Falling for Her Shadows

CHAPTER 9

NAPAILING na lamang si Ashriel nang makarating siya sa kaniyang penthouse at mabasa ang mensahe sa kaniya ng ina.

‘Find me a daughter-in-law, or else, I will disown you.’

Ashriel deleted his mother’s message after replying, ‘still in the making, mom.’ His mother always nagged him to get her a daughter-in-law. Pero kilala niya ang ina. Alam niya kung ano ang gusto nito.

His parents don’t care about background, but what they care about is the person’s character, which is a good thing for him. And his family was not a fan of arranged marriage. Iyon ang pinakaayaw ng kaniyang ina, mas lalo naman ang kaniyang ama.

Ashriel undressed his coat, placing the bag of groceries on the floor, and sat on the sofa, dialing his assistant’s number.

“Mr. Rios?”

“Find me educational books for kids. Then arrange them in my office.” Utos niya.

“Yes, Mr. Rios.”

Pinatay ni Ashriel ang tawag saka natawa na lamang ng mahina habang naiiling habang naaalala niya ang anak ni Nylah. For some reason, when he saw Evron, there was a joy in his heart. Hindi niya maintindihan kung bakit.

Maybe… it was fate.

Napailing si Ashriel saka tinanggal ang suot na necktie.

But then his phone rang.

Hindi na niya sana ito papansinin dahil akala niya ang kaniyang ina ang tumatawag para kulitin na naman siya tungkol sa pagkakaroon ng asawa.

The call stopped, then it rang again.

It was one of his friends. Gael Villamor.

Ashriel swiped the screen to answer the call. “What?” he asked in a bored tone.

The other line chuckled. “Kaisen had already discharged from his training. Nag-aaya siyang uminom.”

Tinignan ni Ashriel ang suot na relo. It was already three in the afternoon. Tumayo siya at naglakad patungo sa kwarto. “Anong nakain niya at nag-ayang uminom?”

Gael sighed deeply — para bang napakabigat ang problema nito. “Brokenhearted ang loko. His girlfriend broke up with him."

Nagulat si Ashriel. “His girlfriend, for five years, broke up with him?”

Gael clicked his tongue. “Wala talagang forever sa mundo.” Anito. “Ano? Pupunta ka?”

“How about you?”

“Malamang.” Sagot ni Gael. “Maglalasing lang naman si Kaisen. Baka mamaya may mag-uwi sa kaniya na babae, ako na naman ang may kasalanan.”

Ashriel rolled his eyes. “Bakit ikaw ang may kasalanan?”

“Kasi hindi ako pumunta kung sakali nga na hindi ako pupunta.”

“Nonsense,” Ashriel muttered in a lazy tone. “Let me rest first. Just sent me the address. I’ll come later.”

“Okay.” Wika ni Gael. “Pumunta ka.”

Hindi na sumagot si Ashriel at pinatay na lamang niya ang tawag.

Ashriel lay down on his bed. He felt tired. But as soon as he closed his eyes, Nylah and Evron’s faces came into his mind, especially their smiling faces.

Then came Nylah’s image.

Biglang nanuyo ang lalamunan ni Ashriel na ikinamulat niya ng mata. Napatingin pa siya sa pagitan ng kaniyang hita. “What the…” Ramdam niya ang pagkabuhay ng parting ‘yon ng katawan niya.

“Dammit!”

Mabilis na bumangon si Ashriel saka nagmamadaling pumasok ng banyo. Hinubad niya ang lahat ng suot na damit saka sumailalim sa shower.

While the water was cascading over his body, his hands formed into a fist while pressed into the bathroom’s wall.

His lips gaped as he remembered Nylah’s face and how her body moved with grace.

Ashriel swallowed hard. “Nylah, what did you do to me?” he asked, almost himself. Hindi naman siya ganito dati.

Pilit niyang iwinaksi sa kaniyang isipan ang mukha ni Nylah.

“No. I need to drink,” he said.

At exactly five, Ashriel entered the bar. Pagpasok niya sa loob, agad niyang nakita ang kinaroroonan ng mga kaibigan niya.

Kumaway pa sa kaniya si Kaisen.

Tumaas ang isang kilay ni Ashriel nang makita si Gael na nakayuko. “Lasing na ba ‘yan?”

Bago pa man makasagot si Kaisen, nag-angat ng tingin si Gael. “I’m not drunk.”

Napailing si Ashriel saka nagsalin ng whiskey sa baso. He took a sip and then spoke to Gael. “There are many fish in the sea. Makakahanap ka rin ng iba.”

Gael sighed. “I only want her.”

“Bakit? Gusto ka ba niya?” Deretsang wika ni Ashriel. “She already broke up with you.”

