Thank you for reading this far and for appreciating this piece of mine!
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"Spit it out," Donya Melvira's voice stopped me from debating myself.
Silious was kept on mumbling when I laid him down on the bed and put a toy beside him for his entertainment. I sat one meter away from Donya.
Bumuga ako nang marahas na hininga, pilit kinakalma ang naninikip na dibdib. Wala pa man ay nadudurog na naman ako.
"First of all, I want to thank you for everything you've done to them, Donya," panimula ko at nilaro ang mga kamay sa ibabaw ng hita. I saw her face soften as she looked at the window. "I never liked you from the start—"
"The feeling was mutual."
I smiled and continued. "But I am grateful to you. My... my son wouldn't grow healthy and safe without your help. I owe you—"
"Why are you saying these things?" she cut me off.
I hid the surprise on my face when for the first time, I heard her talking calm with me; voice wasn't laced with any negative emotion.
"I want to stop..." I trailed off since my voice shook a little. I let out a nervous sigh and looked at her who was already staring at me. "I want to stop working for my son. I want to stop going here and I want to stop seeing Simon." No matter how I tried to keep my tears at bay, they still spilled from my eyes.
Agad ko iyong pinahiran at tinatagan ang loob para hindi na muling maluha. Pagod na akong umiyak.
"Cresencia—"
Umiling ako nang marinig ang lambot sa kaniyang tono. Mas gusto ko 'yong mataray at galit niyang boses para mas mapabilis ito.
"I didn't know what I'd done to suffer like this... but I want to end this pain, Donya. I want out. I will never bother you all again but of course, there will be times I'll visit my son." Suminghot ako't sinulyapan ang walang muwang na anak. "Isang barangay lang ang distansya natin pero makakaasa kayong hindi ako magpapakita ulit kung hindi importante."
Nilamon kami ng katahimikan maliban sa aking panaka-nakang pagsinghot sa loob ng silid.
She shifted on her seat and cleared her throat. "Did you tell this to Simon?" Marahan akong umiling. Ramdam ko ang kaniyang pagtutol. "You should tell him."
"Hindi na kailangan, Donya. Gusto kong tahimik na umalis pagkatapos ng Biyernes at sana 'wag mo na pong ipaalam." I grabbed enough courage to reach her left hand and squeezed it. She nodded her head hesitantly. "Thank you."
Matapos ang tatlong minutong katahimikan ay nagpaalam na siyang lalabas lalo na't rinig namin ang boses ng isang anak niyang kumakatok sa kaniyang pintuan.
Nang makalapit siya't pinihit ang seradura ay nilingon niya ako. There was a faint smile on her lips. "Hope you feel better soon," and with that, she went out.
I wiped my face with wet wipes to remove the marks of tears. Pagod akong gumapang at tumabi sa naglalaro pa ring anak. I hugged him tight and kept on kissing him all over his face. His chuckles roared inside the room and I just grinned.
We fell asleep after that.
Simon tried to approach after I woke up but I still shut him down. I didn't know what's up with him but I just wanted to not have an interaction with him anymore. I'd already made my choice and I didn't want to change it once I'd give him a chance to talk to me.
Friday came and I was feeling sick. I cried last night for the thought that it would be my last day with my son for now since I wanted to stop my connection with them for a while.
