ROGER'S POV
Janice...
Janice...
Janice...
Janice is my daughter? How did that happen? I thought back.
I remembered.
I remembered clearly.
During the time Nana and I were newly married—my relationship with Maria didn't end, even though she had been married to Eric for a year.
I found out from Eric himself that he was sterile, which was why they couldn't have children.
But one day, Maria became pregnant. Almost at the same time as Nana. I was the only one shocked because I was the only one, aside from her and her husband, who knew about his condition. I thought it was a miracle. It never crossed my mind that the child was mine.
I was even the one who tirelessly advised Eric not to give up—to keep trying.
Then I realized. Of course—Maria and I were together. Oh, God! What have I done?!
After Maria gave birth to Janice, Eric died in an accident.
Wait—was it really an accident? Is it possible Nana killed him too? I remembered that on the night Eric died, I couldn't find Nana anywhere.
I looked at Maria beside me—she was gone. I was still here, driving my car home. Afterward, I kissed her face. Her pouted lips were still there—she was truly beautiful.
I focused on driving. Finally, I saw the sun.
I made a decision. I will avenge the people I lost in my life. Even if it costs me my own—I will kill.
While on the road, a heavy rain fell. I stopped in a secluded area. I took off my clothes and did the same for Maria's. I stepped out of the car and bathed in the rain to wash away the stench of blood from my body.
Once I was clean, I returned to the car and put my clothes back on. I placed Maria's body in the backseat under a cover. I dried myself using the clothes I took from Maria and then wrapped them around her corpse. I continued driving.
I stopped at a gas station and refueled using my credit card. I went into the convenience store. I bought many candles and matches. I also bought many energy drinks and calamansi. Back in the car, I resumed driving. It was a long journey.
It was noon when I arrived home. Stepping out of the car, I looked around. No one was there.
I took the bag from the car containing Ara's skeleton. I also took the red wine Ka Pineng had retrieved from Nana's old house, along with his coat. I grabbed my purchases. I looked back at Maria's body. Stay here for a moment—I have something to finish. Then, I entered the house.
Inside, Ara's coffin was still there. I peeked—Ara was no longer in it.
I expected that. I knew they would take Ara's body. That's why I took this skeleton of the other Ara—Nana's twin—to serve as leverage so I wouldn't be at a disadvantage.
In front of the coffin, I set up a small table. I prepared two wine glasses. I opened the Fonseca 1983 red wine and poured it into one glass, but only halfway. The other glass—I left empty.
Then I went to the kitchen. Fortunately, there were still stocks. I ate as much as I could even though I wasn't in the mood. I needed strength—the strength of will.
WHEN NIGHT FELL, I prepared. I turned off the lights. I lit a candle and placed it in the center of the table. Then I sat down—waiting by the door.
I placed the bag containing Ara's skeleton beside me. Above the door was a clock. I timed Nana. I knew she would come.
I drank nothing but the energy drinks to stay awake. But the night passed—no Nana arrived. Until the sun rose again.
I went back to the kitchen and found a knife. I cut myself and pressed calamansi onto the wound. I screamed in pain! But I was awake again. How many more hours until nightfall? I had a long wait ahead.
I went upstairs. We had a mini-gym there, and I spent my time there until noon. I ate afterward and drank more energy drinks. As it grew dark, I took the glass with the red wine and poured it out. Then I refilled it—just a little. I placed it on the table next to the empty glass. I sat down, drinking an energy drink.
And here it was—night again. I turned off the lights and lit a candle in the middle of the table. I just stared at the clock. What time would she arrive?
IT WAS NOW THE EARLY HOURS OF THE MORNING.
Why isn't she here yet?
I cut myself again and dripped calamansi on it. My drowsiness vanished once more.
Soon, the door creaked. Here she is.
Here is Nana. Clarisse, my wife.
In the candlelight—I saw her. There she was! She was holding a hammer!
"I've been waiting for you since yesterday..." I greeted her calmly. "Where is my twin?" she asked.
I took the bag beside me and moved it toward her. When she felt it—she immediately opened it. She hugged the skeleton as if it were the living Ara. She even kissed the forehead of the skull.
"I love you, Ara." Then she turned to me. "Where is my daughter, Ara?" I asked in return.
She walked slowly and sat in the chair across from me. "Why bother looking for our daughter? You're going to die in a moment anyway." She placed the hammer next to the candle in the center of the table.
