The Enigma of Erald

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: Ghost from Four Years Ago

ERALD

I FELT that my mind was about to explode. Bakit ba nagsabay-sabay ngayong araw ang mga mystery? Meron ba silang group chat kung saan napagkasunduan nilang "Tara, bombahin natin ng misteryo ang kontrabidang si Erald"? The faux kidnapping of the student council president. The real abduction of our club president. And now the identity of Charlotte!

Dapat talaga'y hindi na ako sumama sa team building na 'to. If I weren't here, I wouldn't be bombarded with so much thoughts. Nakatulala lamang ako kanina sa ospital habang naghihintay, pinagtatagmi-tagmi ang mga puzzlepiece na nag-lead sa ganitong sitwasyon.

Hindi rin ako masyadong nagtagal sa ospital kanina. I had to exercise my ninja skills just so Mrs. Claveria wouldn't take notice of me. Alam kong minsa'y makapal ang mukha ko pero sa pagkakataong 'yon, pinili kong tumakas at magtago. I don't have enough courage to face.

Pagkabalik ko sa ecopark, binabagabag pa rin ako ng nangyari ngayon at ng apat na taon na ang nakalilipas. How I wish that this was just a bad joke by the K-OS Club. But it wasn't.

To clear my mind, I called the only person who could confirm to me whether my doubts were true or not. Ang kaso, kanina pa nagri-ring ang phone ng taong 'yon, ni hindi man magawang i-press ang answer button. Ano bang ginagawa niya at bakit hindi niya masagot ang tawag ko? He'd still be awake around this time so why was he not picking up?

Nasa labas ako ng Tuknangan Rooms, naglalakad paikot-ikot sa puno habang nakadikit sa tenga ang nag-iinit kong phone. Feeling ko nga, sasabog na 'to sa mukha ko. There might be some problem with the network signal, as usual, since this place was from the busy city.

With my seventh try, someone finally picked up my call.

"Hello?"

Muntik na akong magrosaryo para lamang sagutin ng taong nasa kabilang linya ang tawag ko. Thank God that I did not have to do that tedious stuff.

"Naririnig mo ba ako, pa?" pambungad kong tanong, wala mang hi, hello o good evening. "Malinaw ba ang linya natin? Malakas ba ang signal diyan?"

"Hindi pa gano'n kahina ang pandinig ko, Erald. Why are you calling this late?"

"May kailangan akong itanong sa inyo," I answered before taking a deep breath. Kanina pa ako kating-kati na itanong ito sa kanya. Kanina pa ako nababagabag. "Do you still remember the kid that I saved four years ago?"

"'Yong traffic accident kung saan nabagok ang ulo ng batang babae? Oo naman. Who would forget the foolish act that you pulled off back then?"

Aba, matalas pa pala ang memorya niya. But the last part was totally unnecessary. Mabuti't hindi na nasaktan ang ego ko dahil ilang taon na rin ang lumipas. "Siya nga. Naaalala n'yo pa ba ang pangalan niya?"

"It's been ages since that incident. I can't trust my memory but..." Ilang segundong natahimik ang papa ko, akala ko'y nakatulog na siya. "Her name sounds like Charice."

"Hindi ba Charlotte?" pagtatama ko. Muntik nang tumama ang hula niya.

"Ah, oo. Charlotte. Charlotte Claveria yata. Bakit mo naitanong?"

Napapikit na lamang ako at nagbuga ng isang malalim na buntong-hininga. Our club president's name may not be that unique, but the probability that my dad's Charlotte and the Charlotte that I've been seeing in the clubroom aren't the same is very, very slim.

Let me ask the clincher question, to erase all the doubts in my head. "Do you know that she's still alive?"

"I no longer have any contact with her or her parents, but when she left my clinic, she's still alive, but not that well. And that was four years ago. Why?"