were just passing by. This was a busy part of the institution, I could say. As they walked to the direction where they were heading to, I inserted myself, trying to find my way towards the entrance of the mall. I kept both of my phone and wallet inside my pocket.
Aba, ayos na 'yong nag-iingat. Baka biglang may magnanakaw pala sa paligid.
My eyes were fixed on the entrance, on that glass door. My chill and calm demeanor was replaced by surprise and confusion, when my eyes went to a familiar face who was standing beside the entrance. That man. . . he was here?
"Danyl Soledad?" I murmured by myself, not taking my eyes off him.
He casually inserted his hands inside his pockets and coolly walked towards the entrance. He went inside the strip mall! That was really him! What was he doing here? He was here the whole time? Imposibleng nandito talaga siya dati pa. Hindi nga siya nahanap nina Dad dati e.
Anong ginagawa naman niya dito?
Binilisan ko ang paglalakad, halos itulak ko na 'yong mga nakaharang sa daan. I even bumped into a huge man with visibly defined muscles. Napaatras ako sa gulat nang tingnan niya ako nang magkasalubong ang kilay. Nahagip ng mata ko ang electronic bracelet sa braso niya.
He doesn't need his gifted ability to scare me, his huge and muscled body is enough to make me immediately apologize. Dali-dali ko siyang nilampasan pagkatapos banggitin ang mga salitang, "I'm sorry."
Nang ibalik ko ang tingin ko sa entrance, nawala na ang pigura noong Danyl Soledad na 'yon. Nakapasok na siguro siya. So, I walked faster, nudging people out of my way. Nang marating ko ang entrance, dali-dali akong pumasok sa loob.
I stood there, looking at my left and right, trying to find him in every corner and every side. Naglakad-lakad ako, kunwari ay nagtitingin ng mga bibilhin, but in reality I was trying to find him.
Unfortunately, hindi ko na siya nakita. Para kasing ewan 'yong lalaki kanina, pahara-hara sa daan. I just ended up going inside some clothing stores and bought a take-out food from the fast food outlet I saw, before leaving the strip mall.
Huminto muna ako at nag-stay roon sa garden. I dialed Mr. Trent's number.
["Celeste, hello? Napatawag ka,"] he answered.
"You might think that I'm crazy or something but this thing is real." I looked at my surroundings and immediately lowered my voice. "I searched Danyl Soledad on the internet and saw his photos. Of course, through those photos, namukhaan ko siya. And then, I headed to the strip mall and saw someone. Take a guess who I saw."
I heard him gasp on the other line. ["You saw Danyl?"]
I nodded, kahit alam kong hindi niya makikita. "With my own two eyes. He went inside the strip mall, pero hindi ko siya naabutan sa loob e. Siguro habang hinahanap ko siya sa loob, nakalabas na ulit siya."
["Did he see you?"]
"Well, no. As far as I know, hindi napunta ang tingin niya sa akin. And plus, there were so many people. It was way impossible for him na makita ako sa gitna ng mga kumpol-kumpol na tao."
["Okay. Update me if ever na makita mo ulit siya."]
I nodded. "Of course."
Binaba ko na rin ang tawag pagkatapos noon.
It made me wonder, ano kayang gagawin nina Dad if makita nila si Danyl Soledad in person? I mean, makita man namin siya o hindi, it was still useless. Nangyari na. I was already exposed. Nahuli na ako at narito na ako sa loob ng Institute Center.
I mean, Danyl Soledad successfully exposed me. 'Yon lang naman talaga ang plano, hindi ba? Ang i-expose ako at mahuli ako. Wait, 'yon lang ba talaga?
