We immediately followed the man. Even though he seemed reluctant to include me, he had no choice when I followed where they were heading. On the other side, some of Gio’s men were in commotion, seemingly pulling something from the river. I pushed through the crowd to see who they were dragging out.
“Sienna!”
My sister’s fair skin appeared paler. Her lips were colorless, and her eyes were closed, as if lifeless.
I rushed towards her, but I was stopped by the authorities who were present.
“You can’t, Ma’am,” they prevented me from approaching. I stared at the body they had retrieved, and she looked exactly like Sienna.
“No! I have to confirm that it’s my sister! Let me go!”
I tried to get past the police, but Gio quickly grabbed me and stopped me from approaching Sienna.
I looked at him, and I saw that he was avoiding my gaze, clearly unable to see me in this state.
I felt my strength drain away as I finally processed what had happened. I shook my head vigorously and tears poured from my eyes.
All around me, all you could hear was my sobbing.
“No! Sienna!” I screamed. I almost clawed at myself because I couldn’t accept my sister’s fate.
She promised me. Sienna promised me that we would see each other again. It couldn’t be true. Sienna always keeps her promises!
“Gio!” I shouted. “That’s not Sienna, is it? It’s not her! It can’t be my sister!” I couldn’t bear to say it. Because I felt that if I kept repeating what had happened to Sienna, my mind would slowly accept it..
I cried uncontrollably, and Gio held me tightly. I clung to his clothes as I felt like I would lose consciousness if he let go.
“This can’t be! No! Gio, please tell me this isn’t happening. I-Is it Sienna?”
I felt like no one understood what I was saying because my words were drowned out by my sobs. I didn’t know what to do. My mind was in turmoil because of what had happened. I wanted to kneel and pray, to beg for Sienna to be brought back to life.
I remembered what happened last night. I remembered how I had let Sienna go alone and escape without me. I shouldn’t have done that.
“This is my fault!” I kept hitting Gio’s arm repeatedly as I blamed myself. “It’s my fault this happened to Sienna! I-I shouldn’t have let her go alone! This is my fault!”
Gio held me tighter while soothingly rubbing my back. If I hadn’t left Sienna, if I hadn’t allowed her to carry out her plan alone, if I had stayed here and let her escape, maybe I wouldn’t have lost my sister. Maybe Sienna would still be alive now.
I allowed the pain, grief, anger, hatred, suffering, and tears to engulf me. I held Gio tightly, seeking strength, but even he couldn’t mend my weeping heart.
~*~
I’m still not okay with what happened to my sister when another piece of news surfaced, not just for me but for Gio as well. When Gio inquired about Dario’s whereabouts or if anyone had seen him, the people present there said they hadn’t found Dario’s body, but they found a dog tag necklace that belonged to him. It had traces of blood, which everyone believed to be Dario’s. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I remained silent, eavesdropping on their conversation.
“I think Dario and Miss Sienna were together last night. They were both near a cliff when they were shot and fell into the river. With the strong current last night, both their bodies might have been carried away. Miss Sienna’s body was left here, while Dario’s body could be…” The man couldn’t finish his sentence. I held onto Gio even tighter.
I looked up at Gio, trying to discern his expression upon hearing the news about Dario. It was blank, inscrutable. Even though I thought I had become familiar with Gio’s emotions and could usually understand what he was thinking, I couldn’t read the blankness in his eyes.
“It’s possible… Dario might also be dead,” one of us shared.
My heart raced, and I couldn’t catch my breath properly. I was so shocked that I couldn’t decide how to react.
Gio still didn’t speak. He just stared at the man who informed us about what might have happened to Dario.
“What are you saying about Dario?” I turned to the speaker and saw Elliott, his eyes wide and glued to us, probably overhearing the news about Dario.
I didn’t want to listen anymore. I wanted to cover my ears and hear nothing more. The pain I was already feeling about my sister ‘s situation was now compounded by the news about Dario. A fresh wave of tears streamed down my face as I turned away from Gio.
Elliott erupted when he heard the same news. It was evident that he couldn’t accept the possible loss of his friend. Meanwhile, authorities and Gio’s associates were talking to him. He hadn’t spoken about Dario’s fate since earlier.
“Damn it! Dario is dead?! Don’t give me that news unless you have a body to show me!” Elliott yelled furiously.
I cried silently, unable to process what had happened to my sibling, and now this news about Dario. I had to sit down because I almost stumbled earlier. My gaze was vacant, and I felt lifeless. I have this feeling that Dario fulfilled his promise to me. It’s just that both of them are on the brink of death now.
I felt Gio approaching me. I was still in a daze, and I couldn’t decipher Gio’s feelings.
“We should go home.”
I saw Elliott leave. They had a conversation earlier, and I could see the anger in Elliott’s eyes, as if he was ready to exact vengeance on whoever did this to Dario.
I looked up at Gio. I hoped to see that he was hurt by what happened to Dario, but I was taken aback by his blank expression. I returned to my former state, trying to figure out how to understand Gio’s emotions. I couldn’t grasp it.
I remained silent and just kept looking at Gio. When he noticed I had no intention of leaving, he held me and helped me stand.
“Millie, we need to go home. You need to rest.”
“Rest?!” I stood up, and just when I thought I had finished crying earlier, the tears started flowing again. “I can’t rest knowing that those responsible for what happened to Sienna and Dario are out there. Gio, they protected me, and that’s why they died. It’s all my fault! I should be the one gone, not my sister. They needed me, but Sienna got involved because of me. It’s all my fault, and I don’t have the right to rest!”
I broke down. I couldn’t hold myself together, and all the emotions seemed to explode inside me once again.
“This is my fault! I should have been the one missing, I should be in Sienna’s place. I shouldn’t have left her. I shouldn’t have let her go alone.” I couldn’t see anything clearly because of my tears.
Gio embraced me while I continued to blame myself for what had happened.
“It’s not your fault.”
No matter what they told me, my system couldn’t accept it. I still blamed myself, especially for my sibling’s disappearance.
Gio’s hug tightened. I raised my gaze to him because of the intense embrace.