"A young girl was found dead at a prison cell in Manila," the reporter opened.
"Could it be Corinna?" I wondered anxiously to myself.
Upon watching the report on television, the reporter mentioned it was Corinna who the police saw on the prison floor. They discovered her body lying unresponsive along with a bottle of pills and a suicide note.
"Poor lady," Charissa commented bitterly while serving a bowl of tuna pasta. "It was as if the demons have conquered her."
"You were right," I answered gloomily. "It was clear Corinna could not escape them, and taking her life was the only way to ease the agonizing pain."
"But it doesn't make sense," Charissa countered. "Incarceration should have helped Corinna figure out what went wrong in her life. I mean, reconnect with God, humbly confess your sins and work something more positive is the best cure for what ailed her. But in the end, she was overwhelmingly defeated by her own actions."
Just as Charissa and I shared in on some delicious dinner, a ringing sound vibrated on the table. My smartphone had just received a phone call.
"Hello? Christine?" a gentle voice reverberated from the speaker.
The voice I heard turned out to be Francesca's, and she also inquired me regarding Corinna's death.
Christine: "Francesca. Have you watched the news about Corinna earlier?"
Francesca: "Yes I did Christine. It was absolutely horrible and gloomy at the same time."
Christine: "Poor girl. Enduring life in prison must have been hard for her. But that's what happened when she committed something criminal against you."
Francesca: "Would you come to school early with Michelle and talk with me? I'm busy with my assignment right now."
Christine: "No problem. I'll inform Michelle about this. See you."
Francesca hung up the phone and dinner resumed. The rest of the night went rather smoothly for Charissa and myself as we talked candidly about family life.
The following morning, Michelle and I drove to the parking lot and walked straight to the gym. We met up with Kyla whose face was beginning to sweat after doing some warm-up drills.
"Your arm," Kyla opened upon looking at Michelle's right limb. "It looks fine already."
"Not exactly," Michelle replied. "By all means I can move it but my upper arm is still bandaged."
The rest of the team took a break from training to catch up with their senior teammate. They also looked at Michelle's injured arm with plenty of concern on their faces.
Still, Michelle's teammates felt relieved to see her move that arm again. Unfortunately, it was still not healed enough to convince her to rejoin practice.
"So when will you start working out again?" Kyla asked.
"Maybe in a couple of weeks," Michelle answered. "But I'll only work on some light drills before progressing to full contact training."
"That's all I need to know," Kyla affirmed. "The tournament starts in three weeks, but in my honest opinion our team is progressing very well."
"Good to hear," Michelle nodded approvingly towards Kyla. "As for you, go spearhead the team and prove your worth. This is undoubtedly your team for now. Win it for me."
"Thanks captain," Kyla concluded.
Michelle waved her left hand at the team coach, and we departed for the campus. Upon entering the plaza, Francesca came out to greet us.
"Good morning ladies," Francesca welcomed Michelle and myself as we sat on one of the benches.
On a calm, windy morning, the three of us pondered about Corinna's cruel fate. For several minutes, we all sat still and silent, wondering what might have been.
Then I began speaking as birds flew at the distance and the wind intensified.
"Girls, we all watched the news last night and every one of us felt ashamed and saddened by it," I opened up. "Corinna's death doesn't change the fact that we despise her for all the bad things she did to us."
I paused for a few moments to wipe some tears, then resumed speaking.
"But at the end of the day, Corinna was still a human being who was open to forgiveness and change when necessary," I concluded. "She could have issued a deep and emotional apology when given a chance but in the end, all those demons caught up with her."
"I agree," Francesca replied. "Corinna could have offered herself an epiphany for all the bad deeds she did. Unfortunately, she couldn't wait and took her life without even asking for forgiveness and repentance from God."
"Well, we have no choice but to let her rest in peace," Michelle concluded. "It's a shame she failed to heal her own psychological scars. Oh well. As for us, we can only hope for our safety and security."
With a rosary on my hands, I held Michelle's left hand and Francesca's right palm. We closed our eyes and spoke a silent prayer.
Tears slowly fell from our eyes as we took a moment of silence for Corinna. It may be awkward to pray for the repose of her soul, but that's the only way to forgive and forget about what happened.
After making a sign of the cross, Michelle, Francesca and I embraced as light rain fell from above. Upon looking at her watch, Michelle noted that the clock struck 9:30 in the morning.
"Francesca, Christine and I have to go to class now," Michelle bade her a final farewell. "By the way, where are you off to?"
"I'm heading to my first class too," Francesca responded positively. "Hope we can talk again soon."
"Why not?" I positively assured her. "You've been undoubtedly a great friend to us. See you then."
Michelle and I casually walked to media ethics class where Erin and Taylor eagerly awaited near the fence. But upon glancing cautiously at him, I saw his face swollen and covered in bandages.
"What happened to you Taylor?" I sought him.
"It was a training-related injury," Erin spoke on Taylor's behalf. "We'll talk about it after class."
The four of us went inside the classroom where Erin carefully helped Taylor carry his school belongings. Subsequently the brilliant professor arrived punctually with a portable laptop on hand.