Chapter 10: The Iliad (The Riddle)

Khael found out the person behind the attempt of killing Gray. On the other hand, Gray found out the person behind the supposed-to-be sabotage for the play, Romeo and Juliet. It was a girl named Chary. Miyembro ito ng Repertory Club ngunit dahil si Rachel ang napili, she was furious and planned to cancel the play by knocking Rachel with sleeping pills.

So far, Bridle has been peaceful. The attempt of poisoning Gray ay hindi na namin pinaalam sa iba to keep Gray's life private at para na rin sa welfare ng eskwelahan. It's not good to know that there were attempted murders in Bridle. Wala na ang maraming tao mula sa showcase kahapon at ngayon ay balik na naman kami sa aming normal na klase. Hinihintay namin ang aming literature teacher ngunit trenta minutos na ang lumipas ay wala pa ito. It's our last subject for the morning session.

"Nadiyan na si Maam," anunsiyo ng kaklase kong si Marcus. Pumasok naman ang guro naming si Miss Mendez. Pawis na pawis ang mukha nito and she seems to be bothered. May hawak siyang mga papel.

"Sorry for being late class," panimula niya. "Something came up. Do you remember the book in the library which is put in a glass case?"

The book in the glass case? Is she referring to The Iliad? Nagbulong-bulongan naman ang mga kaklae ko at sumagot naman ang isa kong kaklase na si Yuri. "Yes Ma'am, I think it's the Iliad."

"Yes, that's it. That's Homer's first edition of The Iliad. It's very rare to find first editions of classical books kaya Bridle consider it as a treasure," wika ni Miss Mendez. Yeah, most first edition books are treasures, I should say, lalo na sa tulad kong book lover.

"The bad news is that book was gone from its glass case in the library at kahit hinanap na namin sa ibang shelf, wala parin doon," Miss Mendez said. Is it stolen or somebody is just pulling some pranks of hiding the book? Nang lingunin ko si Gray ay matamang nakatitig lang ito kay Miss Mendez.

"But there was a message that the culprit left which states that the book is still within Bridle's premises but we have to solve a riddle so that we can find the book, but the faculty cannot solve it so we're giving the riddles to the students to help us locate the book," pagpapatuloy ni Miss Mendez.

Riddles? Ano naman ang motibo ng salarin at tinago ang libro and leave a riddle? Marahil ay wala lang iyong magawa sa buhay at napagtripan ang libro. Ipinamigay niya sa amin ang hawak-hawak na papel. It was the riddle and it goes like this:

Athena and Achilles have it common but I don't need it that much; a little will do. Hephaesthus is Greek but the Roman's first is needed; it's erupting fire indeed! Zeus has nothing but it's Hera's third! It's the end of war!

Hint:

9 years right after the start of Trojan War, it's loud when there's war but at peace when there's truce.

Nang kinalabit ako ni Gray ay napalingon ako sa kanya. "Do you have any idea about this stupid riddle?," tanong niya at umiling ako. His facial expression tells me he's bored. Nagpaalam naman si Miss Mendez matapos ipamigay ang riddle. She gave us the remaining hour to crack the riddle since they will also try to decode it. Lumabas ang ilan sa mga classmates namin at iilan lang kaming naiwan don.

Gray sat beside me. "Ano ang naiisip mong sagot sa riddle na ito? What's the motive of hiding the book and sending this riddle anyway?"

I shook my head. "Ewan, I really don't get it. At maging ang motibo ng kung sino mang gumawa nito. Binasa ko ulit ang riddle. What does Athena has something in common with Achilles?," I said as I tried to examine the riddle.

"Achilles is the hero of the Trojan war, known as the greatest warrior since he slayed Hector. Maybe it's wisdom that they have something in common," Gray said. Kinuha niya ang notebook at nagsulat.

Sumang-ayon naman ako. They both have wisdom. Marahil iyon ang ibig sabihin ng unang linya. "But what's the meaning of I don't need it that much, a little of it will do? We don't need wisdom that much?," tanong ko naman. This riddle is really hard.

