Journey With You
Chapter 4: Desperate Measures
“May appointment po ba kayo with the CEO?” The front desk officer asked me when I showed up at Atlas Hotel - Clark that afternoon. My clothes were not fully dry yet, medyo basa pa dahil sa ulan kanina, at doon nakatingin ang front desk officer, nakangiwi pa.
“Wala, but you can tell him that Hani is here…” I replied.
“Wait lang po. I’ll call his secretary.” Aniya at saka nag-dial sa telepono. She talked to whoever was at the other end of the line and then turning to me, she went, “Excuse me po, Ma’am, pero wala daw po siyang kilalang Hani.”
Right. Hindi ko nga naman sinabi ang pangalan ko nung nagkakilala kami. Understandable. Okay lang.
"Anong oras siyang lalabas? I’ll just wait for him here. Pag nakita niya ako ay maaalala rin niya.” Sabi ko sa receptionist.
“Wala po talaga daw siyang naaalalang Hani. Please po. Sana maintindihan niyo. Otherwise, may guards po tayo na pwedeng tumulong sa inyo palabas ng building.”
Parang nagbagting ang tenga ko sa sinabi niya. I swear I was about to hit her with the telephone on the desk but I stopped myself. No one will make a deal with you if you destroy company property, Hani! Get a grip!
I stomped away and waited outside, glaring at the tall building like the determined avenger that I was. Finally, I saw him emerge out of the grand automatic sliding doors at 5:00 pm.
Tumakbo ako para harangan siya. May kasama siyang isang lalake at isang babae. Lahat sila ay napatitig sa akin na para akong isang baliw. Well, konti nalang, mababaliw na talaga ako.
“What are you doing?!” Parang irritable pang tanong ni Sven sa akin. My arms were raised sidewards as if I’m guarding an opponent in a basketball game. “Where are the fucking guards when you need them?!” aniya.
Parang nagbagting ulit ang mga tenga ko. Gago ba itong taong ito?
“Hindi mo ba talaga ako naaalala?!" Tinuro ko pa ang mukha ko. Because come on, we met yesterday! How can he not remember?
He narrowed his eyes while tilting his head to one side as if trying to recall where he saw me. Anong pauso ito?
“Have we met before?”
Those words were like salt being sprinkled over a fresh wound. It's... obviously not very nice.
Para niya na ring inalis ang padlock sa kulungan ng tigre. The owl has officially turned into a tiger. And it’s really, really mad.
"One last chance to stop this game you're playing."
"You have the wrong person," sagot niya. "Either that, or you're sick in the head."
Nagtangka pa siyang humakbang ngunit pinaigting ko ang pagharang sa kaniya kahit na gusto ko na siyang sipain sa parte kung saan hindi niya na mapapalaganap pa ang kaniyang lahi. Depensa, Hani!
"Sampung minuto lang naman ang hinihingi ko sa'yo. Mahirap ba 'yon?"
"And who are you to ask me for a fraction of my time?" Tugon niya.
Which leads me... to my last resort.
I know very well that I can be impulsive and one day, it's gonna be my cause of death. But how can I not retaliate, when this jerk just made a shocking 180 degree turn worthy of a spot in Top 10 anime betrayals?
"How about this instead? I tell everybody where Serenity is and—"
"Dammit!" Putol ni Sven sa sinasabi ko, at tinakpan pa ang bibig ko. Hudas!
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Journey With You (Completed)
General FictionDesperation. It's like the string that pulls humans into a death spiral. But when we realize the consequences of our decisions, it's often too late to go back.
