Chapter Two

Training

And then the days of my torturous training begun. Aldrich was the one who trained me. Minsan kapag umaalis sila nina Papa ay si Kuya Levi din ang nagte-train sa akin. At mas malupit kapag siya. Pakiramdam ko ay gusto na niya akong patayin sa training. Parang wala akong karapatan magpahinga o huminga man lang.

Napahiga na lang ako sa putikan pagkatapos ng training namin ni Aldrich. Pagod na pagod ako at pakiramdam ko hinahabol ko na lang ang hininga ko. It's summer vacation at imbes na magbakasyon at magpahinga ay ito ang ginagawa namin. Ilang taon na rin pero parang hindi pa rin nasasanay ang katawan ko...

"Stand up, Aeva." Istriktong sinabi sa akin ni Aldrich.

I didn't know yet how strong Aldrich can really get. But I know he's really strong. That I'm always beat after our trainings...

Pinilit ko naman ang sarili ko na bumangon kahit wala na akong lakas.

"Are you ready for your next school year?" He asked me after.

Tumingin ako kay Aldrich. Sometimes... I thought that I knew him. But most of the times I know that I don't. He can be kind to me...and he can definitely be strict, harsh, and mad at me. Especially when I don't do good with our trainings. When Aldrich don't find my strength enough he would also punish me...

Unti-unti akong tumango sa kaniya.

He smiled, and it looks genuine... "High School can be fun..." he said.

Tumango muli ako sa sinabi niya...

Pagkatapos ay binaling ko na lang ang tingin sa malawak na lupain ng hacienda ng mga Avila sa harapan namin. Bumababa na rin ang araw at pagabi na.

Lahat ng nakikita ng mga mata ko ay pagmamay-ari ng mga Avila...

Ana Lucia Zachmann was an Avila. And she was the only one left of the Avilas... The Avilas are of Spanish ancestry—de Ávila.

And Ana Lucia de Ávila married Frith Zachmann who was originally from Germany. Kung saan din nagkita at nagkakilala ang mag-asawa. Ana Lucia met her husband when she was hiding from place to place abroad from the people who wanted her dead because of money...

I didn't know their story before but Mama told me herself...

"Kumusta ka rito sa amin, hija?" Pinasok niya ako sa kwarto ko isang gabi.

We didn't talk before and she's always busy with Papa and their businesses. But I started calling them Mama and Papa because how else should I address them at iyon din ang sinabi nila sa akin na itawag ko sa kanila.

At ngayon ko lang nakausap nang ganito si Ana Lucia de Ávila-Zachmann...

"Ayos naman po..." I quietly said.

They adopted me but I haven't really talked to both her and her husband before. Kaya hindi pa ako ganoon ka komportable kahit matagal na rin simula noong dumating ako rito sa mansyon ng mga Avila...

"Mabuti naman kung ganoon... Let me." Pagkatapos ay kinuha niya ang suklay mula sa akin and she started brushing my hair gently.

Nanatili lang naman akong maayos na nakaupo roon at tahimik din na nakaharap sa salamin ng tokador ko.

"Siguro ay may mga katanungan ka sa iyong isipan... But you will understand things more when you're grown up..." she said.

Nanatili akong tahimik at nakikinig lang. Until she told me the story about her life and how she met Papa...

And maybe I was truly young to understand... That I can only nod to her story...

May mga katanungan nga siguro sa isipan ko pero tinikom ko na lang ang bibig dahil hindi ko rin alam kung paano...

I was young and didn't understand many things and about the Zachmann family. Ang inisip ko lang ay kailangan kong sumunod. Like how obedient the Zachmann siblings and I thought that I should just obey as well.

"Hindi madaling mabuhay sa mundong ito, hija..." Mama said. "You need to be strong. Because the world we live in doesn't accept the weak."

And at that time I didn't understand fully what she told me...

"Make your moves faster, Aeva!" Aldrich shouted.

And my days continued with the Zachmanns.

