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Asa apartment parin ni Anthony ang magkapatid. Natanggal na ni Mon ang dugo sa sahig. Si Katleya naman ay nakapagkahon na ng mga libro at papel na nahiram ni Anthony. Habang nilalagay niya ang isa sa mga libro sa kahon ay may nalaglag na litrato.

Pinulot naman ito ni Katleya at laking gulat niya ng makita mukha ng kanyang namayapang anak. Halos kahawig niya ang anak niya, ang naiba lang ay ang mala-kahel na kulay ng buhok ng anak. Napabuntong hininga naman siya.

Marami siyang pinagsisisihan at gusto niyang isumpa ang mundo sa sobrang galit niya sa pagkamatay noon ng anak niya. Sinumpa niya noon na maghihiganti siya sa mag-ama at gagawin niyang impyerno ang buhay nila.

"Ate..." tawag ni Mon sakanya. Ngumiti naman si Katleya at hinarap si Mon.

"Hmmm?" Saka naman tumingin ang dalaga sa kapatid na nakatingin sa pintuan. Sinundan naman niya ng tingin at nakita si Anthony na naka ballcap at facemask.

"You're not supposed to be here." sabi ni Katleya. Naging malalim at seryoso ang boses niya. Kung siya lang talaga ang papipiliin ay talagang ipapakulong niya ang lalake at hahayaan mabulok sa kulungan.

"So are you." sabi ni Anthony na nakitang nakaimpake na ang mga gamit niya at nakakahon ang mga libro at letrtatong hiniram niya.

"You!" kwinelyuhan ni Mon si Anthony na handang basagin ang muka ng lalake.

"I come here in peace!" sabi ni Anthony na nakaangat ang dalawang kamay.

"You shot me!! Asshole!" galit na sinabi ni Mon.

"Well, you aren't dead, are you?" sarkastikong sinabi niya.

"Pull that joke once more... I'll end you myself." sabi ni Katleya at hinila si Mon sa tabi niya. "What the hell do you want?"

"I'm here to apologize. I know what I did was wrong. And..." napatigil siya at napatingin sa letratong hawak ni Katleya.

Hindi siya nakapagsalita agad...

"I... I know who you are..." mahinang sinabi ni Anthony kay Katleya. "I cannot deny the resemblance. She talked about looking for you... you know..."

"I know. Why do you think I worked under your dad? It was the only way I can get close to her without her knowing." kalmadong sabi ni Katleya. "And you killed her."

"And I am greatly sorry for that. I truly am." sabi ni Anthony at lumuhod sa harap ni Katleya. "I know you won't forgive me that easy. I am ready to pay for my mistakes."

Hindi nagsalita ang magkapatid at tinignan lang siya.

"You are?"

"My dad disowned me. My reputation is stained... there's nothing more that I can lose. Katleya, I loved your daughter... I really did. And I'm sorry for everything." sabi niya at halos nanghihinang tumayo. "I have to make things right." at nakayukong umalis sa BnB.

"What was that about?" Tanong ni Mon na halos di makapaniwala sa nasaksihan niya.

"I hope it's not something stupid." sabi naman ni Katleya. Maaring galit siya sa lalake ngunit nagaalala parin siya.

Kinagabihan ay umuwi na ang magkapatid. Binalik nila ang mga dokumento ng mga Francisco at umuwi.

*DING*

[Meet me at the old cemetery. Near your family mausoleum. -AV]

Sabi sa text ng isang anonymous number kay Katleya.

"Baka patibong yan?" pagaalalang sabi ni Mon. Napailing ang dalaga at nagisip.

"Should I go?" tanong niya sa kapatid.

"Why?" tanong ni Mon.

"My daughter loved him at some point. I want to know how could he be so heartless if he did love her..." sabi naman ni Katleya.

Alas diyes na ng gabi ng nagpunta si Katleya. Sinigurado niyang tulog si Mon saka siya pumunta sa sementeryo.

"Hey." sabi niya lang sa lalakeng nakatayo sa harap ng mosuleyo. Nakadistansya parin siya sa lalake.

"I want to give you this." sabi ni Anthony na naglapag ng isang white urn sa hagdanan ng mosuleyo.

"Is that--"

"Your daughter's ashes." sabi ni Anthony. May bahid ng lunkgot sa mga mata nito. "I kept it with me all these years hoping that someday I'll give her back to you."

"You saw me working with your dad in the office. Why couldn't you do it back then?" tanong ng dalaga.

"Takot akong makulong. After all I'm the reason she died. I wasn't able to give her the antidote on time." sabi niya at umupo sa hagdan. Tumayo lang naman si Katleya sa isang nitso sa gilid.

"I want to ask... why my daughter... my precious girl." tanong ni Katleya. Alam naman na niya ang sagot pero gusto parin niyang marinig sa lalake.

Huminga ng malalim si Anthony. Pumikit at saka tumingin sa mabituing langit.

"She liked me. She was in her sophomore year and I was doing my research for my senior year. I noticed her and asked her for a blood sample. As you already know it's common for us to get blood samples from random people. But she piqued my interest. She always smiled and was even giving me outputs. She's smart... I'm guessing she got that from you." napatigil si Anthony at tumingin sa direksyon ni Katleya.

"When she saw my research she was excited. She volunteered to help. And she did... Then it got the best of me. I slowly got eaten by my curiosity and started human experiments. She's one of them."

"She begged me to stop but I couldn't... in my mind I thought it was the right thing... It dawned on me when one day I went to my dad's office and I saw you. You looked exactly like her and it freaked me out. I felt you know..." tumango naman si Katleya na kinumpirma na alam niya nga ang sinasabi ni Anthony.

"So in the end I told her that I will let her see you... if she continues to be my test subject." napapikit si Anthony sa alaala niyang iyon at tumingin muli kay Katleya.

"Why did you put her up for adoption?" tanong ni Anthony...

"I couldn't take care of her back then. I had nothing. Her father didn't want us and he even wanted me to abort the child. I didn't of course. .. I was still in college then. My grandpa would have disowned me, so I went far away and gave birth." sabi ni Katleya. maingat siya sa kanyang mga salita lalo na't Vasquez parin ang lalake. Malinis man ang intensyon ng lalake ay wala parin siyang tiwala dito.

"I see... well... I'm late for bringing her back to you. But I hope you can find closure. And I am deeply sorry." sabi niya at nagsimulang lakarin ang madilim na daan palabas ng sementeryo.

Pinasok naman ni Katleya ang urn ng anak sa mosuleyo.

How could time be so cruel?

Tanong nalamang ni Katleya sa sarili.