Assassin at Greenbelt 4

Conspiracy

I remembered what Margaret Roper said to Thomas More. "Say the words of the act and let your heart think otherwise!"

Time to show that seductress who's boss now!

By late October, rain comes irregularly. On a Friday between October 20 and October 30, the weather was fine and maybe hot. This was a good time to get out and lounge at Greenbelt.

I arranged my hardcopies of my files and then I went off-duty at 6:15 PM. By then, it was dark, so I had to walk across well-lit areas.

I walked at a brisk pace across the sheltered Dela Rosa Pedestrian Overpass leading to Greenbelt 4. If I were to walk from Eton Makati to Greenbelt 4, that would take me about 15-25 minutes. As I was in a mad rush, I walked with a wide stride and a fast pace, which could make me run if I feel like running. Then, as I was, I bumped into a woman who was wearing a red Gothic dress and sporting hair that it is brown as mine, with straight bangs that make her look hooded. Or maybe the brownness of her hair was more prominent than mine! Both of us were at a loss on how to respond, but it seemed that I was more frazzled than the woman who I bumped in to.

"Madam, pasensya na po kayo! Nagmamadali po ako! (Madam, forgive me! I am in a rush!) Sorry!" I apologized while catching my breath.

The woman asked, "Huh?"

I repeated my apology in Filipino, "Pasensya na po madam! (Forgive me madam!)"

She uttered, "What?" Then she looked at me, exhausted and frozen by mot knowing what to do. "I look a bit Filipino, but I barely understood part of what you were saying. What was it?"

"I am sorry for bumping to you, Madam!" I apologized, this time in English.

"No worries," the woman replied. She told me to walk with her all the way to Greenbelt 4. An awkward silence befell the both of us for a while before we started conversing again.

I asked the woman dressed in a red Gothic dress while clutching her Salvatore Ferragamo bag, "Who are you?"

The woman replied, "I am Anna Williams. Call me Anna."

I paused, then I introduced myself. "I am Godwyn," and I was about to shake hands with her when she suddenly refused. "No need, Godwyn," she said.

She invited me to walk down the overpass. "Shall we walk further?" I obliged. Fortunately, Anna and I could feel a cold, dry nip of the northeasterly winds, a sign that the Northeast Monsoon will come soon. Thus, walking along the overpass for about ten more minutes all the way to the mall should not be a problem.

Out of curiosity I asked, "So, you're... Nina's sister, I suppose?"

The moment she heard me mention Nina, she replied, "Oh, that Nina! How detestable! Oh yes, we are sisters!"

Suddenly, I recalled the entire conversation between me and Nina when before Nina duped me.

I told her, "I can barely imagine that you and Nina are siblings! I mean, you hardly look like each other!"

Anna fell silent because she gestured me that we are about to head towards the entrance of Greenbelt 4. She tapped my shoulder and pointed to the entrance as if to say, "Hey! We're approaching security. Don't you bump into the security guard!"

Then I fell silent and I had my backpack checked by the security guards. As I was, I showed him the biggest pocket since most of my items are there. However, once we reached security, both of us looked for the nearest bench so we can continue talking.

"Where do you want to sit, Anna?" I asked.

Anna suggested, "Why not at Salvatore Ferragamo? Anyway, I plan to have my signature leather bag fixed..." as she looked at her bag that had a torn inner pocket.