9.
Jisan was only sixteen then and was beautiful. She and her sister,
Mary Anne, first lived in Pampanga, their mother’s home province, and went
to an all girls catholic school before moving in Dagupan, their father’s,
and go to a co-ed high school. This was on Jisan’s last year in high
school and Mary Anne has two more.
As I said, Jisan, or Isa, is beautiful, with big deep-set eyes and
luscious pouting lips. She too has beautiful long hair and a voluptuous body. And
though she gives an air of confidence and liberal disposition in life, she
was a virgin. Many doubts it but she was then and don’t care what other
people thinks. Upon entry to the school, she gained instant popularity
specially amongst boys—smitten by her beauty or, most of the times, want to
know if really she is or not.
She was a virgin, not ever having a boyfriend before in Pampanga. All
she had was a girlfriend, one girlfriend. Well, it was in an all-girl
school. And even if she did have a lesbian lover, she said they never did
something. I know, hard to believe but we are really the liberal crowd,
“why would I deny it to you guys if ever?”
She had many suitors but two guys utterly stand out: Toshi and Sharie
(I’m not making out this names, it really is their name). Actually, we
thought Toshi had no chances on her as we all know he already have a child
to some woman before he even celebrated his fifteenth birthday. But Toshi is
a cool guy and started hanging out with us. Sharie is the front-runner
really, or so we thought. He was handsome with his Middle Eastern features
and was very much single. But then, to our surprise, Jisan chose Toshi over
Sharie.
Yah, she all got her by surprise as this was during the final days of
the semester and we were all squabbling for finals. “Why him? He have a
kid!” we all asked. She just shrugged and said, “So, it’s not like
I’m marrying him?”—Implying that the only reason she was having the relationship
was for
the sake of having.
Well, Jisan is a smart girl, confident and sophisticated. She had
managed to keep her virginity all through out those times even in the
company of non-virgins. So, we have to give it to her… we trusted her… we
should have known better…
Three months later, Jisan hardly see us and started logging off
school. And another month later, Mary Anne told me that Toshi was abusing
Jisan.
“What do you mean abusing?”
“There is this house at Zamora Street…” Mary Anne started.
“Whose house?” I asked. She didn’t answer. I asked again.
“Aaron…” she said.
Aaron was Mary Anne’s boyfriend, whose both parents are working
abroad.
“We hang there now,” she continued. No wonder I don’t see them
around much. It didn’t let it bother me that much then not seeing them
around at school because I was busy. “So, what happened?”
“Toshi, spanked ate one time in front of us…”
“Spanked? As in right across the face and it’s nothing sexual?”
She nodded.
“And the fights get worst each time…”
“They fight much?”
“Ever since Toshi got the mother of his kid pregnant again…”
“Toshi is having another kid via the same woman?”
“Toshi once have ate in the room, locked the door and started
hitting ate… we were begging Toshi to stop and open the door but he
won’t. We could hear ate crying, screaming…”
“You were there and it’s only now that you tell me this?”
“Ate said not to tell…”
“Mary Anne!”
“And she too is pregnant…”
“Mary Anne!”
“What are we to do…?”
“Where is that house!?”
“At Zamora…”
“You are taking me there!”
Once there, there was protest both from Toshi and more from Jisan.
Toshi wasn’t able to protest much as he knows what I can do to him. Daddy,
Melody’s father, is one of the founding members of the foremost and most
powerful, therefore notorious, fraternity in Dagupan—lay a finger on me
and you’re dead. So I have no problem with Toshi, Aaron and the rest of
the guys that were there. They all just backed off and Toshi just stood
silent even when I hit his face telling him, “You have no right to hit
her!” Jisan didn’t want to go, Mary Anne and I have to drag her out,
kicking and screaming.
Their father was furious when he learned that Jisan was pregnant.
That was all Mary Anne told him, as she knows their father would go
ballistic if she told him about the physical abuse. After lots of cussing,
Jisan was sent back to Pampanga.
But three days later, Jisan sneaked back in Dagupan and went to see
Toshi again with a bag containing all her clothes. Thinking Toshi loved her
and that he would go away with her. She was wrong.