Street Signs

Chapter 38

BRIELLE

There was silence between me and Cheveyo. I did not receive any feedback from him after thanking him for saving me the last night, but that was just fine. What seemed to be not alright to me was his stare that could kill me, not because it was melting my heart, but because there was something in those that was left spoken. And because it was becoming awkward already, I had planned to tell him I'd be leaving, but in time, my phone rang. So, I took that opportunity to say goodbye to him and leave the spot where we were standing.

As I walked away, I looked at the caller's ID and knew it was Uncle Hernan who was calling. I looked for a place where I could be so that I would be able to hear clearly anything that he would say because I knew for sure that it was important. I proceeded to the female bathroom, and fortunately, no one was there.

"Brielle, where are you?" Uncle Hernan asked as soon as I answered the call.

At that moment, my heart jumped and the thrill shook my spine. I could tell something was going on, but I couldn't tell if it was good or bad because, in Uncle's voice, there was a hurry but not something like in tension. Nonetheless, I could not be complacent knowing that he would be talking about his son, Zayden.

"I'm in the university, Uncle," I answered after a few seconds. "Is there anything I could do to help?"

"There's no problem here. Actually, I have good news for you."

A little smile touched my lip, yet my heart was still beating rapidly but because of gratitude now. This was the first time that I would be hearing a piece of good news from the other side starting when Zayden died. So, I excitedly asked Uncle Hernan about it and he said,

"Zayden's ashes are here now." Uncle's tone of voice was calm; nonetheless, he still seemed to be smiling when he spoke those words.

My eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yes, indeed! Would you come here after school, Brielle?"

"Sure, I will, Uncle!" I thanked him before ending the call.

Still holding the smile that grew even more, I looked at myself in the mirror. My face blushed in pink, making my entire face bloom like a garden. I could not release the grin on my lip, and my eyes could not stop shining as well. I did not mind even though the girls that entered the comfort room were looking at me.

If I was thankful for each bird to grace the sky, then my gratitude for this piece of good news was so much more. I was swaying around the bathroom while my eyes were closed like I was the only person there. That thankfulness, that emotion that stirred, was best told in music or dance, for there were not the words invented to translate it upon a page.

When the bell buzzed, that was the only time I stopped dancing and turning around. There were still other girls inside the comfort room who were staring at me like they were thinking how crazy I was for being happy, but I just passed over them as if I'd never seen them.

"Where have you gone?" Queen asked me as soon as I took the seat beside him.

"Guess what?"

"What?" he puckered his brow.

"The jar of Zayden's ashes is now in the sepulcher."

Queen's eyes grew bigger. "Wow, that's great! Who told you?"

"Uncle Hernan. He called me just now and informed me about it." I shook my body in great excitement. "I can't wait to see it again."

"Good. But, is it safely returned there?"

I had a little doubt which diminished the smile on my lip, but I changed it with gladness right away. "I forgot to ask Uncle, but I could see it's safely returned there because he was happy when he told me about it. I'll be going there after the afternoon class."

"See... so that's why you get out of the room... uhm... with..."

"Of course not. I can't think why everybody's putting an issue with me getting out of the room with Cheveyo." I paused for some time and wandered my eyes around the room to see if he was there, but none. Eventually, I turned my gaze at Queen. "We just talked about the assignment given to us the other day. Remember, he's my partner, right?"

"Ah, yeah," Queen nodded his head. "I thought it's about love, bitch."

I glared my eyes at him and changed my view to the board that was in front of me. I lied when I said it was about the assignment, but I did not when I told Queen that in that project, Cheveyo was my pair. Of all the classmates I could be paired with, he was the one chosen by my instructor to help me to it; she trusted him because she knew I was still running for the activities I skipped because of Zayden's death. I did not complain though, because I knew that Cheveyo would help me a lot on this, it was just that I was still shy to approach him after the goodness he had done to me. But above all, how would I tell him about what had happened? How would I tell him about the men when he asked me about it?

