ARTEMIS LARCENA
At 4:30 in the morning, I woke up early to check my emails. Nakaupo ako ngayon sa harap ng computer sa loob ng kwarto ko. Pinapakiramdaman ko rin ang kabilang kwarto. That man is still suspicious even though he lost his memories.

Pagkagising na pagkagising ko ay chineck ko na agad ang CCTV camera sa loob ng kwarto niya. There's no suspicious movements from him since last night. Pag-alis namin ni Addie sa guest room kagabi ay natulog na rin siya. I know that bringing him here would be dangerous for us but I'm not worried about that because I am aware of Addieline's capabilities when it comes to protecting herself.

Ang priority ko ngayon ay ang hanapin ang taong pumatay sa mga magulang ko noon.

Matapos ang ilang minutong paghihintay ay may nagsmessage din sa'kin. It's Axl, sinend niya sa'kin ang listahan ng assassins sa Ezlo.

Ezlo's group of assassins are famous in some other countries. Ilang beses akong nagtrabaho para sa kanila dati dahil sa mission na binigay sa'kin ng Clandestine Organization. I'm not acquainted to any assassin who work there. Ang tanging kilala ko lang ay ang leader nila dahil magkakilala sila ng head ng Clandestine.

Up until now, I was never interested in them. I never thought that they had some connection with Camorra Mafia. Posibleng may hindi magandang nangyari sa pagitan nila o kaya naman ay may ginawang masama ang lalaking 'yon sa leader ng Ezlo.

I opened the file that Axl sent me. Automatikong hinanap ko kaagad ang mukha ng lalaking 'yon sa listahan. It didn't take me too long to find him because his face stands out the most among the assassins. Siya lang ata ang pang-artista ang mukha rito.

According to his profile, his name is Shiriyo, he's 19 years old and he's an orphan. Walang masyadong impormasyong binigay tungkol sa kanya. Even his surname is not reveal here.

It's actually surprising that Axl managed to get the pictures of every member. Masyadong delikado ang pinagawa ko sa kanya but he still did it.

I took my phone and dialed his number. As usual, mabilis niya ulit sinagot ang tawag.

"I received the files," I told him once he picked up.

"Hello din, my loves," he sarcastically remarked.

"As always, I'll send you the payment later. Oh, and can you send me every information you can find about the guy named Shiriyo who's one of the assassin's at Ezlo?"

Nagtaka ako nang biglang siyang tumahimik sa kabilang linya.

"...aminin mo nga sa'kin...pinagtataksilan mo ba ako?" he asked.

"Anong pinagsasabi mo? Pinagtataksilan, as in, betrayal? Why would I do that?"

"Ipagpapalit mo na ako sa lalaking 'yon 'di ba?" aniya.

"You're talking gibberish again." I sighed.

"My loves, bakit ba puro ka english kahit may lahi ka namang Pilipino? Para kang si Calisto eh. Speaking of Calisto, simula nang umalis ka, lagi na lang akong pinag-iinitan non. Feeling ko nga may crush 'yon sa'kin eh pero loyal ako sayo kaya 'wag kang mag-alala. You're the only one for me bebe. Ayiieee kinikilig ka na b..."

"Bye." Binabaan ko na siya ng tawag. That's the reason why I always hesitate to call him. Kadalasan mag-e-email or message lang ako sa kanya pero mas malala 'yon. He's like a spam. The moment I send him a message, hindi na titigil sa pagtunog ang cell phone ko.

Seriously, napakaingay ng lalaking 'yon. He's like an uncontrollable version of Addie. Kung pwede nga lang lagyan ng on and off 'yon, gagawin ko.

Agad akong napabaling sa pinto nang bigla itong bumukas. I took out the gun inside the drawer and aimed it at the person who went inside my room without consent.

"Addie! Why are you here?" gulat na tanong ko sa kaniya. Ibinaba ko na ang baril at sinamaan siya ng tingin.

There is one rule in this house; and that is to never go inside another person's room without the owner's permission.

"I think...I'm about to have...another...seizure..." aniya habang hinihingal at nangangatal ang mga labi.

Saka ko lang napansin na naghihingalo siya at nanginginig habang nakatingin sa'kin.

"What? Anong nangyari sa mga gamot mo?"

Agad akong tumayo at kumuha ng isang syringe sa cabinet pagkatapos ay lumapit naman ako sa pader. Mabilis kong binuksan ang secret compartment doon at kumuha ng isang boteng may lamang asul na likido. Nang mapatingin ako sa kanya ay nakita kong nakasalampak na siya sa sahig at kagat-kagat ang kamay niyang nagdurugo na.

