When Love Finds You

Chapter 31

Hours later, Aurora walked into the family room of her home where she found her daughter sitting alone on the couch as she stared blankly at a surface. "How you doing baby girl?" She sat down beside her quiet daughter.

She had just locked up for the night after seeing their last guest out to their car.

Letting out a deep breath, Olga shook her head. "This is a nightmare, Ma," she whispered as she took the crumpled tissue that she had balled up in her hand and dried her red cheeks.

After hanging up the phone with Leona earlier in the day, the doctors came in and informed them that after their best efforts to save him, there was nothing they could do for her father. His gunshot wounds and head injury were too severe.

After having the hardest discussion of her life with her mother, the two decided to take the man off the vent and let nature run its course.

"Alam ko," the woman grabbed her daughter's hand and held on tight. "Alam ko," she said as she gently petted her hand over and over.

Aurora was trying her best to keep herself together on the outside for her daughter's sake even though she was a mess on the inside.

Her husband was the love of her life and he was taken away from her so maliciously. But she would go on, if only for her daughter, she would try to press on. "This is going to be a rough few days, pero kailangan natin gawin to. Para sa Papa mo, gagawin natin."

"Maling mali ito, Ma," she shook her head as she tried to fathom what had happened. "How can someone be so callous and walk into a military base and shoot it up?" She asked, looking over to her mother. She had tried to keep her emotions in check for her mom, but she was failing.

"I don't know." She said, wrapping her arm around her daughter. "Parati kong sinasabi sa Papa mo na itong trabahong 'to ang papatay sa kanya." Aurora whispered after a few silent minutes. They both were lost in their own thoughts.

"Parati niya din sinasabi na yung pagluluto mo ang unang papatay sa kanya," she sadly chuckled. She couldn't believe her dad was actually gone.

"Yeah," she couldn't help but smile at the many times her husband said those words.

He lived for her cooking.

"May inaasahan kang tawag?" Aurora asked when she saw her daughter hit the home button on her phone before focusing back on the table.

"No, and yes," she shrugged. "Sinusubukan kong tawagan si Leona nung hinatid mo na si Aunt Linda palabas, pero hindi naman siya sumasagot. Baka natutulog na siya," she sighed. She hadn't talk to the woman since the doctor came in and talked to them, so Leona had no clue what was going on.

"Maaga pa naman. Maaga ba siya natutulog?"

"Hindi naman." She couldn't help it when a small smile graced her face when she thought about her. "We both had a late night at work last night and then we were right back up, so neither of us got much sleep. Baka maaga lang siyang natulog ngayon."

Aurora watched as her daughter talked about this woman she has heard so little about. "Gusto mo siya no?"

"Ma, pwede ba 'wag ngayon?" She asked, shaking her head. This was the last thing she wanted to discuss at the moment.

"I need to, honey; I need to talk about something. Anything but what happened today."

Olga glanced up to the sad look on her mother's face before she leaned into her. "Yeah," she sighed. "I like her a lot."

"Gusto ka ba niya?" She asked as she pulled her daughter closer.

"Sa tingin ko... umaasa ako."

"Kwentuhan mo naman ako tungkol sa kanya. Wala akong masyadong alam bukod sa kinupkop mo siya."