Filimon Sides #1: The Goodbye Girl ▬
"Everyone calls me Tree, but most people know me as The Goodbye Girl. In our University, people would pay me to say goodbye on their behalf. Whether it was breaking up with their significant other, turning down s...
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"So your dad was in prison the entire time? He didn't abandon you and your mom after all?"
"No wonder Mama remained faithful to him. No wonder Mama's always not around whenever it's papa's birthday. She kept visiting him in secret. Inis na inis ako kasi wala man lang akong kaalam-alam."
"Bakit kaya nila ginawa 'yon?"
"Papa thought it would've been better for me to grow up believing I came from a broken family, rather than being a convict's daughter. He thought people would be cruel to me if they find out the truth about him kaya nakiusap siya kay Mama na magsinungaling na lang sa akin at sa lahat ng taong nakapaligid sa amin. Gusto kong mangatwiran at ipamukha sa kanyang mali ang desisyon niyang itago ang lahat sa akin, pero sa huli, inintindi ko na lang siya. Nakakapanlumo man, pero alam kong may punto rin siya. People can be so cruel and prejudiced after all . . . o, ba't natahimik ka bigla?"
"W-Wala . . . "
"Wait, don't tell me you're judging me now after finding out I'm a convict's daughter?"
"Hindi! Hindi! May naalala lang talaga ako. Nga pala, paano nahanap ni Blueberry—"
"Bryan. I'm the only person allowed to call him that."
"Paano nahanap ni Bryan ang papa mo? 'Di ba kahit ikaw wala ring kaalam-alam kung nasaan siya?"
"Blueberry asked my friend from the orphanage—the nun who used to be my nanny. 'Yon pala ang dahilan bakit niya ako pinapapunta roon. He was trying to figure out the secret about my life that I even had no idea about."
"So that was his gift from you?"
"Gift for?"
"His last gift to you before saying goodbye."
✦ ✦ ✦
It was hard to process how I truly felt about my father. I was happy that he didn't abandon me, I was sad that he had to lie to protect me, but I also was angry over the fact that he got involved in some swindling scheme that landed him in jail. With how difficult everything was for me, I was just grateful that I wasn't alone to make sense of everything. My mother, Blueberry, Carri, and even the twins . . . they were all there for me.
"Kumusta ang muling pagbisita mo sa papa mo?" bungad agad na tanong sa akin ni Blueberry pagpasok ko sa kuwarto niya.
I shrugged and just smiled. "It's not easy, but I think we're slowly patching things up."
"Mabuti naman." Blueberry flashed his warm smile and raised his one arm for me.
He didn't have to say anything. Like magnet, I ran up to him and hugged him tightly. His warmth had me closing my eyes and smiling fondly.
