Hues and Lies

🎨32: Beyond

"Salamat sa pagbisita inaanak," Ninong Conrad held my hand. "I'm glad you're safe."

I sighed looking at him. Finally, nagkaroon na ako nang lakas ng loob para harapin at kausapin si siya.

"Why are you still here in the prison ninong? Hindi naman ikaw ang gustong pumatay sa'kin ah?" I asked creasing my forehead.

"May dapat pa akong pagbayaran Sydney, kasalanang nagawa namin na nagtulak kay Kathleya na gawin ang mga bagay na 'yun," napayuko ito.

"Y-You...also raped her?" I gulped.

"I was drunk at that time, I didn't know what I was doing, we didn't know what we did to her," he almost tapped the table.

I saw how his tears fell and I could sense his regret. That's life, we could only regret for the things we couldn't manage to change.

"Paano siya nakapasok sa buhay namin nang wala kaming alam?" I clenched my fists. "Kailan 'yun, paano niya pinatay si tita Helena?"

"Sa tingin ko, mahigit limang taon na siyang nagpapanggap bilang Helena," napayuko siya. "Napansin ko na 'yun noong birthday mo, kaso hindi ko lang sineryoso."

"Bakit wala kaming alam tungkol kay Kathleya ninong?" I asked massaging my temple.

"After the day we raped her, she was gone, at kahit si Helena hindi na siya mahanap," he sighed. "No one knows what we did to her at dala 'yun ni Hectur hanggang sa kamatayan niya."

"She killed Hectur, mom, and Tito Orlando," my tears fell. "She deserved to die too."

"She killed them because we pushed her to do it, pinaglaruan namin siya dati," napahagulhol si ninong. "She almost killed me too, and that's the day before the police caught me."

"But you managed to survive, how lucky of you," I wiped my tears.

"She let me live dahil may ibang plano pa raw siya sa'kin, she wanted to set me up to be your killer," patuloy lang ito sa pag-iyak. "Iyon na lang daw ang kabayaran sa lahat ng ginawa ko, dahil gusto lang naman daw niya makasama ang daddy mo, habangbuhay."

"Bakit ninong, ano bang dahilan ng paghihiwalay nila ni dad?" I crossed my arms.

"Nakilala ng daddy mo ang mommy mo, saksi ako nang lumuhod si dad mo kay Kathleya, para humingi ng tawad dahil hindi na nito kayang ibigay ang pagmamahal niya," he sighed.

"Now I get it, her bad experiences made her a heartless killer," napapailing kong sabi.

"Oo Sydney, dahil doon na nagsimulang maging pariwara ang buhay ni Kathleya. Sa totoo lang kahit ganun siya, minahal ko pa rin siya."

Love is really a powerful thing. Sometimes, it can lead you to colorful moments, but the story of Kathleya and my dad turned out to be a dark disaster.

"Thank you ninong, everything is clear to me now," I stood. "I hope after you pay your crime, you'll find your inner peace."

"Thank you for the visit Sydney, I appreciate it a lot," he tried to smile.

"No worries Ninong, as long as I have time, I'll give you a visit here," nagmano ako sa kanya at pagkatapos naglakad na palayo.

Maybe everyone would question me why I still gave my respect to him despite his wrongdoings. However, I believe that everyone deserves a second chance. There's no better person than someone who accepts his mistakes and willing to pay for it. We are not perfect that even white roses cast dark shadows.

I personally almost turned out to be my alter, I almost made myself a killer out of anger. Gladly, Kye and my friends stopped me from doing so.

"Saan po tayo ma'am?" tanong ng isa kong body guard nang makalabas na ako sa bilangguan.