Ang Hating-Gabi Ng Isang Bituin: A Revenge Story

Prologue: Pagsabog sa Alaala

"Inay, tulungan natin si Itay."

"Halika na, anak! Wala na tayong magagawa sa sinapit ng iyong ama. Umalis na tayo dito bago pa tayo makita ng mga tao ni Don Pedro. Masakit din ito para sa akin anak pero hindi natin sila kaya, napakarami nila at armado pa. Hindi ko kakayaning makipaglaban pa sa kanila, pagod na pagod na ako anak."

"Sige po, ako na lang ang tutulong kay Itay. Magtago na lang po muna kayo dito sa pagitan ng malalaking ugat ng Nara. Magtiwala po kayo, babalik ako kasama si Itay. Sapat ang itinuro ninyo sa akin para maipagtanggol ko kayo ni Itay. Hayaan ninyo po akong magamit ang mga natutunan ko para mailigtas kayo sa kapahamakan."

Matapos makumbinse ni Mark ang kaniyang ina ay kaagad siyang tumakbo pabalik sa nasusunog na bahay. Habang tumatakbo ay naaalala niya ang kanina lamang na masayang bonding nilang pamilya habang pinapanuod ang napakagandang sunset sa beach na nasa harap lamang ng bahay na nirentahan ng kanyang mga magulang for the weekend.

Napakaganda ng paglubog ng araw. Pinaghalong kahel, pula, at dilaw na animo'y isang bolang ipininta ng isang magaling na pintor sa kalangitang ang mga ulap ay nagmistulang mga buwayang nasusunog, na tila ba nagpapahiwatig na may isang unos na paparating.

Sa paglubog ng araw, napagpasyahan ng mag-anak na pumasok na sa beach house upang maghanda na ng kanilang hapunan. Si Mark ay ang nag-iisang anak ng mag-asawang Martin at Mathilda. Si Martin ay anak ng isang albularyong hasyendero sa Negros. Si Mathilda naman ay laking Maynila at anak ng isang mayamang negosyante. Unang nagkakilala ang dalawa nang minsang nagkasabay sila sa pag-jogging sa oval ng unibersidad kung saan sila parehong nag-aral. Matapos ang ilang beses na pagkakasabay sa pag-jogging ay naglakas-loob na si Martin na magsabi sa dalaga na balak niyang manligaw. And the rest is history.

"Boom!"

Isang malakas na pagsabog ang nagpabalik sa isip ni Mark sa kasalukuyang sitwasyon. Nakita niya na biglang nagliyab at sumabog ang sedan na sinakyan nilang pamilya kanina galing sa mansyon nila sa Quezon City.

Chapter 1: Ang Kasalukuyang Hamon

"Aaaaaaah"

Sa sobrang lakas nang pagsigaw ni Mark ay biglang nag-sitahulan ang mga asong kalye sa ibaba ng apartment building na tinitirhan niya. Ito ay dahil na rin sa bukas ang bintana ng kanyang kwarto. Umuulan nang matulog siya kaninang alas-otso ng gabi kaya hindi na niya isinara ito. Isa ang ulan sa mga bagay na nagpapakalma sa isipan niyang minsan ay mas maingay pa sa EDSA on a Monday morning.

"Panaginip na naman."

Kaagad siyang tumingin sa alarm clock niya sa bedside table. Alas-kwatro pa lang ng madaling araw. Ala-sais dapat siya gigising ngayong araw dahil Sabado naman at wala siyang planong lumabas ng apartment pero sigurado siya na hindi na siya muling makakatulog kaya minabuti niyang bumangon na at pumunta sa kusina para uminom ng tubig.

