BLAMED FOR BEING A MURDERER

The once-familiar room had become a refuge of fear and curiosity, with every corner seeming to hold back unseen threats and uncertainties. The clustered dread weighed heavily upon them, turning the space into an unsettling refuge where the only solace lay in each other's shared turmoil and the hope for a resolution to alleviate the chilling fear that had taken root within those four walls.

Deep’s parent's turmoil lay in the confusion of how to free their one beloved son from the other vicious one, whom they never cared about from the start. The approach alone seemed so vague and challenging.

Gia’s thoughts were lingering on whether her passage to fight the monster would be granted by the authorities. Whether she would be able to slay the monster for good once again or whether the cruel fate would cheat her again.

And Grace, the poor lost soul, was floating in the middle of the cloud, fear almost breaking her bones. She had witnessed that battle once, which left her and her sister at odds. She did not want to even think of another cold war like that again, especially because a lot of people were involved this time around.

“Are you sure it was him that you saw, Gia? Did he see you?” Grace finally spoke, while Mr. and Mrs. Azzua continued swimming in confusion.

Gia lazily dragged her gaze toward her sister. The series of events that happened back at the gala replayed in her head. How that monster made her look like a fool and a lunatic. “He did not just see me, Grace. He was waiting for me. He was ready for me. And everything was set just for me to know it was all his doing. Only that I was not quick to realize it earlier.”

More fear made its way into the room. Mr. Azzua found his voice before anyone else could. “He was waiting for you? That means he was aware that you were going to that gala? How come?”

“He was. Everything was his doing from the invitation. It was all his plan. I think he has been watching us for a while now. And he had his time playing with my mind today.” Gia’s heart was getting heavy with every single word that left her mouth. The weight of the shame and embarrassment that she had experienced in the Gala was weighing heavily on her.

“I don’t get how this man is alive. How is he able to do all this?” Mr. Azzua asked. His mind seemed to be engrossed in something so deep.

Gia understood the worry and confusion that was filling the room again as each one of them listened to their own distant thoughts. A wave of confusion was roaming inside, drawing them all deeper into a session of confrontations with their own minds and instincts.

The bitter reality had been revealed to them, but no one was willing to accept it. Each soul was hoping that all that was a horrible dream that they would wake up from in the morning.

But the morning was already with them, the sun rays peeking at them through the curtain as if mocking them. The banging questions in their heads were still pressing for answers that seemed distinct. Mrs. Azzua cleared her throat, deciding to solve the situation. “You know this is all your fault, Gia. How could you have believed that someone was dead just because you were lying in blood or just because someone told you so? You should have been wise enough to do a follow-up and not believe in empty words.”

Gia looked at the oblivious woman with contentment, her gaze soft, denoting how she was tired of arguing with the woman. “I did not believe because I was told or because I just saw it! I was the one behind the trigger. I fired all the uncountable bullets that tore his body apart. I had killed him myself!”

Shock and disbelief rippled through their faces, except for Grace, whose mouth dropped at Gia’s unexpected slip of the tongue. Their expressions had frozen in a mix of horror, confusion, and disbelief. The room suddenly becomes heavy with a discomfited tension, an air thick with a sense of disbelief and unease.

“You were the one who shot him?” Mr. Azzua implored, battling to balance his shock and confusion.

The weight of what Gia had said bounced on her like a load, the sense of how Deep’s parents would regard her from that moment on, speaking her mind. But words spoken can never be taken back. And they were now looking at her sternly, waiting for clarification, perhaps hoping that Gia was lying.

She took a long blink, as if asking the heavens to forgive her for that slip of the tongue. She then peeled her eyes and took upon herself the responsibility to clarify the issue. “I did.”

Two words that tore the cool of someone. “You are a murderer? How could you? Where did you get the gust to even pull the trigger and not just once, huh?” Mr Azzua spoke, taking a step back from Gia, a sign of the beckoning rift between them.

Gia remained bold and unshaken. She had done what she needed to do for the sake of everyone. The only thing she regretted was that all her extortions did not pay off. As for pulling the trigger,

She was not regretful at all! “If you were in my shoes, if you had gone through what I had gone through in the hands of that monster, if you had witnessed his animosity toward what I did, then you would understand why I had to do what I did.”

“Ooh, no! Killing? Do not justify yourself, Gia! By killing, you became like him, and I don’t think I would want my son to end up with a murderer.”

If it were before, Gia would have broken down in tears, but she braced the immense pain of the sharp dagger of Mrs. Azzua’s words as it pierced through the delicate walls of her heart without even wincing. Her words flowed audibly and with a balanced tone as she responded. "Life is a spin, ma'am. You don’t know where it will land you the next minute. Never say never.”

“Well, I say never! I cannot stain my hands with the blood of a human being, no matter who they are. You did that because you wanted to, and I am afraid you don’t seem regretful about it at all.” Mrs. Azzua remarked, looking at Gia with loathing and disgust. It seemed like she could sniff the fresh blood from Gia.”