Siobhán’s Wrath

Glimpse of the reality

For my first week in Manila, I spent my time looking around, para makahanap ng swak na agency para sa akin. And I found one, this is my number one on my list because bagong established. Wala pa silang artist na nag-boom, literal na bago pa lang. A devilish smile escaped from my mouth.

“This is perfect,”

“Whatever, Shiyo. I have an upcoming exams, just suit yourself.” Pagod na wika ni Paige. 2nd year college na siya, taking Political Science. Hindi na niya ako pinapakialaman dahil busy siya sa pag-aaral niya. Which is good, I’m tired of arguing with her.

I sent my profile to TalentFuse. I hired a professional photographer/videographer and makeup artist the other day. Siguro naman hindi papalya ito.

I decided to go back to Batangas while waiting for TalentFuse's reply.

But I think I shouldn’t have come home. Nadatnan kong nagwawala si mama.

“Auntie, anong nangyayari?”

“Hindi ko rin alam, hija. Nagwala na lang bigla ang mama mo,” napasapo ako sa noo ko.

Sinubukan kong pigilan si mama, pero sadyang iba ang lakas niya. Mayamaya ay mayroong ambulance na dumating.

“Auntie, ano ‘to?” Nalilito kong tanong.

“Kailangan na natin siyang i-admit Shiyo. Simula nang inilibing ang ate mo ay wala na siya sa sarili niya.”

“W-why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Wala akong magawa kundi ang titigan ang ina ko na ngayon ay pinag tutulungang ipasok sa ambulansya.

“Alam kong abala ka sa pag-aaral mo, Shiyo. Kaya ko na ‘to,”

Right, ang alam niya ay nag-aaral ako sa ibang bansa at magta-transfer na rito sa Pinas.

Pagkatapos ng kumusyon ay minabuti kong kausapin si auntie. Siya na lang ang natitira kong pamilya.

“Auntie…mag-aartista po ako. Gusto kong sundan ang yapak ni ate.” Para hindi na siya magulat kapag nakita niya ako sa TV.

“A-ano? Namatay ang ate mo dahil sa lintik na pag-aartista na ‘yan, Shiyo. Tapos susunod ka pa?” Malalim ang buntong hininga niya. “Mag-aral ka nalang Shiyo.”

“Hindi ko naman po ititigil ang pag-aaral ko. Kaya ko po auntie,”

“Ganyan din ang sinabi ng ate mo, look where she is now?” Umiling pa si auntie.

Tumunog ang cellphone ko, hudyat na may tumawag but it was an unknown number. I excused myself to my auntie.

“Hello?”

“Good afternoon, may I speak with Siobhán Fabroa please?” Sagot mula sa kabilang linya.

“Yes, speaking,” pumasok ako sa guest room na ngayon ay ginagawa ko nang kwarto.

“Hi! My name is Mick. One of the talent managers of TalentFuse, we received your portfolio and I was wondering if we could set a meeting with you tomorrow?”

Wow, that was fast!

“Sure, just send me the time and location please.” Sagot ko. Ang akala ko ay aabutin pa ng ilang araw bago nila ako mabalikan.

“I will, see you miss ma’am!”

I couldn’t be happier. Finally! Umusad din ako.

“Auntie, kailangan ko nang bumalik. Balitaan mo na lang po ako tungkol kay mama.” Pagpapaalam ko. Nadatnan ko si auntie sa sala.

“Ha, eh kakarating mo lang halos?”

“Trabaho po,”

“You are one of the beneficiaries ng ate mo. Alam ko na sapat na ang mga naiwan niya hanggang sa makapag tapos ka. At oo nga pala, kakausapin ka raw ng attorney ni Azzura. Kailan ka ba pwede?”

“Babalitaan na lang po kita auntie. Aasikasuhin ko rin po si mama pagbalik ko. Alam ko pong busy rin po kayo,” may sariling pamilya rin kasi siya. May dalawang anak din. 10 years ang agwat ni auntie kay mama kaya mga nasa mid 30’s pa lang si auntie Louria kaya maliit pa ang anak niya. Twenty-one si mama nang mabuntis siya kay ate, si auntie naman ay twenty-nine na nang mapagdesisyunan niyang mag-asawa.