I stared at her. Her beautiful face was still there. I knew I loathed her, but despite that, I still loved her. "Did you ever really love me, Nana?" my voice trembled.
She looked at the red wine in front of us. "Fonseca 1983 from Vintage Port in Portugal, how did you know it was my favorite?" She smirked.
I swallowed hard.
She looked at the glass I had partially filled before her hand moved to the bottle to fill the empty glass. Then she inhaled the aroma. "I like this wine." She looked at me. "Of course I loved you."
"If so, how could you do this? Why even our own—" "Shut up, Roger!" she shrieked.
I flinched at her scream.
"I changed when I met you. I forgot about my sister Ara. I was ready for my new life!" Her voice cracked. "But what did you do? You went looking for someone else!"
"W-What do you mean?"
"You think I didn't know?" Her jaw tightened. "I know Janice is your daughter!"
I was paralyzed.
"Maria came to me one day, crying. Her husband had just died. She was asking for my forgiveness because you two had a child." She was shaking. "I told her—I forgave her. Just as long as she didn't let you know. I even said I'd help her financially for Janice..."
"Jesus—"
"But the thing is, Roger—it hurt! It actually hurt! Dammit, I love you!" She was furious. "Who comforted me? Ara! My sister, Ara!"
She was insane. It was my fault why—she had truly lost her mind.
"So I continued my interrupted plan—my promise to Ara. To find her a FOOT. But before that—I would kill everyone who loved Ara."
"Our daughter?" I covered my mouth.
"I've wanted to kill her for a long time. I was holding back. But I was itching to kill her. Until she and Roli started a relationship."
"Fuck!"
I stood up. "She and Roli had a relationship?!"
She smiled. "That's why I was forced to kill her. Roli belongs to me. No one else is allowed to love him but me."
I slumped back into my seat, devastated by what I learned. "Now Nana, before you kill me, I have one last question."
Nana raised the glass she was holding. She took a sip.
I closed my eyes when she did that. With all my strength, I faced her. "Did you love Ara—my daughter?"
She took a deep breath and then—she blew out the candle!
Shit! Darkness!
My hand scrambled to grab the hammer she had placed on the table.
But—
It was gone.
Then someone whispered behind me. "Of course Roger, I love Ara..."
The moment I heard that, my vision blurred. I found myself slumped on the floor. When I felt the back of my head—
It was covered in blood!
She had struck me with the hammer! The room brightened.
She had relit the candle. "Didn't I tell you, I'd save you for last?" She walked toward me.
I moved slowly to turn on my back. I could still move! I wasn't dead yet! But my head throbbed. My right foot was numb. I looked at her—she was leaning over me.
She held a glass and filled it. Then she downed its contents. "You aren't thinking," she said. "My vision is sharp in the dark. You should have filled our surroundings with light."
No, Nana! You are the one not thinking.
You don't know that this was part of my plan—our plan, mine and Ka Pineng's! Yes!
Ka Pineng's plan! I wanted to say it to her. But I could no longer speak. I just smiled.
Soon, the glass in her hand fell and shattered. Following that, she fell to her knees. She collapsed face-down. Her eyes rolled back.
From the moment she tasted the wine in the glass, I had succeeded. That was why I closed my eyes—because I had won. This was truly the plan Ka Pineng and I made the last time we spoke, when I thought he was still alive.
He had me get his coat; in the pocket—was a bottle. Cyanide. One of the fastest-killing poisons made to blend perfectly with a woman's palate. A minute was the longest it took to take effect once it entered the body. Ka Pineng instructed me to pour it into that red wine.
How sure was he? One hundred percent!
When he saw that Fonseca red wine in the old Villaverde house next to empty bottles, he realized it was the killer's favorite. It was also possible the killer used that house as a base because it was clean and not dusty. It was obvious it was being wiped down and loved by its owner. And this was the bait we used because he was sure that wherever I laid out this rare wine, the one who loved it would taste it—and that was the killer.
Ka Pineng wasn't sure if the cyanide would change the color of the red wine, but he was certain it was tasteless and odorless.
This was where my idea came in. I knew Nana feared blood, so I thought she killed in the dark. But I was wrong; she wasn't afraid of blood.
It was the color red she truly feared!
How did I know? She mentioned earlier she had been holding back from killing Ara for a long time. That's why her gifts for every birthday were red clothes or red shoes—to control her urge to kill her. Her last gift was red doll-shoes. Ara wore them until she died—Nana probably killed her that night.
