Inang's Story (Inang, the old woman we visited... years ago...)
YEAR 1980
CLARISSE VILLAVERDE a.k.a. Ara's Mother/Nana
"Ara, why did you call for me?" Clarisse asked her twin, Ara.
Ara looked at her while remaining seated. "Sit beside me and let's have our picture taken." She was smiling. Her face was so gentle and beautiful.
She looked nothing like Clarisse. Even though they were twins, they were born non-identical (fraternal twins).
Clarisse sat beside her. In front of them was Mang Gustin, the photographer. "Alright, daughters, smile for the camera..." He was focused on the Lustre-Pak, a Bremson model wooden camera from the old days.
Clarisse forced a smile while looking at Inang—one of their servants whom she treated like a second mother. Their biological mother had died giving birth to them. Technology back then wasn't effective enough to successfully deliver twin infants safely.
Behind Mang Gustin stood their father, Emilio. He was happily watching Ara.
"Another pose," Mang Gustin instructed. "Stand up this time."
Clarisse let out a bitter laugh. The old man seemed to have forgotten that her twin, Ara, was paralyzed. She had a metabolic defect called Tay-Sachs disease. It was a birth defect that the doctors said was incurable. It was a miracle that Clarisse wasn't hit by the same inborn disability despite being twins.
Ara seemed hurt by Mang Gustin's words, and her angelic face turned into a frown.
Mang Gustin looked up. "Oh, that's right, you can't walk, can you? I forgot—" He couldn't finish his sentence because an axe suddenly buried itself in his head!
His skull was split, and he was dead before he hit the ground.
Their father pulled the axe out of Mang Gustin's head as if it were nothing. He was the one who had struck the poor old man. He did it as if he were just chopping firewood.
To him, killing a person seemed like a normal chore. "I hate it when anyone insults my daughter Ara..."
Ara's face, which had been frowning a moment ago, changed. A terrifying smile crept onto her lips. "Thank you, Papa..." She suddenly turned to Clarisse.
She gave her a malicious look. Then she turned back to their father, Emilio. "Papa, Clarisse laughed at me earlier. I don't want to see her! Throw her into the forest again!"
Clarisse turned pale. Every time Ara got angry with her, her father would cast her out into the dark forest. Once, she even experienced living there for six months. She had no food except the animals she could hunt. She had no shelter except dark caves. She had nothing to hug for warmth except the roots of trees.
In situations like this, she would likely be left there for a month, depending on how angry Ara was. When Ara missed her, she would have her brought back just to have someone to play with.
Because she became accustomed to living in their vast forest, her vision became sharp, especially in the dark. Her instincts grew strong, and she became used to killing—animals.
The Villaverdes were the wealthiest clan in their area back then. Not only were they rich, but her father was also powerful due to illegal transactions. He could get away with killing as many people as he wanted. Emilio followed no laws. Killing people became his hobby. In their remote province, the law was non-existent—especially during their time.
Their father, Emilio, turned to Inang. "Yaya, clean up the blood scattered on the floor."
Inang called for other servants to help clean up Mang Gustin's corpse. For Inang, this was a normal task. She knew the family she served was insane. Especially Ara.
Everything Ara asked of her father, the father gave. Even if she asked for someone else's life.
Clarisse jolted as her father grabbed her to throw her back into the dark forest. Even if she resisted, she could do nothing. Emilio was a massive man whose physique could easily crush her if he wished.
She could only weep while looking at Inang. The woman could do nothing but offer a sorrowful gaze.
Meanwhile, Ara's smile widened as she watched Clarisse's tears while their father dragged her out of their large house. Clarisse couldn't understand herself, but she couldn't bring herself to hate her twin. She loved her, and for her, it was normal for Ara to be this way because of her disability.
...
After two months, Ara requested for Clarisse to return to the mansion. Clarisse was shocked to find Ara covered in blood while playing chess. She also noticed corpses scattered around the area.
This was her twin's hobby: playing chess against others. The problem was, whenever someone lost, she had her father kill them. Her usual opponents were the workers from their hacienda. Truth be told, their workers were nearly depleted because of Ara's "game."
"Checkmate!" Ara shouted at her opponent when Clarisse found them in the vast living room.
the young man playing against her grimaced. "Please have mercy..." He was tearful.
Emilio approached the young man and mercilessly struck him with an axe.
The man's eyes rolled back as he was hit in the jaw. Thick blood splattered onto Ara's body. That was why she was covered in blood as well. This game wouldn't end until Ara grew bored.
On the other side, Inang and two other servants stood there as if no crime was happening in front of them. The two servants beside Inang even seemed entertained while watching.
