I Smile

Tia Margaret
Flynn Archer

He saw me crying again outside our house. It was dark, but I know it's him.

I know, because he's my bestfriend.

"Palagi nalang ba kitang makikitang umiiyak sa labas ng bahay ninyo nang gabing-gabi na?" Archer asked before he sat beside me.

"At palagi ka namang dumarating kapag malungkot ako." Sabi ko habang unti-unti na akong kumakalma dahil sa pagdating niya.

"Why are you crying, Tia? Is it about your dad, again?"

"Yeah. You know it's always about him."

But I lied. It's not about my real father anymore, because I've already forgiven him for leaving me and my mom for another woman. I am crying because I realized that having a new dad is harder than my father leaving us. It is harder for me because he's doing something to me that I never experienced from my dad and that even my mom doesn't know.

Alam kong kung hindi kami iniwan ng dad ko ay hindi naman mag-aasawang muli si mama. But I can't just put the blame on him if my stepdad is not a good guy. And I also can't put the blame on mom if she doesn't know what her new husband's doing to me because he had this good side of him that he always shows in front of everybody, and that he's only bad when we're alone together. So that makes me scared of him. So damn scared!

"Okay. I understand." Archer said bago niya hinawakan ang kamay ko na tanging pwede lang niyang gawin sa akin kaya hinayaan ko na lang din siya.

Nanatili kaming nakaupo sa labas ng bahay ko habang iniisip na mapalad pa rin ako dahil meron akong bestfriend na handa akong damayan kahit na hindi niya alam ang totoong dahilan kung bakit ako umiiyak.