The sparkling stars of heaven, cold blow of the eastern wind, and calmness of the deep blue sea, unwind their polluted minds. The campfire placed between them grows bigger and bigger, and in a single careless move will inflict pain
Invited by her husband’s friend, Mrs. Reyes and her family decided to have a short vacation in an island resort. Before, Mrs. Reyes was in doubt because of her daughter Dolly. Dolly was born with Down syndrome. She is a moody child. Sometimes, aggressive that she throws anything she grasps to any person. As time goes by, Dolly’s mood continues to change. She always stays in a corner and sometimes cries for unknown reason. His father, Mang Leoncio, is the only one in their family who can stop Dolly from crying by just a single sharp look, without even words. The silence and unaggressive mood of Dolly for a long time made Mrs. Reyes accept the offer.
Prepared and excited, the family traveled for two days and reached the Gustavo’s Resort. In their room, while Mang Leoncio was busy talking with someone, Mrs. Reyes accidentally noticed a black small bag containing packs of “alum”. After a moment, their friend called and asked them to have dinner. “Why did you bring a lot of these?” Mrs. Reyes asked to her husband before leaving. “Oh! Of course for my hygiene”, Mang Leoncio replied. Then, the two went out leaving their daughter sleeping in her bed.
In a native bamboo table, the folk waiters served variety of foods and drinks to them. They enjoyed the ambience of the place and the delicious delicacies offered by the waiters. After eating, the group of friends went to the seashore, formed a circle, and placed a campfire in the center. They chatted and discussed different topics about their lives and family. Laughter filled the atmosphere and the noise they created enlivened the silence of the seashore. “Excuse me for a while. I have to use comfort room. My stomach aches”, Mang Leoncio interrupted the conversations, left his friends, and went to their room, silently. The conversation was resumed after.
“You know what? I envy you. Don’t think badly about it. I mean, you’re rich. You have luxuries and expensive properties like this resort. You have normal children. Unlike us, poor and we can’t even afford to provide the needs of our child,” Mrs. Reyes confessed to her husband’s friend.
“Time will come and you will have like all of these. That will be soon,” the man’s replied.
“Impossible. We don’t have permanent works. And we are both uneducated”, Mrs. Reyes said.
Long minutes had passed but still, Mang Leoncio was not around. Feeling uncomfortable, Mrs. Reyes stood up and went to their room to check his husband.
When she silently opened the door, she was terribly shocked on what she saw. She screamed so loudly that all the people in the house were alarmed. She wanted to stab her husband a hundred times.
“Why did you do that to your own child? Damn you! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!” Mrs. Reyes angrily shouted. She cried and felt sorry for her daughter.
She saw her naked husband on top of her weak and crying daughter. Her anger was doubled when she noticed the blood flowing to her child’s legs. Dolly was raped by her own father. Her complicated condition became worse because of the incident.
The authorities came and arrested the culprit. Initial investigation confirmed that Mang Leoncio and her friend are drug pushers and consumers. Meanwhile, Mrs. Reyes and Dolly continued their lives despite of the situation. And the pain inflicted by the fire on their hearts will take time to heal.
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