Chapter 1

I pick up the brush from my vanity drawer and sat it in front of me. Brushing my hair smoothly and staring at myself made me brought back to where I was before. Natigil ako sa ginagawa ko dahil alam ko once na magtagpo ang landas namin ng lalaking iyon, my life would crumble into pieces.

No one knows the reason why I am here—not even those who knew me back home. Walang nakaaalam na nandito ako sa Italy. Nagtatago nga ba ako dahil buntis ako? Probably. Artista ba ako para gawin 'yon? Hindi. Pero gusto kong magkaroon ng peace of mind.

If I'm going to have my pregnancy back home, I will be receiving a lot of words from people who really don't have the right to say something awful towards me. I don't hate my life there, I just don't want it to be what my child would see when I gave birth to him—her.

Kinuha ko na lamang iyong ponytail saka ko ipinusod ang buhok ko. Hindi bagay sa akin ang nakalugay na buhok. I have this rich black hair pero naiisipan kong paputalan hanggang above shoulder dahil trip ko lang. Matagal na rin ang huli kong pagpapaayos ng buhok. Pansin ko rin naman ang bahagyang paglobo ng mukha ko. Hindi ako minamanas. Siguro natural lang na reaksyon 'to dahil sa pagbubuntis ko.

At the age of twenty-five, who would've thought that I will be giving birth this too early? This is unplanned stuff I'm expecting to have sooner. But this is also the consequence of my negligence. Playing with a man with no intention of taking it all seriously.

But I never told him about my pregnancy. The funny thing is, I was about to. Before I could, he left the country—with a girl on his side.

He's a bachelor, wealthy twenty-eight-year-old man, he can do all the things he wanted in life, but other than other, wala siyang bayag upang panindigan ang dapat panindigan.

But maybe I was also stupid for blurting out those words.

I love you...

Malaking kalokohan. Sinong uto-uto? None other than me. Masyado akong nabihag ng mamahaling mahalimuyak niyang amoy.

Everything about him isn't what I hope for a man. And for the reason of that, I wouldn't let my child know his sole existence. I despise myself for giving it all for him.

Saglit lang ay may kumatok sa pinto ng kwarto ko. When I called to let them in, dahan-dahang bumukas ang pinto. Then I saw my auntie smiling at me.

"How are you, hija? Are you doing fine?" she asked, sounding concerned. Well, even though we weren't that close before, as soon as got to Sicily, she made me feel so welcomed I didn't mind our relationship before. She was like a mother to me. She's very sweet.

Tuluyan na rin naman siyang pumasok sa loob ng kwarto ko at tumabi sa akin. She looked straight in me through the mirror. She's smiling at me.

"You look lovely today," she said. "You really got a beautiful hair." Inilapat niya nang bahagya ang palad niya sa buhok.

"I was thinking about cutting it short," I confessed. "I just don't know if I'll look good on it."

"Well, if you really want it, I've got a friend who can give you a pretty haircut and might be a treatment. Pregnancy is stressful. I only had one child, so I know the experience. Pregnancy took your beauty away, but don't worry. You're still looking good as you are."

"Thank you, auntie." I smiled and tapped her hand over my shoulder. "So, when can I get that haircut?" I giggled.

"I must talk to my friend first, but for now, you'll be going with the son of my friend. You mentioned last night you still need to save up some money and I've heard they are looking for people who can help their vineyard. It's not much physical than what you do at the bar so I think you'll suit there."

"Thank you again, auntie. I know I should've rested and taken care of my body. But I also have to save up. I don't have much money left in me—"

"That's alright, Cinta..." malumanay nitong tugon sa akin. Hinaplos naman nito ang balikat ko. "Whenever you needed some help, we can help you in any way. Don't be a stranger to us, you're not like any other, alright?"

I nodded. "Alright, auntie."

