My Love, Darkness

Chapter 48

"So..."Larid put the beer on the table. "What does Phoebe look like when you met her again?"

Titus stilled, remembering what did Phoebe look like while being dangerously seductive in front of him.

"What is that look?"

Larid's amused voice made him come back to his senses. Napalunok siya bago tumingin kay Larid na ngayon ay may nagtatakang mukha na nakatingin sa kaniya.

"What?" he asked, hiding his flushed face to Larid who now looking suspicious at him.

"Did something happen to make you blush that bad?" sabi ni Larid na may ngisi.

Mabilis siyang umiling. Mukhang may balak pa yata siyang asarin ni Larid. Worst, baka masabi niya ang mga ginawa sa kaniya ni Phoebe.

He considers it something private. Pakiramdam niya ay maling isiwalat niya ang mga pinag-gagawa sa kaniya ni Phoebe habang nasa ilalim ito ng kalasingan. Lalo na rin at lalake ang kausap niya sa mga oras na ito.

Titus clears his throat before drinking his beer. "Nah, nothing happened."

"Really, bud?" natatawang sabi ni Larid. "And pigs can fly."

"I'm saying the truth, Larid. Why are you even interested?" He asked, chuckling.

"Because that Phoebe is the one you save and the one who made feel so f****d up right now. That's why," Larid said that made him silenced.

"What? I'm right? You're not talking. Silence means yes," ani Larid kapagkuwan ay uminom.

Napabuntong-hininga na lang si Titus habang bumabalik sa kaniya ang mga nangyari. Ang nangyari noong pumasok siya sa Panorama at nakita niya si Phoebe na lasing. Ang nangyari sa kuwarto ng dalaga kung saan unang beses siyang nakaramdam ng kakaibang pakiramdam. In which Phoebe made him feel something again just like the first day where he saw Phoebe crying, mourning for her Mother's grave.

"Let's not talk about me anymore, Larid," Titus said, ignoring what Larid said. "You, tell me more about your story."

Nanlaki ang mata ni Larid, tila hindi ito makapaniwala sa sinabi ni Titus. Tinuro nito ang sarili. "About me? You mean my story?"

Natatawang tinignan niya si Larid. "Who else am I talking to? Hindi ba't ikaw lang ang kasama ko dito?"

Napahalakhak naman si Larid. "Bud, there will be no souls or anything who's with us right now. I'm just trying to be funny. Plus the fact that this is the first time someone wanted to know my story."

Titus smirked. "I bet your story is boring that's why nobody is interested."

"f**k you, Titus. I am a legend. Kung alam mo lang, I used to invade communities back then. I am more legend than Hitler, mate," may pagmamayabang na sabi ni Larid na ikinatawa naman ni Titus.

"Boastful. Ang yabang mo," ani Titus kapagkuwan ay umiinom sa pagmamay-ari nitong beer.

Larid shook his head at him. "Dude, Kellan said that you are more boastful than me. Mas malala ka sa akin."

Titus remembered what Larid is telling him. Naalala niya noong nabugbog niya si Kellan dahil sa pangungulit nitong maging kaibigan niya.

Hindi niya lubos na aakalain na magiging kaibigan rin talaga niya si Kellan. Kellan earned his trust anyway. Noong pinatunayan nito na tutulungan siya sa pagtalo kay Lamia upang mabawi si Phoebe, alam na niya sa sarili niya na mapagkakatiwalaan niya si Kellan.

Lalo na't isa rin pala ito na naging pasaway sa trabaho nila bilang grim reaper. Though their only difference is that, Kellan slept with a mortal woman. While he is only grown attached to Phoebe who is also grown up.

"Nah, that's me back then. Now, I don't care about being an ace grim reaper. Kinailangan ko lang ang titulo na iyon upang mapagtakpan at mawala ang paghihinala sa akin ng Chief namin sa dibisyon," Titus said, explaining.

"Ahh..." Larid nodded. "But anyway, do you really like to know my story?"

"Yes, please," Titus said before drinking again.

"Okay, so I supposed you already know the basic information of my story so what I will be telling you about is how I lost the girl I love."

Napakunot ng noo si Titus. "Why would tell me that instead of your story of adventure?"

He never took Larid as someone who will talk about women. Sa ilang taong pinagsamahan nila, ni minsan ay hindi ito nagsalita tungkol sa mga babae or sa babaeng mahal nito na bago niya lang naman.

Also, boys love to hide their weakness as weakness can make their ego bruised with embarrassment. Alam niya ang katotohanan na iyon sa mga mortal na lalake lalo na't kung ang kahinaan ay isang babaeng mortal.

