Kabadong-kabado si Fresia habang nagda-drive si Mona palayo sa Wreckville. She was in the middle of wrecking the whole room when her friend opened the door and told her that Bullet is coming. Nataranta siya. Ayaw niya itong makita. Not now. She's still mad at him.
Pupugutan pa sana niya ng ulo ang teddy bear na bigay nito pero isang mahabang hiwa lamang sa katawan nito ang naibigay niya dahil sa pang-aantala ni Mona.
"Hindi mo talaga sya kauusapin?" tanong nito nang nasa daan na sila.
Sumandal siya sa bintana. "Hindi."
"Naaawa na 'ko sa kanya, Fresia," seryoso nitong sabi. "Alam ko namang nasasaktan ka. Alam ko ring malaki talaga ang kasalanan nya sa 'yo at sa pamilya mo, but don't you think that this is too much? Bakit hindi mo sya harapin at hayaang magpaliwanag?"
"Because there's nothing left to explain, Mona," inis niyang sagot. "I already know the truth. He already admitted to his mistakes. What's left to tell?"
"Beh, life it not just black and white. May different colors pa in between. No does not always mean no. Do you get my point? Just because you both believe that it's the truth, doesn't mean that it's the absolute truth. May iba pang factors na nakakaapekto sa katotohanan na 'yan. And if you're not going to let him explain and see things from his perspective, then you'll end up cutting him loose. Baka pagsisihan mo 'yan sa huli, sige ka."
"Mona, hindi ko kailangan ng sermon mo ngayon, okay?"
Hindi ba nito alam na alam niya iyon? But there are also other factors as to why she can't just forgive him. There are reasons why she can't face him right now. Kung paiiralin niya ang pagmamahal niya rito, pakiramdam niya ay pinagtataksilan niya ang kapatid.
Mona exhaled sharply. "Fine. But think about what I said, okay?"
Tumango na lamang siya para hindi na ito manermon.
"Where to?" Mona asked.
"Sa bahay tayo ng parents ko."
"Sure ka?"
She nodded and replied, "I need to talk to them."
And Bullet wouldn't find her there because he doesn't know where her parents live. Lumipat na kasi ng bahay ang mga ito somewhere in Laguna. Nobody knows... except Mona, because she's taking her to her parents.
Nag-aalangan man ay sinunod ng kaibigan ang gusto niya. When she got there, her parents weren't home yet. Katulong ang sumalubong sa kanya, kagaya ng dati.
Tinawagan nito ang mommy niya para ipaalam na nasa bahay siya. Iniabot ng katulong ang phone sa kanya. Tinitigan lamang niya ang iniaabot nitong telepono, unsure if she should take it.
"Ma'am, naghihintay po ang mommy ninyo," sabi ng katulong sa kanya. "Kausapin nyo na po kundi pareho tayong mapapagalitan."
Bumuntong-hininga siya at kinuha ang telepono mula rito. She was expecting a lecture. She was expecting anger from her mother. Alam niyang nakakaabala siya sa trabaho nito at alam niyang ayaw nitong nasa bahay siya ng mga ito.
That is why she couldn't help but cry when she heard her mother say, "I heard from Ernest. You can stay there as long as you want."
--
Bullet picked up the teddy bear. He checked the damage. It was just one slash. He could still fix it. As he was putting back the polyester stuffing, he noticed a gold chain inside. When he pulled it out, it turned out to be his necklace. Nakalagay iyon sa loob ng teddy bear. Fresia must have left it there to send him a message.
"I don't know what happened between the two of you, but it looks like you're both hurting right now," Cyrus told him. He placed his hand on his shoulder and continued, "At least let us fix the teddy bear."
Tumango siya at sinundan ito papunta kay Lena. It was fixed right away. Natuto raw kasing manahi si Lena dahil gusto nitong ipaggawa ng mga damit ang mga anak nito. The bear was patched up and was given a necktie to hide the damage.
Aalis na sana siya pagkatapos pasalamatan ang mag-asawa. But he noticed that Keisha was looking at the teddy bear with longing. Kinuhit nito ang ina at binulungan. Lena looked at him then turned to her kid and shook her head. Sumimangot si Keisha.
He walked towards them and knelt in front of the girl. "You know... I think I have no use for this now. Gusto mong sa 'yo na lang?"
Tumingin ang bata sa ina, mukhang naghihintay ng permiso.
"Are you sure you want to give it away?" Lena asked.
"Yeah." He forced a smile and handed the bear to Keisha. Halos doble ng bata ang taas ng laruan. "Take care of him for me, okay?"
Niyakap ni Keisha ang braso ng teddy bear at ngumiti sa kanya.
"What will you say?" tanong ni Lena sa anak.
"Thank you po," magalang na sagot ng bata.
"You're welcome." He smiled again, got up, and turned to Cyrus. "Nga pala, are your dogs still up for adoption?"
--
Yakap-yakap ni Fresia ang isang throw pillow habang hinihintay ang ina. It's already seven in the evening so the maid prepared dinner for her. Masarap naman ang pagkain. Unang beses yata niyang makagusto ng luto sa pamamahay ng mga magulang niya. But when the maid spoke in a familiar dialect, bigla siyang nawalan ng ganang kumain.
Iniwan niya ang pagkain sa mesa at hinayaang lumamig.
Buong hapon siyang nasa sala, nanunuod ng TV, iniiyakan ang lahat ng nagpapaalala sa kanya kay Bullet. When her parents came home, her eyes are already red and puffy.
"Kumain ka na?" tanong ng mommy niya.
"Wala raw syang gana, Ma'am," sagot ng katulong.
"Ipinagluto mo ba ng paborito nya?"
"Opo."
