“WHY? We haven’t tried the other rides,” Tamara protested when Thaddeus suddenly dragged her away from the crowd.
“We need to leave now,” he said and looked around the place. He suddenly became agitated as if he has seen somebody. “I don’t like the auras here.”
Tamara’s heart raced. She clung to his arm and scooted closer. “Did you see a bad spirit?”
Thaddeus looked at her. The chagrinned expression in his eyes made Tamara worried for him. “I guess what I saw is a bad spirit following us. And, he’s not alone. He has troops that might be just nearby.”
“Oh, my gosh. Then we have to go home now,” she said and pulled him towards the exit. They immediately hailed a cab parked on the road. “I didn’t expect that even in a noisy and crowded place, the bad spirits are just lurking around and looking for somebody that could be their host.”
“We have to be careful now,” Thaddeus replied, staring out the window. “They’re just watching us.”
Tamara took his hand, held it in her lap. The man turned to her and looked at her questioningly. Maybe wondering why she’s holding his hand.
“You said that my pendant will protect me because it represents your power guarding me, then it will be much stronger if it was you who was with me personally,” she smiled at him. “I’m sure the bad spirits will be afraid to get near me because I have you.”
Thaddeus laughed. “The bad spirits will have second thoughts on going with you because they now know that you’ll just use them for your own benefit,” he said and pinched her cheek.
Tamara’s cheeks reddened, and she can feel the heat going up to her ears. “I can’t believe you,” was all she managed to say.
Still, Tamara wouldn’t forget what happened to them in the Ferris wheel. Thaddeus kissed her back, and it’s not just a quick kissed. It lasted for minutes. She caught her hammering chest and glanced at Thaddeus. The man was looking out the window and looked in deep thoughts.
He must be worried because he saw evil spirits following us, she said in her mind and heaved a sigh. “Thaddeus…” she called his attention. “Did it ever come in your mind to quit shamanism and start living a normal life?”
From the city lights reflected in the window, Thaddeus looked at her. “It did,” he said and lowered his head. “That’s why I chose to wear casual clothes, instead of the iconic dresses that a shaman wears.”
“Really?” Tamara asked in surprise. “It must be tough to be a shaman? Seeing supernatural humans and talking to the dead…”
“It’s hard to live like a dead human being…” he said and leaned on the seat. “That’s why I’m here.”
When the man closed his eyes, Tamara decided to don’t bother him. Maybe he’s exhausted because he received a lot of energy today. Thus, he needs to take a rest. Now, Tamara has all the time to look at his face.
“He’s so perfect…” she murmured. “His brows, nose, and lips…” She bit her lip and recalled everything that happened earlier. “I hope it has a part two, and part 3 and 4…”
She leaned on Thaddeus’s shoulder and was about to sleep when her eyes caught the driver looking at them in the rearview mirror. The man quickly returned his eyes on the road. Tamara’s brows furrowed, but because of sleepiness, she ignored it and fell asleep.
____________________
“I FELL asleep on the road,” Tamara told Thaddeus as soon as the cab stopped in front of their apartment. She stretched her arms before she got out of the cab. “Thank you for the ride, Mr. Driver.”
“How much does it cost?” Thaddeus asked the driver as he took out his wallet.
“One-thousand twenty-seven pesos, sir. From Pampanga to Manila,” the driver said without looking at him.
Thaddeus took out an excessive amount of bill and gave it to the driver. “Thank you,” he said and handed the bill to the man. As he turned to face him, Thaddeus got shocked when he recognized the man. “What are you doing here?”
“Sir Thaddeus. Your father’s men are looking for you,” the man told him worriedly. “I think it’s better if you’ll come with me now, sir.”
“No, I won’t go back to China. I have a lot of business to finish here,” he said and suddenly felt ashamed of what he said. “Did you hear our conversation?”
The man nodded. “I didn’t know that—”
“Pretend that you didn’t hear anything.” He got off the car. But before he closed the door, he peeked inside. “Franco, are you with them? The man that I saw in Sky Ranch?”
The man shook his head. “I went here alone, and your father doesn’t know that I’m here,” he replied. “Sir—”
“Don’t report anything to them,” he said. “I trust you, Franco.”
“Hey, Thaddeus, what is it?” Tamara came to his side and hooked in his arm. “Is there a problem?”
“Nothing.” He put his arms around Tamara’s shoulders. “He’s just asking if there’s a nearby gas station here.”
“Oh, yeah. On the first streetlights from here,” Tamara said, pointing to the streetlights' direction. “You’ll see it immediately because it’s just along the way.”
When the cab drove off, Thaddeus took a deep breath. He didn’t expect that they’ll be able to track his whereabouts. He looked at his wristwatch, it was already eight p.m, and Tamara must be really hungry because of the trip.
“You know what, it was my first time to ride a taxi cab from the exit of the Sky Ranch to here,” she said in a knotted forehead. “Because as far as I know, taxi cabs from Pampanga to Manila is not available, then ho come that we saw a cab waiting in the road?”
“We’re lucky,” Thaddeus said. “We’re lucky that we spotted a cab that can take us home safely.” He squeezed her shoulders. “You told me that there’s a Mami Rolling cart here. Do you want to eat first before going inside?”
Tamara’s eyes brightened. “I love it—”
“Tamara…”
They both looked at the man that called her name. But, it was Tamara that gasped upon seeing the man. Thaddeus watched Tamara’s bright expression turned to dull while looking at the man.
“Wil? What brought you here?” she asked and stepped forward, making his hand fell from her shoulders.
***