NOTE: Any historical inaccuracy is my fault and shall be remedied at final editing. Kung hindi man po maisaayos ang mga hindi tumpak na impormasyon tungkol sa kasaysayan ay mayroong maiiba sa concept ng istorya. Baka gawin kong parallel dimensions, rather than time travel. We shall see, as I don't want to bastardize history. This will not affect the story as a whole, don't worry.

For now, read on.

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"Is everything okay?"

Knox looked at Tisha who stopped sucking his cock. May pagtataka sa mukha nito. It was obvious why. He had lost his erection. Noon lang nangyari iyon habang magkasama sila ng babae.

Napabuntong-hininga siya. Hindi niya alam kung sasabihin sa babaeng mas pagbutihin ang ginagawa o tigilan na nila ang lahat. He did not understand what the hell was going on with him. Hindi rin niya maintindihan kung bakit kanina ay bigla siyang nagkaroon ng kakaibang karanasan. It was almost as if he was transported to some dimension, fucking a woman who was not there with him. It was insane. Ni hindi niya kilala kung sino ang babaeng iyon. Si Tisha ang kasama niya pero parang ibang babae ito. It was the weirdest thing he had ever experienced. If he were in a party, he would've concluded that perhaps he had a whiff of some strong weed, or someone slipped some drunk in his drink. Pero wala siyang kahit na anong ginawang kakaiba sa araw na iyon. Unless Tisha slipped him a drug.

"Did you put something in my drink earlier?" tanong niya sa babae, hindi na nakatiis.

"What?" Halatang hindi inaasahan ng babae ang katanungan. "What are you talking about?"

"I know you enjoy drugs occasionally and you once asked me to try E. Just tell me what you put in my drink and I promise I won't take it against you."

Biglang tumayo ang babae, lukot ang mukha at halatang hindi makapaniwala sa narinig. "Are you accusing me of drugging you?"

"It's merely a question."

"For your information, I used E only a few times. The high is not worth the dehydration. My skin reacts horribly. Also, I may be available for fucking every time you call me but I will never ever drug you. You're doing well without it." Tumaas ang kilay nito. "Don't blame me if you can't get your dick up. It happens. With age."

Bitch. With age? He was only thirty-three! Tumayo na siya at tumuloy sa banyo. He took a shower and got ready to leave Tisha's apartment. "I'm leaving."

"Maybe next time I'll slip Viagra in your drink?" pang-aasar ng babae.

Hindi na lang niya ito kinibo. She was not that great in bed anyway. Nang makarating sa parking area ay sumakay na siya sa sasakyan at agad iyong pinasibad. Flashes of what happened earlier played inside his head. Mabilis niyang naisip na wala siyang erection problem. There he was, hard as a rock just merely remembering doing the woman who was Tisha and not Tisha at the same time.

Even her scent was different. Tisha always wore Chanel No.5. The woman he made love earlier to had a scent of incense—smoky, heady, woodsy. Hindi niya alam kung paano nangyaring parang may ibang kaluluwang sumanib kay Tisha. But it was only for a brief moment, and then she was gone.

Do I need to go to a fucking shrink?

Nagpasya siyang pabayaan muna ang lahat ng iyon sa ngayon. Baka lang naging masyadong aktibo ang imagination niya dahil na rin sa trabaho. His brother was trying to develop a big online game. Role-playing game iyon, may iba't ibang karakter. His imagination took over as he was fucking Tisha. Iyon muna sa ngayon ang iisipin niya. He was probably fantasizing about a woodland female warrior character from the game.

Umuwi na siya sa kanyang bahay. It was a mansion in Forbes Park. He was old school when it came to houses in the Philippines. Aminado naman siyang hindi praktikal pagdating sa yaman sa Pilipinas. In other countries, he didn't care where he lived, as long as it was decent enough. Pero hindi sa Pilipinas dahil na rin naaalala niyang pinangako niya noon sa ina na ititira niya ito sa Forbes Park. Oo at nagbibiro siya noong mga panahong iyon pero mayroon pa ring timbang sa kanya. He always imagined his mother looking at him and his brother. Sometimes he talked to her still and tell her that the mansion he had promised her was now there.

Nang mag-ring ang phone ay sinagot niya iyon. It was Ana, Danielle's sister. Danielle was an old girlfriend who passed away a few months ago. She was murdered. Bago iyon ay may iniwan sa kanyang antigong relo ang babae na ang bilin ay huwag na huwag sasabihin sa iba na nasa kanya. Dagdag ng babae, nasa panganib ang buhay nito dahil sa relong iyon. She died a week after giving him the pocket watch. It wasn't even working.

"Hi, Ana," sagot niya sa phone.