She kissed me on my hair and then quickly get me up on my feet so I could meet the person she was talking about earlier. Even though Alessandro had to relieve me from my job as it becomes laborious for someone like me. Though I can still work behind the counter, many unpleasant customers come into the bar and get into trouble from them. I understand what he does for me, but I also wanted to keep ongoing.

When auntie and I headed downstairs, just a moment later, we heard a car horn outside. Dali-dali rin naman naming tinungo iyon at sinilip ang bisita. We then meet the twenty-nine-year-old son of her good friend.

"Ciao," pagbati nito sa amin. Malapad ang ngiti nito sa labi.

"Ciao," pagbati ko rin.

"Andrei, tesoro mio," malambing na pagbati naman ni auntie. Lumapit ito kay Andrei at nagbeso bilang natural na pagbati rito. May inabot pang isang bote ng wine si Andrei kay auntie na sa tingin ko'y produkto nila. Lubos naman ang ngiti ni auntie ro'n. "Grazi, Andrei. Come va?" she asked. (Andrei, my darling. How are you doing?)

"Sto andando bene, Lilian," nakangiti nitong tugon. "Temo di non avere molto tempo. Devo portare Jacinta ora alla vigna." Hawak pa nito sa kamay ni auntie na tila ba nagpapaumanhin pa. (I'm afraid that I don't have much time. I need to bring Jacinta now to the vineyard.)

Tumapon naman ang tingin ni Andrei sa akin. I know he was talking about me since I've heard my name. Hindi pa gano'n kapulido ang pagkaiintindi ko sa lenggwaheng italyano, pero kahit papaano ay naiintindihan ko ito at minsa'y nagagawa ko pang makipagsabayan.

Maybe... that monster taught me something useful.

Tumango naman si auntie. "No, no. E ' tutto a posto. Prendi subito Jacinta. E ' tutta tua." Kinuha ni auntie ang braso ko at saka ako tinulak papunta kay Andrei. Halata ko namang pinagtatabuyan niya ako. (No, no. It's totally fine. Take Jacinta now. She's all yours.)

Natawa na lamang si Andrei habang hindi ko siya matingnan sa mata. Nakakahiya, pero sanay na naman ako kay auntie. Saka aangal pa ba ako? Pinatira niya ako rito sa bahay nila. Iyon nga lang, walang kasiguraduhan kapag bumalik ang anak niya na walang ideya na nasa puder ako ng mga Ferrucci.

"Will come with me?" malambing na paganyaya ni Andrei sa akin.

Tinanggap ko naman ang kamay niya. "Sure, signore."

"Please, call me Andrei. I don't wanna be called signore," mapagkumbaba pa nitong habilin sa akin. Napangiti na lamang ako habang inaalalayan niya akong makapasok sa loob ng sasakyan niya.

When we settled inside, muling kumatok si auntie. Naghabilin lang na kung pwede raw bang ihatid na lang din ako ni Andrei kapag pauwi na since ayaw niya akong palakarin. Pumayag naman agad si Andrei.

Nang patakbuhin naman niya ang sasakyan, mabagal lamang dahil ang ilang kalsada ay makipot at dinaraanan talaga ng mga tao.

"You don't have to give me a ride later," aniko. "You said you're busy so I don't wanna take up your time."

He shook his head, smirking. "No, I don't mind taking you home. Look at you," pagpunto niya. Tinuro niya pa ang tiyan ko. "It doesn't look like you can walk home for about thirty minutes away from your home. So, let me take care of you. At least, just for now."

"Well, thank you for that, Andrei. I really do appreciate it. I just... I just needed a job."

"I understand," he said. "Everything here is expensive. I know we haven't got to talk much, so why did you decide to stay in Sicily?"

Ano nga bang sagot ko ro'n?

I face him and smiled. "I just... I just want to have a normal pregnancy. You know, it's quite morbid back in the Philippines to deal with this kind of stuff."

"Ah, so you're basically running away, huh?"

I glared at him. "Good thing, you speak English so well."

