GABRIELLE
In the shadowy confines of my room, darkness enveloped me like a heavy shroud, amplifying the looming eerie silence. The only sounds that penetrated the stillness were the distant echoes of angry voices seeping through the walls, their words sharp like shards of glass. Shouts pierced the air, a cacophony of rage and hostility, that seemed to draw closer with every passing moment.
As the voices grew louder and more menacing, a cold chill slithered down my spine, paralyzing me with fear. My heart pounded erratically in my chest, each beat a thunderous drum of dread. Tears welled up in my eyes, the salty streams tracing paths down my cheeks like silent tributaries of despair.
In the oppressed gloom, I felt a rising sense of helplessness, like a tiny boat adrift in a storm-tossed sea. The world outside seemed to be consumed by chaos and turmoil, an unforgiving landscape where darkness and malice reigned supreme.
And there I sat, a solitary figure in a darkened room, my only companions the haunting whispers of fear and sorrow.
Sleep, Gabby!
My head screamed. I closed my eyes tightly, forcing my body to fall adrift to the call of the night. However, my senses were heightened, my body was hypersensitive, and my heart was in a dance of chaos.
Mama said she would be okay. She said she could handle him. I doubt that she could. Ever since we lost Papa, she had spiraled. She became a woman I could not recognize. Kahit pa noong dumating si Mayor Ignacio sa aming buhay, she did not change— maybe she did? A bit. That was why Ignacio did not like us. He just tolerated our presence because if he disposed of us, his decision would be questioned.
He was the respectable Mayor of our town. He would not do such a thing. Sana nga ay iwan niya nalang kami. Mas mabuti pa iyon kaysa sa manatili siya sa aming buhay.
He was a monster.
He was never the man he tried to portray to his people.
He always told me I wasn’t pretty, and I was so loud it annoyed him. I believed him. I wasn’t pretty. I wasn’t like those pretty girls I saw at the park wearing cute dresses and headbands.
Ever since Papa died, I have stopped getting new things for myself. Mama said we didn’t have enough money for me to be materialistic— I did not even know what that word meant at that time, but I just nodded and did not bother her to buy me new things.
So, when the mayor of the town became her boyfriend and he took us both to his huge mansion, I thought it would be different. I knew him. He was a good man. He helped other people. When there were typhoons, he was always there to help, to serve his people. So, I thought, my life would be easier now that we had Mayor Ignacio in our lives.
But that was just wishful thinking. All the excitement and anticipation vanished into thin air a week after I witnessed their fights. It was chaotic. So loud I had to close my eyes, cover my ears with my trembling hands, and let my memories of the past play in my head.
I thought the chaos would end with their fights outside my room— it would be easier to deal with it. I’d just stay in my room and play with my worn-out dolls. However, it did not.
Every time I talked, Mayor Ignacio would shut me up, saying I was talking too much. When I laughed, he would glare at me and tell me I wasn’t pretty enough to laugh. When Mama wasn’t in the mansion, he would lock me up in my room, and he would never bother to feed me. So, when Mama had to leave for two days for a business venture— since she was starting a business again, I stayed in my room for two days without a meal, trembling with an empty stomach.
