Precious Gem
——————————————————————

"Has he broke a gear?" puna ni Callum pagkarating.

Harrison and his mate simultaneously shrugged before turning their back on Rios who had been staring at the ceiling for hours before Callum came. Walang pasubaling niya itong hinampas sa balikat upang mabalik sa huwisyo. Labis naman ang pagkagulat ni Rios nang makita ang busangot na mukha ng kaibigan.

Rios eyes fluttered for several times before he aggressively pointed his fingers at Callum, his nose flared, "You! Ikaw ang may kasalanan nito, eh! If only I didn't go to that wicked place, hindi sana ako makulam ng babaeng iyon!" panted afterwards.

Napahalukipkip si Callum rito, "Ano bang ginawa mo?" matabang niyang tanong.

"Ano pa ba yung pinagawa mo?! Edi, hinanap yung mambabarang!"

"And?" Callum and the couple asked in unison.

"And asked that weird witch where that Adelaide was!"

"Oh, tas?" ani Jarriet.

"At sabi niya na wala raw kaya sa susunod nalang ako babalik!" nanlalaki pa rin ang mga butas ng ilong nito.

"Where the hell is kulam there?" Harrison brows furrowed.

Sa pagkakataong ito ay napatayo na si Rios nang matandaan niya na naman ang babaeng iyon, "That witch was insane! Freaking insane! She got mad when I decided to stay, eh, siyempre ang layo ng pamamahay nila mula rito kaya sino ba ang may gustong bumalik ulit doon? So, the stubborn in me overwhelmed my body and when it did, I suddenly became still and breathless! And she started invading my privacy and chanted whatever was in my mind that time and in a snap of fingers, bigla ko nalang nakita ang sarili ko sa labas ng kinakalawang nilang gate!" and cursed repeatedly with conviction.

Napamaang nalang sila rito at kapagkuwan ay napailing. They immediately got an idea what was happening to their friend. Napatapik nalang si Callum sa balikat nito at may bahid na awa ang mukha.

"You're not cursed, bro. You're just smitten."

Agad na nanalisik ito, "Who the hell would be smitten for that witch?! Binastos na nga niya yung isipan ko, sinarhan pa ako ng gate! Imagine, Harley Rios being refused!"

"Wala ka sa Avrieda kaya huwag kang mayabang." gunita ni Jarriet na ngayo'y kumakain na.

"And we know how your brain works, Rios. Nahihiya ka lang dahil nabasa niya ang kahalayan mo nang makita siya." saad naman ng alpha.

Napakurap si Rios habang pinanindigan ang kaakuhan. He hated how his friends knew him so much that he immediately got caught lying, "Kahit na! Masama pa rin yung binabasa niya ang isipan ko!" iyak niya kaya nag-irap nalang ang tatlo.

"So, did you get what I asked?" seryoso na si Callum.

Doon naman bumalik sa pagkapormal si Rios, "It's actually the first thing that witch told me."

"Ano raw sabi?" singit ni Jarriet na ngayo'y nakasilip mula sa likuran ng asawa.

"It was really fast when she said that but I was able to comprehend it. Sabi niya hindi ka raw nakulam at hindi mo siya pares. May sinabi rin siya tungkol sa buwan at magnanakaw, aside from that, I also heard the terms unintentional and connection, and everything after that just doesn't make sense at all." kunot noo nitong paliwanag.

Napakapit si Callum sa likuran ng upuan, "Gaano ka walang kuwenta iyon?"

Rios shrugged, "Sabi niya kapag may isang mamamatay sa inyo, susunod yung isa."

And that made the whole place stop. All four of them couldn't figure out what was happening and couldn't even dare to say a single word from what they heard. Pareho silang tatlo na napaawang labi at kulang nalang na kapusin sila ng hininga dahil nakalimutan nila ito.

Seconds turned to minutes and even if it became an hour, Harrison knew he needed to break the silence between them dahil kahit paman isa-isahin nila ang mga piraso ay alam nilang kulang pa rin ito upang makabuo ng konklusyon.

"Okay, that's unethically absurd but who exactly told you that?" dahil naalala nitong wala raw ang magaling na mangkukulam doon.

"Uh—Claire raw pangalan niya." kamot noo ni Rios.

"How is she related to Adelaide? Pinsan? Anak? O?" Harrison suspiciously interrogated while Jarriet beside him was silently simping him and Callum on the other side was already out of the world.

"Ewan ko. Hindi ko naman tinanong. Hindi ko rin mabasa isipan dahil nga mangkukulam."

Harrison nodded, his eyes on Callum, "But she was inside that wicked place?" Rios then answered him yes.

Their alpha immediately concluded the situation. What Rios said would be classified as hoax, dahil una sa lahat hindi nila kilala ang babae. Posibleng pinaglaruan lang nito si Rios dahil sa pagkatigas ng ulo. Pangalawa at panghuli, that thing he mentioned has never happened. Malabo ngunit nakakapagtataka. Dahil ni isang beses ay wala siyang narinig na ganoong kaso. Even mates wouldn't die after their own mates! And having a mate is the strongest bond their kind has. Kaya hindi siya naniniwala sa imposibleng sinabi ng babae.

Mabilis siyang naghanap ng mga clue sa nalaman ni Rios lalo na nang makita ang kaibigang nasa malayo ang tingin. Harrison suddenly felt a pang in his heart. Him and Callum have been friends ever since they started walking, kaya alam niya halos lahat ng pangyayare sa buhay nito. And seeing his best friend right now looked like the Callum from six years ago.

Mariing napapikit nalang siya at ipinilig ang ulo. He had to think for a solution right now before Callum's mind could even go deeper.

