Family Untied
Miguel is not what he used to be. During his earlier years of existence he had always viewed the world as a wonderful place to live.
For innocence can be a shield for the realities of life.
He had this smile, so affectionate and pure, it brightened even the gloomiest of environs. Now he uses his smile to make men fall under his spell: a death trap in disguise. Oh, how he had perfected the skill of smile, sex and sleep like nothing happened.
He had a laugh, more of an adorable giggle deemed to mimic that of a child, innocent and bubbly. His laugh now had that twist of sarcasm and pessimism.
He had this ability to interact with people, his used-to-be best asset. His rapport skills were bar none, his level of interaction was outstanding and his friendliness made even the extrovert, an introvert. But his interaction dropped significantly; he became snobbish, aloof, too proud. He sees to it that he talks to people worthy of occupying his time.
Good Boy. That was what they used to call him inside and outside their home because frankly, he really was just like that, but, when things started to get ugly in their family, when things started to get out of hand, his personality changed. It was not a sudden change but the shift was drastic.
Never was that word uttered again in their household for more than a decade now.
"Resigning from work." That was what he heard one night years back when he was eavesdropping outside his parents room. Some children are like that, Miguel was a curious child. He had a knack for gossips and arguments and anything in between. He heard it quite clear. It was Enrico, his Dad talking.
He was taken aback. With the situation they are in, his Dad wants to resign from work? But why? Was he offered a higher position at another company? Was he trying to put up a business of his own? These speculating questions circled his thoughts that very minute.
"When will your resignation take place?" Sophie asked her husband with a hint of irritability. She scoffed and did not bother waiting for an answer, she proceeded watching a romantic-comedy movie even if she already saw it for the nth time.
Miguel, ears still pressed on his parents door was so curious of what their conversation will bring about for the welfare of their family's future but it was already too late and too noisy because the volume had been turned up a notch.
And that was the last time his father had a stable career. From there all went downhill - from funds to marital relationship to father-children time. He did try again, once, to be a company driver but Enrico did not stay long for pride swallowed him early.
"You whore, puta, slut!" Miguel heard them like bullet on a desert. The emphasis, he knew they were arguing again about his Dad not finding a job and his Mom having a hard time tightening their belts and making the impossible ends meet but not just that.
He does not remember the exact details though just some of it. It was the time when his mother had been working at a bakeshop in Alabang, a high-end one where clients were mostly around the Alabang Village. She had a good position there, he recalls. A good paying position with a good set of employees and a good Chinese boss who had an affair with his secretary, Marivic. One day Sophie went out of town for a few days with her officemates, she did not ask permission nor inform Enrico and her kids about the trip, lo and behold, a few days later she came back bringing with her otaps, dried mangoes and dried fishes.
That was totally unexpected but being kids who have their yaya to take care of them from morning till night time, it was no problem with Miguel and his older sister Alexa. But their Dad, he, he was infuriated! He cursed every word known on the history of mankind, making unnecessary rude remarks and talking vulgarly for the family members to hear. His anger is palpable from every word he uttered from his mouth couple that with a clenching of his fist and waving it to his wife's face as if threatening her.
"And to Cebu we went to have a company outing." She was explaining the time she left the house to her departure from the airport to what she did in Cebu, in chronological order. Every minute detail she did, she narrated. But Enrico is not an ordinary man, he had been, when they were still going out as a couple, very jealous sometimes up to the point of being suspicious. It comes as no surprise that he was thinking all of the time how Sophie would sleep with men in Cebu, tasting their flesh and making their sweat her perfume.
"Pure, imaginative allegations." She replied furiously to her husband.
"And the bitch denies the facts." His words flung to her like a cannon, trying to strike her each time.
It was a word war in the making. Growing up and waking up more and more each day to what life really has been offering to them, all the siblings had to do was get up their room and plop their pillows in between their ears. Hopefully deafening words harsh enough even for teens like them would subside and clear the battle field.
A beginning of the end of their family, perhaps?
Or a start of the worse to come?
Part 2
For innocence can be a shield for the realities of life.
