Turn The Page

Chapter 6

"Kamusta daw sya, sister? Ano daw po sabi ng, doc? Hanggang kelan daw po sya dito?" April asked. June peeked through the window on the door. Page was sound asleep. She still had on an oxygen tube on her nose. "She might be here for a while which is good while we process yung paperwork for Mrs. Torres. That will buy us time to get every document filled out so that we're good to go," sister Coleen explained while she glanced over at June. "Bakit daw ho?" April asked worriedly. "Well the infection has reached her kidneys. Kagabi nag-convulsion yung bata sa taas ng lagnat. Bababa yung lagnat nya for a little while, then a few hours later bumabalik nanaman. They're going to give her antibiotics through IV. Tapos she's nauseous din daw. She eats pero sinusuka nya. Tuwing bumabalik yung taas ng lagnat nya, sobrang weak nya. Hindi halos mabuka yung mata. Di makausap. The doctors will run more tests to make sure everything else is okay and infection lang ang kelangan i-treat," sister Coleen explained. "Does she ever tell any of you kung may masakit sa kanya?" June asked. "Alam mo ate, napaka-limit naman talaga nyan magkasakit ni Page eh. Ever since nasa care namin sya, she rarely gets sick. Yun nga lang, when she does get sick, hospital agad. Hindi nga kasi nag-sasabi yun tuwing may nararamdaman sya eh. Usually nagko-collapse na lang yang batang yan kung san man sya abutan," April told June which June nodded to. "Is it okay if I go see her?" June asked. "Go ahead, Mrs. Torres," sister Coleen said as she motioned for the door. "Thank you," June nodded at the the women as she entered the door.

"April, is this a good idea?" Sister Coleen finally said when June left to enter Page's room. "Hindi ko man po kayo mabigyan ng for sure na sagot, sister, pero ewan ko po bakit malakas ang kutob ko na this will work out and this might end up in adoption if we give it a chance. I know what kind of a mother ate June is. Napaka-hands on nya kay Summer. Masusubaybayan nya ng maayos si Page. At ang gusto ko sa kanya, she's cool and hip and kaya nya sakyan yung trip ni Summer noon, yet may rules yan na Summer needed to follow. She's a cool mom pero she's firm when needed. Halata naman po sa ugali ni Summer na pinalaki sya ni ate ng maayos. Page needs that. She needs that balance of tightness and looseness in her life. She needs that balance of love and affection and at the same time firmness and discipline. And I believe ate June is perfect when it comes to balancing those. This would be good for her, too. She needs an outlet. She needs to keep herself busy. Noon ko pa lang sinasabi sa kanya na she should consider adoption when Summer was growing old tapos she's becoming more independent. Si ate June kasi she likes to be up and about all the time. She needs to be busy kasi yun na nakasanayan nya sa buhay mommy nya kay Summer. So when Summer was old enough to do things on her own, unti unti na nagki-clear yung schedule ni ate, and she was complaining about it because she doesn't know what to do with her life. So sabi ko bakit di sya mag-adopt? Noon ayaw pa nya kasi yung focus nya was all about Summer. Summer, summer, summer na lang yan palagi. Wala na lang alam kundi Summer. Pero now, maybe that's why she's considering this—" April said when sister Coleen cut her off, "And that is exactly why I'm a bit nervous about this. Ikaw na rin nag-sabi puro sya Summer. Summer sya ng Summer. She's used to dealing with a daughter who is happy and carefree pero iba si Page natin. Natatakot ako na baka ano mangyari when we put those two together. There might be expectations from June na hindi realistic for Page. Ang kinakatakot ko is baka she's looking for a replacement child, a replacement of Summer, and Page is far from that happy-go-lucky child. Page is angry and miserable. Natatakot ako na baka sa unrealistic expectations nya for Page, ma-pressure yung bata, mag-layas nanaman. Every time na nawawala sya satin, feeling ko it might be the time na hindi na natin sya ever mahahanap. Maswerte tayo kasi we always find her. I'm scared na she might have a higher risk of running away in June's care. Ikaw na rin nagsabi noon na she's still mourning the loss of her child, the loss of her family, and I'm worried na baka may epekto yun sa pag-aalaga nya kay Page," sister Coleen aired out. April nodded. "Naiintindihan ko rin naman po yung takot nyo, sister. Pero kahit san man mapunta si Page, she's at a high risk na lumayas ulit. The only difference is, if we let the system choose which facility or home she'll be in, pwede nilang piliin yung malayo sa atin. And we won't have the access we have if we put her with ate June. I can visit her anytime. You guys can come visit her anytime. Malapit lang sya satin. I can always come over to check on her and make sure she's okay," April said. Both she and sister Coleen sighed. "Okay, April. If you think this is a good idea, I'll go for it. I'll talk to the sisters especially kay sister Berlin. I'll let them know. Then we'll figure out a plan. We'll make sure June gets her," sister Coleen said. "Thank you, sister," April said. Then sister Coleen excused herself to make a phone call while April entered Page's room.