Exception [ Quintero Series #2 ]

Kabanata 20

A/N

This is the last chapter of #EXCPTN. The next update will be the Epilogue as told by Nathan's point of view.

Thank you for reading this. I hope just like what happened to Nathan and Irish, gumaling din ang bawat sugat na patuloy na humihila sa'yo pababa. Kaya mo 'yan! 🦋

Kabanata 20

Sydney, Australia

2 years later

People deal with problems differently because each one of us has a unique story.

May mga problema na ang tingin natin ay madali lang para sa atin pero para sa iba ay mahirap at mabigat na pala. It's the reason why we should always be conscious of our tendency to give judgment to other people.

Isa lang 'yan sa mga natutunan ko sa support group na sinalihan ko sa nakaraang dalawang taon.

"How are you this week, Elizabeth?" Tanong ni Doc Silvester sa isa sa mga kasamahan ko at naging pinaka close ko sa grupo.

Eli immediately frowned at him.

Ngumuso naman ako para maitago ang nagbabadyang ngisi.

Everyone in this group, especially Doc Silvester, knows she hates to go first kaya naman sinasadya talaga ni Doc gawin 'yon every session.

Nga lang ay napansin ko agad ang kakaiba sa aura ni Eli sa araw na ito.

She sighed heavily bago mas sumeryoso.

"Nothing's new, Doc. I still hate my father though, especially this week," she replied coldly.

I swallowed hard.

The atmosphere shifts and it became too heavy for all of us. Madalas ito mangyari sa grupo lalo na't this group is designed to open up to other people who is struggling as well.

"You know what, Doc? I have a question," aniyang muli, ngayon ay nakakunot na ang noo at bakas na sa boses ang iritasyon.

"Am I required to forgive him for all the bad things that he did to me just because he's dying?" She spat.

Truth is, she was raped by her own father and now he's dying because of cancer.

Kinagat ko ang pang - ibabang labi ko. Alam ko na hindi lang ako ang hindi makatingin kay Eli sa sitwasyong ito.

"No, Eli. Your anger is still valid even when he's dying. Your anger is a part of you that tells you that being mistreated and abused are unacceptable. Your anger know that you deserved a better father. Your anger tells you that you love yourself enough to stand up for it," ani ni Doc.

Nagbuga ako nang malalim na hininga.

Indeed, healing takes time, and we have different timelines.

Our scars don't heal overnight and most of the time it takes our personal initiative to ask for help in order to recognize how our trauma affects our daily lives.