Chapter 9
“Is it fun, being part of the police force?” Samuel asked.
Leto moved his arms to lay on the top of the pillow and rested his head on his hand. Only a blanket covered the two men who, for now, decided to laze around on the bed instead of getting dressed after their activities. A smile played on Samuel’s lips as he looked at Leto. His eyes are hooded, an apparent sign of sleepiness.
“Of course,” Leto answered. One of Samuel’s arms lay atop his stomach. “It gets boring sometimes, when there’s no mission. Often, altercations can get dangerous. One time, we were chasing an armed robber who knew how to aim. Got my cheek grazed ‘cos I stumbled when he fired. If it weren’t for the rock I tripped on, I’d probably be a goner now.”
“There was also that one time I was on a bus. Some guys declared a robbery,” Leto continued. “I was off-duty, working undercover. Luckily enough I had on me the small gun I use for covert missions. Got one of them. It was the first time I had shot someone dead.” Leto inched closer to Samuel and whispered, “I even got to report what happened properly, and caught his accomplice. But I was shaking and crying when I got home. I didn’t know it would feel so different, knowing you ended someone’s life with your own two hands. That’s when I fully realized the true weight of the job I chose. All of the sudden, I was afraid, like I wanted to quit.”
“But you didn’t. Why?” Samuel asked. “When you finally learned the weight of responsibility of being part of the force, how dangerous it is, why continue?”
“At that time, I kept remembering the faces of the people I rode the bus with when I managed to save them. How they were grateful after. The smile on the bus driver’s face when he told me he could still go home alive to see his family because of me. It was a different kind of feeling too. And perhaps you wouldn’t understand, but it feels really good to be able to save other people.”
“So wanting to be a police officer, it’s a calling for you… from a desire to save people?”
“Actually, no. When I was in high school, I wanted to join the force, because the drug addicts in the neighborhood were bad news. I wanted to beat them all up. I may not look like it, but I was a pretty rowdy kid. I caused a lot of headaches, skipped school a lot. You read that in my palm, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. I wasn’t sure myself why I was so drawn to you. I can’t explain it, like my fate was to be pulled in by you.” Samuel pressed his lips on Leto’s forehead.
“Tss. That kind of flattery won’t work on me. We’ve done four rounds already. We’re done. Now, let me ask you. Why are you a seer?” Leto looked up at him. “With your face and that body, you could’ve been a model. How did you end up telling people’s fortunes, of all things?”
“I can’t tell if that’s a praise or an insult. Hmm… This wasn’t really supposed to be my job. I wanted to be a businessman, own my own company—even a small one. I was just a student when we visited Mindanao to meet with distant relatives from my mom’s side. One of them was Grandma Aneng. She was a fortune teller. I asked her to read mine. Just out of curiosity, mind you. It was both amusing and scary to see the look on her face when I showed her my hands. She said that in the future I’d be a Seer like her, that I’d be better at than she ever was. Didn’t have much choice when she insisted on teaching me how to read the lines on people’s palms. Well, I was absolutely bored in the province, so I relented anyway. My world turned upside down after that. I was scared shitless by what happened after that. We went home to Manila after three months. Something has changed within me then. A few more weeks after, we received news that Grandma Aneng died from heart complications. I cried when I heard that.” Samuel kept his gaze on Leto, sharing with him everything he was feeling. “I saw that she was leaving soon when we were testing what I learned.”
Leto felt shiver ran down his spine. “What you mean is, what she saw of you became true and what you saw of her became true too?”
“Have you heard of those folktales that being an aswang* is inherited per generation. Grandma Aneng said that anyone can try to learn the art of fortune telling, but some are born just knowing how, that reading other people’s probable fates… it’s in their blood. In our family, I happened to be the one who caught it. Grandma had an eighty percent accuracy.”
“Wow, so she was right. You did surpass her.”
“Seems like it. The only difference is that she probably never could have imagined that I would be using this to help greedy and vicious bastards to be even richer.”
“How did you end up like that? I mean, I’ve only ever seen fortune telling as a livelihood in Quiapo**.”
