Souls in November (Holiday Series #1)

33

Shocked. That was the first emotion I felt and the first expression that appeared on my face. From my point of view, it was simply unimaginable at such a high level that Drazen could do that. I assumed back then that he had already forgotten about what had happened to our baby. Knowing that Drazen, is someone who can simply move forward with life easily.

That plan did not even cross my head. There was this cloud in my head before, stopping me from thinking such these things. Ang nasa utak ko na lang noon ay ang anak naming nawala. I couldn't explain it, but upon hearing the news and realizing that Drazen had created something for our child who had been taken away, I felt a sense of calm and relief in my heart.

Nakulong si Cabrera at dahil 'yon kay Drazen. He even did part-time job in order to continue with the case. He also struggled through the most difficult period of his life, much like I did when I was going through a challenging period of my life. He was hurting too, and he was shattered too, but I was blind to his suffering and his brokenness.

"Here," inilahad nito ang brown envelope. "There are pictures there, documents, that can testify that, that man really went to jail,"

I did nothing except stare at the envelope that he was handing me before pushing it back in his direction.

"I have no need for proof to believe you. I trust you, Drazen." I sincerely said as we strolled through the park.

Nalaglag ang panga nito na parang hindi makapaniwala sa sinabi ko. I am extremely grateful to him for providing justice for our child. Kung hindi dahil sa lalaking 'yon, narito siguro ang isa naming anak at masaya kaming lahat. That man ruined me. His family ruined me.

"Salamat." pabulong 'kong sabi.

Kasi kahit na may ginawa ito sa akin na hindi ko man nagustuhan, nararamdaman ko na bumabawi ito. And I believe that is sufficient for me to finally release my heart from the unspoken emotions of the years gone by.

"Salamat ulit sa pagtulong sa amin sa annulment nila ni Mama." saad ko.

Tumigil ito sa paglalakad at hinarap ako. "Hindi mo na kailangan pang magpasalamat. Kulang pa nga 'yon."

Huminga ako ng malalim bago ibinaling ang tingin sa kalangitan sa kanan namin na unti-unti ng nagiging kahel. Punong-puno ang parke ng mga nagsisilarong mga bata. Mayroon rin sa mga gilid ang mga nagtitinda ng mga laruan at mga cyclists na nagpapahinga sa bermuda.

Naupo kaming dalawa ni Drazen sa may bench at doon pinagmasdan ang magandang tanawin sa harapan namin. I exhaled heavily and freely as I reflected on the fact that our agenda here in the Philippines had been completed. We can now return back to Canada and continue the life that we had before coming back here.

I don't know why, but I felt like a piece of me was suffering on the inside. It breaks my heart to think that there will be people we'll leave behind, but such is the reality of life. We'll soon be heading back home. Kailangan lang nating masanay ulit.

"I didn't truly know what her plans are," he muttered out in the midst of silence.

Tuloy ay napatingin ako sa kaniya ng buo. Ang kaniyang atensyon ay nasa may kalangitan lang, dinadama rin ang hangin na nanggagaling sa mga puno at halaman.

"Why are we talking about this now?" I curiosly asked him.

Pero imbes na sagutin ako ay pinagpatuloy lang ang sinasabi. "The day you broke my MacBook was pure accident. It wasn't planned, A."

"I told you to keep you-"

"Just let me talk please. Just this time, Ash. At kung ano man ang desisyon mo pagkatapos nito ay tatanggapin ko." he cut me off.