That was how powerful the Villaverdes were. No one could go against them, even if the entire village revolted against the powerful Don Emilio Villaverde. This family had many connections and many henchmen. The simple laborers in their area couldn't fight back even if they wanted to.
"Next!" Ara shouted.
A moment later, a young boy approached and sat in front of the chessboard.
Ara noticed Clarisse. "Clarisse! You're finally here. Come! Watch me play."
Clarisse approached.
"Did you know that until now, no one has beaten me?" Ara smiled, looking so kind despite the blood on her face.
Clarisse looked at the young boy playing against her. This one was different. He seemed fearless and wasn't nervous, unlike the others Ara had faced in this game. Clarisse found herself asking for his name. "What's your name?"
Everyone looked at her.
Ara frowned. "Clarisse—I don't like it when you talk to my opponent." There was anger in her voice. Her twin was truly spoiled, but even so, Clarisse loved her.
Clarisse smiled at Ara. "Isn't it better if you know the name of your opponent before you defeat them?"
Ara looked at her maliciously. But a moment later, she smiled again like a gentle child. "I suppose..." She turned to the boy. "What's your name?"
The boy, who looked about ten years old, looked up. He was younger than Clarisse and Ara. "Roli, ma'am..." he replied. "I'm from the neighboring village... an orphan."
"Okay! Let's play," Ara clapped. "You know, of course, that if I beat you, you die."
Roli just nodded, showing no sign of fear.
The game began. It lasted for two hours with five rounds. But in those five rounds, Ara did not win once. This was likely the first time someone had beaten Ara at chess—and five times at that!
Frustration was evident on Ara's face. "How annoying! Why can't I beat you?" Even by the sixth round, Ara still lost. She was furious at Roli. "Papa. Kill him."
Emilio approached Roli and wound up, holding the large axe.
"Wait!" Clarisse shouted.
Her father stopped.
"If you kill him, Ara, you'll lose a great opponent." She was focused on Ara.
Ara thought about it. "I suppose you're right." Then she turned to Inang. "Fine, I'll have Inang killed instead."
The woman turned pale! Even Clarisse was shocked. She knelt in front of her twin. "No, Ara, have mercy..." Inang was the closest to her among all the servants. She had cared for them since they were children, so Clarisse saw her as a mother.
Ara closed her eyes. "Oh, fine. I won't have Inang killed. But I want her toenails."
Inang's eyes widened. She knew that if she didn't fulfill her ward's wish, she would die right then and there.
Clarisse looked at Inang and nodded. It was better than being killed.
Emilio pulled a pair of pliers from his pocket and gave them to Inang. "Pull out your toenails."
Inang swallowed hard before accepting them. It didn't take long for her to pull out her toenails one by one to give to Ara. The woman was sobbing at what she was doing to herself. Limping, she handed the nails to Ara.
Ara's smile widened. "I'm not satisfied with this." She turned to a servant behind Inang. "You!" Ara shouted at her. "Give me your left hand..."
The servant stepped back, tearfully shaking her head. "I don't want to..."
Ara's frown deepened.
Out of fear, the servant ran. But before she could reach the door, an axe thrown by Emilio hit her in the back. She convulsed before dying.
Ara turned to another servant behind Inang. "Give me your left hand."
That servant nodded frantically. "Yes! Yes! As you wish!" She borrowed an axe from their father.
"I don't want you to use an axe; I want you to use the saw," Ara said in a hard voice.
The servant's eyes widened even more when Emilio handed her a saw.
Only loud screams could be heard inside that large house. Because of the sawing of her left hand, she bled out and died.
Ara turned to Roli. "Papa, I want us to adopt Roli. I want him to be my brother."
Emilio lifted the boy, Roli, with his large hands. "From now on, you are my son. I'll fix your papers tomorrow so you can be part of the Villaverdes."
But the young boy Roli showed no joy. Instead, he seemed even more savage than Ara. He would surely grow up to be even bigger than their father. At his age, he was already almost as big as Clarisse and Ara, who were eighteen years old.
...
From then on, the killings in the Villaverde house decreased because Ara was distracted by playing with Roli. Until the final months, she still couldn't beat him. It seemed Roli had changed her twin. And while that was happening, Roli also caught Clarisse's attention.
Until one night, Ara lay beside Clarisse as they slept. Her twin spoke to her. "Clarisse, I have a favor to ask of you..." She was gentle again.
Clarisse stroked her head. She treated Ara as a younger sister despite not knowing who was truly older.
Ara looked up at her. "I want to walk. Give me new legs..." Her eyes were swollen, obviously from crying.
This was the real Ara... a sad child full of insecurities. Ara—her poor twin.
