Isabela
Tears
"Bakit ka ba natatakot na ma assign sa Marci Alli, anak? Magvo-volunteer ka lang naman doon!" Mom was scolding me right now while we were in my room.
"Eh kasi..." I let out a huge sigh.
"Eh kasi baka makita mo si Art? Eh diba nga umuwi tayo ng Pilipinas para makita sya? Para i-explain sa kanya ang lahat?"
I jumped in bed right now as I couldn't decipher what I totally felt. Years passed after my awful past, and the atrocities I experienced, I was back again in the Philippines. I heard Art was still single, I also heard that he got married.
"Mommy, I'm so scared." I replied with so much sadness in my tone.
When Ate Julie and Kianna brought me to the U.S to see my family, I studied medicine there. Now, I was currently doing my residency after passing the Physician licensure exam there. I still had to transfer my credentials here. Basta madami pa akong aasikasuhin.
Dad passed away because of colon cancer the year after I reunited with them in the U.S. Supposedly I'll move back in the Philippines right away, but I heard the news that the love of my life got married already. Pero ngayong mabalitaan kong single sya, I needed to find him.
I still love him. Years passed, and I still wanted him.
The day came I was back in Marci Alli. A lot has changed after everything happened. I was humbled down too much by life, but what matters was I was free. The trauma was still there, but I gave myself time to move on.
Arriving at Marci Alli, I just rented a dorm together with my assistant nurse and Doc Stella, the first friend I had in the medical field sa Manila.
Marci Alli brought back all the memories I had with Hervin, and our young love that was still making me feel alive. The town also changed, there were newly built infrastructures already.
Namalengke kami ngayon ni Nurse Aivee. Nakasout lang ako ng t-shirt at jogging pants, nag tsinelas lang din at nakatali ang buhok. I was fucking nervous before we got out from the tricycle. I looked at the tarpaulin of the illustration of the market's building, my eyes stopped on what I read.
Head Engineer:
Engr. Art Hervin N. Tedesco
My tears started pooling as I looked at it. Ang taas na ng naabot nya. He was the head engineer sa pag gawa ng building ng market. I was... I was beyond proud. I felt bad that I wasn't present anymore the time he achieved his dreams, I had such an awful fate before.
"Hoy, Doktora! Okay ka lang?" Nurse Aivee nudged me when she noticed my tears were falling. I abruptly wiped my tears away while letting out a small laugh.
"Nothing, I'm just, I'm just proud of him!" I couldn't stop but to say that.
"Proud kanino?" She asked while started laughing.
"I used to be engaged with the Head Engineer of this market." I spoke up while my voice started cracking.
Nanlake mga mata nya ngayon at napatakip sa bibig. "Gago seryuso, doc?! Yang si Engr. Art Hervin Tedesco?" She looked at the tarpaulin hung.
I simply nodded. "Tara na nga!"
"Hala wait lang, doc! Kwento nyo naman sa akin oh. Parang ang interesting naman." She stopped me from walking, but I didn't listen. I just got inside the new public market.
"Doc, naman! Mamaya chika nyo sakin! Gwapo ba, doc? Jusko kung gwapo baka himatayin ako!" She laughingly said.
Sira! We just bought fruits, vegetables, and meat for our week. People in the market kept staring at me. Ang mga titig nila'y parang nagulat sila na nakabalik ako after years away. After we bought our one week's worth of groceries, we went back to our dorm.
