The Enigma of Erald

CHAPTER TWENTY: Third Person

ERALD

NAGKATINGINAN KAMING dalawa ni Clyde nang itanong ni Charlotte ang mga pangalan namin. The question "What the hell is going on" was written all over our faces.

"Madam President, hindi magandang biro 'yan," tugon ko. "Alam kong na-miss mo rin kami kaya siguro naisipan mong mang-trip sa amin."

At first, I thought she was trying to pull off a prank, playing with her selective amnesia card. But when she said nothing to suggest that she was just joking, the seriousness of her condition became apparent to us.

Napatawa nang marahan si Charlotte. "Seriously, who are you two?"

Her innocent facial expression also offered no clue that this was just a trick. May kuryosidad sa mga mata at may bahid ng pagtataka sa mukha niya. She totally forgot about Clyde and I!

"My name's Clyde Caballero," the four-eyed man beside me introduced himself before motioning his hand to me. "And he's my classmate, Erald Castell. Pareho kaming member ng QED Club."

Mabuti na lang, "classmate" ang ginamit niyang term para ipakilala ako. Baka masuka pa ako nang wala sa oras kapag "kaibigan" o "friend" ang nabanggit niya. Proper choice of words matters!

"And I am the president of the QED Club, right?" tanong ni Charlotte, nakaturo ang daliri sa sarili habang papikit-pikit ang mga mata. "Now that you have mentioned your names, familiar nga sila sa akin. Clyde and Erald... Ah! I've read them in my journal! But sadly, I don't recall meeting you two in person."

This must be the effect of her lingering memory reset. Ang kaso ngayon, parang ilang weeks ang nawala sa kanyang memorya. Dati kasi, iilang senaryo lang ang hindi niya maalala. The trauma of almost being drowned must be too strong that it erased her memories of us existing in her life.

"This happens sometimes," Charlotte frowned. "May problema yata sa memory storage ng utak ko. My mind may not recall who you two are, but my heart says that you are my friends."

Friends, huh?

"We understand," Clyde smiled. "Erald may disagree with your choice of word, but the fact is that we three know one another."

"Why don't you come in? Dito na tayo sa loob mag-usap," Charlotte swang the door open and let us inside of their unit.

Base sa laki nito na halos kalahati lang ng isang regular classroom, nasa dalawa hanggang tatlong tao ang nakatira. Four-eyes said that Charlotte's living with her mother. I was not ready to meet her face-to-face again. But thankfully, she was nowhere to be seen, thus averting our untimely meeting.

"Please have a seat!" our host gestured to the couch. "Ipagtitimpla ko lang kayo ng juice."

Umupo kami ni Clyde sa couch habang inihahanda ni Charlotte ang refreshment. She was crushing ice and pouring water into the pitcher. Nag-volunteer si apat-na-mata na tulungan siya, but our host declined the help.

"Did you know about her condition?" Clyde whispered as he returned to his seat. "That she can't recall some parts of her memories? This wasn't the first time she forgot about something."

If this was his attempt at small talk, fine, I would bite. "Noong nasa leadership seminar tayo, naikuwento sa akin ni Charlotte na nagkakaroon ng lapses sa kaniyang memory. Kaya nga tuwing nakikita natin siya sa club—"

"—lagi siyang nagsusulat sa kaniyang journal at kumukuha ng mga litrato gamit ang SLR camera niya?" Clyde finished. "Gano'n na ba siya mula pagkabata?"

May ideya naman pala itong si apat na mata, bakit niya pa itinatanong sa akin?

I shrugged, pretending to not know what had happened. "She might have been involved in an accident a few years ago. Baka dahil doon, na-damage ang part ng utak niya na responsable para sa kanyang alaala."