Chapter Text
Saturday, 04-02-16, 9:00 AM, Brgy. Pulung Bulo
It was the laziest weekend so far, and Nonong was starting to regret the fact that he had a little over a month's worth of rest before launching back into his summer duties in the hospital. He wasn't really sure how much longer he could stay lounging around the house before it drove him mad.
He kept telling himself that at least, it was a weekend. He found himself hanging by the brick wall that separated the old orchard. The team had converted it into a sparring field and it was being put into good use by Jay, Rusca, Goyong and Jose Bernal. His cousin was busy running her three male students into some drills on knife fighting, looking like she wasn't ill at all.
They stopped as they noticed him watching and Jay grinned at him. "Gusto mo din ba ng lessons?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yan? Sasali? Eh kumuha nga lang ata ng tubig sa ref napapagod na yan eh!" A glint of mischief lit up Rusca's face as he regarded their spectator.
Nonong glared at him, crossing his arms and leaning against the entrance. "Hindi naman ako ganun katamad ah!"
"Couch potato lang, ano?" Goyong asked.
"Look who's talking, ikaw nga yung patatas ng bahay eh," Jose noted boredly, picking off flecks of dirt from his knee.
"Ulikbang patatas, as matter of fact." Jay dropped her makeshift knife and dusted her hands. "Papunta na siguro si Aurora, mamaya naman ulit."
A thrill of both annoyance and excitement fluttered in Nonong's gut. Bakit ngayon pa? "Pupunta si Aurora dito? Aurora Aragon?"
"Oo, bakit? Bawal na ba?" Jay's catlike grin never left her face as she made her way out of the small field. "Play nice, ha?"
"I always play nice," he complained. His stomach fluttered amidst his friends' snickers. "Siya ang hindi."
"Utot mo." Jose ruffled his hair in an infuriating manner. "Nakita namin kung paano kayo magbangayan sa Baguio. Don't us, hijo."
He could still feel their amused gazes when he stalked right back to the house. Aurora Aragon. Sisirain ba niya yung bakasyon ko?
Saturday, 04-02-16, 10:00 AM, Brgy. Pulung Bulo
Despite his insistence that he actually detested her, he found himself in the living room perched on his favorite beanbag. He was fiddling idly on his phone when Jay arrived with a somewhat frazzled Aurora in tow. He peered up from his spot, couldn't help himself when he gazed at her face. He saw her staring back with dislike that was mingling with somethig else that he hoped was actually the same wistfulness that he had for her.
May mga bagay na mahirap baguhin kahit na mabilis ang pagagos ang panahon.
He looked away, eyes flicking back to his phone and the game that he was trying to busy himself with. He wondered what it would be like to hack into her social media accounts, get a better idea of the new life she was living. He brushed the thought aside though. She would never forgive him if he intruded upon her life.
He profusely ignored her even when she and Jay sat down on the couch behind him. He kept his mind and his eyes on his game. He was still hyperaware of her presence though, and he could feel her staring at him.
He tuned out their conversation, pretending that curiosity did not eat him up.
Joven marched down the stairs, arms laden with some papers for his cafe. He nodded to the two ladies before taking up space on the beanbag beside Nonong's with a huff.
"Kamusta naman yung summer vacation mo?" he asked after a few seconds of awkward silence.
Nonong shrugged nonchalantly. "Medyo boring."
Joven smiled and glanced at the women behind them before turning back to him. "Pinaka exciting na ba sayo yung pagdating ni Aurora?" he asked in a low voice.
Nonong rolled his eyes at that. Ikaw din? "Eh, parang ganun na nga."
A knowing look crossed Joven's features as he leaned forward in a conspiring way. "May feelings ka ba para sakanya, aber?"
"Ano to, The Buzz?" Nonong scowled at his cousin and turned away. "Punyeta, paano ka magkakafeelings kung puro death threat yung nakukuha mo sa tao?"
That seemed to amuse Joven, which was infuriating. "Alam mo, damang dama naman naming lahat yung sexual tension niyong dalwa eh."
"Sexual - ano?" yelped Nonong. He covered his mouth when he realized that his words came out louder than they should and looked down. "Kuya naman eh!"
Joven smirked as he turned to his paperwork. "Just think about it."
"Ganyan naman kayo palagi eh." Nonong made a face as he stood up to get a drink.
"Sandali," Aurora called out from behind him. "Manuel, pwede ba tayong magusap?"
That elicited a wince from him. He turned to face her, hoping he didn't seem too stiff. There was no use offending her and make her dislike him even more.
"Anong kailangan mo?" he asked placidly.
She motioned outside, to the garden. "Dun tayo magusap."
He followed her outside to the searing summer sun, and sat on the bench under the shade of the old lanzones tree. It wasn't exactly a big deal, but it reminded him of the old days and their courtship. He stared at her, wondering if she could recall them too.
"Naaalala ko na," she noted boredly before he could even make some sort of innocent remark. "Pero hindi yun yung dapat nating pagusapan."
"Ibig sabihin ba eh walang sapakang mangyayari?" he asked cheekily.
Her lips lifted up in a smirk. "Wala muna sa ngayon. Pero may dapat tayong pagusapan."
"Ano yun?" He was proud that his voice did not shake. His hands had turned icy and sweaty though.
