Beyond The Break

Prologue

"When are you going to die? Mamatay ka na! Bakit mo pa pinapatagal pa? Huwag ka nang gumising! Gusto ko nang malibing ka na lang! Huwag ka nang dumagdag pa sa mga problema namin!"

Liontine Navarro heard every single word clearly.

It was her sister's voice.

She tried to open her eyes, tried to move even a finger, but her body would not obey her. Her eyelids felt too heavy, as if a mountain had been placed over them. Her limbs were numb, lifeless, and cold. She was trapped inside herself-conscious, breathing, hearing, but unable to respond.

She wanted to scream.

She wanted to ask why.

But no sound came out.

"Mamatay ka na! Kating-kati na kaming kunin ang pera sa insurance mo! Hanggang ngayon ba magiging pabigat ka pa sa amin?!"

The cruelty of the words pierced through her more sharply than any blade ever could. Liontine had always known, deep in her heart, that money was what her sister cared about-not her. Still, hearing it spoken so openly made something inside her crack.

No one had asked if she was in pain.

No one had asked if she was hungry.

No one had asked if she was still fighting.

Not once.

"Bwisit kang babae ka! Kahit kailan talaga! Papahirapan mo pa kami! Hindi ka na lang namatay nang tuluyan!"

This time, it was her mother.

The voice she had spent her entire life trying to please.

The voice she used to long for as a child, hoping it would say, 'I'm proud of you, anak.'

But all her mother had ever given her was criticism, irritation, and disappointment. Even now, as Liontine lay unconscious in a hospital bed, suspended between life and death, her mother's voice still carried the same bitterness it always had.

Nais man ni Liontine na imulat ang kaniyang mga mata, ngunit tila ba hindi siya hinahayaan ng kapalaran. She found herself trapped in a pit of darkness, suspended in an endless void where she could hear everything but do nothing.

She knew she was comatose because of her illness. She also knew that not one of them cared.

"Wala ka pa ring kuwenta hanggang ngayon! Sana noon ka pa namatay!"

Again, her mother's voice.

Again, another wound.

Napakasakit ng dibdib ni Liontine. Their words echoed through her system, repeating again and again until they felt carved into her bones. Every insult, every curse, every wish for her death pounded inside her like a hammer striking the same fragile place in her heart.

'All I did was do everything for them,' she cried silently to herself. 'I gave them everything I could. I worked hard. I sacrificed. I obeyed. I endured. I hoped that one day, they would recognize me. That they would love me, even just a little. Was everything I did meaningless?'

Tears slipped from the corners of her closed eyes.

No one noticed or maybe they did-and simply didn't care.

'Is this how it ends?' she thought miserably. 'Mamamatay ba ako nang hindi man lang nararanasan ang mahalin?'

Her chest tightened further, as if invisible hands were crushing her ribs. She could barely breathe. Every harsh word that entered her ears felt like poison spreading through her veins. Her body may have been lying still on the hospital bed, but inside, she was falling apart.