THE LAST REBORN LUNA

0011: THE PAST

"Maybe you had a friend who lived in this neighborhood." Dad suggested.

"Yeah, maybe." Mom said hesitantly.

Initially, we were greeted by the twins. Our father cordially shook their hands, while the two of them exchanged glances as if engaged in a secret conversation, as they often do. Subsequently, they extended their greetings to my mother and me, leading us into their residence.

"Mom is in the kitchen; she can't leave the food on the stove. Sorry about that." Joel tells us.

"It's okay." I assured him. We went right to the kitchen. I detect an insignificant scent of Marvin, but he is not there. I was instantly disappointed. But I'm sure he'll get there eventually. I simply want it to happen now. Dad and the boys are discussing basketball. While Mom and I made our way to the kitchen. When we walked in, Jolina was facing the stove. She hears us and turns around with a warm grin.

"Jolina?" My mother exclaimed in disbelief. Their eyes met, and Jolina's expression mirrored her astonishment. Jolina rushed towards my mother, dropping the saucepan she was holding on the counter, and embraced her tightly, questioning if it was truly her.

"I didn't know what happened to you." Jolina says this while putting her hands on my mom's cheeks and looking into her eyes. Dad and I are looking at the two of them in shock. Were they friends? Why so dramatic? I noticed my mom was crying. They hugged again. I don't know what to say. The twins are standing there just as confused as I am. Jolina takes my mom's hands and sits her down at the large kitchen table where we ate the other night.

"Where have you been?" Jolina asked her.

"I had to leave; I went back to Surigao." Mom tells her. Jolina looks up at me.

"Is she...?"She stops mid-sentence. My mom nods and continues crying. What is happening? Everyone was wondering, including me, what was wrong with the two of them. Then Marvin runs into the room with shock written all over his face.

"Can I ask if we can sit down and talk first?" Dad said. It's a good thing that he said that, so we can also know what was wrong between the two of them.

"Why don't we go into the living room?" offered Marvin. Mom nods, and we walk over to the nice couches. Dad and I remain at Mom's side. Marvin is on another couch with his mother and the twins. Marvin takes a seat close to his mother, Jolina. I sat next to her and wrapped my arms around her. Dad sits at her side, holding her hand. Nobody says anything. The twins take seats behind the coach to give us some breathing room.

Marvin appeared to be looking at me and then at my mother at the same moment. I'm not sure what's going on here. I wish someone would speak up. Even though I am completely perplexed, I realize that I am feeling a lot better. My headache has subsided. I'm no longer tired anymore.

Then Marvin spoke first. "Mrs. Urdanzo, it is a pleasure to meet you. I'm Marvin."

He extends his hand and shakes hers. So, she receives a handshake, but I do not? What on earth am I thinking? My mother is sobbing, and all I can think is how envious I am that she got to shake his hand. He then approaches Dad and introduces himself. They, too, tremble. Then he looks at me again and says, "Abby Jezz," with a nod. I adore how deep and sensual his voice is. It feels like he just told me a million things in just one word. I instantly got goose bumps. He laughs. I'm blushing. Mom's eyes expand as she looks at me. Well, that didn't take a long time. I remembered that I wasn't supposed to look him in the eyes.

"It seems as though we need to have a talk." Marvin tells us all.

The twins are staring at each other and communicating with their hands and eyes, as if they had twin telepathy. I'm accustomed to it by now, so I returned my gaze to Jolina. She's still looking at Mom. I sense sympathy on her face. Marvin stands up and assists his mother in getting up.

"Solidad, would you like to explain what's going on?" She asks kindly.

"No, you go ahead. I don't think I can right now." Mom tells her. And so, she begins.

"A little over 18 years ago, Solidad and I were best friends." I'm already shocked, and so is Dad, while Marvin is not.

"She was dating my husband's best friend, Robert Sandique." At that time, I had a little 6-year-old boy, Marvin."

Mom turned her eyes at Dad and squeezed his hand. Dad smiles at her and nods for her to continue.

"Solidad, Marvin, and I were together all the time. When the men were busy with work, if they were off, then we were all together. I was also pregnant with Jade and Joel. We were inseparable. Like family." She sniffles, and so does Mom.

Mom, start by her side to tell by continuing the story;

"Then one day, Jolina was there. She was looking after Marvin, so I could take a bath. Jolina was unable to move much at the moment owing to her pregnancy. Her back was aching a lot because of the pregnancy, and I knew her due date was three months away. She was startled to hear a window smash and guys enter. She was aware that we were picky about who we let in. She arrived at my bathroom door with Marvin."

"It was closed. I sent her to the basement safe room. She was aware of the code. She drove Marvin there while I dressed fast. I crept cautiously to the cupboard in front of the restroom to retrieve my smartphone. I was able to contact Robert for assistance. The men were looking for something inside the house. We had no idea what they were looking for."

The story then shifted to Jolina, who said,

"I opened the door of the basement after I secured that Solidad was the one who was knocking from the outside. Unexpectedly, one of them has seen us already. One of the men grabbed Solidad from behind, and she tried to go after him.

"Jolina, close the door! Solidad yelled over the words they were saying. She appeared determined to make sure I was secure with Marvin. My tears flowed down my cheeks as I shut the door. I had Marvin, who was holding my hands in his and kneading my back with the other."

Then the story turns to Mom:

"The other man pulled me away. I punched, kicked, and scratched with everything I had. That's when Robert showed up. He urged me to search for an opportunity to enter the secure chamber while he fought two enormous men himself. As they tried to throw me into a van, I ended up outdoors. From the outside, I didn't see Robert, who kept fighting, but I heard his voice. I couldn't expect anything to happen at that time. My memories get a little sketchy at that point. They did find some kind of drug in my system that one of the men injected into my arm. My vision gets darkened, and I fall asleep unconsciously."

Then Jolina told her side of the story:

"I think it was about five minutes before my husband arrived. Robert was still fighting the other man, and my husband went to the basement and fought with the one who was trying to break the lock on the door. He tried to open it, but the lock was too tight on its holdings. From the inside, I saw Robert and the other man bleeding out on the ground."

"Jolina! Move away from that door and hide."

"My husband shouts it as he prostrates on the floor because the men have a chance to hit him. Somehow, I managed to take Marvin to the safest room inside the basement. Due to being so stressed by the sudden event, blood came out. It drips on the floor with every step I force myself to take. When Marvin and I got inside, those bad men still tracked us down. Two of them were screaming for us to open it. They couldn't get in. We stayed there for an hour. But before that, I heard two gunshots. Before the men break the door where Marvin and I are hiding. I heard murmurs from outside and scratches on the floor made by an animal. It entered the house, so the evildoers ran, but some of them were killed by it. We kept waiting inside for almost two hours, just hoping my husband would come and let us out. But he never did. When we came out, we found his body along with Robert's. My husband had knife and bullet wounds on his body, while Robert had knife wounds all over his body."

Mom and Jolina were both crying. Mom was shaking. I didn't know what to say. What a horrible thing to have happened to them and Marvin! I was still holding Mom's hand. She squeezed it and looked at me.

"You should thank those animals for saving you from harm," I said, as I was about to cry hearing the story. I was emotional, but when I said it, everyone looked at me.

"What?" I asked in confusion.

"Robert was the name of the gentleman who also happened to be your father,"