To make a long story short, her eyes were weak to red at night. The same with the wine. Cyanide changes the wine's color but not its aroma or taste. That was the reason for the lights being out. Meanwhile, the candlelight was enough to mask the color of a red wine.
When Ka Pineng told me this plan—I was stunned. I didn't know at first if I could risk my life. It was unlikely I'd survive Nana in the dark.
I slowly looked at Nana beside me—she was lifeless.
I looked up. If Ka Pineng were alive—he'd likely be happy. Because I succeeded—we succeeded in this plan.
Above me, I saw someone. There was a woman there.
Ara!
Ara, my daughter!
She was smiling and very happy. Ara was truly beautiful. She waved at me. If this was just a hallucination, I didn't care!
"Ara..." I called to her.
"I love you, Dad." Then she turned and walked away. My tears fell. I forced myself to speak. "Ara, wait..."
She looked back. "Aren't you taking me with you?"
She approached me. She touched my face. She was so cold. "No, Dad. You will live..." she said with a smile.
"But... for what?" I asked weakly. Life had no purpose left, right?
She kissed my forehead. "You will love. You will have a reason to live..."
"Ara..." I held her hand. "Dad, I have to go now."
I sobbed. "Ara... I will never forget you..."
"I won't either..." She started crying too. My daughter's beautiful face was crying in front of me...
I sat up and hugged her. Even if I felt nothing but air...
"Thank you. I can finally rest in peace..."
"I love you, Ara." I let her go and kissed her forehead. "Go... go..." I sent her away.
She walked away from me. But before the light embraced her—she looked back.
This was when I told myself—I will say this for the rest of my life. I will repeat it until my last breath. I will never tire of telling her—
"I love you, Ara."
When I was in high school, I had a friend I always called 'Kenny'. We were classmates until college. We might have even been best friends... Kenny was kind, though he wasn't very talkative.
I'm a Christian, and I believe in God.
I don't know why we became friends... since he didn't believe in God. He didn't belong to any religion. He didn't want to.
Ever since I read the diary my father left me, my faith in God grew stronger. I knew Ara couldn't hurt me... as long as my faith was firm.
Back to Kenny...
One day I saw him praying, which surprised me greatly... I asked him and urged him to tell me what was going on...
And when he did...
It felt like a bomb had dropped on me! ARA...
How—how did he know Ara?! Was it possible because of me... that he met Ara?! Or was it possible... because his faith in God was weak... he became the target of... ARA?!
He said she was haunting him... I didn't know if it was really that Ara!
Kenny was terrified when he told me about the woman he saw every night at the foot of his bed.
The woman was saying something...
She said there was a corpse in Morong. And more corpses elsewhere...
Kenny was terrified, especially when that woman told him she needed a foot... anyone's foot. It was as if that woman was asking for his help. She mentioned names... Janice and Ara... but the name 'Ara' stuck in his mind.
He said the woman appearing to him was named Ara... but she wasn't the Ara she wanted him to find. There was an Ara she wanted to see...
Kenny's story was confusing... I didn't quite understand.
But I was sure of one thing... the Ara he spoke to was a mad being. She didn't know what she was saying... instead, she just wanted to get what she desired.
1980 - 1997
Cardiac arrest syndrome according to the doctors—
Bangungot (nightmare), but I don't believe it. Before he died, he told me about HER. About Ara...
It's frustrating and sad...
He was the only one I had left... but he left me too.
In Memory of Kenneth L. Sanchez.
I will never forget you...
I hope wherever you are, you are finally at peace, Kenny... You will always be my best friend, Pare.
—JUSTINE PINEDA.
...
The last thing we talked about... was about Ara.
It was September 28th that day, the year 1997. In Maybancal, Morong, Rizal, a body of a college student was found. Based on the investigation, the body had been buried beneath the ground for almost a month. The corpse was a girl, and sadly—at the same time, I was confused. The girl is not Ara; they found it was—
Janice.
Janice Ocampo.
But in the end, it wasn't... I'm tired of being confused.
That's why I didn't look for Attorney Roger Santos... even though that was my father's last wish.
For now... I'm leaving for America. My aunt is taking me there to study.
If I return... that depends.
And Ara? Whoever that Ara is... if she wants to follow me all the way to America, then fine! Let her follow. I'm not afraid of her anymore...
She cannot frighten people whose faith in God is strong and firm.