Turn The Page

Prologue

June hung up the phone. Her world started spinning from the information that was dumped on her just minutes ago. Her chest tightened and her breathing became heavier and faster. Her stomach started turning, she felt like throwing up. She could hear Page roaming around the kitchen. It was Page's birthday that day, and they were supposed to have lunch together. Page even volunteered to do all the cooking. She's definitely far from the teenager June met more than a decade ago; she has finally learned to be who she really was which makes things a whole lot harder for June after just finding out the truth about her adopted daughter. June shut her eyes. She held her forehead with one hand and the table with the other. She was beginning to feel even sicker at the thought of Page in her house. She turned her back against the kitchen, praying to God that Page would not notice she's been gone for a while. June wiped the tears in her eyes and the sweat that formed in her forehead. She tried to calm her breathing. She knew she needed to face her now, but her legs won't budge.

"Ma?" Page said, peeking from the kitchen. June turned around and looked at her with a strange and unfamiliar gaze that sent chills all over Page's body. "Sino yung kausap mo?" Page asked, trying to hide her concern. June continued to stare at her. She didn't know how to talk to her. Page knew something was terribly wrong. She took the oven mitts out of her hands and went over to June who immediately looked away. Page stopped approaching her, afraid that she did something that upset her. She stood a few feet away from June to give her some space. She held her hands together and swallowed before speaking. "Ma," Page repeated, "sino yung kausap mo?" She asked again. June tightened her jaw. She tried to face Page. Her eyes were filled with so many emotions, though Page wasn't so sure what emotions they conveyed. "Your tita April," June finally answered. Page looked at her confused. "Si tita April? Okay lang ba sya? Is she okay?" Page asked. June's breathing became harder and faster. She couldn't stand the sweet and gentle tone in Page's voice. It killed her even more. "Page," June started, then she swallowed. "I need you to leave my house right now," June said, trying to sound calm and gentle but her voice was quivering. "Ma? Bakit?" Page asked, her heart started beating fast. It's been a while since she tried to swallow back all her emotions because being with June has taught her a lot about how to let her emotions out the healthy way, but now she was forced to shove her emotions inside that familiar bottle again just like she did most of her life. She doesn't know what was going on or why her adoptive mother was acting the way that she was. "Please, Page. Just leave the house," June pleaded. She sounded angry. Her hands were shaking. Her knees grew weaker by the minute. She held on to the back of the chair trying to compose herself. Page's breathing became heavier and faster. She stared at June's shaking hands then back at her sad eyes. "Ma, bakit ko kelangan umalis? What about our lunch? If you need your privacy, I'll let you have it. I'll go to my room, I'll give you plenty of time until you sort things out for yourself," Page said with a worried look in her eyes that made June look away from her. "Page, I need you to leave this house for good. Now. Please," June pleaded again. This time, her eyes welled up with tears, and she tried to hide it from Page, but Page could feel the intense emotion in her voice. "Ma, ano ba nangyayari? May nagawa ba ako? Bakit nyo ako pinapalayas na lang bigla? Pwede sabihin mo na lang kesa yung pinapaalis moko ng bahay ng hindi ko alam ang dahilan—" Page said as she tried to approach her, but June quickly backed off and yelled, "Leave! And don't you dare try to come back!" Startled, Page took a couple of steps away from her. June has never yelled at her that way no matter what she has done all the years that she has known her, and she has never asked her to leave the house either. "Ma," Page cried. She's not one to show her emotions, but with June, she couldn't help it. Tears began to flow from her eyes. June looked away again. "Grab all of your stuff, I want you out of this house, immediately!" June said again. "Ma," was all Page could say. June was crying now too, "No. From now on, that's Mrs. Torres to you." Page looked at June for a long time then she looked away when June turned her head to the side. Both of them were crying. Page bowed her head down. She felt more than heart broken. June's words stabbed her deep into the chest. She literally could not breathe. Out of everything she has dealt with in life, this has hurt her the most. "I thought you were the one," Page said quietly with so much pain in the tone of her voice, June definitely felt it. With her back turned against Page, June shut her eyes and tears streamed nonstop down her face, "I thought you were the one, too."