Sao and Lorian sat at a nearby assortment store, drinking a bottle of soft drinks. Lorian leaned on the bench, his complexion returned to normal as he breathed the fresh air of this village. An old woman inside the assortment store looked at them curiously.
She popped out of a small door in her assortment store. "Hey, you two, where are you from?" she asked.
Sao turned his head, replying to her question, "The city."
"Hah! You're an intel, right? I tell you this, Pricilla's death was not your regular crime. You better call a shaman or exorcist. This village is cursed." she blabbered.
Sao and Lorian eyes lit, and they both looked at each other nodding their heads, "May I know ma'am's name? Please don't tell anyone what we are doing here. Intel's job is a failure if we are exposed." Sao explained.
"Don't worry, young man, my mouth is sealed. I promise." the old woman assured with a wink.
"Yeah, so do you know this Pricilla?" Sao asked.
"She is quite well known. A teacher with a soldier husband, the Dela Cerna couple, is richer than our chairman here." she jovially shared. "That woman is such a good lass. She even drove students here to the school in the other village. Her passing is untimely. Good people die young indeed."
"Uhuh, do you think she has any enemies? People who have debts to her, quarreled with, or whatever misunderstanding?" Sao pried.
The old woman rubbed her head. "Hmmm, there is none that I know who hates her. Right, Joey?" she loudly said to an absent-minded teenager standing behind Sao.
Sao and Lorian turned to the teen, wearing a faded uniform, slacks, and old black shoes. Joey shyly lowered his head, "Ye-yes, she is." he answered.
"Why are you here? Your school is half-day today? The same canned sardines?" the old woman barraged him with questions, not giving him any opportunity to speak.
Joey only nodded in response, excusing himself to Sao and Lorian, while handing his payment to the old woman. After getting the canned sardines, Joey bowed to the old woman and left.
"He must be mourning. Pricilla was fond of that boy." the old woman said.
Curious, Sao further asked. "Why is she fond of that boy?"
"You see, Joey came from a poor family. His parents left him alone in their house to work on the nearby sugar cane farm. Pricilla pitied Joey, so she attended the boy's studies, even schooling him every weekend so that he would not feel lonely. Oh, I like to add, he loves a tv series that airs every night. He would go house to house just to ask if he could watch it." the old woman explained.
"I see," Sao replied, "Thank you, ma'am. May I know your name?"
"Always glad to be useful. My name is Honoria Ayala. But the people here call me Noria." She introduced herself.
Sao bowed to Honoria, "Thank you, ma'am. We will now be going." turning to Lorian and patting his back. Lorian, who still enjoying his drink, feeling Sao's pats, turned to look at him and nodded.
"I'll follow the boy. You do yours," Lorian whispered.
"Thanks, my next destination is going to be the husband of Pricilla," Sao replied, giving Lorian a thumbs-up. He turned around to Honoria again and said his goodbyes.
Sao and Lorian went in different directions to increase the speed of their search. They already planned it right when they arrived at the village. Fortunately, they received a useful lead from a talkative villager.
Lorian wandered the road, searching for the boy called Joey. As he was walking, he was enjoying the green trees swaying as the wind blew past them. It was a sight to behold for Lorian, who grew up in the slums. The air in this village was cool, and it had a savory smell, gentle to the nose.
As Lorian was looking around, he walked past some kids playing tag around a mango tree. "Excuse me, can I ask you guys a question? Don't worry, it'll be quick," he called the kids.
They stopped their games to look at Lorian, scared of the unfamiliar person. They grouped and whispered something only they could hear. After discussing, a young boy braved and faced Lorian while the rest hid behind him.
"What does uncle want?" the young boy asked.
Lorian grinned at the sight of the kids' cute grouping. "I would like to ask if you know where Joey lived. I came from his school. He left behind a booklet, you see," he lied while showing the red booklet Ann gave him.
With the trustworthy face that Lorian showed, the kids dropped their guard. "Oh, he's a teacher," the boy said to his friends.
"Teacher, you follow this road, turn right to the intersection and you will see a shack there. That is where big brother Joey lived." the boy pointed to the road while he explained.
"Got you, I will go now. You can start playing again, thank you very much." Lorian said to the kids while showing a harmless smile.
Lorian followed the kids' instructions, walking away and waving at them goodbye. They waved back at him as his silhouette vanished, flashing their smiles that were pure as white. When he vanished out of their sight, the kids ran back to the mango tree, playing tag once again.
The road became thinner, and grasses grew as high as Lorian's hips the farther he traversed it. Grasses' sharp leaves scratched his legs, sending him an urge to scratch the itch. But he forcefully restrained himself, even though his legs turned red by the shallow scratch marks.
'Endure it, endure it. Sao will wrap this up tonight. I just need to investigate,' Lorian thought while gritting his teeth.
After minutes of walking down the grassy path, Lorian reached a simple shack. It's made of wood, with pieces of bamboo as walls, and straws of dried leaves as the roof. Smoke rose right at the side of the shack, which means somebody was inside cooking something.
Lorian arrived in front of the door, gently knocking on it. "Hello, is Joey here?" he inquired.
Joey, who was cooking rice inside, heard Lorian's voice. He dried his wet hands with a towel and went to their door. Turning the wooden lock he opened it, revealing the sickly man who was drinking soft drinks at grandma Honoria's store.
"What can I do for you, sir?" Joey cautiously asked.
Lorian, filled with joy, clasped his hands, which weirded Joey in the process. "Don't tell anyone, but I'm a police intel. I'm here to solve the murder case of Pricilla and I would like your cooperation," he said while showing a fake badge Ann placed inside their bags.
When Joey saw the 'police badge', he could not deny Lorian's request. He invited Lorian inside his house. His eyes were filled with an unnoticeable gleam of hope.
While Lorian and Joey went inside the house, a woman stood at a distance, hidden by the plants around. Her jet-black hair, long and straight, befitting her youthful appearance. Before the door closed, Lorian felt something weird making the hairs on his neck stand. He turned his back, looking into the distance to see nothing but the swaying grasses and trees.