“Mag-iingat ka, Shiyo.”

“Paki-text po pala ang number ni attorney sa akin auntie. Imi-message ko na lang po siya.”

Kotse ni mama ang gamit ko. I believe hindi niya ito gaanong nilalabas kaya hindi naman siguro kilala ng publiko ang sasakyan na ito. I can’t use my sister’s car.

I was so tired when I get into Paige’s condo. Inihanda ko ang susuotin ko para bukas. Wala si Paige, siguro ay nag gu-group study kasama ang mga kaklase niya. Micky texted me the location and time. Sa labas niya ako imi-meet actually, sa may Trinoma. Alas diyes ng umaga kaya tinawagan ko na rin ang lawyer ni ate, I’ll meet her by the afternoon. I don’t know where the meeting place is yet.

I chose to dress just around my age, baggy jeans, plain white crop top shirt, and white air force Nike shoes. I also did a no makeup make up look, para natural lang ang datingan and besides sa pag-aakting ay possible na bare-face.

Sa Starbucks kami magkikita. Inagahan ko dahil mas ok na ako ang maghihintay kaysa si Mickey.

“Omg, gurl. Over here!” Nagulat ako dahil mas maaga pala siya. Pero ang galing niya ah, at one glance ay namukhaan niya kaagad ako. I am so bad at recognizing faces, kaya kailangan ko pang isaulo ang mukha ng isang tao bago ko matandaan talaga.

“Good morning po,” bati ko sa kanya.

“Ay, ang ganda-ganda mong bata!” He’s gay, kaya siguro ganyan siya ka-energetic.

Napakamot na lang ako sa ulo ko dahil sa kumento niya.

“What do you want? Umorder ka na,” ngiting-ngiti siya sa akin. Strawberry frappe lang ang inorder ko.

“So, are you still studying?”

“Yes po. Home school,” marahan kong sagot. Inu-obserbahan ang bawat reaksyon niya.

“If ever, suportado naman ba ang mga magulang mo sa pag-aartista mo?”

“I don’t have any parents, well… I had,” diretso kong sabi. I don’t really feel like I have a parent right now kaya ko sinagot ‘yon.

“Oh…sorry,”

“You don’t have to,” I smiled at him.

“Kaya ka ba nag-homeschool na dahil mag-aartista ka?” He took a sip of his coffee.

“I’ve been doing homeschooling since Junior High School,”

“Oh, I see. To be honest I feel like you are too perfect for a first timer. Are you sure you’ve never auditioned before? In your portfolio you look like a professional model, you know your best angle too, and the way mo paglaruan ang camera ay parang sanay ka na.”

Napatikhim ako. Hindi ko kasi inilagay as background ang naging training ko sa Korea. I breached a contract there- hindi ko na dapat pa silang idamay rito.

“Nope, even if you’ll check in the entire Philippines po,” technically hindi naman ako nagsisinungaling dahil totoo naman na hindi pa ako nakakapag audition talaga rito sa Pinas. “And I don’t really know acting at all. Pero may workshop naman na pinu-provide ang company niyo po I believe?”

“Yes, sagot na ng company ang acting workshop mo.” Parang kumbinsido naman siya pero parang sinusuri niya pa rin ang buong pagkatao ko.

“I’m glad I saw your application first. I want you in my team. As long as desidido ka, gagawin kitang pinakasikat sa buong Pilipinas. Sayang at ngayon lang kita natagpuan, kung noon ay nakasalubong na kita- ay by now, siguro sikat ka na.” Confident niyang sabi.

“How should I address you po pala?” I asked.

“Mem would be fine!” He looks like he is in his late 30’s.

“Okay, mem. The way you talk, it seems like you’ve been in the industry for so long?” Pag-usisa ko.

“Yep,”

“But the TalentFuse is just a new agency,” I said, as a matter of fact.

“I was with ArtiSoul Agency for so long,” now he got my interest. Because ArtiSoul was where my sister and Heather came from. Even the alleged ka-affair ni ate at ‘yong GF non ay taga ArtiSoul. The popular yet problematic agency I could ever rate.

