Roxana De La Cruz

10. Penniless Men

Dolores stayed true to her word and dropped Anna at the Evangelista family home. Though Dolores had also been welcomed to stay, she refused, saying she had to meet some other people in Ilocos and that a driver would pick up Anna after a few days. 

Anna's reunion with her Nana and Tata had been more emotional than she imagined as she collapsed in tears after seeing them for the first time since she left years ago. 

It had been her third day here in their barangay, and tomorrow morning, her driver would come and pick her up. 

The days she had spent here varied from visiting the town centre, Laog's SM mall, meeting distant cousins and eating lots of food. 

This afternoon, Anna had just decided to sit with her Nana and Tata on the patio of their house. She had wanted to spend her last day here just with them. 

"Anna, nangngegko ti napasamak kenka ken kadagiti dadakkelmo. Sigurado ka kadi nga okey ti ar-aramidem? (Anna, I heard what happened to you and your parents. Are you sure you're doing okay?)" Her Nana asked her with a hint of sadness in her voice. 

"With Grandaunt Dolores, I have been doing better, Nana, and of course, now that I'm with you and Tata here in Ilocos, I think I'm going to be just fine," She grinned. 

Her Nana dropped her head lowly, "Ladingitek unay ta saanmi a nasalakniban. No mabalinko nga isublin ti panawen, talaga a rumbeng koma nga insardengko ti kasar da nanangmo ken tatangmo. Diak koma pulos ipalubos a makiasawa iti dayta nakababain a lalaki! (I'm so sorry we weren't able to protect you. If I can turn back time, I really should have stopped the wedding between your mother and father. I should have never let her marry that shameful man!)" 

Anna chuckled, "Ay Nana...ngem no kasta, diak koma nayanak! (Oh, Nana...but then I wouldn't have been born!" 

"I'm sorry, Anak (child), yes, it's useless to talk about regrets of the past. Anak, you must learn from your mother's mistakes and not marry a shameful and penniless man like your father. That is the only way." 

There it was again. Anna had heard it from Grandaunt Dolores and now her Nana. She didn't say anything. 

Sometimes, she thought she had always been a terrible daughter when she blamed her father for her misfortunes. 

She wouldn't have suffered had they just left her in the Philippines because she was content with what they had. Meanwhile, her father's constant anxiety and stress around their finances made him vulnerable to outbursts, and with her snappy attitude, the beatings were unavoidable. 

They were all right. She should avoid penniless men altogether and avoid their pitiful lives. 

~

Gloria watched helplessly as the rest of her family deteriorated right before her eyes. 

With the charges of child abuse, her husband was sentenced to prison. 

Her son, Rey, always seemed quiet and distant when he immigrated to the UK a few years ago; it felt like he had changed from the smiley and joyful little boy he once was when he had been in the Philippines and over the years, no matter what she did to gain that little boy once again, he had just continued to bury himself into his little world. 

It felt like she lost her son all those years ago. Now, she lost a daughter and a husband on the same day. 

She sat alone on the sofa in the darkness and cold of the living room. Her son was nowhere to be seen and had missed all her calls. 

Gloria had not eaten except for several cups of coffee throughout the day. This had been her life ever since her husband beat Roxana, and the police came with Dolores, leaving hand-in-hand with her daughter, ignoring her cries.