"By the way, good luck with the assignment," Queen giggled, taking the chance to speak before the instructor could enter the room.

At that moment, I was still overwhelmed, and that I could not focus well on the discussion. The excitement in me could not be expressed by words, so I just smiled throughout. It was a good thing to me that at that point, no recitation was held. I was indeed the happiest person in the world today! I was always seeking for this moment, to smile again genuinely.

After the class for the whole day, I immediately left the university and didn't even say a proper goodbye to Queen; however, I knew he understood it. My cheeks were aching already because I'd been smiling from the time I started driving until I arrived in the cemetery.

Uncle Hernan and Aunt Yadora were inside but the police were gone already. They were sitting there, but when they saw me, they abruptly stood and ran to me.

"I missed you, my dear," Aunt Yadora told me as she hugged me.

I told her the same thing because aside from the excitement I felt for finally seeing the jar again, I also missed her so bad. The last time I saw her was when Uncle Hernan called me that something bad happened to her, and that was on the first night of the camp which was held weeks ago. I never visited her again at her house after that because Daddy Sy didn't allow me, also because of the men who kept following me.

After the night that Prince Valor defeated the five men, they did not show up again. He told me I was safe now but I didn't have to be complacent because anytime, the queen could send another group of men to find me. However, he also said to me that he wasn't sure about that because the queen might not send again for the fear that the number of the men that would be sent to fight against the Baspiritus would be lessened.

"Where is the jar, Aunt, Uncle," I asked them, and after they pointed it out, I immediately went to the tomb to see it.

Tears started to fall through my cheeks as soon as I saw the jar. I took it and hugged it, and in that way, I felt Zayden's presence again. I was glad it was returned safely in the sepulcher. I had seen no scratches from it, no simple dents. I even asked Uncle Hernan and Aunt Yadora about the ashes, and they told me it was as it was before it was stolen. I was glad to hear about it, but I was also wondering.

The jar was stolen weeks ago inside the sepulcher by an unknown person. However, when the investigation happened, nothing could serve as proof that it was stolen because the tomb was as it was even after the incident happened. And now that it was returned, the stealer was still anonymous. However, if the jar was returned safely, with no changes at all, what was the intention of the thief? In the first place, why did he return it?

Still holding the jar, I turned my gaze at the two. "Did the police find out the robber?"

The two first looked at each other before they glanced at me with disappointed faces.

I heaved a sigh. "I see," I mouthed without even waiting for them to speak because I knew already what they meant for that look. "So, when is it returned there?"

"The other night," Aunt Yadora answered.

An electric current felt like to shiver my veins. The other night was the night I visited the cemetery, and it was also the same time I saw the eyes that stared at me as if it was telling me something. That night was also the night I got chased by the men and got saved by Cheveyo. If that was the case, were those incidents connected to one another?

"Would you like to see it on the CCTV so you could know what exactly had happened?" Aunt Yadora asked me while I was still stuck in my thoughts.

I nodded my head, but this time I wasn't holding my smile anymore. I had an idea already, but as long as I hadn't seen it yet from the record, I would not be firm to that belief.

We had decided to leave Uncle Hernan in Zayden's tomb so there was someone to watch over it while I and Aunt Yadora were away. Minutes after walking, we finally arrived in the room, and right after we came there, we asked for the video record.

The moment the video was played, I looked closely at it and observed every detail in it, even the smallest. However, I could not seem to find someone there except for the trees that were swaying through the windy night. I saw my car there in one perspective, and to my surprise, I caught the eyes that reflected through the window of my vehicle. I asked the administrator to pause it and zoom it, but when he did, nothing showed up-- just a dark view of my car's location.

"What's the matter, Brielle?" Aunt Yadora asked. "Have you seen something?"

I looked at her but did not say a word. "Can we please replay it?" I once again asked the administrator, but when he did it, those eyes did not show up anymore.

And at that moment... I knew something was different. Really different.