May malaking ngiti na gumuhit sa labi ni Larid. Larid looks like an angel for a moment but he shrugs it off.

"Why are you smiling? You look like a creep." Pang-aasar niya kay Larid.

Larid just laughs at him. "Well, I want to share this story because I think someday..." Larid acts like thinking. "Someday, my story can help you a lot. Just think about it if someday, suddenly happens and you can't just decide. Mari-relate ka sa iku-kuwento ko sayo, I promise."

"Fine. Start," ani Titus na tinanguan naman ni Larid bago ito nagsimulang magkuwento sa kaniya.

Larid has a massive invader back then. As Nephilims grows with a sense of entitlement and a strong impatience nature, Larid back then, killed thousand of lives while invading peaceful civilization to be his own empire.

Kung kaya't walang duda na marami ang galit sa kaniya dahil sa mga pamilya, anak, at asawa na ginawa niyang biktima. Larid once became a God, a King of his own land.

Until God has already planned punishment for his sacrilegious activities just to make him remember who he is. Larid knows that the Gods will be angry with him but he's too stubborn to be a scaredy-cat. Hindi siya takot.

Not until a mortal woman called Leila came to his life and made his world turn upside down. Tila natibag nito ang mga pader ng kaniyang pagkatao at nahulog siya hindi lang sa kagandahang taglay nito kung hindi maging sa pagiging mabuti nito.

Walang bahid ng kasamaan ang pagkatao ni Leila hindi kagaya ni Larid na hindi nakonsensya sa mga pinatay nitong inosenteng buhay.

Naging asawa ni Larid si Leila. Si Leila ang naging reyna ng kaniyang emperyo. Ito ang namamahala sa kaniyang sariling kaharian tuwing siya naman ay nasa gitna ng digmaan.

Hanggang sa muling nakipag-giyera si Larid upang masakop ang isang bayan na tinitirhan ng mga taong sumasalungat sa kaniya. Hindi lubos na inakala ni Larid na maabutan niyang patay ang kaniyang reyna.

Nagunaw ang mundo ni Larid at napuno ang galit ang pagkatao niya dahil sa mga taong lumapastangan sa katawan ng kaniyang asawa at sa kaniyang asawa mismo.

"You know why they killed my wife?" tanong ni Larid na ngayon naman ay seryoso na habang makikita sa mukha nito ang sakit na pinagdaanan nito.

Hindi siya sumagot at naghintay sa sasabihin ni Larid.

"They killed my wife because of anger. They killed my wife because they want to have their revenge. By killing my wife, they made me weak. And I can't say that I deserved the pain because of my wife's death. I think it is the punishment the Gods has bestowed on me. Those who killed her, they killed my wife because I also killed their children and sexually assaulted their wives," Larid said before drinking his beer.

Napabuntong-hininga si Titus. Feeling what Larid felt. Naiintindihan niya ang kuwento ni Larid. Larid is just a person who was overwhelmed by their own power.

"You know what I've also learned, bud?" tanong ni Larid na ngayon ay nakatingin sa kaniya.

"What?" he asked.

"I've learned that I should have never, never, never ever do the same mistake again. Naging sakim ako at hindi iniisip ang mga nagawa kong pagkakamali. But still, I was so hurt. The way the Gods punish us..."Larid chuckles. "We must be very careful about what we are doing. Of what choices are we making."

Napatango-tango si Titus sa sinabing iyon ni Larid. Thinking of the crazy things he already did just for the mortal child who was so out of his league. Hindi na nakakapagtaka na parusahan siya ng mga Diyos lalo na't isa lang siyang hamak na grim reaper. Hindi na rin nalalayo sa babala na ibinigay sa kaniya ng anghel na Ina ni Larid.

"So what happened after your wife's death? Did you still have the strength to manage your land?" tanong niya na sinagot ni Larid ng pag-iling.

"Nope. I chose to destroy my self. Nawala ako sa pag-iisip at iniwan ang kaharian na itinatag ko. As I'm still mourning my wife's death, I was also planning to suicide. To let myself drown in the sea or jump from a high mountain, but Mom came. She was the one guiding me all along even though she was not so proud of what I did. Mom gave me the second chance to live and now..." Iminuwestra nito ang sarili habang nakangiti. "Here I am, talking to a grim reaper. Healthy and handsome."

Napahagalpak naman ng tawa si Titus sa sinabing iyon ng kaniyang kaibigan.