retell. teller.

(Warning: Sensitive content ahead, mentions of child m*lestation and m*rder are present.)

*Ring!* *Ring!*

“Oy, Lorna! Your phone has been ringing for quite some time now. Do you have any plan in picking it up? You’re disturbing us, oh!” Gloria said. She’s one of my coworkers here in the factory. She’s usually nice but I guess not today. I was too focused on doing my job that I didn’t notice my phone was ringing.

“Sorry,” I apologized to all of my coworkers in the room. I saw that it was my eldest daughter, Inday, who’s calling. She’s been calling me lately but I have been too busy to even continue after our kamustahan.

“Oh, ’nak! What is it?” I asked her while connecting the earphones to my phone.

“Ma... can you come home?” she said incoherently.

“Why, ’nak? Did something happen to your sister?” I started to panic. Duday, her younger sister has a weak heart, so I often become hysterical when we talked about her because I always think of the worst.

“No, ’ma! Pap—“ there is silence for a while.

“Anak?”

“Oy, honey! How are you doing there? Is everything alright?” Jose, my husband, asked.

“Hon, where is Inday? Why did she call me? She was saying something,” I looked for my daughter.

“Nah, don’t worry about her. I asked her to buy me some candies. You know your daughter, she keeps on asking me to buy her a new dress. But I told her no,” he said nonchalantly.

“Ah, is that it? Maybe her dresses don’t fit her anymore. Okay hon, tell her we will buy after I went home,” I told him. I just realized that my daughter is turning 15 this month, I should buy her a new set of dresses.

Just as I went home, I saw Jose outside of our house drinking with his friends. One of them saw me.

“Oy, Mareng Lorna! Long time no see ah! Do you some pasalubong?” He said in an incomprehensible manner as he seems drunk already.

“Oo, but not for you, no! These are for my daughters,” I laughingly said. After a little chitchat, I went inside and was welcome with great silence.

“Inday? Duday?” I called for them. No answers. I looked for them in our shared bedroom and there I saw Duday sleeping. I kissed her forehead. I missed my baby.

Then, I proceed to look for her to give her my gift. There was no trace of her until I heard a cry from the restroom. I went straight there.

“Anak, Inday? Are you there? Can Mama come inside?” I said calmly but my heart is pounding so fast. The door lock clicked as it opened. I was devastated by what I saw.

My daughter was wet all over her body but she was still in her pajamas...and she was crying. I don’t know what to do, so I hug her.

“Papa...papa...” she can’t seem to form a sentence and keeps on calling his father.

“Yes, anak. We will call Papa,” I said thinking that she was looking for her father. But she stopped me and covered my mouth.

“No,” she said anxiously.

“No, ’ma! Get me out of her, please,” and she cried again silently. My heart was breaking apart seeing her, so devastated, but I felt like cold water spilled through me. I hugged her tightly.

Realizations hit me - hard. Chills travel through my body and tears started to pour down continuously...

I didn’t know...I didn’t know.

“I’m sorry, anak! I’m so sorry! I didn’t know,” I weakly said and we poured our hearts out.

“Oh, what’s happening there?” The drunk molester Jose curiously asked about what was going on. I looked at him with my bloodshot eyes, when I saw in my peripheral vision his plier tool in the corner. I grabbed it and banged his head with it.

“Ma...” my poor daughter mumbled. We watched Jose’s blood spread over the floor and our neighbors’ drastic call. I looked at Inday and then hug her again.

“You are safe now, sweetheart.”