Switch

Chapter 34

   KYSLER WILSON

It took only a moment for me to grasp what was happening—we were under attack! But despite my urgent desire to move, I felt paralyzed and unable to react. My breath caught as time seemed to slow down.

I was momentarily deafened, but in the next second, the air was filled with deafening screams.

For all I thought it was enough for my adrenaline to kick in, but surprisingly, the screams of people and the sound of gunshots that followed didn't even faze me. I stood like a statue, rooted to my spot as I watched my mom slowly fall after shielding me from a bullet meant for me.

Time seemed to slow as I watched in horror, unable to reach my mother in time. If I hadn't heard Dad's terrified scream, I wouldn't have come back to my senses, and I might not have caught her and shielded her from the next bullets flying in my direction.

The entire area was in chaos. My family friends, colleagues, and some people known to me . . . in a split second, their lives were taken without remorse.

I wanted to move, but my fear while cradling my mother wouldn't let me. Anguish and rage consumed me as I held my mother close, feeling her life slipping away with each passing second.

Kung gaano nakakabingi ang putukan, sigurado ako na ganoon din kalakas ang tibok ng puso ko. I feel like my soul — which I didn't know I still have – was already slipping away from my body.

Tangina! I had never been this so terrified in my entire life.

Lumapit si Dad, gumagapang sa damuhan para lumapit sa amin at takasan ang mga balang patuloy na nagpapaingay sa paligid. Gone was the stoic expression he usually had. It was consumed with fear and horror as he held my mother's hand.

"M-Mari, honey, b-breathe for me, honey. Don't leave me," his once authoritative voice crack without doubt. Strength is no longer evident as he pleads for my mom's life to be spare.

My heart sank from the sight.

Never in my life had I whined about the pain from the bruises and wounds I'd endured before. It never weakened me, but this was something I hadn't been trained for. No amount of warning would have prepared me for this. Kaya kong tanggapin lahat ng sakit, huwag lang ito. Huwag ang pamilya ko. Huwag ang mga taong dahilan kung bakit ako napunta sa tanginang magulong buhay na ito.

"M-Mom, i-it's okay. We'll take you to the hospital, hmm?" I caressed her pale skin. She was holding on the tiny line of life she has on her body as she gasps for breath. Nanghihinang umangat ang kamay niya na agad kong hinawakan at dinama.

I struggled to hold back the sob, feeling the emotion begging to be released caught in the back of my throat.

Dad gently cradled her frail body in his arms, his cries echoing as he begged her to stay.

"I-it's okay. I-I'm o-okay," she uttered breathlessly. Bumaling siya kay Dad at nahihirapang ngumiti nang abutin nito ang mukha ng huli. As if knowing it would never be fine, Dad sobbed hardly. He shook his head repeatedly and buried his face in my mom's neck.

Parang madudurog ang buong pagkatao ko sa nakikitang pagdurusa ng mga taong pinangako kong poporotektahan ko.

"I'm sorry this is happening," I murmured, my voice quivering as tears hovered at the brink of my eyes. The weight of this fucking situation bore down on me, crushing my resolve and leaving me hollow. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you." The guilt gnawed at me.

"I-it's not your fault, m-my baby. Mom's o-okay, hmm?"

I never thought that this day would really come that I'll have to bid farewell to my parent. That one would die in front of me because of the life I have. The realization was a brutal slap to my reality. Na kahit gustuhin ko, hindi ko mapoprotektahan ang mga taong mahal ko dahil kamatayan lang din ang paraan para matakasan ang buhay na ito.