"No, wisdom is needed." komento naman ni Gray. Sumandal siya sa upuan. He tapped the pencil on the table as he thinks. "Let's proceed to the second line."

"Roman's first? Is that referring to Jupiter which is the counterpart of Greek's Zeus? We can assume that Jupiter is ranked as the first of all the Roman's gods and goddesses since he's the chief of Roman gods," Gray said. Muli siyang nagsulat sa notebook niya.

Nagpatuloy kami sa pag-iisip sa kung ano ang sagot sa riddle nang biglang tumunog na ang school bell, tanda na lunch break na. Tumayo si Gray at bumalik sa upuan niya upang kunin ang kanyang gamit.

"Let's continue this later," he said bago lumabas ng classroom.

I decided to sleep than eat. Nang sumapit ang ala una ay bumalik na ako sa classroom. The classes went smoothly at nang tumunog na ang bell na tanda ng dismissal ay nagpaiwan ako sa upuan ko. Nang unti-unting lumabas ang lahat ay naupo ulit si Gray sa tabi ko. He brought with him his small notebook and the piece of paper with the riddle on it.

"I haven't seen you in the cafeteria, saan ka ba naglunch?," tanong niya.

"I didn't have lunch dahil natulog ako kanina."

"At bakit naman hindi ka kumain? You should eat dahil mahirap ang riddle na idedecode natin," he said and crossed his arms.

"Sherlock Holmes said Brain best work on an empty stomach," wika ko sa kanya and he made a face.

"You're not Sherlock Holmes kaya kailangan mong kumain," sagot niya sa akin. Tsk, lunch is not a big deal at all.

I rolled my eyes at piniling huwag magsalita at hinarap na lamang ang papel. The first line might be referring to wisdom, but just a little of it. Hindi pa rin namin masyadong naintindihan kung ano ang ibig sabihin niyon. We assumed that the second line refers to Jupiter, the Roman's chief god but what has it to do with Greek's god of fire Hephaesthus at ano ang ibig sabihin ng erupting fire? This is sure difficult to comprehend. Whoever made this riddle is good in making us suffer in decoding this. And the third? Zeus is Greek's king of gods and Hera is his wife and the queen. Hera's third? Ano ang ibig sabihin niyon? We're not sure if it refers to her children or those girls whom she punished because of their affair with Zeus. At sino ba ang pangatlong pinarusahan nito? We're not really sure of it.

And the end of war, if we based it on the book of The Iliad, it's probably the time when there was a truce between the Trojan and Achaeans. It can be connected with the story The Iliad ngunit nahihirapan pa rin kaming intindihin ang lahat and we couldn't get a clear picture of where the book is based in the riddle. Hindi namin namalayan na ilang oras na pala ang lumipas.

Tumayo si Gray at lumabas ng classroom. When he returned, he brought two watermelon shakes and two cakes slices na mula sa cafeteria. Inilapag niya ang pagkain sa desk. "Let's eat first. Nakakagutom ang riddle na ito. I'm sure as hell na pinag-isipan talaga ito ng kung sino man ang gumawa nito. It's not as easy as the alpha— alpha — bet ?"

Nagkatinginan kami ni Gray as if we're given a clue!

"Alphabet!" magkasabay naming bigkas.

Agad naman siyang naupo at muling binasa ang riddle. "I guess it's really wisdom. We need a little wisdom on this. Maybe this riddle is not as hard as we think it is."

"Gray I guess the first line talks about the letter A that the names Athena and Achilles have in common. And maybe you're right that we should limit our knowledge just like the riddle said. If we think logically, magiging masyadong malawak ang pag-uunawa natin but by understanding it literally, it simply means the first letter of their names," wika ko at napatango naman si Gray. He wrote the letter A on his small notebook.

