Rion's POV
Para 'kong nagsasalamin. Only the face in front of me is much older, with laugh lines and wrinkles. At patunay din ang ilang hibla ng puting buhok sa sentido niya.
"What do you need?" Tanong ko.
"Nothing. I just came here to see you, at last."
"Don't sway me, father. I know that this is not the first time you saw me. At hindi ka lalapit sa'kin kung alam mong nasa maayos ako, why not all these years?"
Daniel Agustin did not speak. He just watched me...with proud in his eyes.
Damn! I'm not here to reconcile or have a girly chitchat with him.
He and Alvaro are the best of friends. At nang kausapin ako ni Uncle Al nong isang araw tungkol sa grupo ni Vladimir St. Martin ay inaasahan ko ng susunod siya. It is as if the two of them knew from the start my involvement with the other team. At wala man lang akong nakitang galit kay Alvaro nang sabihin niya sa aking alam niya ang mga pinaggagagawa ko. At bagkus ay nagpakita pa ng pag-aalala at nakiusap na wag kong ituloy ang mga plano ko. And that made walking away from his group really hard. Hindi niya ko hahayaang mawala sa grupo. Siguro dahil iniisip niyang kahit papano ay masusubaybayan niya 'ko.
And now, I'm here with my 'father'. I sighed. I really find it hard to deal with older men.
Humigop ako ng kape at nilibot ang tingin sa buong cafe. This was built in the heart of the city, in one of its busy streets. Inaasahan ko na mag-uusap kami sa isang tagong lugar pero dito niya 'ko tinagpo. Hindi ba niya alam na maaari siyang makita ni Lolo dito?
"I'm so proud of you, son at wala akong makitang dahilan para isekreto ang pagkikita natin. I'm not even scared of your grandfather."
It's my turn not to speak. So the man's a mind-reader, eh?
"You've grown..." he said with a smile.
"Yeah, so? Inutusan ka ba ni Uncle Al?"
"No. Sarili kong desisyon na makita ka. At bakit nakasama dito si Alvaro?"
"Dahil alam niya ang involvement ko sa grupo ni Vladimir St. Martin."
Nakumpirma ko sa reaksyon niya na alam niya nga ang mga pinaggagagawa ko. He must be doing his job well to know my plans.
"Iniisip mo bang inutusan niya ko na pigilan ka? No... hindi niya iyon ginawa at kung ginawa man niya... hindi ko susundin, anong karapatan kong pigilan ka?"
Nothing, I answered to myself. Hindi dahil alam kong sinusubaybayan na niya 'ko simula bata pa lang ako ay tatanggapin ko na agad ang pakikialam niya.
"Ayoko ring pangaralan ka, anak... I just want you to know that you're entering a different world and---"
"There's no turning back." tapos ko sa sasabihin niya. That thought slapped me square on my face since I plotted this revenge when I was younger and when I had my first kill...
"And it may leave you broken in the end. I'm the living proof..."
I heard him sighed deeply. Tiningnan ko siya at parang tumanda siya ng isang dekada dahil sa mga binabalikang alaala.
Maybe he's reminiscing his past and my mother.
Humigpit ang hawak ko sa tasa ng kape. There's Alvaro whose worrying about me. And this man who happened to be my father... hindi nga niya siguro ako pinipigilan o pinapangaralan pero paraan niya to para mag-isip-isip ako.
No.
Nobody can stop me. At wala nga sigurong makakaintindi sa'kin. Not even the man in front of me who lived the same damn life I'm living now. Pareho nga siguro kami ng tinahak pero wala akong balak na maging katulad niya. Hindi ko alam ang kwento nila ng ina ko pero sisiguraduhin kong hindi ko tutularan ang kaduwagan niya na nagdulot ng pagkamatay ng mga taong nasa paligid niya.
