I woke up from the turbulence of the plane kung saan ako nakasakay. I yawned, habang dinadama ko ang sakit ng ulo ko sa byahe. Itinaas ko na ang harang ng bintana na katabi ko. I saw that the sun is out and it's already dark.
Kinuha ko ang cellphone ko sa aking bulsa. I noticed that it's already 6:30 pm, nearly fiver hours after we took off. I opened my camera and checked my eyes. Mugtong-mugto ito from endlessly crying because of what happened kanina.
I locked my phone. Sinapo ko ulit ang ulo ko nang kumirot ito. Nanlalamig ang pakiramdam ko. Maya-maya pa ay parang hinahalukay ang tiyan ko.
Buti na lang at dumaan muna kami sa isang pharmacy store bago ang flight na ito na iniadvance ni mamá. She prepared everything. Talagang plinano na niyang paalisin ako sa bahay namin doon.
Inamoy ko ang binili kong white flower. One hit and the pain subsides. Pumikit ako ng mariin at umulit ng singhot. Nang guminhawa ang pakiramdam ay ipinagpahinga ko ang likod at ulo ko sa aking upuan.
Who's the old lady that Yna mentioned kanina? Why did she come to our home? Siya ba ang nagpasimuno sa mga armadong lalaki na manira at mambasag?
What was the goddamn reason? Why did they come?
Kahit anong piga ko ay wala talagang ideya na pumapasok. But right now, I wont isip muna about it. I needed to focus on ensuring I was in a safe place. I promised myself I'd call mamá as soon as I was settled.
Hinila ko ang dalawang maleta ko papalabas ng airport. Nasa gilid lang ako ng glass door when I stopped and tried to put down the heavy bag I'm wearing. Kinuha ko ang cellphone ko and clicked my airplane mode off. Ilang minuto, my signal is in. A message from my mamá is the first thing that I saw.
From Mamá Agnes:
I've already given them your number, hijo. They'll call you after you land. You must promise me that once you're there, you'll discard your SIM card, delete your social media accounts, and never post about your location. Do not use mobile banking. Promise me this, anak. They will take care of everything you need. I will come to you if I'm done fixing the situation here. I promise.
Reading the message, parang naiiyak na naman ako. Tumingala ako. No, I must not iiyak. Tama na ang pag-iyak. I have to set my priority. I have to focus on being strong kahit malala ang pagkabahala ko kina mamá.
Nang kumalma ako ay siyang pagdating naman ng isang tawag from an unknown number. Lumakas ang tahip ng dibdib ko. Naalarma ako nang maisip na baka nasundan na ako o ano pa man.
Nagdalawang-isip ako kung sasagutin ko ba o ano. It is either heto yung mga mastermind sa nangyari sa bahay. Or, this is the 'they' na binanggit ni mamá sa message.
Kahit kinakabahan, I chose to answer it, wishing it was the latter who will answer.
"Magandang gabi, ser!" Nakarinig ako ng pagkalampog ng pintuan. Unti-unting bumaba ang nerbyos ko. "Heto po ba si sir Bayansi?"
What?! Kumunot ang noo ko at seryosong pinakinggan siya ulit.
"What did you say?"
"Sir Bayansi po? Sir Gabrielle Antonio Bayansi?"
Irita akong umirap. Is this person serious? Hindi man lang nila sinearch the internet for the proper pronunciation of my last name? Bayansi talaga?
"It's not Bayansi," I coldly said. "It's Bianchi."
"Bianchi? Bianchi pala pronunciation nito? Akala ko Bayansi?" He confusingly exclaimed.
