Maybe I'm Lying [COMPLETED]

KABANATA 12- Between Misunderstandings

No one can grow up within just a night. But I lost my childhood the night Nanny Nenita left. I grasped the reality at a young age that my parents never truly wanted me, that my role in life is to dress and appear decent, and that my value may be based on how I look.

Most people believe I have a perfect life: a billionaire father, a beauty queen mother who was once the most beautiful woman in the Philippines, and a large house with golden pillars. But what they don't know was behind the red curtain, I have prayed silently in the dark as a child, "I wished I was born in another family," and spent endless nights of cuddling alone in my bed, scrunching in stomach pain. While hoping that my mom or anyone would check on me to brush my hair to assure me everything will be fine, an endless time of shutting my eyes, whenever I see a woman leaving my Dad's room when my mother couldn't even enter, and times when I feel like vomiting. But I would just smile the feeling away. Because I can't, because I'm Charm Tempest Veridad, the only daughter of Mr. Ishioka, who wasn't even allowed to carry his surname.

For the longest time, I have been suppressing my tears, and now that I wanted to cry my heart out but wasn't able to.

"You're really here." Kahit hindi ko lingunin ay alam ko na kung kanino galing ang boses na iyon. Nanatili akong nakasalampak sa damuhan habang yakap ang sariling tuhod. Juanna's anger at me was valid. I did nothing when Nanny Nenita left and focused on pleasing my mom instead. I was useless. I couldn't even threaten Mom with my life to bring Nanny Nenita back because I know that would be useless.

"Bonnie told me what really happened," sabi niya kaya nilingon ko siya. Naupo siya sa tabi ko.

"Is that kid okay now?" tanong ko na ikinatango niya.

"You could have called for me, if you're that scared of sparklers-"

"I got overwhelmed. My mind was foggy."

Binalik ko ang tingin sa papalubog ng araw. Katulad din ng sparklers ang kulay nito, katulad din ng apoy.

"It was not the sparklers. It was because of the fire," I whispered. Unti-unti muling binalot ng takot ang puso ko.

"A year ago, I was granted a second chance at life... when someone saves me from a burning room...." I haven't told anyone how scared I was. It was because no one seemed to care or even dare to ask me how I felt after the accident. Well, it was more probably because Dad paid everyone to shut their mouth and never talked about what happened.

"I understand," he murmured, which made me smile a bit. It felt nice, voicing that out and having the chance to take off my brave face, even just for this moment. It felt weird because siya pa ang napagsabihan ko ng ganito. Siya pa na pinag-iisipan kong tanggalin sa trabaho.

"My sister... Laraline died in a fire too," dugtong niya. Napalingon ako sa kanya. So, Laraline is his sister?

I observed the reflection of the sunset in his eyes, I somehow felt guilty firing him.

"Do you have parents?" tanong ko. Nabigla siya roon at kunot-noong napatitig sa akin. Kalaunan ay napatango rin siya.

"What do they do for a living?"

"Uh... my Mom stays at home with her birds...."

So his mom doesn't work?

"What about your father?" Napangisi siya at itinuro ang langit.

"Probably up there," sabi niya nang nakangiti.

Nakagat ko ang ibabang labi ko at napatitig sa kanya. Look at this man. His Dad died at mag-isa na lang siyang nagtatrabaho sa pamilya pero nagagawa niya parin idaan sa ngiti ang lahat. Kinailangan niya pang pasukin ang ganitong trabaho, kung saan ang isang paa niya ay nasa hukay, para lang kumita ng pera.