"Addieline! Hindi ka ba makapaghintay?!" I called out to her when she almost drank her own blood.

Gaga talaga ang babaeng ito. Akala mo pinapagutuman.

I quickly injected the vial on the vein on her neck. Mabuti na lang at mabilis ko siyang naagapan.

"Sit still, and don't even think about drinking an ounce of blood dahil kapag bumalik ka sa katinuan siguradong sakit ng katawan ang aabutin mo sa'kin." I warned her when she's still squirming and trying to take her hand to her mouth.

She's still panting heavily but her trembling has already subsided. Ito ang unang beses na nangyari sa kanya 'to. She always took her shots on time but she surprisingly ended up in this state today, so what happened to her vaccines? Nang huli kong i-check 'yon nakaraang buwan ay marami pa naman siyang reserba. She only has to take one shot per month so what did she do to the other ones?

Inalalayan ko siyang umupo sa kama ko. She's probably feeling debilitated right now because the medicine injected to her contains strong effects.

Nakaupo na siya sa kama ko habang ako naman ay dumiresto na sa kusina para maghanda ng almusal.

---

I only prepared a simple meal for three people. Eggs, hotdogs, fried rice, bread and soup. I'm not great at cooking but I'm also not bad at it so the taste is about mediocre.

Tatawagin ko na sana ang dalawang tao sa taas pero saktong paglabas ko sa kusina ay bumungad sa'kin ang taong dapat ay tatawagnin ko pa lang.

"Why are you not inside your room?" I asked the man who I took in yesterday. Hindi ko man lang napansin na

My keen senses are definitely deteriorating. This may become a problem in the future.

"Nagugutom na ako," he replied with a straight face.

I just brought him here yesterday but now he's acting so familiar with my own house.

"I see that you've been comfortable here in a short amount of time," I spoke. "Well then, I was just about to call you for breakfast so sit anywhere you like. Tatawagin ko lang si Addie."

He obediently did what he was told. Lumapit siya sa isang upuan at tahimik na umupo doon. I thought he'll immediately wolf down the food but no, he unexpectedly sat there and waited.

"Why aren't you eating?" I asked.

He replied, "Hinihintay kita. I can't eat first, it's rude."

Oh? He surprisingly has manners.

"Okay, just wait for a minute," sabi ko sa kanya. "Addie! Bummaba ka na d'yan, kakain na!" I yelled while looking at the stairs.

After that, I went to the table and sat at one of the chairs. Hindi nagtagal ay bumaba na rin si Addieline. Umupo siya sa upuan sa kaliwa ko habang nasa kanan naman si Shiriyo.

"Let's eat." I said and we started eating.

"Ano? Okay ka na?" I asked Addie who's looking dampen after what happened.

"Ha? Ah. Uhm," parang tangang sagot niya.

Hahaha. Nakakatawa talaga siya tuwing tinuturukan ng gamot na 'yon. Nagiging bangag siya buong araw. Lutang na lutang siya ngayon habang kumakain. Para bang nandidito ang katawan niya pero nasa ibang planeta ang kaluluwa.

"You must've enjoyed the food. Anong lasa?" I asked her again.

"Hehe. Um," sagot niya naman habang nakangiti at tumatango-tango pa.

"Hahahahahaha."

Lutang nga talaga 'to.

Nang mapadako ang paningin ko kay Shiriyo, nakita kong tahimik lang siyang kumakain.

"Hey, aren't you curious about who you are?" I asked him.

Nagkibit-balikat lang siya.

"I only know your name. Gusto mo bang malaman?"

"Yeah sure," he replied with an uninterested tone. Hindi man lang siya tumingin sa'kin. He's only focused on the food.

"Okay, so your name is Shiriyo," I said plainly.

There's no use in lying to him about his name at hindi ko naman balak magsinungaling sa kanya tungkol doon. Of course I'll leave the part about him being an assassin and all the other details involving the organizations.

"That's it?" he asked. This time, he's looking at me; probably expecting that I'd say more about him.

"Yep," I answered.

"Well, that's a good thing, I guess. At least now, I have a name."

After that is silence. Hindi na siya nagsalita pa at nagpatuloy na lang sa pagkain.

I frowned. Why does he look uninterested about himself?

"You're not gonna ask anything?"

Umiling naman siya.

"Aren't you curious about how I knew?" I asked again.

Tumingin lang siya sa'kin pagkatapos ay bumalik ulit sa pagkain. I sighed. How do I communicate properly with this guy?

Makailang segundo ay sumagot siya sa'kin.

"I have a feeling that it's better if I don't know anything about my past."

Iyon lang ang huling sinabi niya hanggang sa matapos kaming kumain.