HUNYO bente. Alas-sais kwarenta’y siyete ng umaga.
Nagising si Allyson sa tunog ng sigawan. Malayo, pero hindi mapagkakamalan. Male voices raised in anger, carrying across the rice fields from the direction of the Aragon hacienda.
Napaupo siya, agad na naalerto. Hinablot niya ang kaniyang phone. Multiple missed texts from Dark, all sent within the past ten minutes.
"He knows."
"Doctor is here. It's—it's bad."
"He's threatening to disown me."
"Ally, I might need—"
"Never mind. I shouldn't drag you into this."
Napatayo na siya sa kama, nagmamadaling nagsuot ng damit—jeans, t-shirt, cardigan—bago pa man siya tuluyang makapag-desisyon kung pupunta ba talaga siya. Von appeared in her doorway, also awoken by the shouting.
"That's coming from the hacienda," sabi nito.
"I know.
