Euphoria: Dosage of Rhapsodies

Chapter 38

"H-How did you-"

"Hindi na mahalaga kung paano ko nalaman, Irene." Masama pa rin ang paraan ng pagtingin sa akin ni Papa. "Could you please answer my question? Bakit mo naman binili ang salon ng Tita Gretchen mo? You have no any backgrounds of running a salon... kaya bakit?"

With him, interrogating me like that makes me feel so frustrated. Gusto kong sagutin si Papa but if I do that, I will end up being swayed by my emotions... baka hindi ko malagyan ng filter ang bunganga ako which might led my words disrespecting him.

"She must be grateful to me that I do that, pa," I pointed out. "Dahil binili ko ang salon niya, nakabayad siya ng utang. She actually gained benefits because I purchased her salon. What's wrong with that?"

"Pero alam mong mahalaga sa Tita Gretchen mo 'yon, 'di ba? Pwede mo naman siyang pahiramin na lang ng pera. What's the use of purchasing it? Magagamit mo ba-"

"Okay, fine!" I couldn't handle my anger anymore, so I raised my tone at my father. "I only want her to suffer. I want to make her life miserable, just how my life was when they abandoned me... and make you a drug addict. Gusto kong maranasan ng mag-inang 'yon ang hirap na pinagdaanan ko sa kamay nila noon... by doing this."

"They don't deserve the life they have right now. It could be us... not them, pa." And at this moment, tears started to stream down my face. Sa sobrang bigat ng nararamdaman ko ngayon, kahit sa harap pa ni Eli, ay nagawa kong umiyak dala ng panghihina.

"Napag-usapan na natin ito noong nakaraan, 'di ba? I've told you not to do anything against them. Mahirap bang gawin 'yon, Irene?"

"I don't have the same heart as you, pa. Kung para sa iyo ay madali lang ibaon sa limot ang ginawa nila sa pamilya natin, then it's a different story for me." Agad kong inilihis ang tingin ko kay Papa. "If you don't have anything to say, leave my unit... pa."

"We're not done talking, Irene-"

"Just please," I hissed, "let's talk about this some other day. I'm not in the best shape to have an argument with you." Without letting myself hear his response, umalis na ako roon tiyaka nagmadaling pumasok ng kwarto ko.

Bago pa ako tuluyang makalayo ay narinig ko pang kinausap ni Papa si Eli, but I'm not sure what they are talking about. Whatever it is, I don't care.

All I want is to relax myself, free from frustrations and stress that I could get from what happened earlier. I don't wanna cause a bigger argument with my father, kaya ako na rin 'yong nag-adjust na takasan na lang si Papa. Ayaw kong pagtalunan pa namin ang mag-inang 'yon. They don't even worthy of my time.

"You should've talked to him sooner or later," I heard Eli say, entering the room. "Nabanggit niya sa akin na ayaw niya raw na nagkakaroon kayo ng tampuhan na ganito so, he wished to settled everything between the both of you as soon as possible. He's open to hear your side... but he hopes you'll hear him as well."

"And that's the thing I'm not yet ready for," I monotoned, still struggling to free my mind from so many thoughts. "Because for sure, he'll talk biased. Alam kong sa kabila ng ginawa sa amin nina Stacy, kakampihan pa rin sila ni Papa. I knew my father so well, Eli."

"But at least give your father a chance to explain his side." Mariin niyang hinawakan ang magkabila kong balikat. "Look, Corrine... sometimes, it's okay to let our ears listen to someone's mouth to speak. Hindi naman lahat ng pinaniniwalaan natin ay 'yon talaga ang nangyayari, unless we let ourselves be open minded."

"You think that your father will end up talking nonsense because he's biased, but how sure are you? Hindi natin hawak ang utak ng iba so, we should not conclude that fast," he added.