Pinagsoltada

74

WHEN Allyssa arrived at the barnhouse, it was locked. Dismayadong naglakad ang babae pabalik sa bakod kung saan nakatali ang hiniram nitong kabayo.

She straddled the horse and let it walk slow this time. This will give her the time to think or, to be specific, more time to look back into the past. . . .

***

ALLYSSA could feel the tension in the mansion. It was already January 2005, when a letter shook the family—it was a letter from the municipal court of Mandaon. Ipinapatawag si Don Timoteo sa unang hearing para sa kaso na isinampa laban dito ni Don Fernando mula sa pamilya ng mga Silvestre.

The don wanted the patriarch of the Dela Fuente clan to pay for his wife's death. Medyo late na ito naningil, but Allyssa figured that maybe the don went through his grieving phase before he managed to pull himself together and file a case.

It was a relief that Don Fernando spared Ernesto, who happened to be with Don Timoteo when he fired a gun that made Doña Carmen's horse panic which caused her death.

Naturally, she was restless. It had been two weeks since they received the notice from the regional court. Since that day, Ernesto had been busy assisting Don Timoteo with his meetings with different lawyers in the mansion's office room.

Noong gabing iyon, nagkataon na paglabas ni Allyssa mula sa kuwarto ay natanaw nitong naglalakad sa pasilyo ang abogado. That made her conclude that the meeting was already over. She thought she should visit Ernesto and Don Timoteo in the office room.

Pero pagkatok at pagbukas ng babae sa pinto, si Don Timoteo na lamang ang bumungad dito.

He wasn't in a very good mood, so instead of asking him where Ernesto was, she just apologized for disturbing him and bowed her head before leaving.

Sa ganitong oras, naisip ni Allyssa na baka nasa roof deck ang lalaki at nagpapahangin. He usually does that when he wanted to loosen up a bit. She knew that Ernesto would really need some fresh air, especially when the situation inside the house could be suffocating.

She reached the roof deck and smiled upon seeing Ernesto. Nakatalikod mula ito sa direksiyon ng babae at nakatukod ang mga kamay sa balkonahe.

Nakatayo sa tabi nito ang kapatid na si Feliciano. They were talking way too audibly, she could hear their argument.

"I am not cheating on her! Puwede ba?" iritableng saad ni Ernesto.

She felt her chest tighten. The word 'cheating' itself, already brought all her fears to life. It wasn't just the chilly breeze that toyed her hair, but also the feeling of hearing those words that made her freeze.

"Then, why do you keep on calling that woman?"

"I wasn't calling her," Ernesto muttered in a lower tone.

"I saw it. Number niya ang nasa screen mo!"

"What did I tell you again about sneaking up behind me? Ano tayo? Mga bata pa na nagbubula-bulagaan? 'Hulaan mo kung sino 'to?'"

"Stop with the dad jokes."

"I'm not even joking, Feliciano!" harap ni Ernesto rito.

"Why are you getting so worked up with that Joan? Bakit kinokontak mo pa rin siya? This will hurt Allyssa!"

"Hindi ko nga siya kinokontak sabi! Iniisa-isa ko lang ang numbers sa cell phone ko!"

Allyssa didn't know when she started walking. Nasa kalagitnaan na ito ng paglalakad nang mapansin na palapit na ito sa magkapatid.