Bumaling kami sa pangalawang linya. "Ah, the second line does not talks about Jupiter as the first of Roman's God but rather talks about Hephaeathus's Roman counterpart which is Vulcan. The line gives a clue actually. Erupting fire, it says. Volcanoes erupt and it sounded like Vulcan. The phrase erupting fire simply talks about the Roman God of Fire which is Vulcan and if we take the first letter of its name, that would be letter V," muling nagsulat si Gray sa notebook niya.

Matapos iyon ay ang pangatlong linya naman ang pinagtuonan namin ng pansin. "The third line is not complicated at all. Hindi ito tungkol sa pangatlong anak niya o sa pangatlong babae na pinarusahan niya. It's the letter R. We can simply assume that since the word WAR ends with letter R as well," wika ni Gray. AVR?

"Audio Visual Room!" Agad akong napatayo ngunit pinigilan ako ni Gray. He held my wrist at muli akong pinaupo. "What now?"

Kinuha niya ang inorder na watermelon shake at cake. Inilapag niya iyon sa harapan ko. "It can wait. Let's eat first," wika niya at nagsimulang sumubo. I rolled my eyes at him at nagsimula na ring kumain. He's so thoughtful by simply forcing me to eat. Maybe I'll thank him later.

Matapos naming kumain ay dumeretso na nga kami sa loob ng AVR.

Malaki iyon kaya hinati namin ni Gray ang area. He's on the left side while I'm on the right side. We checked under the metal chairs ngunit wala roon. Nang matapos naming tingnan lahat ay napaupo ako sa gitna ng AVR at humihingal.

"Mali ba ang pagdecode natin? Bakit wala dito?"

"No. Maybe there's more than that. Hindi ba may hint na nakasulat?," he said at pinunasan ang tumatagaktak nitong pawis. Hinubad nito ang suot na blazer at ang under shirt lang ang tinira.

"The hint is 9 years right after the start of Trojan War, it's loud when there's war but at peace when there's truce, what does it mean?"

Inilibot ni Gray ang kabuoan ng AVR and he let out a victorious smile. "It says it's loud when there's war but at peace when there's truce, that line might be referring to the speakers."

Napatingin ako sa mga speakers na nasa gilid. There were large square speakers na nakalagay sa mga dingding ng AVR. Since the AVR is wide, there is a lot of speakers here. 2 on both sides of stage and 8 on each side of of the wall. "The 9th on the right," wika ko. We rushed towards the last speaker on the right side. Binuksan iyon ni Gray at naroon nga ang libro!

"Nandito nga!," Gray exclaimed. "Dalhin na natin ito sa library".

Sumang-ayon ako sa kanya at agad kong binuksan ang pinto ng AVR ngunit hindi iyon mabuksan. "Ayaw bumukas," wika ko at lumapit naman sa akin si Gray. He tried to open the door but no avail.

"Shit! We're locked from the outside!," wika niya. Napasulyap ako sa relo ko.

What!? It's almost 9 in the evening!? Ibig sabihin we decoded the code for almost 4 hours!? Ang tanging ilaw na nakabukas sa loob ng AVR ay ang ilaw na nasa stage. Pumunta si Gray doon and pinanuod ako habang pinagsisipa ang pinto.

"Wala tayong ibang choice kundi ang manatili muna ditto. Kahit anong sipa pa ang gawin mo, hindi pa rin yan mabubuksan," he said at napaupo sa unang row ng mga upuan.

"What?! Nagbibiro ka ba?! Ayaw kong manatili dito!"

"We have no other choice! We got so engrossed in decoding the riddle to the point na hindi natin namalayan ang oras," he said and he crossed his arms. Oh no! I really hate this. Wala pa naman akong dalang gamit, even my cellphone ay naiwan ko sa bag.

"Where's your phone?," wika ko sa kanya. Kinuha naman niya ang cellphone sa bulsa niya.

"It's here but it's dead batt," wika niya at pinanghinaan na ako ng loob.

