Cleopatra's Firsts

Chapter Five: Cleopatra

"I need a pulse."

"We need to remove her clothes to check deep wounds or bullet holes."

"Ma'am, I want you to stay back for a while. It's not her blood."

Dra. Samantha Montemayor took a step back from the unconscious body of her youngest child.

When she heard about her youngest daughter being a hostage in Afghanistan, she immediately took a flight and joined a medical mission team outside the battlefield.

Seeing Kali's bruised face and body made her cry. Her youngest child is in front of her unconscious and covered with dirt and blood. She can't imagine herself living without Kallista. Alexandria is already gone, and she doesn't want to lose another child.

"How the hell did she come out?"

"Is she dead?"

"I got a pulse! I got a pulse!"

Kallista's alive!

Dra. Samantha wipes her tears. She needed to go back to her work. In her work, it is important to set your emotions aside. Your job is your priority. And she turned her back from the people who needed her when she heard that the army had rescued Kallista's body.

"The enemy took her yesterday morning, and we received a message this afternoon from her troops. They were asking for approval to rescue their troop member. When they got inside, almost everyone was dead. We suspect that she killed most of them."

She still couldn't believe what she heard. Kallista killed more than twenty armed men inside the warzone!

Seven years later. . . .

"I already found the best doctor for Kallista in Davao. I think makakatulong din sa kaniya ang environment doon to improve her overall condition."

Samantha Montemayor said after she put her cell phone in her jeans pocket. Kakabalik lang nila ng Pilipinas matapos ang halos pitong-taon na pamamalagi sa London. Kausap niya ang kanyang asawa na halos kababalik lang din galing sa Mission nito sa Sudan. Alexander stayed in London and promised them that he will go after them when he talked to his business partner about his plan on coming back in the Philippines for his family. For his sister.

"Are you sure about this, honey?"

"I think this is the best decision I've ever made for this family after Alexa's death."

"Where is Kali now?"

"She's in her hotel room. Ayaw niyang lumabas."

"I'll talk to her."

"No! Hayaan na muna natin siyang mag-isa."

"Do you think it's a good idea to leave her alone? What does her doctor say about it?"

"As her mother, I think we should give her space from time to time. I know sometimes she felt the crowd, even if it's just Alexander and me. She needs time, and we need to give her that."

Her husband gives her a sympathetic smile, "How are you feeling?"

"After everything that happened to this family, I think I can handle this," she answered to her husband.

"We have a flight after lunch."

"Violet, send a private plane for us. They will pick us up here."

After lunch, Samantha knocks on her daughter's room to tell her that their plane is waiting at the hotel's helipad.

I was looking out the window of my hotel room, not exactly sure what I was waiting or looking at. After the death of my sister, I don't think I have any purpose in life anymore.

And now, I am having these issues and problems with my health.

I, Kallista Cleopatra Montemayor, have developed an intermittent explosive disorder, commonly described as "flying into a rage for no reason." No one is safe around me. That's why my parents decided to bring me back to the Philippines because London's environment could not help me.

My doctor in London told my mother that I developed it when I was being tortured in Afghanistan. F*ck those men. They deserve hell. The disorder is caused by the body producing too much cortisol, which later saved my life.

Cortisol is a hormone that is mainly released at times of stress. Good thing I didn't release this during midterms and exams.

So, cortisol has many important functions in our body. Having the right cortisol balance is essential for human health, and you can have problems if you produce too much, just like what happened to me. This made me faster and stronger than normal people, just like the adrenalin rush. This is the reason why I was able to kill those men. I was thankful for what happened to me the first time but regretted it since I wouldn't be able to have a normal life since I tend to get mad for no reason. At all!

This disorder made me attractive to the army. The army recruited me again months after I recovered from my first mission. But because of my condition, one of our mission almost failed. I had a hair-trigger. Once provoked, I would snap. And it made me dangerous, not just for the enemies but also for my allies. I could not control my anger. And in the past years, it has been getting worse and worse.

Only my mother can talk me over.

"Why are we here, mom?" iyon ang bungad ko sa aking ina.

"Because the Philippines is better than London?"

"I don't think so. There is no safe place for me."

"I think coming back here would help you-us. We could start again."

"I don't like it here, Mom. It's sad. We went to London with Alexandria, and we came back here without her. In this place, I couldn't help but think about her."