Tumikhim siya, "Callum, do you, by any chance, heard anything from Aldeheid when the two of you talked?"

Pumihit sa kaniya ang kaibigan at doon lang nagising, "We don't really talk that much since I'm chasing my time..." Harrison suddenly felt guilty about that, "But she kept on asking me about what I did to her, about how I made her body change, and how did she become what she is right now." mahinahong sambit ni Callum.

"Changes in her body? Paanong change?" komento ni Jarriet.

Callum silently nodded, "I've been watching her for a week and I could clearly see the apparent changes in her. Aside from her strong sweet scent, biglang nagkalaman siya, mas lalong pumuti at humaba rin ng kaunti ang buhok. It's as if she was being awakened or she's under mutation. But that wasn't really a problem." nagtaka naman ang tatlo nang makita ang pagsilay ng gatla sa noo ng kaibigan.

"What was the problem?"

Callum, for the third time since Aldeheid came, got confused again. Iyon ang nakita ni Harrison kaya mas nasabik siya sa kaso ng kaibigan at ng babaeng nakapagpaamo rito.

Callum cocked his head to the side, hesitating about what he was going to say. Napabuntonghininga na lamang siya, "You wouldn't believe this but you don't have a choice anyways." tumuwid siya ng tayo at sinambit ang mga salitang ikinaluwa ng mga mata nila.

"What the f—she's becoming a hybrid!" hiyaw ni Rios na tila ba'y nababaliw sa narinig dahil sa pares na palad nitong nakakumot sa sariling buhok.

"Are you sure about what you saw? Baka pinaglaruan ka lang ng liwanag?" hindi makapaniwala na si Jarriet.

Tumango lamang si Callum at nginitian sila na may bahid na paumanhin. "My eyes are too clear that I could even see Rios's booger from here." atsaka napatakip si Rios sa ilong bago sinuri kung meron nga ba talaga.

At meron nga.

Harrison grunted out of confusion, "Okay, this is fucking confusing me. How the hell can a human turn into a hybrid when a human mate can't?" aniya kaya naaliw ang tatlo.

Alpha Harrison has always an answer to everything. Madali lang para sa kaniya ang mga problema sa bayan at kahit sa labas ng lungsod nila. Bukod sa matalino ay sadyang bukas lang talaga ang isipan nito sa paligid kaya nakakamangha nalang dahil ito ang pangalawang pagkakataong nakita nila ang lito sa mukha nito.

"I'm really sorry for being a bother. Hindi ko talaga ginusto ang nangyare at mas lalong nag-aalala ako para kay Alde na walang kaalam-alam sa uri natin."

Callum didn't really have to say that. Alam naman niyang naiintindihan siya ng mga kaibigan niya. But being involved in a case wherein everyone needs to think, he couldn't help but feel guilty.

Kung kaya niya lang ay hindi na siya hihingi ng tulong sa mga 'to. Ayaw niyang dumagdag sa problema nila at ayaw na ring maging disturbo.

Iwinaksi nalang niya iyon sa isipan at sinabayan ang mga kaibigan sa pag-isip. He already has some pieces in his hands but something is really lacking. Perhaps the piece that would lead them closer to where the key of the locked door was hidden.

Doon naalala niya ang sinabi ni Rios at ang pinuntahan niya bago siya pumasok sa mansyon. He cleared his throat to get their attention, at walang pagdadalawang-isip na nagkuwento siya.

"The thief's body was ready to get buried when I got there. Mabuti nalang at nandoon si Claudette kaya ipinabasa ko ito agad. All she said about the last 7 minutes of the thief's life was him being in a human's room, sniffing her scent and walking towards her. He was not able to touch her because I immediately barged in. Natutuwa ako dahil ni daliri niya ay hindi ito nagalaw ngunit nakakapaghinayang naman na wala akong nakuhang iba pang impormasyon bukod doon." the three then spilled their comments and Harrison's question stopped him.

"Did you remember when Dorothy said that Aldeheid was her mother's precious gem?" Callum's forehead creased as he nodded.

"What if the gem was another thing than being special but precious?" he abstractly asked, with quizzical brows.

"Like money?" sarkastikong puna ni Rios.

Harrison rolled his eyes, "Anak ka ba talaga ng tatay mo? Ba't ka bobo?" aniya kaya naasar tuloy ni Jarriet.

Napahalukipkip nalang si Rios at tinaasan ng gitnang daliri si Jarriet noong hindi nakatingin si Harrison.

Nahinto si Callum at tahimik na nag-isip. A gem that was special and precious, kahit naman hindi niya isipin ay alam niyang direkta itong naglalarawan kay Aldeheid. A daughter with that features and attitude is no doubt a gem. But he should focus more about what the alpha asked.

Ano nga ba ang ibang bagay na pwedeng maging espesyal ang tao kahit walang kakayahan?

His mind then lingered back to his conversations with Aldeheid. Napapangiti siya habang iniisip ang mga ito. Her small figure and cute little manners have really lived in his mind. Bukod doon ay ang maamong boses nito at walang katapusang tanong.

He couldn't help his giggles to escape but halted when he remembered something his little Alde said.

Tatlong pares na mga mata ang binati niya. Malinaw sa mga ito ang pagkasabik na marinig ang pumukaw sa isipan niya. He blinked twice before he spoke.

"I think it's the time we should widen our perspectives."

"Why?"

He could only wet his lips before answering, "Because that precious gem we're talking about is not Aldeheid but her condition." his heart pounded in excitement as he went on, "Aldeheid is sick. And that's why her mother is treating her the way a sick daughter should be treated."

——————————————————————
nyariina