The Accused (A Series #1)

Chapter Twenty-Three

"Please, be safe."

Those were the last words of his father before she cut the call. She knew very well how worried her parents were to her. It was her father who always called her time to time and never her mother had called her even once. She totally understood her mother. She was not angry but just worried at all, at least that was what her father told her when her request was granted two weeks ago. Her mother was very vocal to her disapproval but her father was able to compell her, letting her be without further inquisition.

She did not know why bakit ang dali lang para sa ama niya na tanggapin lahat ng excuses niya. Wala siyang sinabi dito. She kept the story and the pain all by herself then. Before she left that day she asked her dad about it and all she received was a smile and a hug that made her let go of all the remaining tears she did not know still resided upon the back of her eyes.

She smiled at the view in front of her nang tumagilid siya. There were children. A lot of them that were playing on the sand. They made her miss the children sa orphanage.

On the very time, she wished she would be go back with those ages wherein pain was only felt when she would accidentally fell on the ground and earned a scratch that would drew blood on her knees. When suffering was only when she was forced to sleep at noon and tried her hardest to fake a sleep. When chasing was only when her parents have to leave for business trips and she would want to go that she would ran after the car hoping it would stop. But she knew she could not go back. She could not turn the hands of the clock. She could not undo all that she did and all that happened. And as she thought about it, she realized she was the one who made all the pain she have hoarded since the day she started loving the right man that she thought was for her.

Was she blind for not seeing that he was not for her? No. She have seen it the first time he have pushed her away that made her lock herself at a cubicle on the university restroom and cried hard for the very first time. No, she saw it but she forced herself to be blind. Yun ang nangyari. She shut off all the things na nagsasabing hindi siya kailanman mamahalin nito, na hindi nito mabibigay sa kanya ang kanayang hinihinging klase ng pagmamahal.

And now she's escaping. She's escaping kasi nahihirapan siyang tanggapin ang lahat. Hindi niya kayang harapin lahat ng mga bagay na nagsasampal sa kanya ng katotohanan. She thought she could win him. Sobrang tagal niyang naghintay at sobrang dami na ng mga naisakripisyo niya para dito and as she thought of it, siya pa din pala ang mali. Hindi humingi minsan ang lalake ng oras at mga bagay bagay na naibigay niya para mahalain niya ito, siya lang ang nagkusa. At kahit na ipinagtabuyan na siya nito, bigay pa din siya ng bigay hanggang sa pinipiga na siya dahil halos naibigay na niya lahat lahat ngunit wala man lang siyang natatanggap.

"Ate, ba't ka iyak?"

Naibalik siya sa aktwal na pangyayari nang marinig ang boses ng isang batang lalake na di niya namalayang naka-upo na sa harapan niya. Hindi niya kilala ang bata ngunit sa tansya niya ay nasa anim na taong gulang na ito. Mataba ito at nakasoot ng puting polo shirt na pinaresan ng itim na pantalon. Sobrang nakyutan siya sa bata kaya di niya napigilang mapangiti.

"Hindi naman ako umi-"

Agad siyang natigilan ng dumapo ang maliliit na daliri nito sa pisngi niya at dahan dahang pinunasan ang luha na di niya alam na namalisbis na pala kanina pa. She was very lost in her thoughts that she did not even notice na malalim na din pala ang hapon, kanina pa siyang umaga naka-upo sa parte ng dagat na iyon kung saan may malaking bato at malayo sa mga taong dumadagsa sa karagatan.

"Wag ka maglie, bad yan sabi ni Papa ko."

Di niya napigilan na mangiti ulit dito at hinayaan ito sa ginagawa. Maya maya pa ay tumayo ito at nabigla siya nang yakapin siya nito. Nawalan siya ng sasabihin mga ilang sandali pero nakarecover naman after some seconds at niyakap din ito pabalik.