"Yveria Karsen. We meet again." Nangingiti kong bati dito ng makapasok ito sa aking opisina. It's been years pero wala parin nagbabago sa batang ito. Malamig lang ako nitong tiningnan at tuloy tuloy na naglakad palapit sa akin. Sigh.
"I quit." Maikling sabi lang nito pagkatapos ay nilapag ang resignation paper sa aking harapan. I knew this would happen.
Tiningnan ko lang ito na parang nagtatanong kung bakit biglaan but she just stares at me blankly. I can see nothing in her eyes. It's like if I come closer I'll drown in emptiness and die. For some reason I feel sad for this child.
"Okay. I'll process the documents today. Rest assured that you'll get your separation pay." Tumango lang ito at umalis na.
She's my former colleague's daughter. Yveria's parents were both skilled and talented in almost every field. Meria Karsen,her mother, was a genius scientist who invented a very powerful weapon for our organization. While Ran Karsen, her father was an amazing assassin who can kill even if he's unarmed.
I can still remember the first time I saw the Karsen Family. They were introduced to us by my grandfather who was saved by those two. Grandfather said that he was attacked by the underlings of the corrupt politician who was recently assassinated by the people under our organization at that time. Luckily, that couple was there to save him.
Yve was just a year old at that time. She was resting comfortably in the arms of her mother, Meria. My father, who was the group's president at the time, was first hesitant to welcome them since it's odd to just allow strangers recklessly into a secret organization like ours. But, whatever the reason for my father's hesitation to accept the Karsens, my grandfather persevered. He believes that they have the potential, even if they appear young and have a child to care for.
Several meetings were held before the organization's board of high-profile people agreed on the decision based on my grandfather's recommendation. They didn't criticize my grandpa so much dahil kahit papaano ay nagkaroon ito ng malaking ambag sa organisasyon at Isa pa ay dating pinuno rin ito dito kaya't alam nila na dapat ireconsider ang desisyon nila kung ganoon na lang mamilit ang matanda.
At last, my father accepted Karsens even if pangalan lang nila ang alam namin. Father tried a background check but he failed. He couldn't find anything about the Karsens other than their names. It sounds strange since they appear out of nowhere but father just set his suspicion aside basta raw walang masamang idulot ito sa aming organisasyon. However, he points out that if they were spies from a different organization, my father himself would be the one to end their lives.
Soon afterwards, everyone in the organization felt relieved that they had made the right decision in accepting the pair, for if they had not, and the rival organization had gotten a hold of those two, my ancestors' efforts in creating this organization would have been for waste. Even my father and other high-profile people get intimidated by them whenever they are around. That's quite ridiculous, but those two are monsters trapped inside the human body.
All was well, not until something unbelievable happened. Ten years ago, one of our best assets was killed, and to make matters worse, the one who died was none other than Ran Karsen. When Ran was killed by an unknown man, the organization suffered a huge loss. Malaking dagok iyon sa grupo dahil si Ran ang pinapadala sa halos lahat ng delikadong misyon. We thought that would be the last. No one anticipated that the upcoming problem we were going to face would almost tear our organization down.
Five days just passed by, and Meria Karsen vanished without a trace. Our talented and genius scientist. The one who put the organization on top of everything.
Yveria was still a five-year-old kid back then at naiwan ito sa pangangalaga ng organisasyon but everyone in the organization was in chaos, so no one took care of her. She was left alone with no one to ask what on earth was happening, why didn't her parents come back, and why didn't anyone ever try to check on her.
Nagulat na lang kami na sa panahon na walang tumugon sa pangangailangan ng munting bata marami na ang nagbago dito. Yve loses her ability to show emotions and probably to feel something too. Naging ilag ito sa mga tao na kung dati nung nandoon pa sina Meria at Ran madalas itong gumala at mangulit sa mga tauhan ng organisasyon. She grew up as a strong and independent woman, and just like her parents, she joined the organization. Ang pinagkaiba niya lang sa kanyang magulang ay ang mas nakakatakot na aura nito, wari ba ay palaging malamig at kangilangilabot. Dumalang rin ang pagsasalita nito na mas lalong nagpahirap sa amin na kausapin ito. She seemed lost, but we couldn't do anything about it. Who would dare to console her when she is so enthralled by the mission of assassinating someone?
Ria & Ran, what made your child change like this?
More importantly, where are you now Meria.