War in Katipunan

Kabanata 33

KABANATA 33.

Again...

MABILIS KONG ipinark ang sasakyan ko. Hindi ito ang unang beses kong pumunta sa St. Luke’s pero kinakabahan parin ako. Ilang beses ko pang pina-ulit kay Alonzo ang location bago ito tuluyang pumasok sa utak ko. It’s been years since I last came here. I was still a student back then.

Ibinaba ko ang salamin para tignan ang sarili ko. Hindi ako nag-make up. Lip gloss lang ay pressed powder ang nilagay ko pero okay pa naman ang mukha ko. I put my long black hair with shades of gray now (highlights) on a half ponytail. I am wearing a sky blue slacks and coat with the same color and a white under clothes.

Pormal na pormal ang suot ko dahil meeting daw eh. But my usual attire when visiting the site isn’t like this. This is too formal for a construction site. Pero dahil meeting naman ang a-attend-an ko ngayon ay nag-effort naman akong magbihis. Alonzo will definitely tease me for being too formal but that’s not my concern right now.

Kinuha ko ang cellphone ko mula sa handbag na dala dahil panay ang ring nito. When I saw who’s the caller, I immediately smiled.

“Hello, pa!”

“’Nak!” bungad saakin ni papa.

“Ba’t ka napatawag, pa?”

“Ay sorry, nak. May ginagawa ka ba?”

“Wala po, pa. I’m just wondering why you called.”

“Ah, your brother wants to visit you—I miss you ate!” I smiled when I heard by younger brother’s voice.

“I miss you too, bunso! Pa, pwede naman po kayong bumisita. Wala naman po ako masyadong work ngayon.”

“That’s nice. We’ll stay there for about um… two weeks? Sa weekend na kami pupunta dyan.” Sumangayon ako kay papa. I chuckled when my little brother shouted his I miss you’s. Ilang kumustahan pa ay nagpaalam na ako dahil ilang oras na lang ay alas nuwebe na at may meeting pa ako.

Nangingiti kong inilagay ang phone ko pabalik sa bag. Ilang I love you pa ang natanggap ko mula kay Dice bago ko ibinaba ang tawag. Dice is my little brother. He was the outcome of my mother’s tragedy. Nevertheless, he was the ‘cause of our hope and happiness right now.

When my mama died, I thought it was the end of me too. Dice was just almost two-month old when mama died. I was so broken but I still felt pity for my papa. Even before they made up their relationship, mama was taken away from him, from us. Akala ko, magtatanim ng galit si papa. But I was wrong.

Mama was brutally killed by Dice’ father. Akala ko, ipapaalala lang saamin ni Dice kung gaano kasakit ang sinapit ni mama sa ama niya. But I realized that Dice is our strength. Siya ang naiwan ni mama saamin ni papa.

Of course, the healing wasn’t easy, especially for me. I was depressed. I have to see a doctor for my treatment. It was so hard. Every session with my psychiatrist was painful. But I can’t deny that it helped me. But being mentally healed is not the end of it. I have to be spiritually healed too.

I have to thank papa for the support that he’s giving me. Kahit na alam kong nahihirapan din siya, hindi siya nawala sa tabi ko. Sa lahat ng nangyari sa buhay namin, all we can do is to surrender ourselves to the Lord. Ipinaubaya ko ang sarili ko sa Diyos. I trusted Him with my healing. And I was never disappointed.

Mama’s rapist and killer was the same person. The witnesses said that my mom was walking home from the market and suddenly, the killer came. Masyadong mabilis ang mga pangyayari. Ilang saksak ang nakuha ni mama. It was so painful for us to see. My mother whom I love so much was brutally killed just meters away from our home.