"Yes. Nakita ko siya. Attorney, Chavez had warned me that he was in manila. We're currently trying to get him in court but he keeps denying that he had anything to do with it. Para saakin he's just trying to avoid the consequences that he needs to pay. But even if I do get justice for this case. It isn't going to bring back my son, He'll forever be gone." Issa said while a teardrop fell down her eyes.
Mike just looks at her with pitiful eyes and wipes her tears.
"Mike... Please don't pity me. I don't like people having pity for me." Sabi nya. Mike just brushes it off since he just wanted to be there for her.
Issa is strong like her mom. But even if Issa is able to mask it off from her family, but she can't help but soften herself when she's with Mike. Yung dalawa ay yung mag panganay sa mga kapatid nila, and both of them lost a parent at a young age.
The two have to mask their emotions from their family since they have become the second parent among their siblings.
The two hug each other as the cold air breezes the two. Mike caresses Issa's face as the two hugs each other. Issa always found comfort in Mike, it was like as if he can just brush off everything she feels.
As they were having a moment, they heard cries and whimpers from Issa's bedroom signaling that they have to get back to their parental duties.
Issa and Mike look at each other chuckling knowing what they have to do.
Before going inside Mike held Issa's hand to stop her. She turns back and looks at him with a raised eyebrow. Mike just smiles at her, "Nandito lang ako, kung kailangan mo ako." Issa just nods and smiles as the two enter back the condo.
The night continued for the two into getting their child to sleep and getting some sleep for themselves.
__________________________________
Issa woke up in their house at Naga, which made her confused about why she was there.
"Huh? Ang nasa alam ko na natulog ako sa condo ah. Ba't nandito ako." Issa thought to herself. She stood up and exited the room, even until now she knows where her papa's office area is in their house at Naga.
She went to her papa's office opening the door, to see her papa sitting down on his chair wearing his glasses and had white hair, while on a connected chair was her son.
She went towards Jesse and had tears pooling in her eyes. Jesse looked at her with comforting eyes. It was the eyes that she needed in these tough times. Not only was she fighting for her family but also for the country.
Jesse opened his arms to her and smiled. Issa quickly went to his embrace. It was the embrace that she longed for after many years. But the only question was... Was this all real? Or is this just happening in her head?
"Papa..." Issa managed to utter.
"Oh anak..."
"Anak, Tahan na... Wag ka umiyak. Ayoko makita kayo mag kapatid umiyak at ang sakit tingnan." Sabi ni Jesse habang pinupunas mga luha ni Issa.
"Pa bakit ka nandito? At totoo ba toh? Or Nananaginip lang ako?" Tanong ni Issa lookng into her papa's eyes.
"Nandito ako para mag bigay ng mas mabuting paalam sainyo, at tsaka para kaginhawaan kita. Alam ko yung sakit na naransan mo ngayon. At kitang kita ko yun." Sabi nya habang ngumit sya sa anak nya na panganay.
"Anak, Habang binabantay ko kayong lahat na mag-ina, nakikita ko gaano ka tapang ikaw sa mga oras na ganito. All the bash that you, your sisters and mama are getting you do your best to mask it off. Anak every time I visit you, your sisters and mama. Palagi ko nakikita gaano ka tapang. I know how much guilt you carry everyday, you carry the guilt of Alfie's death. But I want you to know that isn't your fault why he died. At nung nakita ko nagka-anak ka muli naging masaya ako para sainyo at ni Mike, nakita ko na naging masaya ka. At lahat ng gabi kinakausap mo ako, palagi ako nakikinig hindi mo lang alam. Bawat luha na hinuhulog mo tinatangal ko sa mukha mo. Nung nakita ko kayo mag-ina nung namatay kami ni Alfie ang sakit tingnan. I'm sorry that I had to leave you guys that early. Nung na poison si Alife wala na akong magawa. Sorry talaga na hindi ako maka paalam ng maayos sainyong lahat. Pero anak may tanong lamang ako sayo." Sabi ni papa.
Ginawa ni Issa ang lahat para hindi mahulog mga luha nya.
She just nodded and Jesse took a deep breath since it was difficult for him to see his daughter crying. It was not usual that Issa would cry in front of one of her parents.
"Nak naala mo pa ba yung box na tinago mo sa closet mo? Yung brown na matandang box, na naka pangalan alfie?" Tanong ni Jesse.
Issa nodded once again having difficulty responding to how many emotions she is feeling.
"May letters ako dun na naka tago lamang. Nung gabi na yon bago ako umalis ng cebu may masama yung pakiramdam ko. Kaya nga nagsulat na ako ng mga letters para sainyong lahat. Buksan mo yung kahon at sa baba ng kahon may makikitang folder na may dateng letters." Jesse said simply still smiling at his eldest.
"Tell your sisters and mama that I love them all so much. So much kahit wala na ako dyan hindi nauubos ang aking pag mamahal. Pero bago akong umalis sabihin mo na yung pakiramdam mo ngayon."
Issa took a deep breath and was finding the courage to say it. In all of her life, Issa rarely opened up to her family.