Aurora leaned forward. "May dirt ako kay Dolores Nable Jose."
"Dirt?" A feeling of foreboding gripped him, playing with quiet suspicions that began to form in his head. "Wag mong sabihing may kinalaman yan sa - sa pagkamatay mo noon."
She looked down, fiddling on her shirt button. "Hindi ako sigurado - medyo hazy eh. Pero malaki yung chance na tama ka."
Anger boiled in his gut like the rushing waves of a raging sea. Hearing about how Dolores was messing up the team's life was bad enough. Learning that she may have been behind Aurora's assassination was just way below the belt. He looked up, noticing her concerned gaze.
"May nalaman ka bang dapat itago sakanya?" he asked as calmly as he could.
She rubbed her forehead. "Hindi ko gaanong maalala," she admitted. "Pero alam kong nasa Baler yung sagot?"
Memories of waves crashing against the beach, of a family that he used to have, flooded Nonong's thoughts. He fought them back, struggled to keep his feet on the ground despite the grief that suddenly threatened to eat him up. Hindi ka na si Manuel Quezon, boy.
"Alam mo sigurong malayo layo sa Angeles yung Baler, ano?" he asked instead.
She nodded. She seemed to be hiding something from him - and he didn't mind it one bit. They all had secrets that they took to the grave. "Oo, alam ko. Pero sigurado akong may naiwan ako doon na importante - na kailangan niyo laban kay Dolores."
Her words left a trail of goosebumps down his arms. Despite his happiness that he wasn't born a Quezon anymore, it seemed like the past was still determined to run after him with a scream.
"Malaut ya ing Baler." Malayo ang Baler. He kept his eyes on her, refusing to let her stare him down. "Kung may alam si Dolores, ibig sabihin aasahan niyang babalik ka doon."
She never tore her eyes away from his, either. "Alam ko yan. Pero what if kakailanganin natin yung kung ano man yung tinago ko doon?"
"Hindi ko naman sinabing wag kang pupunta," he shot back. "Pero pwede kitang samahan kung gusto mo."
"Hindi ko alam kung dumadamoves ka sa akin o seryoso ka," she noted.
He looked down, assessing himself. He remembered Baguio, remembered their recent encounters. He recalled their past lives, their marriage, their children. He still had memories of Goyong bleeding to near death on the pavement last December. He could also see his cousin writhing in pain after a fight with one of the dopplegangers.
It wasn't just about what they had and what they could have.
"Nakita ko yung kayang gawin ng mga sidekick ni Dolores," he told her. "Ayokong may masaktan ulit sila."
She didn't seem willing to believe his words, but he knew he meant it. She watched him with sharp eyes, as if assessing just how truthful he was. "Kilala kita."
"Kilala mo ako noon." His thoughts flickered to the way that Joven was now more outgoing, less brooding. "Hindi mo naman ako binigyan ng chance na magpakilala ng maayos ngayon."
That struck her. She fell silent, finally breaking their eye contact. "Maguusap ulit tayo," she told him curtly before heading into the house.
"Ano nanamang ginawa ko?" he called out to her.
He didn't get any response.
Bonus
Saturday, 04-02-16, 7:00 PM, Brgy. Pulung Bulo
It was the second of April. Jay couldn't believe that it had been four months since Goyong nearly lost his life, four months since the two of them became official, four months since the team's actual adventure started.
A lot of things happened during the past four months, both good and bad.
She didn't expect that they would end up facing more dopplegangers and a witch. She never expected to receive a curse that would end her life soon. She didn't think that they'd end up in more wild goose chases and perilous adventures. She never expected to be engaged exactly a hundred days after that fateful day.
She had been spending so much of her free time researching her condition, doing her best not to succumb to the panic and fear that threatened to overwhelm her. Not even her cousin's medical books could tell her anything that the doctors hadn't, though. Something was wrong with her heart and no one knew why, or what to do with it. Facing a foe with knowledge in both witchcraft and medical science irked her.
That was how Nena and Cat found her under the staircase that night - her nose buried deep in one of Nonong's books.
"Nagpapakalunod ka na ata talaga sa research mo, ano?" Nena asked with concern. "Ayos ka lang ba?"
"Hinahanap ko yung pangontra sa sumpa ni Dolores," Jay told her confidently. "Sigurado akong meron. Ali ku pa mate. Marakal ya pang utang kaku." Hindi pa ako mamamatay. Marami pa siyang utang sakin.
"Paano kung wala? Or kung meron man, paano kung nawala na yung records nito?" asked Cat, peering at the stack of books around Jay.
"Hahanap ako ng paraan para hindi mamatay." A small, savage grin flickered across Jay's pale face. Hindi ako takot. Hindi ako pwedeng matakot. Dolores surely must have missed something. "Sinabi niyang titigil yung puso ko. Di naman niya sinabing di nila mapapagana ulit."
She was reassuring herself as much as her friends, but she knew that she had to muster as much confidence as she could. She might even find a way to fix the problem that she actually caused by bluffing through it.
"Hindi naman magandang diyan ka palagi tumatambay, hindi rin yan healthy," mused Nena.
Cat nodded and tugged at Jay's arm. "Tara, kain na tayo. Wag mong pagurin masyado yung sarili mo. Stressful din yung research na yan."