Wrath's Sin

VI

Chapter 6

                “VICTORIA!” Napatayo kaagad si Victoria nang marinig niya nang marinig niya ang malakas na sigaw ni KC sa gate dahil sa pangangambang magising ang kanyang baby.

                Isang buwan na ang nakalipas mula nang manganak si Victoria at hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa rin siya gaanong nakakapag-adjust sa buhay na mayroong anak. Mabuti na lamang at hindi siya pinapabayaan ni Kc, ang nag-iisang kabigan niyang nakalaman na buntis siya.

                When Victoria was pregnant, Kc offered her apartment for her to stay hidden because she didn’t want Victoria to be on the streets alone lalo na’t inabandona siya ng kanyang mga magulang nang malaman nilang buntis siya.

                “Ano ka ba, Kc ang ingay mo mamaya umiyak na naman si Adara e. Alam mong iyakin siya,” problemadong bungad ni Victoria kay Kc na papasok sa pintuan na may bitbit na dalawang supot ng pinamalengke niya.

                “Okay Okay,” aniya naman ni Kc at nang mailapag niya ang pinamalengke niya ay nakita niya ang dalawang medyas na binuburdahan ni Victoria.

                “Ang sweet naman ng mommy mo, Adara ginagawan ka pa ng medyas na may pangalan mo…” aniya nito sabay lapit sa duyan kung nasaan natutulog nang mahimbing ang baby.

                “Gusto ko lang siyang bigyan ng regalo kahit papaano,” ang sabi naman ni Victoria sabay umupo ito sa silya na nasa tabi ng duyan ni Adara.

***

                BUMALIK sa kasalukuyan si Kara nang marinig niya ang busina na ang sasakyan na huminto sa kanyang harapan. Kasalukuyan kasi siyang nasa waiting shed ng taxi bay at kanina pa yata hinihintay ng driver kung sasakay siya o hindi kaya agad naman siyang pumasok sa loob.

                “Kuya sa Celestia Homes lang po.” 

                Kara buried the memories of her life being Victoria Conrado—the aspiring actress who failed at everything because of Wrath Dela Viego. A part of the life she forgot upon deciding to live as Kara Leona is when she had a baby.

                Namuo ang mga luha ni Kara nang tumitig lang siya sa bintana habang nakapako pa rin sa kanyang isipan ang batang kasama ni Wrath kanina.

                She didn’t recognize the kid at first because she’s grown a lot. Kung tama nag tantya niya ay nasa seven years old na ito. Wrath really did keep the baby and raised her with her real name. The moment Wrath uttered her name as she stared at the kid’s side view, she felt that pinch of her heart that it was the baby she abandoned ten years ago.

                Napahikbi si Kara at hindi na napigilan ang kanyang emosyon, saktong napansin niyang nilakasan ng driver ang music kaya naman mas naluwagan siya sa pag-iyak.

                Napansin naman ni Kara na malapit na siya sa condo kaya naman nagpunas siya ng kanyang mukha at nilabas ang kanyang card sa wallet.

                Huminto ang sasakyan sa harapan mismo ng building ng Celestia kaya inabot na ni Kara ang card sa driver.

                Ilang segundo lang naman ay binalik na kaagad ng driver ang card sa kanya kaya agad siyang lumabas ng sasakyan at saktong nakita niya si April.

                “April!” tawag niya rito at gulat namang napalapit ito sa kanya.

                “Nag-grab ka ba?” nagtatakang tanong ni April kay Kara nang mapatingin sa sasakyan binabaan niya. Napakunot-noo namang umiling na lamang si Kara.

                “Parang uber ‘yon ‘di ba? Wala pa nga akong app.”          

                “Eh bakit parang private car ‘yung binabaan mo?” tanong naman ni April sabay iling si Kara. “Nag-taxi ako…” sagot naman nito pero hindi pa rin nasagot ang tanong ni April ngunit pinabayaan na lamang niya ito.

***

                WRATH is just leaning against the wall while checking on his watch as Adara is currently using the nebulizer. Pagkatapos kasi nilang umuwi kanina ay hinika na ito kaya maiging pina-nebulizer na niya agad ito.

                Wrath also found out that her Nanny collapse due to exhaustion at may sakit na pala itong tuberculosis kaya nagpaalam na ito kanina. Agad ding pumayag si Wrath dahil sa takot na baka mahawaan pa si Adara.

                Wrath has a small clinic here in his house where Adara frequently spends her time more than in her own room.

                Kamakailan lang na lumipat si Adara rito sa bahay ni Wrath nang hindi na makapag-stay in ang kanyang Nanny at mukhang dito na siya titira dahil nag-resign na ito.

                “Adara, how many times do I have to tell you that the outside world isn’t for you. You only go out when you have classes and come back home after it,” panimulang sermon naman ni Wrath sa kanya.

                “Okay, Wrath. I won’t do it again,” sagot naman nito nang inalis saglit ang face mask at binalik din ito kaagad.

                Napailing na lamang si Wrath at lumapit sa drawer. Kumuha ng medkit organizer at naglagay ng tablets doon para iinumin ito ni Adara mamaya.

