Descending Stars (Fallen Heroes Series #1)

Kabanata 15

Kabanata 15 | Don't take me home

Wala sa sarili akong lumabas ng parking lot. Kagaya ng walang tigil na paglandas ng aking luha, hinayaan kong dalhin ako sa kung saan ng sariling mga paa.

No matter how pretty the scenery is, I just can't bear to be happy or even smile.

When I was young, after my father got admitted to a mental hospital, leaving a young me and my mom, the chairman never left us alone.

Whenever I tried to rebel or throw tantrums because I wanted to see my dad, the chairman would come to our house to hurt mom.

He would slap her. Kick her. Throw things at her. Curse at her. And he made sure that I can clearly watch him do those violence.

Naalala ko pa noong lumiban ako sa eskuwelahan sa araw mismo ng exam. As soon as I got home, the chairman was already in the house and my mom was crying on the floor.

And even if I cry hard and beg, he never stops.

"You see this, Amaya? You did this to your mother! Who told you to skip your class and not take the exam, huh!?" he yelled at me while kicking my crying mom.

Kahit na matanda ay may lakas pa rin siya para saktan kami. And it's not as if we can fight back the chairman. Nasa gilid lang ang mga bodyguards niya, nanonood.

Umiiyak man, nang makita kong kinuha niya ang baton, agad akong tumakbo at niyakap si mommy para iharang ang sarili.

"Lolo, stop it, please!" I cried.

"Why... w-why did y-you do it?" iyak ni mommy sa tainga ko.

Umiyak ako. "I-I'm sorry, mommy. I'm sorry p-po..."

Mas lalo akong umiyak nang buhatin ako ni lolo at nilayo kay mommy. Pinilit kong magpumiglas pero hinawakan ako ng mga bodyguards niya.

The chairman never hurt me. He would always take it all out on mommy. She... would suffer instead of me.

"You just watch, Amaya. See this!?" he grabbed mommy by her hair while she cried hard.

"These are the consequences you have to face once you defy me!"

Umiiling lamang ako habang umiiyak.

Mommy...

And for hours, I watched him maltreat my mom. And for hours, I heard my mom's pleas and cries. And for hours, the only thing I could do is to cry for my mom.

After that incident, mommy never treated me the same. She would lock me up inside the library, not caring what might happen to me.

But if that's how I can repay all the scars and pain the chairman caused solely because of me, I can bear it all.

At kahit na iyon ang una at huling beses na nakita kong nangyari ang ganoon, every punch, every kick, every cry, and every plea, I remember it all vividly.

It was like a traumatic memory of mine.

Sinapo ko ang mga mata nang maramdaman ang hapdi dahil sa kaiiyak ko. As if the heavens sympathized with me, the clouds started to cry as well.

I chuckled.

I don't even know where I am now.

I felt like I'd been walking for hours. The fog got thicker than it was earlier and it's already dark.

How pretty. The city's still bright even at night.

Tiningala ko ang alapaap.

Would things be different... if father didn't end up the way he is now?