Romeo and His Many Juliets [Romeone & Juliétte]

Kabanata 1

I could not stop crying. Sa nakalipas na mga taon ay wala akong ibang ginawa kundi ang maging matatag, malakas, at matapang para sa mga kapatid ko. But now, I felt like a child—so small, so scared, so lost, and so helpless. And it felt like my life was already over even before it began.

Marami pa akong gustong gawin sa buhay. Pero ngayon, pakiramdam ko’y unti-unti na itong nawawalan ng saysay.

Ano na ngayon ang gagawin ko?

Paano na kaming dalawa ni Rocco?

“We need to do something, Juls!” ani Rosé, balisa habang pabalik-balik ng lakad sa harapan ko, ni hindi alintana ‘yong sugat sa labi niya. “And stop the crying, will you? Hindi ‘yan makakatulong sa sitwasyon mo. Basta, gagawan natin ‘to ng paraan. Hinding-hindi ka magpapakasal sa panganay ng mga Kortajarena. Damn it! There is no way that you will be involved with a Kortajarena! Certainly not with a Kortajarena! Fuck those Kortajarenas!”

Humikbi ako at napahilamos ng mga palad sa mukha. I really did not know what to do and what to think anymore. Pakiramdam ko’y nasa gitna ako ng dalawang nag-uumpugang mga bato. We needed to save Kuya Tommo but only by me marrying the eldest Kortajarena, at the same time, I just couldn’t do that. They killed our mother! Ano ba ang naiisip ni Papa? Bakit siya pumayag na mangyari ang lahat ng ‘to? Wala na ba talagang halaga si Mama sa kaniya? At bakit hindi nag-ingat si Kuya Tommo? Alam kong gusto niyang ipaghiganti si Mama, pero dapat ay naisip niyang delikado ‘yong gagawin niya at mapapahamak siya! He shouldn’t have broken in their properties in the first place! Alam niya kung gaano kalaki, kalala, at katindi ng away sa pagitan ng mga pamilya namin.

“Juls, ano na? Iiyak ka na lang ba? Did it occur to you that you are marrying tonight? Tonight, Juliétte! And not only to just someone! But to Romeone! You are marrying Romeone Kortajarena! The campus playboy! Always with a new girl every day! And have you heard? He is now training to be a hitman! He is a killer waiting to happen, Juls! Hindi ka ba natatakot doon, ha?” balisang-balisa na sabi niya.

I shivered thinking about that man and that particular moment he saw Rocco and I kissing at the back of the Engineering building. At sa tuwing naaalala ko ‘yon ay nangingilabot ako. Wala akong pakialam noon na nakita niya kami, pero ibang usapan na ngayon.

What if he told Papa about that kiss?

What if he told him about my relationship with Rocco?

Our families had been in a feud a long, long time ago. It was an old-age vendetta that already cost the lives of many. ‘Yong mga lolo namin ay parehong namatay habang nakikipagbarilan sa isa’t isa. My mother died in their hands, too. But it had been a while that we were at cold war. We did not bring our issues to school. Kaming mga bagong henerasyon sa pamilya ay tahimik lang sa isa’t isa. Mostly, the dirty deeds were done by the trained men in the family.