"I'm residing in Alvaro's place." pag-iiba niya mayamaya na nakapagpa-angat ng tingin ko. "And I met this vibrant girl--"
"Dollar." I supplied. "Don't act as if you don't know her until today."
"Of course, I know her."
Nang personal kong imbestigahan ang sarili kong ama three years ago ay nalaman kong kaibigan niya si Ivan Viscos, Dollar's father. Nang masunog ang bahay ng mga Viscos, si Daniel Agustin ang nagligtas sa apat na taong gulang na si Dollar. But her parents didn't make it. The fire was not accidental, it was arson... At hanggang ngayon ay walang suspek. At hindi na rin inalam ng magkaibigang Daniel at Alvaro para hindi makaapekto sa paglaki ng batang naulila. Pero alin man iyon sa isa sa mga kalaban nila noong nasa special unit pa sila ng militar. At walang ibang magbubukas ng kaso kundi si Dollar lamang kung gugustuhin niya. But that will be impossible for now. Lalo na't sinabi ni Uncle Al na walang maalala ang pamangkin niya sa nangyari dahil sa trauma pero kung may bagay mang iniwan ang insidente iyon ay ang obsesyon niya sa apoy.
"You like her, don't you?" he asked.
But I didn't answer and just gave him a blank look. My feelings for her are mine and mine alone and not for public information. I won't let anyone know how much Dollar meant to me. Bahalang humula ang mga tao sa paligid namin. They can guess through my actions but I won't let them hear me saying I love her, I think that will be between just me and Dollar...
"I can see you're not comfortable talking about your personal life."
"Yeah."
It was obvious he's trying to break the walls between us. But sorry, father, it won't be in just a day. Nineteen? Nineteen years and he thought he can catch up with me all the things in just one afternoon? Pero hindi ko naman magawang sumbatan siya nang diretso. I don't know...
Ilang minuto ding katahimikan. He's watching me and I fixed my gaze to the people outside.
"I'm sorry, son."
I can hear the sincerity in his voice. Nilipat ko ang tingin sa kanya. And looking directly through his eyes made me realized how broken a man he is. Something kicked me in my stomach. Pero mas nakikita ko sa mga mata niya ang larawan ng lalakeng maaring mangyari sa'kin kapag nagkamali ako ng kilos o kapag bumigay ako sa emosyon.
"I know that words are not enough but I'm willing to---"
"Apology accepted. But I don't forget."
"I know...I know... I want to be with you, son. Kakausapin ko si Don Marionello."
"No." I answered lazily. "I'm not going anywhere."
"Well I'm expecting that, I just tried. But what about helping you?"
"Through what? Financially? Hindi siguro ako makakapantay sa kayamanan ninyo pero may mga investments ako. And they're doing good. Enough to sustain my needs."
"I know that. Ang gusto kong malaman ay kung gaano ka kadesididong gantihan si... Vladimir."
He almost spat the name. I can feel his anger radiating. 'Can't blame him. Nakatatak na sa kasaysayan nila ang galit nila sa isa't isa. At base sa imbestigasyon ko, lahat ng bagay ay pinagtatalunan. I don't know who's the lesser evil, but who cares? One thing was sure: their fights for years lead to my mother's death in my very eyes.
At kapag nakikita ko si Vladimir St. Martin ay parang nakikita ko pa din ang pagmumukha niya sa madilim na bodega noong walong taong gulang ako. But his time will come, I swear. Ang konsolasyon ko lang ay kinilala niya 'kong miyembro ng grupo niya at hindi niya in-extend sa'kin ang galit niya sa ama ko.
So see, Vaughn and I came from the same clan of bad eggs. We're second cousins. At kung totoo man ang sinabi ng tarantadong 'yun na gusto niya din ang babaeng mahal ko... I'll make damn sure that the history of our fathers will not be repeating itself...
"Why did you ask?" Tanong ko mayamaya at inubos ang kape.
"Cause I'm offering alliance."
I smirked. "No." And with that I stood up and left.