"Why are you bringing such useless phone?! Sana hindi mo na lang yan dinala kung hindi rin naman pala magagamit!," I shouted at him. I'm really mad. At mukhang si Gray ang napagdiskitahan ko.

"I didn't know na ganito ang kahahantungan natin. And why are you mad? Bakit ikaw? May dala ka bang cellphone or any means to help us out here?," he said to me. He's right. Naiwan ko sa bag ko ang cellphone ko and we both didn't expect this to happen. I don't like this. I really don't like this.

"Alam mo bang pagsapit ng alas dyes y media ay pinapapatay lahat ng power source dito sa Bridle maliban ang power source ng mga dorm?," tanong ko sa kanya.

"Yeah. Nalaman ko 'yan nang sinubukan kong lumabas ng dorm nang hatinggabi," he said. Sumandal siya sa upuan at tumingin sa akin. "Why do you ask?"

"Magiging madilim na dito mamaya," I said and prevented myself to panic. Yep, takot ako kapag sobrang dilim.

"And? Don't tell me you're afraid in the dark?," he said and he chuckled. Right that very moment ay gusto kong gilitan sa leeg si Gray. Anong nakakatawa sa pagiging takot sa dilim?

"Don't laugh moron! I might have a nervous breakdown later!," I hissed at him. Tumigil naman ito sa kakatawa.

"Don't worry. We just have to cuddle later para hindi ka matakot," he said at nanlaki ang mata ko. I picture the two of us cuddled together and I blushed.

"Hey! What's with that look? Are you trying to picture out the two of us cuddling together?," he said at mas lalo akong namula.

"Hindi ah! That's not what I'm thinking! At mas gugustuhin ko pang magkanervous breakdown than to cuddle with you!" Napakayabang talaga nito.

"Me either. Ayoko rin naman. Wala kang kalaman-laman sa katawan and you don't have curves. If we cuddle together, it's just like I'm cuddling with a log."

What did he just say? Log?! Hindi ako payat, I have just the right body at bakit payat ang tingin sa akin ng lalaking ito? Kung nakamamatay lang ang tingin ay marahil nakabulagta na sa sahig ngayon si Gray. "Hindi sabi ako payat! And there's no way I will cuddle with you, idiot!"

"Whatever Amber. If I were you sasanayin ko na lang ang sarili ko na mag-adjust sa dilim or better yet, matutulog na lang para hindi mo na mamalayan na madilim na dito," he said and he closed his eyes at isinandal ang ulo. Ipinatong niya ang blazer ng uniform sa mukha niya.

Napaupo ako at itinaas ko ang mga paa ko and hugged my knees. Ipinatong ko ang ulo ko sa ibabaw ng tuhod ko at ipinikit na din ang mga mata ko hanggang sa makatulog. I don't know how long I have been sleeping ngunit nagising nalang ako na madilim na ang paligid. There's no single light shining. I began to panic ngunit pinigilan ko ang sarili ko. Nanginginig na ako sa takot, kahit anong pigil ko sa sarili ko. Hinigpitan ko ang yakap sa tuhod ko. I can't prevent the sobs from coming out my lips.

"Ang ingay mo naman," reklamo ni Gray. Marahil ay nagising ito sa mahinang pag-iyak ko. Hindi ko siya sinagot at nagpatuloy lang sa pag-iyak. I heard him groan at naramdaman ko siyang tumayo at tumabi sa akin. Kinapa niya ang nakasubsob kong ulo at inangat iyon. He touched my face na basa ng luha.

"You're really crying?," he asked unbelievably. Still I didn't answer him. "Hush Amber," he said at isinandal ang ulo ko sa dibdib niya. He wiped my face with his hands. I don't know what's with his touch but somehow it made me comfortable. Little by little ay humihina na ang hikbi ko. He strokes my hair with his hand as he tried to comfort me in the dark. Right that moment, I felt so secured in Gray's arm. Hindi ko namalayan na nakatulog na pala ulit ako.