He had this smile, so affectionate and pure, it brightened even the gloomiest of environs. Now he uses his smile to make men fall under his spell: a death trap in disguise. Oh, how he had perfected the skill of smile, sex and sleep like nothing happened.
He had a laugh, more of an adorable giggle deemed to mimic that of a child, innocent and bubbly. His laugh now had that twist of sarcasm and pessimism.
He had this ability to interact with people, his used-to-be best asset. His rapport skills were bar none, his level of interaction was outstanding and his friendliness made even the extrovert, an introvert. But his interaction dropped significantly; he became snobbish, aloof, too proud. He sees to it that he talks to people worthy of occupying his time.
Good Boy. That was what they used to call him inside and outside their home because frankly, he really was just like that, but, when things started to get ugly in their family, when things started to get out of hand, his personality changed. It was not a sudden change but the shift was drastic.
Never was that word uttered again in their household for more than a decade now.
"Resigning from work." That was what he heard one night years back when he was eavesdropping outside his parents room. Some children are like that, Miguel was a curious child. He had a knack for gossips and arguments and anything in between. He heard it quite clear. It was Enrico, his Dad talking.
He was taken aback. With the situation they are in, his Dad wants to resign from work? But why? Was he offered a higher position at another company? Was he trying to put up a business of his own? These speculating questions circled his thoughts that very minute.
"When will your resignation take place?" Sophie asked her husband with a hint of irritability. She scoffed and did not bother waiting for an answer, she proceeded watching a romantic-comedy movie even if she already saw it for the nth time.
Miguel, ears still pressed on his parents door was so curious of what their conversation will bring about for the welfare of their family's future but it was already too late and too noisy because the volume had been turned up a notch.
And that was the last time his father had a stable career. From there all went downhill - from funds to marital relationship to father-children time. He did try again, once, to be a company driver but Enrico did not stay long for pride swallowed him early.
"You whore, puta, slut!" Miguel heard them like bullet on a desert. The emphasis, he knew they were arguing again about his Dad not finding a job and his Mom having a hard time tightening their belts and making the impossible ends meet but not just that.
He does not remember the exact details though just some of it. It was the time when his mother had been working at a bakeshop in Alabang, a high-end one where clients were mostly around the Alabang Village. She had a good position there, he recalls. A good paying position with a good set of employees and a good Chinese boss who had an affair with his secretary, Marivic. One day Sophie went out of town for a few days with her officemates, she did not ask permission nor inform Enrico and her kids about the trip, lo and behold, a few days later she came back bringing with her otaps, dried mangoes and dried fishes.
That was totally unexpected but being kids who have their yaya to take care of them from morning till night time, it was no problem with Miguel and his older sister Alexa. But their Dad, he, he was infuriated! He cursed every word known on the history of mankind, making unnecessary rude remarks and talking vulgarly for the family members to hear. His anger is palpable from every word he uttered from his mouth couple that with a clenching of his fist and waving it to his wife's face as if threatening her.
"And to Cebu we went to have a company outing." She was explaining the time she left the house to her departure from the airport to what she did in Cebu, in chronological order. Every minute detail she did, she narrated. But Enrico is not an ordinary man, he had been, when they were still going out as a couple, very jealous sometimes up to the point of being suspicious. It comes as no surprise that he was thinking all of the time how Sophie would sleep with men in Cebu, tasting their flesh and making their sweat her perfume.
"Pure, imaginative allegations." She replied furiously to her husband.
"And the bitch denies the facts." His words flung to her like a cannon, trying to strike her each time.
It was a word war in the making. Growing up and waking up more and more each day to what life really has been offering to them, all the siblings had to do was get up their room and plop their pillows in between their ears. Hopefully deafening words harsh enough even for teens like them would subside and clear the battle field.
A beginning of the end of their family, perhaps?
Or a start of the worse to come?
Part 2
ang drama ng random thought na ito ha. I like how you narrated the story kuya. :)
ReplyDeletealways jumping up to the worst conclusion eh?
ReplyDelete.
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hmmnn they should do what am gonna do right now -wait and see if there's more to come.
oh. the unraveling?
ReplyDelete