Almost Isolated

Chapter 36 - Doctor Zoila

"I came to the house that evening to bring Terry his medicine."

Doctor Zoila had been cooperative since the 'levitating tray' phenomenon. Regina, on the other hand was reluctant. The model had stormed out of the hospital director's house despite of Neri's warning that she could be in trouble too.

"You are crazy!"  Regina screamed at Neri, acting not convinced.

Neri thought she was just terrified of Robbie being a ghost.

"Terry was having his rhinitis," Doctor Zoila continued. "He said, he was supposed to go to a Halloween party with Tobias that night, I told him, he should rest."

After the paranormal incident, Neri had also left Doctor Zoila to let the latter, gather her wits. She waited patiently for the hospital director to talk to her. The lady doctor spoke to her the next day in the hospital while they both gazed at Robbie who remained in a coma.

"I came to the house past nine in the evening that Halloween with Marlyn."

"Our Marlyn, Doctor?"

"Yes, she lives near the del Valle residence. I was supposed to drop Marlyn off to her apartment after visiting Terry. She ended up helping me bringing Tobias to this hospital."

The lady doctor gave out a shaky sigh. "The mass murder had been a shock. We thought of calling the police personally but I had the feeling it wasn't burglary. It was something more and Tobias knew. He was a star witness after all. Nevertheless, at that moment, he was barely breathing. His head was covered in blood when we found him. He was no use to the authorities. I thought he could be still in danger too.

We gave an anonymous tip to the police then got Tobias out of the house. We'd managed to get him here undetected through the private elevator from the basement parking space to this floor.

Thankfully, Tobias' skull was still intact. We managed to stop the bleeding but the severe concussion created a damage within, in a part of his brain."

Robbie the ghost had slowly materialized, sitting at the edge of his body's hospital bed. He was transparent for a while then became solid in his military uniform, looking healthier and a lot handsome compared to his bedridden, frail self.

His face was solemn as if he'd been listening to Doctor Zoila for a while. He gave Neri a small smile when their eyes met. The hospital director had no idea of him being there as the former looked past the apparition.

Neri felt the lady doctor's genuine concern over the hospital patients. She realized Doc Zoila was like being motherly to Terry and a good friend to Tobias. She couldn't hold her tongue.

"By any chance... pardon me, Doctor. I mean, there were no articles about you in the internet being linked to the del Valle or the Aquino ... Are you like something of a relative -?"

"Doc Zoila... Tita Essa was Terry's sort of a step mom," Robbie stated.

"Sort of a step mom?" Neri frowned with the idea, forgetting that only her can hear or see the ghost.

Doctor Zoila's hazel brown eyes widened. "Is Tobias right here now?"

"He called you 'Tita Essa'. He said you were sort of a step mother to Terry."

"Did he?" Doctor Zoila sniffed, but straighten her shoulders as if remembering to toughen up.

Both she and Neri wore their full white PPE protective coveralls, face mask and face shield included.

"I was the woman before his many women. Even before Terry's mother." Doctor Zoila sounded careful in picking her words. "When Teresa, Terry's mom died four years ago, his father said he was going to marry me but two years after that... he left to join his wife in heaven.

He had introduced me to his son, Terry, back then. Terry was an open-minded person, understanding. He eventually accepted me as his father's new wife even without the wedding vows. I'd became a best friend... a mom."

Doctor Zoila smiled, sarcastically. "I was never in any news linked to the del Valle because I was a secret." Her voice started to break. "I was always the other woman."

Neri was speechless but then she heard Robbie whispered, "Tell her, she was loved by Tito Santi, by all of us and we all looked up to her. She was... She was a mother to me, too -"

He faltered, his face becoming a lot serious... remembering. Neri should be glad with the ghost's breakthroughs; a part of her was getting anxious.

Robbie smiled. "Tell Tita Essa she was a better listener than Loida."

"Who is Loida?" she asked him, forgetting the second time that Robbie was invisible to the hospital director.

"Loida was Tobias nanny," Doctor Zoila answered her, instead. "Did Tobias mentioned her right now?"

Neri noded and added, "He said you were a better listener than her."

"It was because Loida had become deaf," Robbie and Doctor Zoila almost said in unison. Both smiling at the seemingly, secret joke.

That did it. The tough looking, lady doctor's hazel-brown eyes started to water. "He's really here isn't he..."

Doctor Zoila turned to Robbie's comatose body. "... I mean, you can really talk to him. I was the only person he'd confided me about his nanny. The one who almost raised him as her own. How he loved her but still, had let her go when his father sent her away because of her disability."

"Dad sent her away." Robbie's thick brows met, concentrating with Doctor Zoila's words. "And I let him. I didn't oppose him... I couldn't. I couldn't oppose him on about everything!"

He shot Neri a pained expression. "I'm a terrible person. I remember now."