                “The big one is your anti-asthma and the capsule one is your anti-histamine. You take the tablet after your nebulizer and take the capsule before you sleep.”

                “Also, you won’t have a Nanny for next few days until I find another one,” he reminded her. “So I will take that place for the mean time.”

                Nang napansin ni Wrath na hindi na umiimik si Adara ay napagisipan niyang iwan na muna ito. Hindi rin lang kasi sila nag-uusap masyado at bihira silang magtagal na magkasama sa isang lugar. That is how far they’re relationship is.

                Samantala pagbalik ni Wrath sa kusina upang humanap ng magandang alak para ngayong gabi ay napansin niya ang kanyang cellphone na nag-ba-vibrate at umiilaw. It’s a message from Chaos and Greed from their group message because Chaos visited their clinic for today.

                It was recently when Wrath and his friends decided on putting up their own clinic. Wrath left the job of establishing their clinic’s building as well as finding a good location for it. Ngayon ay tapos na ang interior nito at ni-share ni Chaos na naglalagay na sila ng mga gamit.

                Chaos is an ENT specialist while Greed is a Family Doctor. Sa ngayon limitado ba ang services na kanilang in-o-offer but Wrath’s target is to establish laboratory area but that is to follow.

                Wrath somehow want to leave the work in hospital and settle from something less stressful for the meantime but it doesn’t mean he’s abandoning hospital works.

                Napakurap siya at napasandal sa counter. Perhaps the reason why he wants to settle in a clinic for now is to have a time a bit in looking after Adara because she’s growing up already. He realized that eventually she should stop having a nanny that is looking after her.

                Napaangat naman ng tingin si Wrath nang mapansin niyang bumukas ang pintuan sa clinic at niluwa si Adara na dumiretso na sa hagdanan upang magpunta sa kanyang silid.

                Staring at her grown up kid, Wrath is reminded of the days when Adara was just a baby.

***

                “The Baby is okay, aside from she has weak lungs,” ang sabi naman ni Greed sa kanyang habang nakatingin sa mga test results ng bata.

                When Wrath took the baby that was left in front of his house, he took the baby to the hospital nd asked his friend Greed to check up on her.

                “I would recommend giving a maintenance for her lungs but I think it’s too early. We can still observe her. Kompletohin mo na lang muna ang mga vaccine na kailangan niya. Mukhang wala pa siyang ni isang vaccine dahil ilang buwan pa lamang siya. Are you sure you won’t find the one who left her?”

                “No, I think I will just handle it from here…” tulirong sagod naman ni Wrath.

                “Also, the baby still needs a breastfeeding I can recommend you to someone who can give her that…” Napatayo naman si Greed at tinapik ang balikat nito.

                Wrath took the baby just as what he said to his friend but after a few months she got sick and went back and forth to the hospital. The baby was malnourished and was weak so Wrath gave her the treatments she needed.

                At the age of 3, Adara was diagnosed of pneumonia. Wrath took a leave for a week before because she could find another Nanny to look after her. Hindi rin kasi nakakapagtagal ang mga Nanny ni Adara dahil sa pagiging sakitin nito. The job was stressful for them and so every now and then Wrath would do the job.

                Ang dahilan kung bakit sa paningin ng iba ay parang may ibang mundo si Wrath na nakabukod sa kanyang mga kapatid na nagaagawan ng mana ay dahil kay Adara. No matter how much he wanted to get his hands off from taking care of her, he always ends up doing it because no one could do it properly.

                Adara’s early age has a lot of struggle. Naging normal din sa kanya ang pabalik-balik sa hospital. Pero nang siya’y lumaki ay nabawasan na ang mga panahong na-o-ospital na siya ngunit mabilis pa rin siyang kapitan ng sakit.

***

                UMAKYAT si Wrath sa silid ni Adara pagkatapos ng ilang minuto niyang pakikipag-usap kanina kina Chaos. Pagpasok niya sa loob ay pinakinggan niya ang paghinga ni Adara na medyo mabigat pa rin.

                All those years, Wrath tried hard to hid Adara from everyone not because of reputation but to prevent her from living the way he lived as a Dela Viego. But now that their family has reached the end of its peak, Wrath didn’t have to worry about it anymore. He’s free from all the pressure that the family’s name is bearing, gano’n pa man, hindi pa rin nagbago na siya ay isang Dela Viego at si Adara ay isa ring Dela Viego.

                Adara’s bears Wrath’s Mom’s surname for years and it was recently that Wrath decided to register her name as a Dela Viego.

                Wrath sets Adara’s lamp into a brighter mode to avoid additional suffocation before leaving her room.

                Nagtungo si Wrath sa kanyang silid nang hindi sinasarado ang kanyang pintuan sakaling mahirapang huminga si Adara mamayang hating-gabi dahil maraming pagkakataon noon na sinusugod ni Wrath ito sa hospital dahil hindi na makahinga.

                The life of being a parent strike Wrath so early but he’s got no regrets in it.

***