Ang apartment niyang ito sa Makati ang itinuturing niyang safe haven kapag siya ay nasa kalakhang Maynila para ayusin ang mga negosyong naiwan sa kaniya ng kaniyang mga magulang. Lingid sa kaalaman ng karamihan, siya na ngayon ang nagmamay-ari ng pinakamalalaking real estate, telecom, at logistics companies sa buong Asya. Mayroon lamang siyang isang pinagkakatiwalaang tagapamahala sa bawat kompanya at inire-report na lamang ng mga ito ang mga kaganapan sa kanya. Pumupunta lamang siya sa Maynila kapag may mga papeles siyang kailangang pirmahan.

Matapos uminom ng tubig ay naisipan niyang magbukas ng kanyang laptop to check kung may bagong updates mula sa kaniyang mga business manager at personal assistant. Ang personal assistant na

Chapter 2:

Random Thoughts While Having Coffee

"I love thinking things through while having a cup of coffee. Here are some random thoughts I have while having my cup for the day."

Entries are raw and unedited ideas and thoughts as I have my morning coffee, from newest to oldest. But this is on hold for now since it's my 2025 Holiday Writing Tradition. You may view my logs here.

***

It's the 7th already of Feb. I'm excited for my first time off from work since my long vacation last holiday. Well, this coming Friday is a special non-working holiday as declared by the president kasi Chinese New Year daw the following day, Saturday.

I'm not sure yet if I'm also going to take tomorrow or Monday next week as an off or not at all. Anyway, I'm excited sa plan namin this coming Friday kasi pupunta daw kaming Binondo for a Chinese food crawl. Hahaha. Papakabusog pero sana eh hindi gumapang pauwi dahil sa kabusugan.

As for work, nakaka-stress. I feel like it's starting to cripple me kaya I'm taking the holiday na rin para makapagpahinga rin ang katawan at brain ko.

***

Last day na ng January. And it has to end na may away kami ng partner ko. Last night, I found out a thing na sobrang nagpasama ng loob ko to the point that I didn't even know how to process it right there and then. Hindi ko alam kung magagalit ba ako, maiinis, kung sisigaw ba ako dahil sa sobrang biglang buhos ng frustrations ko.

All I could do was walk away from the scene, be far from him. And once I was already far from him, a tear just fell from my right eye. Parang pelikula lang di ba? Pero totoo 'yan. Sa sobrang bigat ng loob ko, hindi na kayang i-process ng isip ko ang nangyari. I couldn't even focus anymore sa trabaho ko kaya I logged out on the dot. It's the worst feeling I've ever had since 2016 when I had a horrible break-up with my now ex.

I was super thankful that #TheBeekeeper was already available online. It helped me keep my anger and frustration at bay. Every time Jason Statham punched and kicked a person, I felt like I was releasing my emotions through him. Anyway, I feel okay now. Wala na yung negative emotions ko, and I'm hopeful that we'll be able to come up with a solution sa problema naming 'to.

***

It's Tuesday of the last full week of January 2024. As cliché as this sounds, what the heck?! January is almost over. Time seemed to fly so fast compared to last year.

I thought I would be able to accomplish something more than what I've done already this month, but I just can't seem to focus and push myself to do them. I don't know, maybe it's because of my hair. Maybe I need to get a haircut already. It's weird? Maybe. But I can't seem to move around freely because my head feels heavier than usual due to my hair. Before, when I used to have very short hair, I had the energy to finish things and just fully focus on my goals.

Let's see what I will get tomorrow. This is going to be my first agenda after I wake up tomorrow morning.

***

First entry on this post for the new year, all I can say is it's a rough start to the year. But maybe a little better compared to some years in the past.

I'm trying my very best to find another source of income because living, just merely living, in this society is getting harder and harder if you don't have enough money. I can't say I'm frustrated with our current situation because other people are experiencing it worse than us. Recently, I looked at my payslip. I discovered that almost an equal amount to our bi-weekly grocery budget is being deducted from my salary just for PhilHealth contribution. I felt so enraged and sad and tired. I'm working so hard, yet I'm not seeing any improvement in the health services of the government.

My mother wants one of her teeth extracted, but can't immediately do it because they don't have enough money to cover the expenses. Since the health center near their home requires patients to pay for the service. A health center run by the government is asking for money from the people whom they are supposed to serve with no fee.

