Olifina: Love And Trouble

14. Sad Truth.

"What are you doing here?" Dad asked angrily. Mom looked at me in shock then looked back at Dad, "Why didn't you tell me she was here?"

Dad looked away in anger.

"Rufina dear, he"

"Don't call me your dear!" I snapped. "I'm not dear to you." I shook my head, "if I was, you wouldn't have left."

At the sound of that, she became quiet as I had expected. She had no excuse.

"Where's your boyfriend?" Dad asked and Oliver stood up from behind the bushes where he was hiding.

"Now the family is complete," He joked and I glared at him, folding my hands.

"So what's the problem?" I asked.

"Rufina, don't worry about that," Mom said but I paid no attention to her. The sound of her voice only increased my annoyance.

"I want you guys to tell me what's happening. Aren't we all tired of this secrecy? It's what even got us here in the first place."

Natalie and Geronimo glanced at each other in a manner that suggested she was the one who had the answer to my questions. They turned their attention back to me.

"It's a long story," Mom said.

I looked over at Oliver. I knew what he was thinking; It wasn't safe out there.

"It's better if we go back to the house," I said to them. We all turned and started to walk home.

Mom tried to start up a conversation with me. I guess she got the hint I wasn't in the mood so she stopped trying.

When we got to the house, we all sat in the living room. Mom was busy feeding her eyes with the view of the house.

"I think I'd better start answering your question before it gets late."

Oliver and I exchanged glances then laughed at the irony in Mom's statement.

"I have a specific time I need to get back home," she explained. Her statement sparked a new curiosity in me but I left the new questions for later.

"Anyways, I don't think I'm willing to wait for any second extra to get my answers."

Mom sighed and asked for a cup of water. Oliver went to get her one, then she started telling her story without interruption.

:When I left the house years ago, I went to meet another man. We lived together for some years before deciding to get married. At first, he was hesitant to get married. According to him, he wasn't ready yet. He agreed to get married later on because of how persistent I was.

After our marriage things went on smoothly until about four years ago when he started behaving strangely.

He would travel very often on business trips I didn't know about, he would stay out very late, and some days he wouldn't come home for days. It wasn't until some months ago I got to know about who he truly was. I stumbled over a loose floorboard in the house. I pulled it off to discover a key underneath it. I used the key to try several doors in our massive house, it's even bigger than this. Sometimes I even felt the place was haunted."

She took a sip of her water. "Well that day, I saw something. Something that would haunt me forever." Her hands began to shake and she dropped the glass of water on the stool close to her before she continued talking. "I couldn't find a fit until I went up to the attic. There was a door on the floor of the room under a rug. I tried my keys in it and it worked. I felt apprehensive as I opened that door. I didn't think I was ready for what I was about to see. And truly I wasn't." She looked up at all of us and said, "There were heads."

Looking away, she broke down in tears as goosebumps spread over my skin. "Human heads and body parts," she added in a shaky voice as she bent her head sobbing. I couldn't resist going close to comfort her.

"I quickly ran out of the room just to meet Fernandez outside the attic door. He locked me in and made me swear that I wouldn't tell anyone about what I saw before he released me."

She turned to me. "Rufina, I had your fighting spirit. I did not give in just at once. I told him I wasn't going to accept what he said and he kept me there for days in the attic. He kept visiting each day until the fifth day when I finally accepted and he let me out. After that time, I have been maltreated by him. I've been treated in so many horrible ways.

Just recently he has gotten mad. He has gotten way out of control," She cried. "I was pregnant."

I gasped upon hearing her last statement. "Pregnant?" I asked and she nodded.

"Fernandez beat me until the baby got aborted," She said, "We're living in an area just like this. It's in the middle of the woods so I didn't even have a neighbour to come to my rescue."

"Oh my gosh! That's bad..."

"Yeah," she replied, cleaning her tears. She then turned to me. "Rufina, I'm so sorry, I know it's hard to forgive me but please, have mercy. I'm feeling bad for what I did."

"Mum..." I interjected, holding her hand, "It's okay."

She smiled at me. "So what's going on in your life?"

"I'm working at Uncle Casey's bakery."

"Really?"

I nodded.

"How about your cousins? Melisanda and uh... What's the other one's name again?"

"Veronica."

"Yes, how is she?"

"She's fine. She wants to study medicine and she's almost done with high school."

Mom laughed as she looked at us all. "Thank you for having me," She said, standing up. "I have to go now."

I stood up after her. "Mum, no!"

She held my hands and smiled at me. "I'll be fine."

"No, we need to help you."

Mom shook her head and that was it. I couldn't convince her further. Dad stood beside her and they waved us goodbye, then left the house.

A deep sadness came over me as I watched them leave. I turned and hugged Oliver who was standing beside me as years rolled down my eyes.

Yes, there was trouble in the family, but at least my parents were together, even if it wasn't on a good occasion. That was at least good, right? I sighed. It was just too much to take in.

Slowly, I withdrew from Oliver and cleaned my face. "Good night,' I said, then walked away to my bedroom.