"Convict Me, Attorney." (Law Series #2)

PART TWELVE: WHEN THE MOON AND THE SUN COLLIDE

"I'M QUITTING."

We all looked at the man in front of us with understanding eyes.

He was standing there, looking devastated. Stress was written all over his usual baby face. He looked so weary, as if he was tired of everything.

Not to mention the dark circles around his eyes and how much sweat he was releasing. He also looked so tensed.

"WHAT?!" our manager exclaimed. "H-Heinz, baka naman pwede natin itong mapag-usapan pa? Alam mo namang—"

"No," he said. "I have decided. Ayoko na."

I gulped.

I can't blame him, though.

We were inside a room in the office. We came here straight right after we testified in the police station about the crime that had happened. Since then, no one beween us could talk. Even Heinz, he was just trembling.

"Heinz naman!" our manager. "Alam mo naman kung gaano ka ka-importante rito. Alam mo namang—"

"You don't understand!" he exclaimed. "I-I caused that woman's death! Ako ang dahilan! I... I dreamt I was watching the scene...which was different from my usual dreams na ako mismo ang biktima. I... I personally went there to save her, only to find out I was an instrument for that happen..."

I saw tears forming in his eyes. I felt the pity.

"K-Kung 'di ako nangialam, k-kung hindi ko sinabi at hindi kami pumunta, b-baka hindi iyon nangyari... See? It was my fault. Kaya ayoko na. P-Please let me leave...please..."

"Heinz, it wasn't your fault," said by our manager. "M-Maybe it meant to happen that way—"

"NO!" Heinz exclaimed. "IN MY DREAM, I WAS WATCHING! IF I DID NOT COME THEN MY DREAM WON'T COME TRUE! IT WAS MY FAULT!"

"Heinz—"

"My dreams are tricking me now," he said, bitterness and pain in his voice. "Before, I was dreaming of them to save them. Now... now I'm becoming part of the dream. What if in attempt to save them, ako na mismo ang nagiging instrumento para mangyari ang mga iyon?!"

I felt the chills.

"What if I'm no longer the angel of death but an instrument to cause death?"

No one between us can talk. Newt and Tyler were just watching, sympathy on their faces.

"What if instead of helping them, ako pa ang maging dahilan ng pagkamatay nila? Just because I unconsciously fulfilled the dream? How many lives do I have to risk just for this fucking stupid ability?!"

"Heinz, it's not stupid—"

"IT IS!" Heinz shouted. "WHAT IF I AM FIGHTING AGAINST THE WILL OF GOD FOR THEIR TIME?!"

I bit my lower lip.

"My parents..." Heinz said. "I tried to save them all I might... thinking I can prolong their life. But what happened? They died...the way I foreseen it..."

Our manager lost his guard.

"And remember when I became a suspect of the deaths just because I tried to stop them? Telling I am  conspiring with the killers? I WAS A GODDAMN HIGH SCHOOL WHOSE PARENTS HAD DIED AND BECAME ORPHANED AT 12, HOW CAN I KILL PEOPLE AND EVEN CONSPIRE?!"

I bit my lower lip again. Mixture of pain and anger were in his voice.

"I became an outcast in school. My relatives abandoned me because they thought I was going nuts. I started living alone, taking multiple part time jobs at once. I even slept in the street just because our house reminds me of my parents and even to this day I can't step inside it. This ability... it's not a gift, it's a curse..."