“I graduated with a degree in Business Management and landed a job in a well-known company. One time, I went to get drinks with my supervisor. He got drunk and started spilling about his problems. He always invested in the wrong things for his business. Maybe I was drunk too. I jokingly read his palms, Told him it’d be more effective for him to turn into a wholesaler instead of retail. He followed my advice. So now, he owns two company. He recommended me to his friends who were also amazed by what I can do. One of them was Mr. Lao. I didn’t want to read him at first. But I got paid. It was an amount I probably would never earn my whole lifetime working as an ordinary employee. So I relented.”
“I see,” Leto nodded. “Hmm, can you read your own fortune?”
“No. And even if I can, I won’t. The first and last time I read someone’s fortune, I got a job and skills I didn’t want in the first place. And a master involved in illegal activities. Grandma Aneng said no seer has the ability to read their own fortune. Frustrating, isn’t it?”
“Well, you did say you’re the master of your own fate. In other words, it’s possible that you wouldn’t have ended up this way if you truly didn’t like it.”
“Why? When you found out exactly how dangerous it was to be a police officer, did it stop you? It’s the same for me. Somehow, it feels like my ability is calling me to use it. Ever since I learned how to do it, my person kept craving for it.”
“Point taken,” Leto acquiesced. He understood what Samuel meant. “Wait, just a moment.”
He had wanted to go the bathroom. He stood up but pain shot up his back and waist.
“Ouch. I think we overdid it. Or was this part of your plan so I couldn’t leave the bed?”
Samuel laughed sardonically.
“Jerk,” Leto insulted with a repressed laugh.
“Let me help you. It’s my fault anyway,” the jerk didn’t deny being one.
Samuel was about to get up when he came to a sudden stop, eyes staring ahead blankly.
“Samuel?” Leto called him, wondering what happened. “Is there a problem?”
“Som-something not good is gonna happen,” he said, both hands grasping the sheets tightly and face, pale in fear.
Leto moved closer to Samuel. “What?”
“Something bad’s gonna happen to the cruise” The man grabbed his own head. “Many people will die.”
The words sent chills down Leto’s spine. He reached for Samuel’s hand and held on.
“What kind of scene did you see? What will happen? When?”
“I d-I don’t know. I can’t see anything. My ability’s not strong enough to see the whole picture. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, someone always dies.”
Leto was anxious. What he’s hearing right now sounded crazy, but he ouldn’t get himself not to believe them. It was impossible that Samuel was only joking about this, It wasn’t in him to joke like this.
“What about where or probably cause? Did you see those?” He continued to ask.
“Unclear. I couldn’t find any clues. All I know is that it’s not good. Many people are in danger. That’s all.” Leto noticed how Samuel was gasping for air like had had just ran a marathon.
“Okay, that’s fine now. Just rest. I’ll get you some water.” He wanted Samuel to lay down back on the bed. But the other man slowly pulled him in a hug, burying his face in the nook of Leto’s neck. He was slightly shivering, breaking out in a cold sweat. Leto hugged him back, gently patting Samuel’s head. “Calm down.”
“Sorry. Suddenly getting a vision like that drains my strength.”
“It’s fine. Going by your reaction, I’m sure you saw something grave. We don’t have enough information on it yet, but I’ll take care of it. We’ll manage. For now, get some rest.”
“They laid in bad together again with Samuel still in Leto’s arms.
“Leto?” Samuel started, his voice tired and eyes, drowsy.
“Hmm?”
“Are you free on the day after tomorrow?”
“Huh? What for?”
“There’s a ball party before the ship arrive at the pier the day after that. I wanted to ask you, if it’s alright…”
“You’re really asking me on a date at this time, huh—”
Leto cut himself off, mind suddenly alert. Ball party? Wait…
“Leto?”
“Hmm.” Samuel didn’t seem to notice that he himself had given Leto the idea that, perhaps, what he saw had something to do with the ball.
“Yeah, sure.”
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Translation Notes
*Aswang – In Filipino folk stories, it is an umbrella term for evil shape-shifting creatures; the more common version of the aswang shares some similarities with werewolves in that they crave for human flesh and have canine characteristics. It is also said that the term itself coms from “asong buwang” which translates to “mad(crazy) dog”.
**Quiapo – A place in Manila famous for having many fortune tellers lining up the street performing business.
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Special Leche Flan Translations 