"Pa... Takot ako. Takot na Takot. What if hanapin kami ni christopher at itarget ng anak ko naman."
Jesse looked at her with pity, right now Issa couldn't care less about the pity.
"Anak. Alam ko takot ka pero may sasabihin ako sayo. Nandito lang si Papa kahit paano. Wag kang matakot. Alam mo kung paano?"
Tumingin si Issa sakanya ng nalilito sa pinag sasabi ng papa nya.
Jesse pointed at the necklace that she was wearing. The ashes of Jesse and Alfie.
"Ayan. Nandyan lang ako. Pati rin sa mama mo. Alam ko mahirap para sakanya pero sabihin mo nandyan lang ako. I am very proud of you and your mama for standing your ground and becoming a public servants to our country. For every rally that you will all attend I will be there. I am so proud of you Aki ko." Jesse gave her a bright smile and her hugged her once more.
"Goodbye na aki ko. Paki sabi naman kay Bok ang sinabi ko ha? Promise yan. Papa loves you so much. Goodbye Aki ko." Paalam ni Jesse and everything went white.
Issa suddenly woke up with sweat, she looked to her side to see Mike and Reyna fast asleep. She rubbed her eyes and looked over to her phone to see it was 6:02 in the morning. Issa stood up immediately to check her closet.
There laid a box that had the name Alfie on it, it was left untouched it had dust. She took the box out of the closet and brushed off the dust that it had.
Issa took a deep breath before opening the box. As she opened it, she saw the drawings, clothes, and baby blankets that Alfonso had. She did her best not to cry as she missed her son so much that it pained her into opening the box.
She looked at the bottom where laid a folder. She took out the folder and opened it. Where revealed multiple letters to her family and some politicians that Jesse had been friends with. Issa looked for the letter that was addressed to her.
As she found it she looked at it before opening the letter itself. When she opened the letter, she saw a picture of her son having a bright smile.
Alfonso had her smile very well. As she read through the letter she couldn't help but break down. Issa didn't want her boyfriend to see her crying so she took the letter and rushed downstairs to the bathroom. Issa had thought that no one was awake when in reality, Aika, Leni, and Tricia were all awake. And they saw how rushed Issa was into getting in the bathroom.
They were all shocked at the scene knowing that it was unusual for their ate to be like that. Leni being concerned for her daughter's present actions stood up from the dining chair and put her ear against the bathroom door. The other Robredo sisters also concerned for Issa got up from the living sofa and put their ears against the bathroom door.
They heard whimpers and cries of the elder Robredo. This made Leni's heart soften, her eldest crying pained her. Any of her children who cried pained her.
"Anak... Okay, ka lang..?" Leni whispered and softly knocked on the door asking if it was okay for her to enter.
Issa hearing this looked up from the letter and immediately wiped her tears away.
She stood up and took a deep breath before opening the bathroom door.
Aika's POV.
When our Ate opened the door she had red puffy eyes, nanginginig ang mga kamay niya na may hawak na lumang sulat.
She smiled at us before turning the bathroom lights off and closing the door.
"Anak? Umiyak ka ba?" Tanong ni Mama habang umupo sya kasama ni Ate Issa.
Ate Issa just smiled at us, a smile that was not reassuring or happy. But it was a smile that looked painful. A smile that had so much pain behind it. Ever since papa and Alfie passed she became our second parent. She was there when we needed her, she was never absent from school events. She was always there.
But we weren't there for her.
We would tell her that we're here for her or that she can open up. But all she gave us was that painful smile or she would tell us, "You guys lost papa and Alfie at a young age you guys deserve to mourn." But what was the real meaning of you guys deserve to mourn? Did she blame herself for the death of her own son? There were many questions in my head that I can never ask since I didn't want to pain my sister even more.
"Ate Issa what's the letter your holding?" Tanong ni Tricia habang naka tingin kay Ate Issa.
Issa raised her eyebrows and handed us the letter. We opened it and saw that it was a letter from papa addressed to Issa days before the plane had crashed.
We saw that there was an old picture of Alfonso. He looked happy. As we read through the letter we saw that ate Issa had cried many times but had never shown us. I guess she cried when we were all asleep hanggang madaling araw. Sa lakas ng pag sara ng pinto ni Ate Issa I'm guessing it woke up Jill confused. Jill went down the stairs and asked us kung anong nangyayari, Mama explained to our bunso and she nodded sitting down beside me.
"Ate... Ano ba yung letter na hawak hawak mo?" Tanong ni Jillian.
Issa handed the letter to Jill and as she read it we saw that tears were pooling in her eyes.
"There are letters that are addressed to you all, as well to papa's old friends. But before anything else, I will be telling you what happened, on how I found these letters. Hindi naman basta basta ako mag bubukas ng lumang kahon na naka pangalan Alfie." Sabi ni Ate Issa. We all just nodded not knowing how to reply.
