INCUBUS

CHAPTER XXXVII

CHAPTER XXXVII

"Say Sindred. Sindred..."

Malakas na tinapik ni Ara sa braso si Sindred.

"She can't talk, yet," napapairap niyang sabi.

"I want her first word to be my name," sabi pa nito habang gumagawa ng mga nakakatuwang expression sa harap ni Sophina.

"May death wish ka ba? Alam mo ba kung gaano ka-competetive si Thorn sa mga bagay na namamana sa kaniya ng anak namin? Tapos gusto mo pangalan mo ang first word ng bata? Baka gusto mong maglahong parang bula,"

"He's such a buzzkill," napapailing nitong sabi.

"'Nga pala. Kumusta ang Abyss?"

"It's still operating. Pero dahil nga not in good terms sina Raguel at Lucifer, souls are overflowing at Abyss while Hell is lacking souls,"

"Ano'ng epekto no'n?" tanong ni Ara.

"Well, have you seen hungry demons?" Sindred asked and Ara shook her head. "Lacking of souls underground means no food for demon. Kaya kapag gutom na gutom na ang iba sa amin, they tend to possess humans. That's how they usually feed."

"Nakapag-possess ka na ba ng tao?" she asks pero tinawanan lamang siya ni Sindred.

"Verrine demons don't possess people,"

"Pero 'di ba, hindi lang naman ang Abyss ang source ng Hell sa mga souls? Nabanggit sa akin ni Thorn noon na pito silang Chiefs. For sure nakapagbibigay naman sila underground?"

"Sixty percent of souls in hell are from the Incubus. Lust are innate to humans. So imagine kung walang inaambag na kaluluwa ang mga Incubus? Chaos aboveground."

It was because of me. Ara said to herself. Pero mabilis naman itong sinalungat ng isip niya. She needs to stop blaming herself. She needs to accept the fact that this is her life now. Walang mangyayari kung sisisihin niya pa rin ang sarili dahil sa katotohanan, binura na siya sa mundo ng mga tao.

"What if they possess me?" she suddenly asked.

Nakita niyang napaisip si Sindred pero umiling ito.

"I don't know if they can possess a human that was already corrupted,"

Hindi nakaimik si Ara. It was a blow on her chest.

"Can you stop saying that I'm corrupted as if I'm already a demon-like-person?" medyo offended niyang sabi.

"Well, technically, you can't be redeemed because hello..." Sindred pointed Sophina. "so yeah, you're tagged as corrupted by Angels and demons."

Aangal pa sana si Ara sa sinabi ni Sindred ngunit hindi na niya ito natuloy nang biglang pumasok si Thorn sa silid kasama si Zanilla. Sinenyasan nito si Sindred na iwan silang dalawa ni Ara. Magkasunod itong lumabas kasama si Zanilla.

"What is that?" he asked when he saw a toy lying inside Sophina's crib.

"Rattles. Bigay ni Sindred,"

"Where did he get it?" nakakunot-noo nitong tanong 'saka ito inalis sa kuna ng anak. Maingat nitong kinarga ang bata at isinandal sa dibdib niya.

"I don't know. He conjured it maybe," Ara shrugged.

Ara saw Thorn kissed Sophina's forehead three times and whispered words she could not hear. The sight melts her heart. No words could come out her mouth from that moment so she hugged him on the side.

"I'll be away for days," he suddenly said kaya bigla siyang napabitaw dito. Kinuha niya si Sophina rito 'saka ibinalik sa kuna bago nag-salita.

"Again? Bakit?"