The Salvage

By the time the rope tightened around Airi’s neck, her hands were already free. So, she struggled to untie herself from it. But the more she wriggled, the tighter the rope strangled her.

“I never thought I would witness the actual reenactment of my daughter’s demise,” she said, taking a seat. She smiled as Airi fought. “That’s the same rope she used to unalive herself. Who would’ve thought that you’re going to end up there?”

She was so preoccupied by the scene that she didn’t even hear the screeching car tires outside and the slamming of car doors.

Then, bam!

The wooden door swung open.

“Riri! No!”

Jiro and Mang Lanong ran simultaneously.

He ran towards Airi, hugging both her legs for support so she didn’t strangle herself more. Mang Lanong rushed to his wife and hugged her to prevent her from doing any unexpected actions.

The police also stepped in the hideout. Some of them rushed to the bodies of the twin, checking for a pulse. Others ran to assist Mang Lanong, confiscating Aling Crising’s gun. Jaypee hurried to cut the rope strangling Airi.

Merry and Zai-zai almost stumbled just to give Airi first aid.

“Let me go!” Aling Crising went into hysteria just to be freed. But the local cops had already handcuffed her. “I need to avenge my daughter!!! Those two killed my daughter!!!”

Pak!

Everyone was stunned when the slap echoed.

“Enough!”

For the first time, Jiro witnessed his driver raising his voice at his wife. He even hit her which he never did before.

“Mang Lanong?” Jiro’s question was almost a whisper of being taken aback.

“Celina hanged herself! It was her choice! Neither Sir Jiro nor Ma’am Airi killed her! Why can’t you accept that?!”

Though authority boomed in his voice, his eyes bore pain and worry.

“Look what you did! You even took two lives! Are you happy to be labeled a murderer?!”

Aling Crising couldn’t find the words to defend herself. Only her eyes, filled with shock and tears, spoke for her emotions at that moment.

Mang Lanong looked at the police restraining his wife. “You can take her, officer.”

As the police assisted Aling Crising out of the hideout, she kept screaming and cursing to no avail.

**

The familiar scent of medicine and alcohol overwhelmed Airi’s olfactory sense. The blinding light on the ceiling greeted her.

She breathed in a lungful of air before scanning the hospital room. There was someone beside her, holding her hand.

She smiled when she recognized the lock of hair. With her free hand, she slowly reached for the man’s head and gently caressed him.

He stirred awake.

“Riri! You’re awake!” He hugged her.

Airi tapped Jiro’s back repeatedly. “I—I can’t breathe.”

Jiro went back to his seat and checked the wall clock. He held Airi’s hand to his once more. “I thought you were not waking up. It has been four days since we rescued you.”

It was already 8:10 in the morning.

“Thank you for saving me, my love,” she said.

Cat got his tongue. “My love” was their sign of endearment. It was from the title of the song Jiro used in his letter to Airi when they were in second year.

She smiled and repeated her statement. “Thank you for saving me—my love.”

Jiro threw a punch in the air. “You remember me now?” He put his cheek closer to her. “Can you pinch me? I need to know that I’m not dreaming!”

She scoffed and did as she was told.

“Aw, Aw! Ouch!” He squirmed and caressed his burning cheek. “I’m not dreaming! Wooh! She remembers me now!!!” He jumped and gave Airi a quick, gentle kiss on the lips.

That was the scene Mari and Zai-zai saw when they stepped in the room.

“Jiro Sondian! What on earth are you doing to that unconscious woman?! Do you want to be sued for harassment?!”

He instantly turned to face the newcomers. “Hi, Auntie,” he said grinning, waving coyly at her. He then combed his hand through his hair. “Riri’s awake.” He stepped aside to show Airi’s smiling face.

Mari strode excitedly towards the bed, pushing Jiro aside to get better access to Airi. Zai-zai did the same; she even reached for Airi’s hand and put it on her cheek.

“You’re finally awake! We were so worried about you,” Zai-zai said, sniffing and trying to hold back her tears.

“I can’t die yet. I need to get back to you and Merry for lying to me,” she jokingly said.

Zai-zai let her emotions flow. “Sorry.”

She then looked at Mari and asked, “Are you really a therapist? Why did Jiro call you Auntie? ”

Mari smiled. “I’m a licensed psychologist and psychiatrist.” She pulled the seat Jiro was sitting on earlier and sat there. “I’m his mother’s sister.”

“Finally clearing the fog in my mind feels weird.” She looked at the ceiling. “I can now remember Mama and I were in a hospital room. I was on a bed, just like I am now. Everything was a blur because I had just regained consciousness. That’s why I didn’t recognize it was you whom Mama was talking to.”

“Do you remember anything else?”

“I remembered Mama crying, whispering to me to say yes.”

“I recorded everything on that day. I needed your approval so I could proceed with the hypnosis. She requested it so that—”

“My perspective and emotional charge about the traumatic incident would change. So, all this time I remember everything. The hypnosis just did its thing.”

“Yes, Riri. You really are a smart girl.” Mari gently stroked Airi’s hair. “They weren’t just bad dreams. The images you see are fragments of your reality.”

“Papa died because he took the first bullet that was for me.” She wailed and paused for some time before continuing. “But the second bullet hit me.”

“Yes, and it damaged your liver. There was a small chance that you would recover. That’s why Lu—” Mari sniffed, obviously hurt remembering her friend’s request. “She donated her liver to you.”

“Mama lives in me.” Airi let out a poignant cry.

Mari gestured for Jiro and Zai-zai to come closer. She held one of Airi’s hands while Zai-zai held the other. Jiro could only stroke his girl’s hair.

“Wait a minute,” Jiro suddenly interrupted when Airi had already calmed down. “Earlier, you said that you remember everything.”

“Yes.”

“So, that means everything you wrote in the book is real! Why did you pretend that they were just part of your dreams and they were just your imagination?”

“Weren’t you the one who pretended to have amnesia first? You even went too far by saying you don’t remember me. What do you want me to do? Plead to you and say, ‘Hey! I’m the girl you want to remember.’ Is that what you want?” Everyone laughed. “Besides, you were just talking about your perspective, which is unfair to me. So, I had to defend myself.”

“So, about my love letter… did you really—”

“Burn it? Yes. Once I got home from the prom, I burned it. The pain of seeing you dancing with Frea invisibly stabbed me multiple times in the heart. I burned it because I wanted to forget the pain.”

“So, what we had was never a one-sided or an unrequited love.”

“Of course not!” She pinched his stomach.

“I really thought you were just pressured by your parents to accept me.”

“They’ll never do that.”