15 The Scarlet Lady (2/2)
”Foolish girl,” she says. Suddenly, she pulls a gun from her purse and points it at me. If I die right now, I did it all in the name of the truth. If there is one thing I know, I did not give up when others did. I will die with honor. ”Goodbye, mademoiselle.”
I was prepared to die. I did not expect that in a sudden moment, Professor Diwa takes the gun away from her and proceeds to forces her to drink the shot I took away from Mateo. It is indeed payback. I did not expect that he would save me. And just when I try to stand to take him, the drugs get the best of me. My vision finally dimmed to darkness and all I could feel was nothing but numbness. It was as if I am drifting off to sleep.
I woke up with an IV needle stuck in my hand. I feel a little headache, but I can finally see clearly. I feel myself laughing at the moment. I'm alive. I cannot believe that I am still alive. Many IV bags are hanging on the stand. It seems that those are the different drugs that help drain the poison out of my body.
While I think things through, I cannot believe that I survived what happened. Who was that lady? I did not manage to get a glimpse of her except that she was wearing a red scarlet dress and has her hair into rich locks of curls. It was a blurry vision. It was as if it was nothing but a vague dream.
A nurse comes into my room with a clipboard. I wonder where Mateo could be. I see that the lady nurse is checking whether I am receiving enough medicine to treat the drugs that got into my system.
”Miss Aguinaldo, it is good to see that you are finally awake,” the lady nurse says brightly as she finishes writing on her clipboard.
”What happened?” I ask.
”The professor that called the ambulance says that you took a little sip of a laced drink,” she says. ”If a sip could do this much, I think it is far worse for your friend stuck at the ICU.”
”What?” I say incredulously.
”He took three doses of the drugs,” the nurse says. ”You only took a little dose, but look at what happened. I'm afraid you will be stuck here for another day though you have seemed to be recovered.”
”Nurse, how is he?” I ask seriously. ”Tell me the prognosis. I am his friend. I have the right to know.”
Hesitantly, she changed the page of her clipboard. I can tell that Mateo and I share the same nurse to tend to us. I mean, we share the same case, but mine is much worse.
”He is in a coma,” the nurse says hesitantly. ”In truth, we do not know what kind of drugs got into your system. It was a new type of drug that not even medical institutions know about it yet. We are currently draining your system of the drugs. Yours was just a small dose, that's why your recovery will be speedy. As for Mister Macedo, I do not know how I can put his fate in the simplest of words. It might be painful for you.”
”Nurse, speak plainly,” I say bluntly. ”It does not pain me. I have faced another pain of having a friend bedridden. Having another can't hurt me now. So, when will he wake up?”
”The question is 'if', Miss Aguinaldo,” she says lowly. ”The doctors do not know if he'll ever wake up. Anyway, Miss Aguinaldo, the professor that saved you is waiting outside. He wants to have a word with you. Would you like me to send him in?”
Professor Diwa knows the name of the woman. What am I to do now? I need to know her name; however, I doubt anyone would tell it to me now. He has to tell me now. I have to get the truth from him. Still, this will be difficult for me, undoubtedly.
”How are you feeling, Miss Aguinaldo?” he asks as he goes in.
He is carrying a bouquet of various kinds of flowers. There's an orchid, sunflower, lily, tulip, and other kinds of flowers. He set it on a vase beside me. Somehow, this does not affect me. I know that he only gave it to me so that he would brighten up this dreary room. He could never be a lover to me. He will never see me as such.
”Flowers, how typical,” I remark bitterly in a whisper that even he could not hear.
He pulls a chair from the dining table near my bed and sits beside me as if he is a true friend to me. We are not friends. We are not even acquaintances. He is nothing more than a stranger that saved me from death. I should be thankful, but I cannot. I have always loved him but he is too blind to see that.
”Miss Aguinaldo, I do not know where I shall begin,” he says awkwardly.
”Just tell me the woman's name, sir,” I say bluntly. ”I need to find that woman and bring justice to Mateo and Rex.”
For a moment, he is stunned. It was as if he is trying to be cool and collected. Whatever happened last night, I know he knows something. I know he knows everything. I have to squeeze everything I can get from him. And then, I truly did not expect that he would say a name I do not know.
”Ysabel Javier.”