"How are you?"

"I'm great. And you?"

"I'm still trying to look for the watch that Ate lost. Have you got any news?"

"No. You can't even show me a photo so it's impossible to look for it," pagsisinungaling niya. To be completely honest, he thought that Ana was responsible for her sister's death. Noong nakaraang buwan lang ay nabalitaan niyang may relasyon na ito sa dating asawa ni Danielle.

Ang malaking misteryo ay kung bakit nalagay sa alanganin ang buhay ng babae nang dahil sa isang antigong relo na walang halaga. Ang pinakamalaking halagang makukuha niya para doon ay baka wala pang dalawang-daang libong piso. Danielle was a millionaire, though it was unclear how she got to be so rich. Middle class family ang pinagmulan nito, kasamahan niya noon sa BPO. Nawala ang babae ng ilang taon, ang sabi ay nag-abroad daw, at nang magbalik ay madaming biniling franchise ng kung ano-anong negosyo. She used to joke about conning a rich white man. Hindi alam ni Knox kung totoo iyon pero hindi siya masusurpresa kung ganoon nga. In fact, sometimes that seemed to be the only relevant explanation as to why she gad become rich. But that was none of his business. He had always liked Dani though. She was smart, funny, and enjoyed life.

"I just think that whoever has that watch killed my sister," ani Ana sa kabilang linya.

"Let's hope the authorities find other clues," aniya.

Nagpaalam na rin ang babae at tinapos ang tawag. Knox went to his room. Sa isang panig ng silid ay mayroong walk-in closet. Tumuloy siya doon. Sa dulo ng walk-in closet ay mayroong shelf na isang hidden door. The old owner of the house used that hidden room as an office. Hindi niya naman nagagamit iyon, maliban sa pagtatabi ng mga importanteng dokumento. Sa drawer ng lamesa ay naroon ang pocket watch ni Danielle. Pinagmasdan niya iyon. Was there something that he missed? Bakit ganoon kahalaga ang relo? Mayroon siyang alam sa mga relo, kahit sa mga antigo, dahil mayroon siyang koleksiyon noon. This really was just a regular watch. It was not even made of gold.

You died for this, Dani, why?

Baka naman nagkamali siya sa pag-iisip ng ganoon pero kahit na anong isip niya ay doon ay doon nauuwi ang kanyang konklusyon. Danielle was found completely burned inside the cottage in her own farm. Hindi na nakilala ang bangkay ng babae dahil sunog na sunog iyon. Nang magtanong siya kay Ana, ang sabi ng babae ay madalas daw magpalipas ng gabi ang kapatid nito sa cottage na iyon na malayo sa main house. Ana said it was where Dani wrote her manuscripts. Mula nang yumaman ang babae ay nakapagsulat na ito ng ilang biography ng mga matagumpay na negosyante. Ana also said that Danielle usually took sleeping pills because she had insomnia. Hinala ni Ana, nanigarilyo si Danielle bago nahiga at nakatulog na nang dahil sa sleeping pills. The cigarette burned the hut and she died.

That seemed too convenient, Knox thought. Pero ano ang magagawa niya kung ayon din sa report ng bumbero ay sigarilyo ang pinagmulan ng sunog? Oo at sinabi ni Danielle na nasa panganib ang buhay nito pero sapat na ba iyon para maisip ni Knox na pinatay ang babae? Ah, hindi niya alam. Hindi pa niya sigurado ang lahat.

Itinabi niya ang relo sa lalagyan at tumuloy na sa silid. He took a shower and dried his hair. Nahiga na siya matapos. Hindi niya magawang makatulog. May naririnig siyang tunog na hindi niya alam kung saan nagmumula. Parang mga lalaking nagsasalita. That was insane because his room was soundproof. Agad niyang tiningnan ang phone kung baka may video na nabuksan. There was none.

Bumangon siya at inilapat ang tainga sa pader. Wala naman siyang naririnig mula roon. He looked like a fool, placing his ear on every damned wall naked. Ipinikit niya ang mga mata at nag-concentrate sa tunog.

"Madaming kasapi mula Kabite," anang isang tinig.

"Mapeligro ang paglalakbay patungong Kabite sa ngayon. Dahil sa munting pag-aaklas ay alerto nang lalo ang mga guardia sibil."

What the fuck? Knox tried even harder to listen but the sound was slowly being drowned by the ambient noise of his A/C unit. Nagmulat siya ng mata, saka nagmamadaling inabot ang phone. Soon, he was Googling for a shrink, fear almost overwhelming him. How ironic would it be if he lost everything by losing his sanity? No, he won't allow it. Hindi siya puwedeng mabaliw.

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