"Don't you want happy memories? I know she's happy for us right now, but I come here to tell you that our plane is waiting."

"Our plane?"

"Your cousin's plane."

"Oh- Violet."

"Yes. The twins are excited to meet you."

"You know that I cannot meet them, right?"

"Why not. I know you will behave."

"Mom, no! I don't know if I can control it. What if they said something rude, and I snapped? That is crazy!"

"Maybe you need to start believing yourself."

"I wish I could, mom."

"You will. Trust me."

"Hello, are you Cleopatra Montemayor?" A young woman on her doctor's coat asked when I entered her clinic a day after arriving in Davao.

"Yes, that's my birth name."

"So, what do you want me to call you?"

Inikot ko ang tingin ko sa loob ng clinic nito, "Anything you want."

She smiled again, "By the way, I am your new doctor. You can call me Hyacinth."

"I know who you are. It's undeniable, duh. So, your name is like the flower?"

"Yes, the flower."

"Who named you that?"

The doctor seemed confused. "My mom?"

"Okay."

Tumikhim ito, "So, today, I have a lot of questions to ask you."

"Like what?" I snapped.

Napangiwi ito, "Like, how do you feel right now?"

"I feel okay."

"That's good to hear. How do you like Almeria so far?"

"Boring? Like there's not enough malls and restaurants."

She chuckled, "It means you haven't seen the whole place yet. Do you have any plans tomorrow?"

"No."

"You can come with me. I have a tennis game with my friends tomorrow, and you can join us."

"Do I look like I play tennis? No, I don't need your kindness."

"No- I didn't mean it that way."

"It's fine. Even if you meant it, I still don't care. Can I go now?"

"Wait- we haven't even started."

"I feel like I might hurt you."

"Why? Did I do something?"

"You ask a lot of questions."

"I'm sorry."

I tried to calm myself.

"I don't think you can help me."

"Why? We haven't even started getting. A-are you okay?" Hyacinth stammered.

"I am not okay!" I stood up, and grabbed the nearest wooden chair, and threw it on the window.

My blood was burning, and I could only see red spots instead of Hyacinth.

Maya- maya lang ay biglang tumunog ang fire alarm. At noon ay biglang bumukas ang pintuan. Bumungad sa akin ang dalawang security guard.

I immediately felt the rush of excitement in my system when someone tried to grab my hand.

"Stay away from me!"

"Ma'am, itaas po ninyo ang inyong mga kamay," sabi ng isang guard habang ang isang kamay nito ay nakahawak sa baril na nasa beywang nito.

"I said stay away from me! Or you will regret it!"

But none of them seems to understand what I am saying.

"Ma'am! Itaas po ninyo ang inyong mga kamay!" Hinugot nito ang kanyang baril at itinutok sa akin.

Pumagitna sa amin si Hyacinth, "Kuya, please. Let me handle this. She is my patient, and I just need to calm her down!"

But before the guard could ever decide what to do, Mabilis na sinipa ko ang kamay nito at unang lumipad sa ere ang hawak nitong baril. Sumunod na na lumipad ay siya. Napangiwi ako sa lakas ng tunog ng pagkabagsak nito sa sahig.

"Kallista!-" It was Mom. The shock was written all over her face. She was standing at the clinic's door, holding her mouth in disbelief.

"Mom! What-"

Hyacinth injected something on my neck. I collapsed on the floor-unable to move.

"W-what is that?" I ask helplessly.

"A sedative."

"Y-you c-can't-" and I went to sleep.

I woke up with a headache. The first thing I noticed was my handcuffed hands. Whoever put it on my hand, I will kill her.

"Hello?" I called.

Bumukas ang pintuan at bumungad ang nakangiting mukha ng aking doctor.

"Do you know what you've done?" I shouted.

"Yes. I wanted to test something."

"So, I am a tester now? Do I look like a rabbit to you? You're making me mad. Really mad, Hyacinth!"

"Oh! Am I?" Nang-aasar na tanong nito.

"You don't have any idea what these hands are capable of, Hyacinth. Release me!"

"I'm sorry, Cleo, but this is the only way. I need to know what's the reason behind that anger of yours."

"Don't call me that!"

"Okay, Kali. Let's talk." Hinila nito ang upuan palapit sa hospital bed na kung saan ako nakatali.

"Why did you kill those men?"

I rolled my eyes in annoyance. "If I didn't, I should be dead. They will kill me and everyone!"