Tinapik ni Kaisen ang balikat ni Ashriel. “Easy, man. Bagong broken ‘yan. Baka magka-init pa kayong dalawa.”

“Then he loses if he gets pissed by my words, which are true,” Ashriel said like it was nothing. He took another sip of his whiskey and set down his glass on the table. “Why did you break up?”

Umiling si Gael saka sumandal sa kinauupuan. “Hindi ko rin alam.”

“Hindi mo tinanong?” Kaisen asked.

Muling umiling si Gael. “She nearly smashed the door in my face when I went to her.”

Natawa si Ashriel. “Kawawa ka naman.”

Sinamaan ni Gael ng tingin si Ashriel. “Nasasabi mo ‘yan dahil wala kang lovelife.”

Doon natawa si Kaisen. “Man, may someone na ‘yan.” Nakangisi niyang saad.

Ashriel stopped and looked at Kaisen.

Kaisen shrugged. “I saw you entering a coffee shop the other day. Iba ang tingin mo sa babaeng nasa counter.”

“Shut up.”

Kaisen chuckled. “So, tinamaan ka sa babaeng ‘yon?”

“She has a name, Kaisen.” May diing sabi ni Ashriel saka nagseryoso ang mukha.

Nagtaas naman ng kamay si Kaisen. “Okay. Okay. What was her name?”

A small smiled appeared in Ashriel’s lips, remembering how smooth it was to pronounce Nylah’s name.

“Ny—” biglang napatigil si Ashriel. “Bakit ko naman sasabihin sa ‘yo?”

Kaisen snorted. “Possessive.” Then he muttered, “Akala mo naman pag-aari na niya.”

“Kaisen,” Ashriel warned.

Kaisen chuckled and looked at Gael. “If I were you, I would ask my girlfriend.” Aniya. “Hindi ako ‘yong tipo ng tao na tatanggapin na lang ang lahat ng walang dahilan.”

Tumango lang si Gael.

Ashriel studied Gael for a moment before fishing out his phone from his pocket and sending a photo to Gael. “I sent you a photo.”

Nagtaka si Gael. Ibinaba nito ang hawak na bote ng vodka saka inilabas ang cellphone upang tignan ang ipinadala ni Ashriel. Kumunot ang nuo niya nang makita ang larawan. He looked at Ashriel questioningly.

“Is this real?” Gael asked. Naging seryoso na ang mukha nito.

Tumango si Ashriel. “Mas mabuti kung kausapin mo ang girlfriend mo.”

Tumayo agad si Gael saka umalis ng hindi na nagsasalita habang nakaseryoso pa rin ang mukha.

“And he leaves us like that?”

Ashriel let out a dry laugh, shaking his head.

“Anong larawan ang ipinadala mo sa kaniya?” tanong ni Kaisen.

Ngumisi si Ashriel. “Larawan para magkabalikan silang dalawa.” he snorted. “I can’t stand seeing someone drowning himself like that when their problem needs to be talk.”

Kumunot ang nuo ni Kaisen. “It’s not your nature to help someone’s love life.” Aniya saka napailing. “Nagbabago talaga ang isang tao kapag may itinatangi.”

“Shut up, Kai.”

Tinapik naman ni Kaisen ang balikat ni Ashriel. “I’ll just go to the bathroom.”

Tumango si Ashriel saka nagpatuloy sa pag-inom hanggang sa may napansin siya. May pumasok na isang babae sa loob ng bar pero may suot itong maskara kaya naman hindi niya makita ang mukha nito. Tanging ang nakalabas lamang ay ang bibig nito.

He was slightly taken aback because the woman’s figure was just like Nylah's.

Pumunta ang babae sa ikalawang palapag. Parang may kung ano namang sumapi sa kaniya at tumayo siya at sinundan ang babae sa ikalawang palapag.

But he regretted it because he saw the woman killing a man on the second floor. Naptumba rin nito ang mga bodyguard ng walang kahirap-hirap at wala itong naalarma na ibang tao. It was a silent kill. Her sword, coated in blood, gleamed against the light.

Napaatras siya dahil sa pagkabigla. At dahil doon, nakuha niya ang atensiyon ng babae. Bigla itong tumingin sa kaniya.

Ashriel’s blood ran cold.

Akala niya katapusan na niya pero isang ngisi ang sumilay sa bibig nito at itinapat nito ang hintuturo sa tapat ng labi nito.

“Be quiet.”

Then she quickly moved to disappear from his sight.

Hindi alam ni Ashriel kung paano siya nakalabas ng bar na ‘yon. Basta namalayan na lamang niya na nasa harapan na siya ng kotse niya at bahagya siyang nangingnig. It was his first time to see such an act of killing.

It was fast and lethal. Effortless but deadly.