TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter contains themes of mental illness, trauma, sexual assault, hallucinations, and violence that may be distressing to some readers.
"YOU DO know that it takes cooperation to win this, right?" tanong ni Doc Gregant Sanchez, seryoso ang tono.
Eunice saw her doctor sigh, but she couldn't help it. The medicine helped her stay sane and calm pero ang problema, habang tumatagal, napapansin niyang humihina ang epekto nito.
"Okay, I'll give you another one. But please, take it with my prescribed dosage," mariing sabi ng doktor bago iniabot sa kanya ang panibagong gamot.
Wala naman talagang balak si Eunice na bumisita pa ulit sa doktor. Kaso, ayaw rin niyang pahirapan ang ulo ng attorney ng namayapa niyang mga magulang.
Sa lahat ng kakilala niya, si Atty. Sharyll Monesterio, ang abogada ng kanyang yumaong parents at siya ring legal guardian niya ang bukod tanging nakakaalam ng detalye tungkol sa kanyang sakit.
Si Diana, her best friend, might have an idea, pero hindi pa nila napag-uusapan iyon. Sa isip ni Eunice, baka natatakot itong magtanong dahil baka ma-offend siya.
As for Eunice, she doesn't want to talk about it. Alam niyang mag-aalala lang ito, and she doesn't want that. At tulad ng nakasanayan pagkatapos ng therapy session niya, she still couldn't reflect on what they had talked about.
Pagdating niya sa apartment, wala siyang nakuha mula sa doktor kundi antidepressants. Pero hindi na rin siya nagreklamo, at least, nakakatulong pa rin.
Isang buwan na rin ang nakalipas mula nang ikulong niya ang sarili sa loob ng apartment. Kung hindi dahil kay Atty. Sharyll, baka matagal na siyang namatay sa gutom.
Pagbubukas niya sana ng pinto, napansin niya ang isang babae sa labas.
"You're Eunice Caseria, right?" tanong nito.
Alanganin siyang tumango.
"Can I talk to you for a while?"
Pinapasok niya ito sa apartment. She knew this woman.
Claire Santos.
Well, how could she not know? Siya lang naman ang fiancé—no, scratch that—ang asawa ni Keus. Kakasal lang nila ilang linggo ang nakakalipas.
Her eyes dropped to Claire's baby bump. At kahit papaano, napangiti siya. At least, siguradong magkakaroon ng pamilyang hindi niya naranasan ang batang nasa sinapupunan nito. Okay na siya doon.
"I'm planning to divorce Keus. I don't think I will fit to be his child's mother," panimula ni Claire.
Parang na-mental block si Eunice sa narinig. Ni wala siyang naisagot dahil sa halo-halong emosyon na gumugulo sa isip niya.
But one thing was clear: the child might never forgive her for this in a lifetime.
"EUNICE, ANAK, halika na. Kakain na tayo..."
Eunice stopped herself from looking in that direction. She just needed to rest or maybe eat, or take her meds.
Hallucination lang naman ang lahat ng iyon. She knew that, but she couldn't help but get affected every time she saw them.
Nanginginig ang mga kamay niyang binuksan ang pinto ng kwarto. Hindi na niya ininda ang nagkakalat na gamit, mga basag na bagay na iniwan ng paulit-ulit niyang pagwawala sa mga nakaraang linggo.
Nang makapasok, walang sabi-sabing kinuha niya mula sa bag ang gamot, uminom ng isang tableta, at umupo sa likod ng nakasarang pinto.
I will be fine, Eunice told herself.
She stayed there until exhaustion lulled her to sleep, drowning out the voices screaming from the past, the day her parents died and the night she was raped by the heartless men who robbed the Caseria mansion.
Mula nang dumalaw si Claire, Eunice never tried to go out again.
Fear consumed her. Natatakot siyang pag-usapan, husgahan, at gawing sentro ng tsismis ng mga tao sa labas.
Isang araw, habang nasa sala, narinig niyang may kumatok. Ayaw niya sanang pansinin, pero nang marinig ang boses, napilitan siyang bumangon.
"Hey, bakit ang tagal mo buksan?" reklamo ni Diana, medyo hingal pa.
"Ahh... wala lang," tipid na sagot ni Eunice.
Simula nang tumakas siya mula kay Keus, Diana was the one who always brought her groceries. Pilit man niya itong pinipigilan lalo't alam niyang busy ito sa pagtatayo ng sariling kumpanya kasama ang kuya nito, hindi pa rin siya pinapakinggan.
Nahihiya na siya, kaya pinipilit niyang magbayad kahit papaano. Pero gaya ng dati, tanggi lang nang tanggi si Diana.
What Eunice didn't know was that all of this was Keus' doing.
Araw-araw, pumupunta si Keus sa apartment para kausapin siya. Pero palagi siyang tinatanggihan ni Eunice. Kaya sa pag-aalala, pinakiusapan niya si Diana na siya na muna ang mag-check kay Eunice.
Diana, worried as she was, agreed. Lalo na nang makita ang magulong kwarto, ang mga nagkalat na gamit, at basag na bubog. Eunice only smiled, as if nothing was wrong. Diana didn't pry. She just stayed, kasi alam niyang sensitibo ang kaibigan at ang kailangan nito ay presensya, hindi sermon.
"I'll be back tomorrow, okay? Please, huwag kang magpalipas ng gutom. You're getting thinner and thinner," paalala nito.
Tumango lang si Eunice.
At iyon na ang naging routine nila.
Hanggang sa dumating ang araw na kinailangang umalis ni Diana para sa isang out-of-the-country project.
"Eunice, beh. I won't be coming home for a week, okay? Sorry, abroad kasi ang set. Will you be okay here?" tanong nito.
"It's alright, Diana. Don't mind me, kaya ko naman," tipid na sagot ni Eunice.
"Well, I'll just ask someone to check on you. Please eat on time, okay? Don't make me worry," dagdag ni Diana.
True to her word, Diana didn't come home after her shoot. That night, Eunice couldn't sleep. She grabbed her phone, hoping to distract herself until sleep came.
Pero bago pa siya dalawin ng antok, may narinig siyang ingay.
"Sino ka?!" sigaw ni Eunice nang makita ang anino ng lalaking nakapasok sa apartment niya.
Her panic rose, her body weak from dizziness and the pounding in her head.
The man had a knife. Lalapit na sana ito, pero biglang may isa pang lalaking pumasok.
Nag-agawan sila ng kutsilyo. Eunice fell to the floor, trembling in fear. Nasugatan ang bagong dating na lalaki, pero nang makabwelo, tumakas din ang magnanakaw.
"E-Eunice, are you okay? Are you hurt? Answer me, p-please!"
She knew that voice.
It pierced through her like a memory she tried so hard to bury.
Ilang buwan na nga ba? Seven? Eight? She couldn't remember.
"D-Don't leave. P-Please... I'm b-begging you," he whispered.
YOU ARE READING
ECHOES OF OUR VOWS
Storie d'amoreAfter ten years of marriage, Eunice has lost the joy she once had and now finds herself struggling to rediscover happiness, torn between her efforts to justify her circumstances and the unrelenting guilt that keeps her chained to the pain of her pas...