Clarisse hugged her and wept as well. "I promise, Ara, you will walk. I will help you..."
She loved Ara dearly, even though Ara would abandon her whenever she was angry. Despite Ara's resentment, she never had their father kill Clarisse, unlike their grandparents whom Ara envied. Emilio had killed them because Ara wished it.
Emilio—their father... he did nothing that wasn't for her twin. He loved Ara deeply, perhaps because of her disability.
Clarisse laid Ara down and covered her with a blanket. Then she kissed her forehead. Her twin quickly fell asleep.
When she woke up the next morning, Ara was screaming in pain. "Clarisse! Ahhhhhhh!"
It was morning when Ara woke up. Clarisse entered the room—covered in blood.
"What happened to my legs? To my feet?" Ara asked while weeping. Both her legs were severed, and blood was scattered all over the bed.
Clarisse approached her, carrying a pair of legs. "I'm replacing your legs. Maybe you'll be able to walk..." She wasn't even blinking.
Her twin just looked at her, trembling. "W-Whose legs are those..."
Clarisse looked at her and smiled. "Papa's..." She sat beside her. "I gave him something to sleep, then I forced myself to cut off his legs," she told her.
Ara covered her lips. She began to sob while shaking.
"Shhh..." Clarisse hugged her. "You'll walk, Ara... you'll walk..." She hugged her. Then she went to work. She tried to attach her father's legs to Ara's severed limbs. The problem was, they were too big. She shook her head. "Papa's legs are too big. I should have used a woman's legs, someone our age..."
But Ara was no longer responding.
"Ara?" Clarisse grew worried. When she looked at Ara's face, she was pale. "Ara!" She shook her. "Ara!"
But Ara was no longer breathing.
"Ara!" Clarisse hugged her while wailing in grief.
Inang and Roli entered the room. "My God!" Inang could hardly believe it. "My God, Clarisse! Why did you do this?! Why did you become like your insane family!" Inang sobbed.
"Inang... Ara is dead..." Clarisse cried.
Inang hugged her. "We're leaving. We're getting away from this place." She turned to Roli. "Roli, kill all the remaining servants inside and outside this house."
Roli just nodded.
When night fell again, they did nothing but dig. They buried the servants Ara had had killed and those Roli killed that night. Inang also found Emilio dead with his legs cut off.
"Inang..." Clarisse turned to the woman. "Please don't bury Ara... I will fulfill her wish."
Inang just nodded at her.
Clarisse took her twin's corpse and placed it inside a drum. After that, they filled it with enough water to submerge her entire body. She thought that in this way, her sister's body would remain "alive."
They covered it and sealed it tightly. They hid it in the cave where Clarisse used to live in the middle of the forest whenever she was thrown there. She hid it there so she could return to it if she wanted. Given the vastness of that forest, it was unlikely anyone would discover it, especially since they wouldn't sell the land.
So while she hadn't found legs for her twin Ara yet, she would stay there for now. She also thought that it might be more effective if she could find legs from someone named Ara who was their age. She would think carefully about how to find someone like that.
It's unclear how Inang managed to handle Emilio's remaining transactions. But most of his businesses and properties were sold, except for the large house. The proceeds were put into savings for Clarisse and Roli. That house was important to Clarisse.
[THOSE EVENTS BECAME A HUGE SCANDAL IN THEIR VILLAGE AND EVEN IN OTHER NEIGHBORING VILLAGES AND TOWNS IN CLARISSE'S PROVINCE. RUMORS SPREAD ABOUT A DON EMILIO VILLAVERDE—AN INSANE BUSINESSMAN WHO KILLED HIS WORKERS. HIS BUSINESS ANOMALIES AND DIRTY MONEY GAMES ALSO BECAME TOPICS OF CONVERSATION. THE CRIMES AT THE MANSION SPREAD UNTIL THEY REACHED THE NEWSPAPERS AND RADIO NEWS—ALTHOUGH THERE WAS NO CLEAR LEAD FROM THE POLICE. THE CASE WAS EVENTUALLY CLOSED DUE TO LACK OF EVIDENCE AGAINST DON EMILIO'S BUSINESS RIVALS, WHO WERE ACCUSED OF THE KILLINGS. BUT EVERYTHING WAS EVENTUALLY BURIED IN OBLIVION WHEN THE VILLAVERDES COMPLETELY DISAPPEARED FROM THEIR HIDDEN MANSION. THE PEOPLE GREW QUIET AND NO LONGER LOOKED FOR DON EMILIO'S MISSING CHILDREN, WHOM EVERYONE ASSUMED WERE ALSO VICTIMS OF THEIR INSANE FATHER'S CRUELTY.]