***

Writing here again after a few days of staying in bed later than usual. Lately, I've been having difficulty sleeping. Maybe it's just the domino effect of waking up outside of my schedule. So much with that. Right now, I'm thinking about our current economic situation. Based on our experience, it looks like living in the city has been a bit more expensive than usual. Yes, almost nothing in our household budget has changed, but it feels like money just passes through our wallets and then goes in a matter of seconds. Our usual grocery list almost never changed compared to the previous month, but our expenses for these household items almost doubled.

I mean, yes, I still feel that we're lucky to even be able to buy our groceries and still not remove anything from the list. But if this goes on for a few more months, I'm not so sure anymore. Anyway, I've been thinking about getting a second project since I noticed that my hours after my current project are just wasted on watching a lot of movies and other content on social media. I still haven't decided on it yet, but it looks like the time to have a second project is getting sooner rather than later, so why not now?

***

Taking in more of what happened last week, nakaka-gag* iyong mga taong ang galing magmalinis at may lakas ng loob na mag-maganda eh sila 'tong mas bulok ang pagkatao.

I know at some point, I'll be able to get over the things that they did and said to me. But definitely not today, not in the very near future. And as I said before, no change in actions and attitude means no remorse for what they did.

***

The past few days have been very eye-opening for me. My major takeaway is to not let other people know of our plans unless we are sure that they are the people who always have our backs, no matter what.

A deep conversation with my partner got us to a decision to ignore the noises in our surroundings and just focus our attention and energy on our goals.

***

It's Sunday, a slow one that is- got up from bed around 01:45 PM. This day doesn't require much action and urgency since tomorrow is a national holiday. Ang sarap sa feeling na ngayon ay optional na lang sa akin ang maging busy.

We have great plans for the coming days, and I'm very excited about them. I'm having a new project, and my certification as a training facilitator is coming unexpectedly fast. This coming week excites me in ways I hadn't been before.

***

Planning and budgeting for two people is a very challenging task. Let alone that we just started this journey of being financially responsible as a couple.

But you know what, this is such a great thing. I mean, it's good that we're already doing this, thus making our future lives together more comfortable. Though I'm very sure that this will require more discipline from both of us. And I think we're both ready for it. I'm very, very excited!

***

Due to some events recently, I realized that it's always best to keep away from your toxic and Marites friends and relatives on social media. In the first place, hindi mo kaibigan ang isang tao at never kang itinuring na kapamilya ng isang tao kung kapag nakatalikod ka ay ikaw ang laman ng kanilang mga kwento.

Tatahimik ang buhay mo if you only keep people in your circle who always have your back. Proven and tested ko na 'to. I recently had another run of this idea to test my first impression of my SO's relative. And it gave me the same conclusion. So yeah, another lesson learned for me, just because they showed you their best attitude when they first met you, doesn't mean that you can already trust them.

***

Downtime before working is so refreshing 'no? Sarap sa feeling na mag-start ng day sa trabaho knowing na masaya ang time mo outside of work. Regardless kung stressful ang trabaho or hindi, excited akong mag-logout from work and do the things that I love doing.

Sa ganda ng set-up at schedule ko sa work, I still get to do things on weekdays, hindi tulad dati na kapag weekdays eh work at tulog lang talaga ang 95% ng araw ko. I'm very grateful na sobrang supportive ng manager namin pagdating sa work-life balance.

***

When you talk about other people behind their backs, do you still expect that they will let you eat their food? 'Di ba obvious naman na hindi na? But let's make it more obvious, HINDI NA!

As a person who values peace and quiet at home, the moment you create noise, regardless of how loud it is and who you are, as long as it disrupts that calm, you are no longer welcome inside. You have to go! So don't expect, just please, don't expect that I will just sit in a corner and let you do your shit. Sabi nga nila, my house, my rules.

This is an ongoing, almost daily project that I have now. Expect that this will be updated from time to time.