THE SECLUDED TRAILS OF DECEIT '. ruler of fate series l first book

The Secluded Trails of Deceit
written by : riyanisity

Wanting to get away and put a distance between us, I drove without thinking much of where I should stay for the night — miles after miles — until I was almost out of gas. Sa huli, bago pa man kusang tumigil at tumirik ang sasakyan ko sa gitna ng kalsada, ay pumarada ako sa parking lot ng nakita kong sarado na pamilihan.

I turned the engine off, went out to my vehicle, and headed straight to the trunk area of it. Binuksan ko ang pinto no'n at piniling umupo sa loob. Ngayo'y yakap na rin ang sarili dahil sa pinaghalong simoy ng malamig na hangin at kadiliman ng paligid — inaabala na lamang ang sarili sa pagmamasid sa mga iba't ibang uri ng sasakyan na nilalagpasan ako.

As I was in the middle of doing that, spacing out and silent along with the crickets of insects, cloudy skies, and the hues of head, tail, and post lights from the streets and cars passing by, one of the traditional jeepneys stopped by right in front of me, which took my attention immediately since it blocked my vision and hearing because of its neon LED lights and loud remix music.

One of the passengers went down from it, but instead of crossing the pedestrian right away, she looked back — perhaps sensing my gaze toward her.

Nang makilala at matukoy namin ang isa't isa, hindi siya nagdalawang isip para lapitan ako sa aking pwesto, "What brings you here?" pa-unang bati niya matapos ilapag ang kaniyang mga gamit sa loob ng sasakyan ko.

I scooted nearer to the right side for her to have a space to sit on. "I don't know. Hindi ko namalayan na condo mo pala 'yang nasa tapat."

"That's reckless, Vanna." She flicked me on my forehead, which made my eyes close for a moment, "Don't drive if you're not in your proper and right state of mind." dagdag na sabi niya no'ng imulat ko muli ang mga mata ko.

My shoulders shrugged. "I've been doing that every single day — wala namang nangyaring masama sa'kin."

"Hihintayin mo pa bang ma-aksidente ka muna bago ka sumunod?"

A few chuckles escaped my lips before I folded my knees up, now embracing them with my arms. "You're acting like a mother again, Ais." I commented back, besides my rolling eyes.

"Because you're stubborn to begin with — every single one of you. Hindi na lang kayo matutong makinig kapag pinagsasabihan." Tumabi siya sa'kin at pinagmasdan din ang senaryo sa harap naming dalawa. "So, ano'ng problema mo?"

"Problema kaagad?" I glanced at her. "Why..? Satingin mo ba lumalapit lang kami sa'yo kapag may problema? Hindi ba pwedeng gusto lang kitang bisitahin, huh?"

"You can't fool someone here, Vanna. You're always acting so tough, when in the end..." Huminga siya nang malalim at binalingan din ako ng tingin. "You'll probably choose to push people away once you've had enough. At least I... Can see that ."

I gulped deeply, suddenly hearing her words. Hindi na ako lumaban pa ro'n at tinuon na lamang ang atensyon ko pabalik sa harapan naming dalawa.

"You must have finally done it now, right?" From my peripheral view, I saw how Ais' head tilted, still locking her eyes on my face — quite observative and discreet. "So, what now..? You broke up with that guy?"

"I did... Maybe in a worse case possible. I left him begging on his knees... Drowning in his tears... I-I made him feel like how he made me once feel. I was sure to explicitly inflict the same pain he brought to me."

That's what I wanted and intended to do.

Sinandal ko ang gilid ng mukha ko sa ibabaw ng aking mga tuhod, "But what's wrong with that?" mahinang dagdag ko sa sinabi.