"How's your feeling?"
Ayaw kong umasa, pero ang boses nitong mahinhin bagamat gumaralgal dala ng matinding pag-iyak ay.
Siyang siya.....
Isang napakalaking kwestyon para sa akin kung paanong buhay siya? Napaka labong mangyari ang ganito himala sa 21st century. Kinilabutan ako nang magkamalay at siya ang unang bumungad na naka-upo sa aking gilid. Naumid at tila ba napipi ng walang salitang gustong lumabas sa nakaawang kong labi.
Vittorio went to her and dried her tears with his handkerchief.
Viko's presence can be felt at my back, and afterwards he gently rubbed the upper part of my back and planted soft kisses on my head.
I couldn't comprehend the fact that she's comfortable with her abductor's touch.
As much as I tried to not give her a glance, I failed because she looks so much like Ate Carmelita.
Though an older version of my deceased 15-year-old Ate.
Napa sign of the cross ako nang tinangka nitong lumapit pero bigla ring natigilan sa ekspresyon aking pinapakita.
Moderno na ang panahon ngunit uso parin ba ang mga multo? O sadyang ako'y nagha-hallucinate dahil sa gutom.
She's radiant, blossoming in her early thirties. The woman in front of me is not malevolent, having been separated from us for eighteen years. Iisipin ko talagang minamaligno ako at nasa harapan siya ngayon.
She's beautiful, like a goddess, then and now. Her porcelain-white skin glows, her captivating face, and those round eyes, despite being filled with tears, cannot hide her innate beauty.
Her small moles under her chin proved without any doubt that she's my older sister!
Napasinghap ako't napahikbi.
"Ate Carmelita." Puno ng pananabik sa loob ng halos dalawang dekadang pagaakala patay na siya. She lifted up her head with tears in her eyes.
Tumango tango siya habang patuloy parin sa pag-iyak. "Ako nga ito, Caridad." Tinawid nito ang distanya sa aming pagitan. She caged me in her arms, and my tears were flowing continuously and uncontrollably.
Viko and his older brother gave us some space, stepping back towards the far end of our room.
"Ate, bakit ngayon ka lang!" I hugged her so tight, crying so hard in her embrace. Ang paninibugho ko ay napawi. Isahang nawala at napalitan ng kagalakang hindi matatawaran.
"Patawarin mo ako, nahuli ako sa pag-uwi. Sobrang nangungulila ako sa inyong lahat." I can feel the pain and sorrow in her voice that she has carried for all these years.
I hugged her tighter, thinking that if I lose her, she'll be gone again and I'll never see her.
All this time, she's been alive somewhere far away from us. All the emotions of longing between siblings poured out.
I lay on her shoulder as we cried and sobbed together, a mix of sadness and joy. I lifted my head from the embrace. And there, I saw a scar on her neck – the remnants of her hanging in her room, days after giving birth to my nephew, Emilliano.
It was painful, deeply distressing, what happened to our family.
Even at seven years old, I already understood what Mommy and Daddy were fighting over every night. Wala sa sarili ang ate ko, palaging tulala, at umiiyak pero hindi nagsasalita, so I look out for her.
I tried to make her smile and laugh again. Hindi matanggap ng magulang namin ang nangyari sa kaniya, kaya gabi-gabi silang nagtatalo na isang nakaapekto sa aming bunso na pinagbubuntis ni mommy.
