AS PROMISED, Shanta allowed me to help her in any way that I can in search of the real letter.    Sa totoo lang, I don't know what it looks like and the content is. I also don't have a clue if it does exist or not. I was searching with my eyes closed and not knowing what I was touching.   Ngunit dahil nakita ni Shanta 'yon, naniniwala akong meron ngang ganoon. All she said was and would be true to me.   "How do I know if it was the letter?" I asked her while the car entered the subdivision. "Paano kung mali 'yung nakita ko? Are there any hints that it was really her letter without even opening the insides of it?"   "Mahilig si Macine sa pink kaya sa pink scented paper niya 'yon isinulat," ulat niya at agad akon

THE CEILING was the first thing that I saw when I opened my eyes. Kulay puti ang tangi kong nakikita, na parang sinusundo ako ng mga anghel. I didn’t know where I was, but I could feel that my body had gotten weak and severe.    Slowly, I blinked my eyes. I had just awakened from a bad dream and I didn't know how it started, but they were still droopy. Pagod na pagod ang katawan ko, and it felt like it had been paralyzed for how many days.   My mind should have been clear by now since waking up opens a fresh start. Pero iba ang nadarama ko. Gulong-gulo at litong-lito ang utak ko sa mga pangyayari, na parang pinagbuntungan ng sobrang kalat at basura.    Sandali ay pinakiramdaman ko ang katawan ko. There's something aching at the right side of my abdomen. Parang tinu

BITAWAN NIYO MUNA AKO bago ko ibigay ang nais niyo," said Shanta whose eyes were set in fire and who boldly challenged the woman in front of her. "Dadaanin pa ba natin sa dahas ito, ha? Ganyan ka na ba kadesperada, Alleva?"   "You don't try to convince me to be good when you made me like this!" sigaw ng babaeng nagpadakip sa kaibigan ko habang dinuduro niya ang babaeng nakagapos sa upuan. "You! You turned me evil! You provoked my bad side! Kaya huwag mo 'kong utusang hindi daanin ito sa dahas! Ikaw ang magaling doon, Dalshanta. Sa simula pa lang!"   All of this. Pinapanood ko sa isang madalim na sulok. The confrontation was a scene from an ocean of fire. Halos mabaliw ako sa kinaroroonan ko sa kagustuhang ipagtanggol si Shanta laban sa kanila. Pero mag-isa ako. I was weaponless. Marami sila at isa-isa ay may hawak na bat.   We were surrounded by impenetrable darkness. Nilalamon kami ng kasamaan. We had nowhere to run in

"D-DUMATING KA..." I watched Shanta cry in joy as she caressed Euart's cheeks. "H-hindi mo... ako... pinabayaan. Ikaw ang... nagligtas... sa akin..."   Hindi ko alam kung ano ang mararamdaman ko. Nanlulumo ang buong katawan ko. Habang pinapanood ko sila, tila nadudurog ang aking puso. There must be something wrong here. No. There was really something wrong because it should have been me.    Ako ang nagligtas kay Shanta. Sinalo ko ang saksak na para dapat sa kanya. I risked my precious life to save hers because that's how she saved me from drowning, too. Pero bakit... Why is she saying Euart sacrificed for her when it was me who did it?   "Yes, yes..." Gulat akong lumingon kay Euart dahil sa isinagot niya. No, he did not. Ilang ulit siyang tumango para akuin ang ginawa ko habang hinahaplos ang pisngi ni Shanta. "Yes, Dal... You're alive... because I saved you..."   "A-Akala ko... ayaw mo na 'kong

KUMUSTA KA NA, DALMI?" Clavis asked the minute Shanta and I walked outside the garden. "Kumikirot pa ba 'yang ulo mo?"   After the intense and agitating confrontation between her and Miss Heichel, tila naapektuhan ang pakikipagtungo ng pinsan niya sa mga kaibigan ko. She turned a bit silent and reserved as she gazed at them... when in the past, siya parati ang nag-uudyok ng paksa sa inuman.   However, we're not drinking now. Bawal iyon sa kanya dahil kagagaling niya lang sa ospital. But the way she walked towards the gazebo located at the far end of the garden, she seemed drunk and not in her right mind to interact with other people.   I bit my lip dahil sa pag-aalala sa kanya. She's a meter away from me habang nasa likod niya ako, that's why I could see how her body slightly swayed against the wind. Gusto kong kabahan ngunit napagtanto kong dulot lang iyon ng pagdadabog niya.   I could almost get st