"Everyone? Who?"

"I don't know, okay?"

"Alright. Just take a deep breath, Kali," she smiled reassuringly.

"So, how did you kill them?" she continued.

"I-I d-don't know." I bit my lower lip. I don't want to talk about what happened in Afghanistan, especially to my new doctor. I hate her.

"You shot them, right? They have more or less four bullets in their heads."

"S-stop it!"

"Alright," she put away her notes. "We're done for today."

"That's it?"

"Yes. Your Mom is waiting in the car. I will bring you to her." She removed everything except for my handcuff.

"How about this?" I ask, showing her my handcuffed hands.

"You will bring it home."

Hyacinth walks beside me from my room to the lobby.

"Nice. You brought me to the mental hospital!" I said sarcastically when I saw the whole place.

"I'm sorry about it," she whispered.

"You're not. Stop pretending. I know what everyone thinks about me. They think I'm crazy, and they're right."

"It's not like that."

"Oh yeah? Doctors are the best liars, Hyacinth. You always lie because it's your job to lie. Stop pretending."

Dahil naka-focus ang tingin ko kay Hyacinth ay hindi ko napansin ang papasalubong na patient na naka-wheelchair. I tried to avoid it at the last minute by putting my foot on the wall and hoisted myself up.

As I did that, I closed close my eyes and embraced myself for the impact since I couldn't use my hands to have a good landing on the floor. I was about to hit the floor when someone grabbed my waist, and before I knew it, I was being pulled towards someone's chest.

Napasubsob ako sa bouquet ng bulaklak na dala nito. I even had some petals on my mouth when I pulled away.

I instantly took a distance from that person.

"Babe!"

It was Hyacinth. I wanted to punch her for not removing my handcuff, plus the annoying sound of her shriek. I almost hit my head because of her f*cking handcuff.

The man who saved me from kissing the floor is Hyacinth's boyfriend. The guy is tall, smells great, and has an athletic body—the type of guy who will make anyone drool. Well, not me. My mouth is dry from the petals of his bouquet.

Tumikhim ako. "So, your boyfriend is here. And you forgot about your patient. How about I kill these people? That's a huge responsibility, doc."

Noon ako napansin ng mga ito. Her boyfriend is studying me. I raised an eyebrow.

"Who is she?" Hyacinth's boyfriend asks.

I noticed that the guy was still looking at me. I gave him a wink.

"She's my new patient. Cleo, please meet Icy. Babe, meet Cleo."

"Nice to meet you, Cleo." He extended his hand.

I showed him my handcuffed hands.

"The pleasure is mine."

Hyacinth put herself between us.

"Wait for me here. I'll bring her to her Mom outside. It'll be fast."

"Yes, fast," I said, mocking Hyacinth. "See you around, Icy." I smiled at him, but he only responded with a stern look.

"Mom, why did you let that woman inject something on me?"

Mom offered me an apologetic smile, "I'm sorry, Kali. You could kill those guards if she didn't do it."

"She annoys me, Mom. I don't think she can help me with my problems at all."

"Of course, she will. She is the best doctor here."

"Ate used to be the best," I murmured.

"Do you really want to talk about her?"

I feel guilty for what I said. I know it is not only me who is hurting.

"I'm sorry, Mom."

"Oh, Kallista."

"I just missed her so much!"

"Me too, Kalli. Like you, I also wanted to see her because I missed her."

"Do you think she is happy now, Mom?"

"Yes, of course. And if they here, I know what she's going to tell you."

I smiled, "What?"

"To follow your doctor."

I rolled my eyes, "Hyacinth is not the kind of doctor you want to follow, Mom. I can't explain it, but I don't really like her."

"You don't need to like her."

"Ugh, I can't help but get annoyed when I think of her."

"Why do you hate her so much?"

I laugh, "I don't really know, Mom. Maybe because she gets into my nerve."

"Then, you should learn how to stop her from getting into your nerve before it's too late. Hate is not healthy."

Here we go.

"Hate is exhausting. Extreme emotions also trigger the release of stress hormones in our brain. When we bottle up emotions like hatred, the release of these stress hormones is continuous, which, over time, leads to increased inflammation throughout the body and can lead to significant health consequences. You don't like that to happen, aren't you?"

"Of course not, Mom. Can I take a nap?"

She smiled at me, "Sleep tight, baby."