Between Hate and Love

Chapter 14

“What the hell, Angel? Mali talaga ‘yung pangalan mo ano? Hindi ka anghel, may pagka-demonyo ka,” Venera laughed at me.

Sinabi ko sa kanya ang lahat ng nangyari kinagabihan. She had been staying with me since the incident with Mr. Aziz. Convenient din daw sa kanya dahil mas malapit ‘yung bahay ko sa isang bago niya na raket na pinag-kakaabalahan niya. Convenient din naman sa’kin dahil lagi niya ako’ng hinahatid.

“What, that is true! Khal’s tempted, I could see it in his eyes. Medyo hindi ko na nga maramdaman na sinusungitan niya ako.”

“Hindi ba puwede na kaya umalis agad ‘yung tao kasi nga may meeting. And not because he was tempted sa’yo. Besides, he’s still your boss. And that guy’s full of respect. Hindi ka nga niya hinayaan na mabastos ni Mr. Aziz, tapos he’ll take advantage of you? Tempted of you? Gumising ka nga!”

I shook my head at Venera and drank my third cup of coffee for the day.

“Hindi naman siya nagtetake advantage sa’kin. Baka nga ako pa ang gumagawa no’n,” I giggled.

Venera almost hit me. She stood up and cleaned up her mess. “Ewan ko sa’yo, gaga ka talaga.”

We just finished having dinner. Maayos na ang pakiramdam ko after having a bath of cold water. Nilagyan ko lang ng aloe vera ‘yung ibang parte na mahapdi pa rin, but all in all I was feeling pretty well.

“Papasok ka bukas?” Venera asked me. Nginitian ko siya at saka tumango. “Ang lakas mo rin e, ano?”

We both laid down on the bed. She was still sketching on her ipad habang katabi ko siya. Meanwhile, I opened my e-mail and informed Khal that I could still work tomorrow.

To: EjercitoKhal_I21@g*******m:

Good evening, sir. I hope you are doing well.

This email is to inform you that I will be coming to work tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Angel Reyes

My smile was so evident. Hindi ako mapakali. Pakiramdam ko teenager ako na nainlove ulit. But it was Khal, the greatest love of my life. I couldn’t just let him go and the simple e-mail actually meant a lot for me.

“Delusional ka, teh? Hindi ‘yan magrereply, huwag ka na umasa,” Venera said, ruining all the fantasies that was all in my head already. Hindi niya ako tinitingnan pero alam niya na agad ‘yung tumatakbo sa isip ko at mga bagay na inaasahan ko mula kay Khal.

“Huwag mo guluhin ‘yung pangarap ko, please lang.”

It had been over an hour since I sent my email. Inaantok na ako at bumagsak na rin ang cellphone ko sa mukha ko kanina.

Venera was already asleep, and actually snoring.

I was disappointed. Akala ko magrereply si Khal at mangungumusta siya. But all of those was just in my head. It was not real. It would never be real.

Nakatulog ako sa lungkot.

I woke up around three in the morning because of calls from my mom. But when I answered it, my sister was the one on the phone.

“Ate… Uwi ka dito, please,” Allison’s voice was evidently shaking. She was crying as she tried to speak to me.

I stood up from bed. Lahat ng antok ko sa katawan ay nawala.

“What happened? Nasaan si mama?”

I could hear the shoutings and the sound of shattered glasses in the background. Nagkakagulo sila.

Agad ko’ng ginising si Venera. The panic that I had in my body was overflowing. I told her what happened in Valenzuela and just by the mentioning of my mom and her boyfriend, Venera understood it already.

“No. Sasamahan kita,” she insisted. We were both in our pajamas. Naghilamos lang kami, tapos ay umalis na kaagad. She drove fast. Madaling-araw kaya’t walang masyadong traffic.

Hawak ko ang cellphone ko. Rinig na rinig ko ang pagtatalo ni mama at ni Gino. They had been quarreling for over an hour. Walang humpay ‘yon, at sa tingin ko, lahat yata ng gamit sa bahay ay nabasag na nila. Allison would never contact me unless it was something very serious.

Hindi ako mapakali sa biyahe. I kept tapping my feet on the car’s floor, and my hands on my legs. Panay din ang linga ko sa paligid. This was one of the reasons why I also came back to the Philippines. I knew, other people would tell me na sana ay itinuloy ko na lamang ang pagtatrabaho sa ibang bansa so I could easily get my family. Pero ano ba’ng pamilya ang aabutan ko kung mawawala sila dahil malayo ako sa kanila. That Gino was no good for my mother.

The supposed to be a two hours drive became only an hour. Finally we arrived.

Quickly, I get off the car and ran towards our home. Maraming tao sa labas na nakikiusyoso, pati na rin mga barangay tanod.

Allison quickly ran towards me, and hugged me tightly. “Ate! Ayaw palabasin ni tito si mama,” pagsusumbong niya.

Naririnig ko ang sigawan nila sa loob habang pilit na kinakausap ng mga tanod si Gino para kumalma.

“Lasing na naman siya ate. Tapos nanghihingi siya ng pera kay mama, pati sa amin. Tapos, sabi niya manghingi kami sa’yo. Nagalit si mama, lumaban siya tapos ayan, nagkagulo na sila. Nasa loob pa kanina si Atticus, pero pinilit siya ni tito na lumabas.”

Allison cried out to me. Atticus was at the front door of the house, trying to get in. But it was locked and he could not convince Gino to open the door.

Venera helped me out. Sinubukan niya na aluin sina Atticus and Allison, habang ako naman ay kinausap ang mga tanod tungkol sa nangyayari.

Gino had been violent before. Ilang beses ko nang sinabihan si mama na hiwalayan siya, lalo na noong nasa ibang bansa ako. I tried to talk things out with her, sinasabi niya na hihiwalayan niya si Gino, pero hindi iyon nangyayari. The barangay officials were already used to their quarrels. At dahil nga lagi silang narereport ay nasanay na ang mga opisyal. Paano kasi, mag-aaway sila ngayon, tapos kinabukasan ay magkasama na naman sila. Parang nagsawa na lang din ang mga opisyal na tulungan sila, dahil sila mismo ay hindi matulungan ang mga sarili nila.

“Tito, naandito ako, puwede ba tayong mag-usap?” sigaw ko, kinatok ko ang pinto ng ilang beses. Natigil ang sigawan nila sa loob ng bahay at kaagad na bumukas ang pinto.