Her mother looked at her and frowned. "Ayaw mo ng menudo?"
Umiling siya. Caldereta na ang paborito niyang ulam, hindi menudo. Pero kahit caldereta pa ang lutuin ng katulong, hindi pa rin siya makakakain. Isang klaseng timpla lang ng caldereta ang magpapabalik ng gana niya.
Naluluha siya tuwing maaalala iyon.
Her mother sat beside her. "I hope you don't mind... Richard's having dinner with us."
Kumunot ang noo niya. "Hanggang ngayon ba naman, Ma, ipinipilit nyo pa rin sya sa 'kin?"
"It's just dinner, Fresia." It was her dad who replied. "We're not forcing him on you. Nagkataon lang na dito sya maghahapunan."
True enough, she heard the familiar sound of Richard's car on the driveway. Maya-maya ay kumatok ito sa pintuan. May dala itong mamahaling wine at mga bulaklak. He gave the wine to her father and the flowers to her mom. Saka ito ngumiti sa kanya at yumuko para halikan siya sa pisngi.
Nang maiinit ng katulong ang pagkain ay hinila siya ni Richard papunta sa hapag. She didn't want to eat but they were all forcing her to.
Humalukipkip siya at sumimangot habang nilalagyan ni Richard ng pagkain ang plato niya.
"Fresia, mind your manners," utos sa kanya ng ina.
"I said I don't want to eat," pagmamatigas niya.
"You're in our house," her father told her. "You will follow our rules."
I shouldn't have come here, she thought. Bukas na bukas din ay aalis na siya. But for now, she will oblige. Pagod na pagod pa rin siya dahil sa maghapong pag-iyak. Ayaw na niyang dagdagan ang sama ng loob.
Kaya mabilisan siyang kumain at nang matapos ay agad siyang nagkulong sa guest room. Sumandal siya sa headboard at kumuha ng isang unan para yakapin.
Hindi na niya alam ang gagawin. She can't go to work like this. She can't go back to her apartment. She can't keep bothering her friends. This is her last refuge. But she doesn't know how long she can stay.
She hugged the pillow tighter when she heard a knock. Ilang beses din iyon. Hindi niya binuksan ang pintuan dahil ayaw niyang makipag-usap. Pero malas niya dahil may dalang susi ang kumakatok.
Richard peeped. Alanganin itong ngumiti at pumasok. "They gave me the key so..."
She grunted. If her parents love him so much, then why don't they just disown her and adopt him?
Sumiksik siya sa gilid ng kama nang maupo ito sa tabi niya.
"I'd be lying is I say that I didn't want this to happen," he started.
She snorted.
"But... seeing how hurt you are right now... I think I'd rather see you happy, even if it means that you'll be with him."
Tiningnan niya ito. He was looking down.
"I still love you. I never stopped loving you. But I already lost hope that you'll love me back because I know that you won't." He looked at her and gave her a small smile. "Your parents told me to never stop hoping that someday, you'll come to your senses and you will give me your heart. But you already gave it to someone else, didn't you?"
Yumuko siya sa unan at humikbi.
"I-I shouldn't have..." she replied.
Naramdaman niya ang kamay nito sa balikat niya. He pulled her to lean against his chest. Yumakap siya rito, muling naghahanap ng kalinga. Yes, he is a jerk, but he was there through the tough times. He was there when her sister died. He was there when she couldn't tell anyone how horrible it felt to lose a loved one.
Bumuntong-hininga ito. "You didn't know," he said. "But if you did, would you stop yourself from loving him?"
"I don't know..." she admitted.
Maybe she could have prevented herself from falling harder. Sana ay naiwasan niya kaagad kaagad si Bullet. Sana ay hindi ganito kasakit.
Hinagod ni Richard ang buhok niya. "May dahilan ang mga bagay, Fresia. May dahilan kung bakit ngayon mo lang nalaman ang totoo. May dahilan kung bakit hindi mo 'ko kayang mahalin. May dahilan kung bakit kayo nagkakilala, na sa dinami-rami ng lalaki sa mundo ay sa kanya ka nagkagusto. Maybe you're bound to meet to put an end to your past."
"I don't think I can forgive him, Richard. After what he did to Fiona—"
"I know," putol nito. "Too bad there's no way for us to know Fiona's side of the story."
She froze. What he said just made her realize something. "Maybe there is..."
--
Of all the places he could go, he still came back to where she lives, the place he already considers his home. Ipinarada ni Bullet ang sasakyan malapit sa apartment ni Fresia. Nasa loob lamang siya ng kotse, naghihintay. Baka sakaling dumating ito ngayon. Maybe she'll come back tonight.
He told himself that he will just wait for a few hours and then he'll head over to Mickey's. Wala pa yatang bente minutos siyang naghihintay nang may makita siyang paparating na sasakyan. Naging alerto siya nang pumarada iyon sa mismong tapat ng apartment ni Fresia.
Bigla siyang nabuhayan ng loob nang makitang bumaba si Fresia mula sa sasakyan. And just as quickly, his blood boiled when he saw who she's with.
Kasama nito si Richard.
He saw her gave that guy the key to her apartment. Pagkabukas ng pinto ay pumasok ang dalawa sa loob. Pinatay niya ang makina ng sasakyan at dali-daling lumabas para sugurin ang dalawa.
Pero nang malapit na siya ay biglang tumunog ang phone niya. He wanted to ignore the call but when he saw that it was from Manang Sinyang, he had no choice but to answer.
Umiiyak ito. Bigla siyang kinabahan.
"Manang nanung problema ?" tanong niya sa matanda.
Para siyang binuhusan ng malamig na tubig nang marinig ang sagot ng matanda.
"Hijo! Atsu ya ospital i lola mu!"