“We are now here, sir!” The taxi cab driver reminded the guys when they finally landed at their chosen destination, the Don Betito Private Hospital. “Lucky you, the traffic was not that heavy, we are able to arrive here ten minutes earlier than the estimated time of arrival.” The taxi cab driver jumped out of his seat, opened the door of the car on his side, and then maneuvered around to open the door of Well in the front seat and of Allen Mar in the backseat. “Thank you very much, sir,” Well said as he handed the driver his fair payment with excess cash for a tip. “Take care of yourself, sir. And thank you again for driving us all the way up to here. I really appreciate it,” Well added as he tucked his hands into his pocket and walked right next to his friend, Allen Mar. Together, they walked into the vicinity of the huge, mostly colored blue and white building of the Don Betito Hospital. “No problem, sir. Just like what I have told you before, I don’t mind giving you of service.
The two new friends walked further and with each step they took, a new discovery had been uncovered. Stuff like golden door knobs, and cobblestones made of sapphires caught their attention. “Good Lord, this place is so sick!” Allen Mar yelled as soon as he recognized those small but impossible not to be seen details. “Are you really sure I am admitting here? Because I still can’t fathom the fact that this would bring down all your fortune at once! I won’t be surprised anymore if their injections and other medical equipment are made out of gold, too!” Allen Mar yelled in wonder and amazement. However, even he, himself, found it difficult to figure out if that amazement he felt was a positive one or a negative one. Because really, the faces of the boys were enough to justify that Allen Mar was not exaggerating and making things sound intense. He did not have to do it. “You have been asking the same question for like twenty times already. Do you think repeating it would guarantee a diff
When the doctor told Well to just wait outside until the immediate operation was over, Well could not help but just obey with the rules. However, deep inside him, he was already anxious, nervous, and panicking. Emotions had been mixing up in his stomach that he found it very difficult to breath anymore. They had been clogging his throat, making him lose control of his breathing. Different scenarios had been playing in his head to the extent that he was lost already and could not distinguish the reality from the hallucinations. Hope had been the only chance he had. And although his abdomen churned in fear, and the back of his neck had been filled with goosebumps, Well only braved the situation and sat on one of the chairs at the waiting area, believing in his friend, Allen Mar that he would survive the operation no matter what. Prayers came out of his lips unconsciously without him knowing it. His nerves had never been feeling this tight. The flowing of blood all over his body had bee
Well did not know what move he should do next. He did not know what to believe as well. Everyone seemed to be lying. Everything seemed to be skeptical. Every place seemed to be dangerous. He thought, now that his friend Allen Mar had suddenly disappeared without really leaving any traces, he had nowhere to go to. He was his only safe haven— at least that was what he thought. Well believed that whatever it was that had been happening, there should always be a reason why it happened. And in this case, no one else would be much willing to take all the odds and brave the east wind to find the truth behind every mystery. He gave himself a few minutes to let everything sink in. It was hard at first, of course. But now that he had finally acknowledged the fact that none of it was unreal and danger and mystery were indeed lurking around the corners, he pulled himself up and began taking necessary actions that he thought he needed to make. Well was not a detective. He will never be. However,
Well went out of the hospital, and with his brand new cellphone, he contacted the taxi driver. Really, he thought, that in a world where everyone would be sketchy, untrusted, and suspicious, it was the taxi driver that he could turn up to. And so, with a few taps on his cellphone’s screen and in one swipe of the green ‘call’ button, he rang the taxi driver’s number and waited for him to answer the call. Although Well had thought that maybe he put his cellphone in silent mode because he was still probably in a drive with a customer. But contrary to his belief, the taxi driver actually answered. “Hello? Sir?” he said as soon as he picked up the phone and slid the answer button found on the screen. “What is it?” Well did not know what to say exactly. For some reason, he was running out of words to spit out. But not until after a few seconds, he finally came back to his senses. “Uhm, are you free? Please tell me when you are free because I have a very, very important matter to discuss w
After Well endured the fifteen long minutes of waiting for the taxi cab driver, he finally arrived in front of the enormous gate of the Don Betito Private hospital. As soon as he found the taxi, Well quickly dashed across the pedestrian lane in his full speed and opened the door of the passenger’s seat in the front. “You will not believe what I am about to tell you,” Well said in the softest voice that he could. However, the parting of his lips and the whispery sound of his breathing made his voice sound like normal anyway. “Get in the car! Get in the car!” The taxi driver reached for the seatbelt and fastened it to Well the moment he allowed himself seated on the passenger’s seat. “You said it is a private matter, right? Then don’t say it out loud in the public. Wait until you close the door before you spill whatever it is that you are dying to tell,” the taxi cab driver said as he started the engine of his taxi and maneuver it to the side of the road– en route to the parking lot in
“Let us start with the most obvious detail I could particularly think of,” Well said as he walked two to three steps forward, just a few seconds after he left the car alongside the taxi cab driver who went out just as soon as he parked the car on a private space of the Don Betito Hospital’s private parking lot. The taxi cab driver looked at Well’s eyes and immediately asked, “most obvious detail which is?” “Most obvious detail which is the exact location of the operating room,” he instantly answered. “As far as my memory could go, I believe the operation room is the first room of the second floor just as when you set out of the stairs.” Well then looked up to the sky and saw how the stars shined bright so beautifully that it did not even occur to him that it was about to get midnight already. The time was turning ten o’clock in the evening, but Well ‘s eyes were still wide awake. He would not be able to get himself to sleep anyway. His friend was obviously in danger, and as a new fr
“What do you suggest when you say that?” Well asked Detective Deib Anchorman. He was trembling when he let go of those words. Hearing the way how the detective had delivered his words, he knew something was not right. The tone of his voice, even the cracking of the words every time they came out, something was off. “I don’t know,” the detective denied. “I am not trying to suggest anything. I just want you to consider and acknowledge all the possibilities, even if they mean going against our will and what we want to be the conclusion,” he added. “Based on my initial investigation, and also based on the quick deduction process that I have done, I can tell that your friend, Allen Mar has been taken away somewhere far from this hospital. I have deduced three possible scenarios that involve him right now, and five possible reasons as to why he was being kidnapped,” the detective further explained. “However, what is quite difficult to understand to me is how the hell was his kidnapper able