GRATEFUL SOULS

"Hi." Mayleen greets me the moment we walk in, embracing me in a bear hug. I missed her so much. I did not have a chance to say hi to her yesterday. But all the same, we have forever to ourselves, and the thought of that excites me. "Are you alright? Well, aside from the obvious on your face, are you okay?" The worry in her voice speaks volumes. It's really funny how my relationship with her turned out to be, and I am so grateful. Who could have thought, right? This is one of the unexpected things that happened. Gia and Mayleen become best friends. Thinking about it, it sounds like the eighth wonder of the world.

"No hidden scars, and no broken bones. I'm fine, Mayleen. Wait, do you prefer Mayleen or Sheryl?" I ask.

"Well, whichever you are comfortable with. But I think I prefer Sheryl more. That is my real name after all." She says.

"It's Sheryl then. I really have to try and get used to it. So, how are you?" I ask.

"Stress-free. All good. All peaceful. Thanks to you. And I am not the only one who is grateful. They have been asking about you since we got here." My eyes take a slow, long tour of the peaceful souls resting on the floor.

Goodness! This sure looks like a bonding house. It's congested. Maybe I should look for another apartment and transfer some there. They might suffocate in here. Some are even occupying the space in the small corridor of the rooms upstairs. I need to do something. But aside from that, seeing them resting this peacefully fills my heart with joy. They look okay on the outside, but they definitely cannot say the same about their insides.

"How are they?" I ask Mayleen; I mean, Sheryl.

"Leaving that place is the best thing that could have happened to them. I won't lie; they are all okay, though. There are a few of them who seem to have lost it. There are about seven of them. They are not talking to anyone." She explains. That is terrible, but I guess it is good that we do not have a huge number on that worrying side.

"I expected we would have such cases. I have talked to a few psychiatrists, and they will be coming in tomorrow." I say.

"You know, my friend, only God can repay you for this. Our words can never be enough. We owe you our lives." Sheryl says as she shifts her gaze to me.

"Come on now, Sheryl. It's.."

"Miss Gia." Paul and Ajay walk in, and I turn to say hi to them. These two seem to have become buddies, huh?

It's too bad that of all the guards in the club, Ajay is the only one who survived—the only Jay among the seven of them—and that is only because he chose to do what was right. Crime doesn't pay. I knew from the first time that I saw him that he was a good person with a noble heart. I still don't know what brought them together, but someday I will ask him about it. How they all met and why they chose to work for Ejay He deserves a second chance to redeem himself, and I hope he doesn't waste it. I doubt he would, though. I have faith in him.

"Paul, I would like to have a word with you." I say, but before he could answer, I got shielded by the girls, circling around me for a group hug. Well, my hands can't even reach half a quarter of them, so I have to hug them in small groups separately. When I am done, I look around, searching for that one soul who should have been the first one to come to me, but she is not here. She is nowhere to be found. I can't see her anywhere, and everyone is here.

"She is upstairs in your room. Do you want me to call her?" Sheryl says. She just sensed what I was looking for.

With the commotion the girls are making, I doubt she is fast asleep or hearing it. Besides, it is not that early to be deep asleep. She just does not want to see me. She does not want anything to do with me. She is still furious with me, and I do not want her to snap at someone. Everyone here has their own burdens to carry.

"No, Sheryl. Let her be." I say.

"Thank you so much, Gia, on behalf of us all. Words alone cannot describe how we truly feel or how much this means to us. You are our savior. Our liberator. You are our hero." One girl says, standing right in front of me.

"Hey! If you continue with your praises, you are going to make me cry, and I don't want to. I have closed that chapter. What matters is that you are all safe now; we are all safe." I assure them.

"But we wouldn't be if it weren't for you, miss. Gia. We are so grateful. Thank you so much." She adds again, tears threatening to leave her eyes. I don't want this, though, because I am about to start crying too.

For some reasons, this girl reminds me of Nora. The girl had so much hope and trust in me. I remember she once told me I was the black messiah sent to them by the heavens to save them. I laughed at her silly joke back then because I didn't know how a lost and confused person like me back then could rescue so many people from a dangerous monster like Ejay. Her death is the only thing that will remain a misery, but "to my dear friend, Nora, like I promised you that day you died, I have avenged your death and saved everyone. You can now rest in peace." I wish she was here with us, though.

"Ah, gentlemen, I need a moment with the girls, please, if you don't mind." I say, and the three gentlemen match out, Deep not missing a chance to give me a reassuring smile, which I return, and before my mind can wander off back to that heated moment we had back in the car, I move my eyes upstairs to distract myself.

I wasn’t expecting her at all, but there she is—my sister, just watching us from the door of her bedroom. Our eyes meet, but she doesn't show any sign of acknowledging my presence. She doesn't even move an inch. Her face is still as cold as ice. She has probably murdered me a thousand times by now. Will it ever be okay?

"Alright girls." I begin when they are all settled on the mattresses. Ggrace is still there at the door, listening, or so I think, because her eyes are on me. "I don't have much to say. I just wanted to let you know that you shouldn't feel indebted to me for whatever reason. I was a victim too, and I just did what I had to do. The most important thing is that we are out of danger now. We need to put everything behind us and look at the bright side. I know what you went through is terrible. It might feel or seem difficult to forget and start all over again, but trust me, nothing is impossible as long as you are willing to try." I pause to look at them and see if they are with me, and I am pleased to see they are. The movement of their heads, nodding, and a few smiles are enough assurance, except for a few who seem lost. "I might not be the best person to guide you through this; that's why I have looked for some specialists to help me with this. We all need guidance and counseling at some point. It is not mandatory if you feel like you can handle yourself; it is not a must if you don't want to, but it is recommended for a fresh start. Is that alright?" I implore. I know I cannot impose anything on them. They have the right to make their own decisions.

"Yes, miss. Gia!" A chorus came from them, which blasted my face. If they continue with this spirit, then they will be able to adjust in no time.

"I love your spirit, girls. Let's not allow our past to define our future, because we deserve happiness." They nod their heads again, and since I suck so much in speeches, I decide to end it just here.

The sound of the door shutting startles us for a second. It was my sister returning to the room. Does she have to act like this, surely? Like, is she for real? How old is she? A nine-year-old? Come on! She needs to behave. It's time to face her. Let's see if she is in the mood to talk.

"Alright girls. The people I talked to will be coming to check on you the day after tomorrow. And I want to assure you that I will be with you every step of the way. Whatever you may need, if you want to talk to someone, I will be here. Together, we will conquer this, alright?" They nod their heads again, a soft chorus of yes flowing. "Okay. I will leave you to rest now." I stand, signaling for Sheryl to come with me.