Mary Grace

Twenty-Three

Twenty-Three

Nanginginig ang mga kamay kong isinirado kaagad ang notebook. I took a few shaky breath, trying to calm myself. Napaigtad ako nang biglang bumukas ang pintuan ng kwarto.

"Mary Grace?" my mother frowned at me. "What are you doing here?"

I bit on my lower lips and slowly shook my head. "I...I was just looking around."

She seemed unconvinced with my answer but didn't bother pressing it further. "Nag-order na ako ng pagkain, anak. Lumabas ka na riyan."

Tumango-tango ako.

She disappeared from my line of sight. I hid the notebook under my shirt and went outside, trying to finish my book review but couldn't bring myself to do it. My mind is a mess. Paulit-ulit na bumabalik sa isipan ko ang sinulat ni Ate Annie sa diary niya. Her father is Oliver? Who is he?

Habang kumakain kami ay distracted pa rin ako. Dad wasn't able to visit us because of his work. My mother is doing great on her job pero paminsan-minsan ay nago-over time siya kaya hindi na nakakaluto ng hapunan gaya ngayon.

"You're awfully quite today..." my mom said, eyeing me warily while digging into her chicken sambala.

I swallowed a little. "Mom, do you know someone named Oliver?"

Nanigas kaagad si mommy. Her fork hung in the air as she slowly lifted her gaze at me. "Oliver?" she repeated, clearly surprised.

I chewed on my bottom lips. "Yeah..."

My mother put her fork down and gazed at me cautiously. "Mary Grace, where did you heard of this man?"

Iniwas ko kaagad ang tingin ko sa kanya. I shrugged one shoulder. "Ate Annie mentioned him to me once." I lied.

"Oh..." I could see the relief washing over her face. "Well, yeah. Sort of. Oliver and Annie's mother had a thing back then. It didn't worked out."

"Because of Dad?" I pressed.

Tumango-tango siya. "You could say that."

"And? What happened to him?"

Her lips went into a thin line. "Mary Grace, Oliver is in prison. Ang pagkakaalam ko ay nakalaya na siya at may pamilya na siya but other than that, I haven't heard from him since."

Hanggang sa matapos kaming kumain ay iyon pa rin ang laman ng utak ko. Pinilit ko ang sarili kong tapusin ang book review at itinago ang notebook ni Ate Annie sa ilalim ng aking unan. Hindi ako makatulog ng gabing iyon.

Is it right to read her personal diary? I practically know next to nothing about her. She's still my sister, after all. I was too busy fixing myself I have completely forgotten about her.

Hinigit ko ang drawer upang hanapin ang isang picture naming dalawa ni Ate Annie noong mga bata pa lamang kami. I was still an infant back then. Karga-karga ako ni Ate Annie. She's grinning widely at the camera while I was sucking the tip of my thumb.

Huminga ako nang malalim at kinuhang muli ang notebook. Binuklat ko ang ikalawang pahina.

He's right. Fairytales are cruel. No one should ever believe in happy endings and fairytales. They are full of lies. In Charles Perrault's version included in his 1697 collection Stories or Fairytales From Past Times: Tales of Mother Goose, there is no such thing as an intrepid huntsman who saves the little red riding hood from the wolf. Little Red simply strips naked, gets in bed, and then dies after being devoured by the big bad wolf. Big bad wolves sneak into the young girls' beds. If you are unlucky enough, you will find him sleeping naked next to you.