Guontiveros: Vivid

Chapter 9

It had been six months since Alice last dreamed of Theresia, and during that time, she had become more distant from the Gatchalian family. Her dreams had made her uneasy, and she found it hard to look at her Uncle William the same way. In those dreams, she saw a tattoo that made her suspect he might be involved in something terrible. This thought haunted her and created a gap between her and the family she used to care about.

The idea that she might be related to a criminal was too much for Alice to handle. Her father's past already troubled her, and having another family member involved in wrongdoing felt overwhelming. It was as if a dark cloud hung over her, ready to unleash chaos.

Amid all this, Alice focused on Alicia, the mysterious person from her dreams. She spent hours researching to learn more about her. She was surprised to find out that Alicia was her aunt, her father's younger sister. Alicia was the youngest member of the famous Gatchalian-Guo family and had died at fifteen—the same day Alice was born. Officially, Alicia's cause of death was a brain aneurysm, but Alice felt there was more to the story. The Gatchalian-Guo family was well-known, and a scandal would cause a stir, leading Alice to believe that the true cause of Alicia's death was covered up.

As Alice looked for more information, she also searched for details about Theresia, who was still missing according to her Auntie. Her dreams were so vivid and real that she often wondered if they were true, which made her hesitate to act against her uncle. Alice knew she needed solid proof and a well-thought-out plan before doing anything. She wanted to be careful because a mistake could have serious consequences.

Meanwhile, Alice struggled with her doubts and fears, trying to make sense of the disturbing things she was learning about her family. She wanted to know the truth but knew that finding it would be difficult and risky. Despite the challenges, Alice was determined to uncover the secrets of the past and seek justice for those who had been wronged.

•••

August 31, 2024

Alice was thirty-two years old. Her father had died just last week, and for the first time, she felt free—though the dark secrets about her family still haunted her. Seventeen years had passed, but she couldn’t forget Theresia or Auntie Alicia. Since the last dream where she saw Uncle William killing her aunt, she hadn’t dreamt of Theresia. Yet, Alice still believed Theresia was alive somewhere.

She kept in touch with the Gatchalian family, especially her uncle, even though their relationship had grown distant. Her uncle noticed but didn’t push her to talk about it. Since that last dream, they hadn’t had a real conversation. Alice only spoke to her cousins and aunt because she believed they were innocent and didn’t know anything about her uncle’s past. She wasn’t sure if her dreams were real or if her uncle was truly a murderer, so she didn’t plan any revenge. All she could think about was finding out if Theresia was still alive, and she was determined to find her.

After her father’s death, Alice moved out of her uncle’s house and into her apartment in Manila. She had just moved in yesterday, and while some of her things were still in boxes, she had already organized the rest.

Sitting on the sofa, Alice admired her new apartment. It felt unreal—she was finally independent and could do what she wanted.

She opened her laptop and started looking for universities. Alice had been homeschooled up until high school, but her father had refused to let her go to college. He thought that if Alice went to college, she would rebel against him. He wanted to keep her uneducated and easy to control. Even when her Uncle William tried to get her into a university, her father paid off the schools to keep her out. He even hid her homeschool records, which Alice didn’t find until after his death while cleaning out his house. After finding the documents, she sold the house and decided to start her life on her own.

Even though she was in her thirties, Alice still wanted to go to college and get a degree in education. She had always dreamed of becoming a teacher, partly because of her difficult upbringing. She wanted to help and teach kids because she never had that kind of support growing up.

After applying to a few universities, Alice submitted her documents. Now, she just had to wait and hope to get accepted into one of the schools.