“Really…may I know why you left?” Late ko na napagtanto na masyadong personal ang tanong ko.

“You don’t have to answer it, sorry.” Agap ko. Masyado akong aggressive.

“Nah, it’s ok. You will soon enter showbiz so just take this as a basic knowledge.” He chuckled.

“Well, ArtiSoul used to be the home of the best actress in the whole Philippines. But as time passes by, naging toxic ang management, for me ha. Mas lamang na ang may mga koneksyon kaysa sa mga talentado talaga. And I lost it when Azzura died, I’m sure you know Azzura?”

Tumango lang ako.

“Yep, her. Hindi ko siya naging hawak kailan man but I set my eyes on her. She was one of the best actress in her generation. As you know, child star ang batang ‘yon. I think she was eight when she started acting. Magandang bata rin, but her name was tainted later on habang nagdadalaga siya. Maraming insecure na artista sa kanya, she was once my definition of perfection kahit kulang siya sa height. The media was just so cruel to her, the elite kids na kakapasok lang sa showbiz ay pinag-iinitan siya. I wasn’t surprised though, I mean- hello? She’s Azzura! To make the long story short, I felt like the management didn’t do enough to save Azzura and para sa akin ay naging biased ang management kaya umalis ako. Recently lang, tapos nakita kong starting pa lang si TalentFuse so I joined them!”

Ha, so the management really sucks.

“That’s sad. Azzura must’ve suffered a lot,” tanging kumento ko.

“She did. Kawawa ang mommy niya, Azzura was like her life. Her only baby.” Nanlamig ako sa narinig ko.

“H-her only b-baby?”

“Yep, she’s an only child.”

No, she’s not! I’m her sister!

“Really… I thought I heard somewhere that she has a sister.” I was just trying my luck.

“Azzura says she has a sister pero nakausap ko noon ang mommy niya. Only child lang daw, nagkaroon siya ng kapatid dati pero namatay raw. So, technically ay only child siya.”

Kinuyom ko ang kamao ko sa ilalim ng la mesa. So I was as good as dead, huh?

Parang may bumabara sa lalamunan ko. I looked away as I took a sip of my frappe. From the very beginning, I knew that my mother isn’t fond of me. She doted my sister so much, aaminin ko na naiinggit ako sa ate ko noon but she always made sure that I was fine. My mother doted my sister but my sister doted me the most. Kaya nga sinuportahan niya ako noong nag Korea ako. Lahat ng ginastos ko noon ay siya ang sumagot because my mother wouldn’t spend a single penny for my dream. Not only that, bumabyahe rin siya papunta ng Korea just so she could visit me regularly. And I couldn’t hate her for that. I love her, I have always loved her.

“Alright. I’ll see you in the office tomorrow for the contract signing?” Inilahad ni Micky ang kamay niya.

Tinaggap ko naman ‘yon, “yes, mem.”

Hindi pa tapos ang araw ko ay parang pagod na pagod na ako dahil sa mga nalaman ko kay Mickey. Alam kong katiting pa lang iyon na detalye, so I really have to get myself ready.

Pinapunta ako ni attorney sa opisina niya sa Quezon City kaya kaagad na akong tumulak paroon.

“Ms. Siobhán, attorney Fernandez,” pagpapakilala ni attorney I shook her hand.

Pinaupo niya ako sa tapat ng table niya. May kinuha siyang kung ano sa isa mga drawers niya.

“This is her last will and testament,” atty. Fernadez paused.

“To sum this up, she actually left everything to you.”

“P-po?” I was shocked.

“Her condo in BGC, Makati, and Pasig. She has two condos in Makati and BGC, three in Pasig na pinapa-airbnb niya. Her cars, the property that she bought in Batangas, not that far from your main house, her bulaluhan business in Tagaytay, one house in Baguio City, and basically all the money left in her bank accounts are for you.” Literal akong napatulala.

“W-wala po siyang iniwan para kay mommy attorney?”

Umiling si attorney, “There are none,”

Nanghihina akong nakarating sa condo ni Paige. I can’t believe this! W-why did she leave everything to me?