One Last Time

32- Is he?

....

" zeke, please listen to mommy" dinig ko mula sa labas ng kwarto ang mag ina ko.

Buong byahe pabalik ng maynila,ni hindi ako pinansin ni Zeke .He was with Sarah the whole time. Nakayakap lang ito sa mommy nya at ni minsan di ako kinausap.

Masakit. Ang sakit sa puso .

" mommy,  he hurt you. .I dont need him . You dont need him . We dont need him"  sabi nito . Hindi ko maiwasang di maluha sa naririnig. How can a kid like Zeke hate me so much? Ang bata bata nito para magtanim ng galit . Parang pinipiga ang puso ko sa aking naririnig.

" Zeke .. . can we give him a chance?" si Sarah.

" No. .ayaw . Mommy and Zeke lang. No daddy. Mommy please ... ikaw lang at ako ..ayaw ko sa iba ..mommy.. ikaw lang ..." umiiyak na ito. Mas lalo masakit sa puso pag   marinig mo ang anak mong umiiyak. I saw Sarah hugged him so tight. Naiiyak din ito.

" Hush now baby... Please dont cry..."

" Mo...mommy .. galit ako sa ...sa daddy .. .Ayaw ko sa iba. ... Gu..Gusto ko ., ikaw lang.. ta...tayo lang ..please" utal utal na sabi nito dahil sa iyak

I couldnt stand listening to how my son hated me so much. I cant stand seeing him cry. Hindi ko kaya.

Karma ko ito. From hurting Sarah and the people she love, eto  na ang kapalit ng lahat ng pasakit na dinanas nila.

." matt.." nagulat ako ng may tumapik sa balikat ko.

" Don Enrico,"  i said.

" Come,  follow me.  I need to talk to you"
sumama naman ako dito. I guess we are heading to the library.

" sit down Matt" sabi nito sabay turo sa visitor's chair.

May kinuha itong larawan mula sa drawer.

" Here, take a look at this" sabi nito sabay bigay ng larawan. Napakunot ang noo ko sa akin nakikita

" He's my son Delfin , tatay ni Sarah. When Sarah came into our lives, everything changed. From being a monster , beast , bigla akong naging malambot, the moment i heard my little Sarah cried. Delfin and i used to be enemies. Ayaw na ayaw ko sa klase ng pamamalakad nya so kumpanya. He runs the company with a heart. Im the ruthless one and i dont need a son who has a soft heart. But Sarah changed me. And then i met your dad. "

Tumingin ako sa litratong hawak . It was dad, Don Enrico and Delfin. Dad was grinning while don Enrico's hand is on his shoulder. Delfin seems to be just a silent type of person .

" anong kinalaman ni dad?" i asked

" He is the kind of son i want to have. Heartless, tough and strong-willed. I treated him like my own son. Naging mag kaibigan naman sila ni Delfin but i always favor Gian's project over Delfin. One day, i saw your dad in my office, akala ko wala lang .  Lumabas lang ito after naming mag usap. Delfin on the other hand confronted Gian of the underworld negotiation he made. Sinabihan ako ng anak ko, but i didnt believe him."

" Wa - wait, are you telling me-

" You listen first Matteo . .Let me continue"

Napatiim baga akong tumitig dito.
" Fine."

" Sinabihan ako ni Delfin, i never believed him . Until i myself witnessed it. The illegal transactions Gian made . He asked forgiveness, and i gave it to him . Until, one day Delfin rushed into the office telling me that Gian stole his project and ideas . I asked him of evidences ,and  Delfin showed it to me. Pinuntahan ko si Gian sa bahay at tinapos na ang lahat ng koneksyon namin. He was mad at first, pero nung narealize nito ang lahat ng pagkakamali,  he said sorry .. But you were there, when i left your house, you rushed into his office. I thought you heard everything. Kaya laking gulat ko nung nalaman kong kami ang sinisisi mo sa pagkamatay ng dad mo. Where in the first place, it was his decision to kill himself. He just tried to save himself from you. He loves you so much that it hurts him seeing you despising him in the future pag nalaman mo ang mga ginawa nya."