Heartless Monster

Epilogue

Epilogue

Even monsters can feel fear.

The second that our hands separated when she was dragged by the men with black bonets on their heads, I knew that I had failed to protect her.

I tried to get to her as much as possible, but she was dragged inside the car, and the man punched me in the stomach, which made me want to puke.

I want to go with her. The man pushed me, and I lost my balance. Everything was spinning. The last thing I saw was her beautiful, crying face, begging for me to save her.

Memories of us flashed by.

She always tells me that she hates me for always teasing and making fun of her. That I'm a villain in her fairytale-like life. A monster that always prevents the protagonists from getting their happy endings.

I have no choice. That's the only way that she can notice me. She has a circle of friends that her attention has always gone to. And I can only get the attention I want from her when I do that.

"You're so papansin, Zachary! Why don't you just mind your own business and stop bothering me? Ang ugly mo!"

Her angry face was the cutest for me. Sa tuwing nakikita ko ang namumula niyang mukha sa galit at magkasalubong na mga kilay ay napapangiti ako. Imbes na matakot ako sa matalim niyang tingin sa akin ay mas natutuwa pa ako. Kasi sa ganitong sitwasyon niya lang ako napapansin.

"Monster ka talaga! You're super duper heartless! Akin na nga kasi! That's akin!"

Lumapit siya sa akin at pilit inagaw ang stufftoy niyang kinuha ko. Tinaas ko naman ang kamay ko habang hawak ang laruan niya para hindi niya maabot. Tumingkayad siya ngunit hindi niya pa rin maabot dahil mas matangkad ako sa kaniya.

Nginisihan ko lang siya nang ilang beses na siyang nagtatalon pero hindi niya pa rin maabot-abot. She let out a frustrated groan, and I was about to give the toy to her because I knew that she was really angry at me now, but she stepped on my foot.

Agad niyang kinuha sa akin ang laruan niya nang maibaba ko ang kamay ko. Napahawak ako sa paa ko nang maramdaman ang sakit mula roon. The sole of her shoe was thick, so I knew that my foot was now red and I was in pain.

She ran away from me and stuck her tongue out when she stopped and faced my side. She ran to the garden, where our parents were.

Damn. She's so cute. My heart is beating fast. Napangiti na lamang ako sa kabila ng sakit na nararamdaman sa aking paa.

"Huwag ka ngang lumapit. You see that I'm busy here, diba? You're going to be seen sa camera o. I want to capture a beautiful picture of my magandang self, monsters are not allowed in here. Kaya, you should alis na."

Hindi ko sinunod ang sinabi niya. Umupo pa ako sa sofa at sumandal doon. Ngayon, nasa frame na talaga ako at kitang-kita. She stomped her feet at dali-daling lumapit sa akin. She grabbed my hair and pulled it. Natatawa na lang ako habang sinasabunutan niya ako kahit ramdam ko ang sakit.

"Zachary naman kasi e! Shoo na kasi!"

Hindi ko na napigilang matawa nang malakas dahil mukhang papaiyak na siya. Lumabi siya at sumandal sa sofa. Naiiyak siyang tumingin sa akin. I can't help myself from smirking and pinching her cute cheeks. She groaned in protest, but I think she's too tired from pulling my hair to get mad at me.

"Alright, ako na ang kukuha ng picture mo. There's no need to make your phone "patong" anywhere. I'm going to be your handsome photographer."

She glared at me when I mimicked how she spoke. I just smiled at her, then picked up her phone to get her picture.