"Papa visited me last night, I don't know if it was all just a dream but it's the reason why I opened this letter tonight. Papa was sorry that he wasn't able to say goodbye to us properly. He told me that there were letters in the box hidden inside for 9 years. He told me bawat gabi kinakausap natin siya nandoon sya. He said he's so proud of us. You can check the box in my room. Pero wag lang kayo maingay tulog ba si Rey." Sabi ni Issa habang naka tingin sa sahig.
Mama stood up to get the letters, habang kami ng magkapatid naka upo. After a few minutes, mama came back with the box, while Ate Issa stood up and went to our storage room. We didn't mind it nung lumabas siya may hawak hawak na inhaler. She was using it as she went to the kitchen. Kaming mag kapatid nag titigan, when we saw Ate Issa holding onto the kitchen counter trying to find balance.
Issa's POV.
I went into the storage room to get an inhaler since I started to have difficulty breathing, I have asthma which I had to deal with. I thought I wouldn't need an inhaler when I'm working na pero mas lalo ko pala kailangan.
When I finally found an inhaler I used it. I went out of our storage room, I was starting to feel dizzy. I ignored it since, baka gutom lang ako. But as I was inside the kitchen.
I noticed that everything was getting blurry and blurrier every second I take a step, that's why I was holding onto the kitchen counter trying to find balance. As I inhaled into the inhaler. I started to hear my heart pounding loudly. It was getting louder and louder by the second. Everything was getting so blurry that I couldn't ignore the pain anymore.
As I blinked, everything went black and I felt myself fall onto the floor.
Leni's POV.
We were reading the letters that my late husband Jesse wrote when I heard something fall onto the floor. It didn't sound like an item more rather a person. I looked up and looked at the kitchen to see my eldest daughter falling onto the floor.
Immediately I stood up.
"Jill! Gisingin mo si Mike!" I said worriedly. Jill rushed upstairs to wake up Mike.
Tricia being the doctor of our family. Stood up and told Aika to get her med kit that is in their shared room. I and Tricia went beside Issa. Jill, and Aika went downstairs now joined by Mike.
"Oh my God." I heard Mike whisper Immedielty carrying Issa to the sofa.
Tricia quickly got her med kit from Aika and got her stethoscope and flashlight and checked on Issa. I was praying that Issa would be alright, I have no idea what is going on.
"Tricia, She's alright just get the nebulizer that's in her closet and a small kit that's beside it," Mike said calmly. We were all confused at the moment on why Mike was so calm about the situation.
But Tricia just followed what she was told and went to get the items. Mike was holding Issa's hand. I looked into Mike's eyes, there was slight panic in them.
Tricia came back with the nebulizer and the small kit that she was told to get. Mike opened the nebulizer and started to put the nebulizer mask onto Issa. There was also a small injection that he put onto Issa. We were all confused, kami ng mga anak ko na titigan na nalilito kung bakit nag inject si Mike kay Issa.
Afterward, we let Issa be, unconscious on our sofa.
Since Issa had occupied our sofa we had no choice but to sit in the dining area. We still looked at Mike confused. Even Tricia the doctor was confused.
Mike had his head down with shut eyelids.
"Alam ko na nagtataka kayo kung bakit kalmado lang ako." Sabi ni Mike ng biglaan habang naka close pa mga mata nya.
"This happened many times when I and Issa still lived in my condo. During those times she would come back home late and drained. When she has very heavy thoughts or is extremely tired sa mga pangyayari she gets these kinds of attacks. And it wasn't a surprise to me. Either way, the injection is going to help her. And I guess she had forgotten last night to take her meds. I'm guessing hindi pa niya sinasabi sainyo." Mike said simply.
Kami mag-ina nag titigan when we were told that this used to happen to Issa often.
"Wait. So this happens to Ate Issa often before?" Tanong ni Aika.
Mike just nodded.
"Look. Wag niyo nalang sabihin kay Issa na sinabi ko toh sainyong lahat. Issa has been suffering from depression, asthma, anxiety, and migraines. Tita VP I'm guessing na she inherited migraines from you po." Mike said opening his eyes and having tears in them.
At this point, I was crying. It was not usual for me to cry but hearing what my own child hid and is suffering is making me cry.
Even my own children were crying. Even Aika.
"Tita VP, She never old you guys any of this as she was and is scared. She always took it off her mind because she said that you were already enduring bash. But now that she herself is getting bashed, I'm guessing it has gotten worse. But look Tita VP. Issa has always taken care of you all before herself. She hides these medications to hide the pain she is masking off. This is one of my and Issa's similarities. With the disorders that she has, I also have them. There are things that have been hidden for a long time. When I first saw Issa taking the medication she got scared. We worked things out in the end. But each of these disorders isn't because of work but more on, Trauma. I know what Christopher has done to her. Pero Tita VP. I am willing to protect your daughter even if it means my life." Mike said simply.
"Issa is a strong woman. But sometimes the pain she feels is too much."
"Tita VP, I hate to break it to you, but the pain she is feeling. Made her suicidal for years now. She just couldn't do it since..."
"It would be selfish of me in doing so. I have a family and they would blame themselves. I can't help but blame myself too. I failed as a daughter, a mother, and a wife. I am not good enough for anyone."
- Issa Robredo.