Turn The Page

Chapter 44 (A 30K Reads Special)

April 5, 2003

"Dad, watch out!" Summer yelled as she pointed at the person they almost hit. She and her dad, Dezmond, stared at each other, both in fear and in shock. Their hearts were pounding like crazy. "That was too close," Summer uttered under her breath. "I'm so sorry, baby," Dezmond apologized. "Are you okay?" He asked while he examined his daughter. "I'm okay," Summer answered worriedly. "Are you?" She asked. "I'm okay. Stay here," Dezmond instructed. "Wait dad, where are you going??" Summer asked nervously. "I need to check if I hit someone," Dezmond replied. "Wait, I'm coming with you," Summer immediately said. "No, stay here," Dezmond quickly ordred. Then he opened the door and hurried in front of his car. Summer followed him. Dezmond's eyebrows met when he saw a young girl about Summer's age got up from the ground. "Page!" A woman yelled from their right. "April?" Dezmond said with a frown. "Kuya??" April replied. "What are you doing here??" The two of them asked at the same time. Summer looked at Page then at the two adults with worried eyes. April immediately held on to Page. "Okay ka lang??" She and Dezmond asked her at the same time. "Okay lang," Page answered. "Did I hit you?" Dezmond asked worriedly. "Yeah, Page. Did he hit you?" April asked, too. "Hindi," Page answered quietly. She bowed her head to avoid eye contact from anyone. "Page, are you sure?" April asked again. Page nodded in response. "You know her?" Dezmond asked, confused. "She's one of our kids. You almost hit her??" April asked in return. "I didn't see her! She ran in front of the incoming traffic," Dezmond reasoned. Page looked away. She hated it when people stared at her. "Are you okay?" Summer asked. She was genuinely worried about her. "Okay lang," Page answered without looking at her. "Are you sure? Are you hurt?" Summer asked again. "Okay lang ako," Page repeated. "Let me give you guys a lift. Sumabay na kayo samin. Maybe we can drop you guys off at the hospital. Don't worry, I'll pay for everything," Dezmond offered. "Gusto ko na umuwi. Ayoko ng magpa-hospital," Page immediately answered. Dezmond, April, and Summer all stared at her with worried eyes. "We can get you checked out just to make sure you're not hurt," Dezmond offered again. "Ayoko. Gusto ko na umuwi. Umuwi na tayo, ate April," Page replied. She continued to look away and didn't bother looking at them. "I brought my car, kuya. Ako na bahala dito. Nagagalit na yung mga tao, your car is blocking the way. Go. Mauna na kayo," April instructed. "Okay. But please, April, let us know if anything changes. If she needs to go to the hospital, call me," Dezmond replied. April nodded in response. "Sige na, kuya. Ako na bahala dito. Summer, go back in the car. Drive safely, kuya," April reminded him. "Okay," Dezmond answered. "I'm sorry," he said to Page, but she didn't respond.

When they got back inside the car, Summer looked at April and Page. "You think she's okay, dad?" She asked her father worriedly. "I don't know, baby. I hope so," Dezmond said with a frown. "You think she'll call the police?" Summer asked. "I don't think so," her dad answered. "Is she from the orphanage where tita A works?" Summer asked again. "From what I understood, yes. Buckle up, kid," Dezmond reminded her. "I hope she's okay," Summer said worriedly again. Then she sighed. After a few minutes on the road, Summer looked at her dad. "Dad, how come she has never found a family that would adopt her?" She asked him. Dezmond glanced over his daughter quickly. "What made you ask that, sweetheart?" He asked in return. "She looks like she's just about a year or two younger than me, yet tita A said she's one of the kids from the orphanage. Shouldn't she have found a family that would adopt her by now?" Summer asked again. Dezmond sighed. "I don't know, anak. Wala akong alam sa ganyan. Maybe yung mga families assigned sa kanya never worked out. I really don't know. She looks very timid, very reserved. Maybe she hasn't found a family yet that could deal with the baggage she carries," Dezmond tried his hardest to explain to his daughter. "It's really sad. My heart goes out to her. I can't imagine not having you and mom. I can't imagine having to live in an orphanage all my life," Summer said. Tears welled up in her eyes. "Sweetie, you don't ever have to imagine that. Okay? Hindi kami mawawala ng mommy mo sayo," Dezmond tried to reassure her. He used his knuckles to gently nudge her daughter's cheeks. "I know that, dad. I'm not worried about me. I'm worried about that girl. What happens if she never finds a home?" Summer asked. She stared at his dad waiting for an answer. "From what I know is that the orphanage staff like your tita April would try their best to help them find a job, but it's up to the kid to cooperate. And I think they even try to find them a place to rent, I'm not sure. But I know from what your tita April tells us, madami daw nag-eend up sa streets na mga batang ganyan if they don't find their forever homes. I mean if they don't get adopted and they outgrow the system," Dezmond explained. Summer frowned. "Why did you have to tell me that, dad?" She asked disappointingly. "Baby, you asked," Dezmond replied. "Now, I'm sad," Summer replied. "Don't be. I'm sure your tita April and the nuns at the orphanage are doing their best to not let that girl end up on the streets," Dezmond tried to convince his daughter. "I really hope so," Summer replied worriedly.