The Accused (A Series #1)

Chapter Forty-Two

If there was one thing that August had long wished since she gave birth to her children, it was their forgiveness. She wanted them to forgive her for being weak and succumbing to fears that hindered her from being the mother they deserved.

Until now, there was still that lingering doubt that never failed to scare her, but then, she knew that she had to get better because there would be no right time to woman up if she would continue to hide in her shadows.

"Hello, Mommy."

She fought the urge to cry. Every time she talked to him, she could not help but get downcasted. Nasasaktan siya para rito, but her child was not as fragile as she was, at least that was what he was always showing her whenever they talk.

Unlike, Aurine, he was more composed and silent. Tita Lia, Finno's mother, would always send her videos of him doing his own thing. He would rarely smile on videos and photos. He loved to watch movies and read books. He would always prefer to be with adults at gatherings, or somewhere far from the kids, and would settle with just watching them.

She could not help to think how her child's life would be if he was only living a normal life like the other children. However, Tita Lia would always assure her that his environment was no bad for him and that the children in their community were treating him well. It was just Cevin who mainly was aloof.

Like, Aurine, Cevin was an intelligent kid. Whenever they call each other, he would always share the things he learned by reading history books. Tuwing nag-uusap sila, parang hindi ito yung bata na nakikita niya sa mga videos. He would always smile, laugh, and he would even crack jokes. He was cheerful and nice. When they first talked through call, she was just crying the whole time as Cevin spoke to her like she was never a stranger at all, like he knew her from the very start, like she was a good mother to him.

"Hello, baby. How are you?"

"I'm fine, Mommy. I just finished watching The Gifted. Did you know about that movie?"

Unlike Aurine, Cevin was more articulate with words.

"I have not heard about that. Care to tell Mommy what was that all about? Was it good?"

"Hmm," he hummed and nodded before he started talking about how he liked each character in the movie and the scenes that he was fond of. She was just patiently listening to him.

She was in her office. Mas maaga siyang natapos sa mga gagawin kaya naisipan niyang kausapin ang anak. Umuwi na si Lizzie kaya siya nalang mag-isa roon.

Before Calev went off yesterday morning, nakipagkita muna ito sa anak at nagpaalam. Finno was out early so wala ito nung dumating si Calev. Paalis na rin siya pero dahil naabutan din siya nito ay nagdesisyon siyang manatili sandali bilang respeto.

It was a short meeting dahil nagmamadali si Calev. Halos hindi nga humiwalay si Aurine rito nung papaalis na ito. When she was about to cry, Calev carried her and whispered something that did magic to her child's mood. He might have promised her na babalik siya.

He hugged Aurine for the last time before she ran inside the house, leaving them two. She could not almost look straight into his eyes because she was feeling awkward. Noong sinabi nito nung gabi na may nararamdaman itong kakaiba, ay lumakad na ito paalis, leaving her baffled with his words. Hindi na naman siya pinatulog ng mga iyon but as she thought of it longer, she realized that it should not affect her, whatever he meant by it, it should not concern her. She did not want to entertain thoughts that would just stir things up.

"Uh... have a safe trip," she managed to say.

"Thank you."

There was silence after that. They were just staring at each other. He looked at her like he had something more to say. She waited while feeling anxious, but he remained silent and just decided to go.