"E devi stare al passo con me sull'italiano." Kindat pa nito sa akin. (And you got to keep up with me on Italian.)

Napangisi na lamang ako. "Whatever, Andrei."

He chuckled. "Oh, I believe this job will really suit you. It's just that, you always have to get here every single day walking back and forth for about thirty minutes."

"I can keep up, Andrei," confident kong sagot sa kanya. "Maybe, I'll get myself a bicicletta."

"Che?!" Gulat pa nito. Muntik pa niyang sipain ang preno sa sinabi ko pero mabuti na lang ay napigilan niya ang sarili niya. Natawa na lang din naman siya nang ma-realize na nagjo-joke lang din ako. "I know you're joking. You really must be joking." (What?!)

"Of course, I am!" I laughed. "I don't really think I would be able to pedal while I'm on this condition. And I think walking is better since it can help my birth easily."

"Oh, sure, but once you get there and see if you want the job for yourself, we'll settle later then."

Dahan-dahan na lamang akong tumango sa kanya. Hindi rin katagalan ay narating namin ang kanilang vineyard. We passed through a field of their property and I believe if I'm going to work on there, I wouldn't be able to do that. Alessandro relieved me from my job as a waitress since I was assisting and standing the whole day to serve the customers.

But Andrei said then I won't be doing any field work. Nakahinga ako nang maluwag do'n.

Ipinarada niya ang sasakyan at saka niya ako inalalayang makalabas. Saglit lang din ay sinalubong ako ng kanyang mother na siyang close friend ni auntie. These people are full-blooded Italian and I don't know how she did that, but I guess for how many years they've been living in Sicily, she knows everybody here.

Hindi rin naman nagtagal ay ipinalaam na nila sa akin kung anong magiging trabaho ko. They were offering me the position of a sommeliere—in layman's term, still a waitress, but a wine steward. They said my job wouldn't be that hard since they believed that with my experience as a waitress at the bar, this would be easy for me.

Ang kinaibahan lamang nito sa pagiging waitress ko sa bar, I don't have to serve the customers minute by minute and in the vineyard, if there are visitors or business negotiators who are looking for a partnership, I would be there assisting them.

Andrei's mother left us for a second.

"I forgot to tell you, we have someone here today looking for a winery to gain partnership with us. That's why I will be busy all day if they approve of our conditions since this businessman came from Rome."

"Oh... I see. You guys should secure that businessman."

He smirked, nodding his head. "Yeah, we're affirming we'll get it." Base sa tono nito, confident siyang makukuha nila iyong negosyante na iyon. "So, what do you think about the job? Do you like it?"

Dahan-dahan naman akong tumango sa kanya. Napakagat ako sa ibabang labi ko habang nakatingin sa mata niya. "I think I can work it out. And how much I'll get paid for this?"

He chuckled. "That'll be negotiable. We'll talk when it's final."

"Sure."

"Maybe later, mamma will settle the offer for you."

"Nice! Thanks, Andrei! You guys are so nice to me. I'm so happy you give me this opportunity."

"Nah, no problem. We're glad we can help you, that's all that matters," he said. Putting his hand on my shoulder and rubbed it a little. "Now, let's see them so you'll get a little idea of what's happening."

Pumayag naman ako dahil gusto ko ring malaman ang proseso nila rito. Sumunod na lamang ako sa kanya saka niya pinakita sa akin ang ilang pasilidad ng winery. Kung gugustuhin ko raw, maaari akong dumalaw sa vineyard, pero hindi naman daw kinakailangan.

Hindi kalayuan ay narinig namin ang ilang boses na nag-uusap-usap kaya naman sa pagliko namin at makita namin kung sino ang mga iyon, natigilan na lamang ako sa paglalakad ko. They were talking about business and negotiating their partnership.

"What happened, Jacinta?" Andrei asked.

I wasn't able to answer his question, and before they could even look in our direction, I ran away.

Like I always did.

#BirthOfLiesInSicily #BOLIS1 #WTS9