Binilisan ko naman ang kilos ko. I didn't want to anger Aldrich. He's different when he's mad...

At first I didn't know why we were training. Why I was trained by Aldrich. Pero ganoon din siya sa mga nakababata niyang kapatid at wala naman silang reklamo o sinasabi. Kaya sumunod na lang din ako. Pakiramdam ko ay wala rin akong karapatang magsalita pagkatapos nila akong kupkopin. And I was very young and didn't know about many things yet. And so I was easily manipulated...

Aldrich was the eldest child. Kasunod niya si Archibald, pagkatapos ang kambal. At parang ako ang naging bunso nilang kapatid. Mabait naman sa akin pareho sina Ate Asherina at Kuya Asher. While Levi Archibald seemed to have this wall around him that I can never surpass...

While Aldrich was the first person I trusted among their family...

Pero ang hindi ko kinakaya ay ang nagsimula ring trainings ko kasama sina Aldrich simula nang tumuntong din ako rito sa mansyon. But I have to.

Senyor Frith who's also a doctor physician would regularly check our height and weight, and our growing body as a whole. Senyora Ana Lucia makes sure that we eat healthy and we live healthy...

Maraming bawal pero walang nagrereklamo sa mga anak nila. Lahat ay sumusunod so I did my best to follow as well.

His keen eyes were looking directly at me. His eyes were like that of an eagle... Aldrich was strict with our trainings. And sometimes he's like a different person especially when he would punish me and his younger siblings...

He's like a perfectionist... Nag-iiba ang ugali niya kapag hindi mo pinagbubutihan ang pinapagawa niya...

Nevertheless I still trusted him and I look up to him...

Nagsimula na rin muli ang pasukan. I just entered high school. While Aldrich was in his senior year. Kasunod niya si Kuya Levi na mag-senior high na rin sa susunod na pasukan. While Kuya Asher and Asherina were in the 8th grade.

I grew closer to the Zachmann siblings. I follow Aldrich all the time. At hindi rin mahirap pakisamahan ang kambal. Habang may distansya pa rin sa pagitan namin ni Kuya Levi. Or maybe I was just not as close to him like I am with the twins.

And I already learned to love the Zachmanns as my family. They became important people to me. And I lived with their teachings and the rules of the family.

"Are you really Aldrich's sister?" A famous high school girl talked to me in school one time. Kilala ito dahil mayaman din ang pamilya sa lugar at may magandang mukha. Kaya sikat lalo na sa mga lalaki sa eskwelahan.

"Uh, oo..." nasagot ko naman.

I grew up together with the Zachmann siblings. However there are people who would question me like this. Siguro kasi bukod sa hindi ko naman talaga sila kamukha, morena rin ang balat ko habang mestiso at mestisa ang magkakapatid.

Na bully pa nga ako noong bata dahil sa kaibahan ko sa mga Zachmann. At pinagtanggol ako nina Ate Asherina kahit hindi rin naman ako gaanong naapektuhan noon dahil alam ko naman sa sarili ko na inampon lang ako nina Mama at Papa. Pero mukhang mas naapektuhan pa lalo na si Ate Asherina. Because she's really treated me like her real sister and she gets mad with people who would doubt us being siblings. But at that time it made me happy too that she stood for me, for her younger sister...

"Really..."

I sighed quietly. Tingin ko ay hindi na talaga maiiwasan ang ganito...

Pero ang alam ko ay gusto ng babaeng ito si Aldrich... At magkaklase rin sila at nakita kong nag-uusap minsan...

"Baka naman ampon ka lang talaga and you secretly has a crush on Aldrich." She unexpectedly confronted me.

Nanlaki naman ang mga mata ko sa sinabi niya.

Maraming nagkakagusto kay Aldrich sa eskwelahan. At hindi lang sa kaniya kundi sa kanilang magkakapatid. Hindi rin kasi maitatanggi na puro guwapo at maganda ang magkakapatid na Zachmann. At parepareho pa silang involved sa iba't ibang sports nila sa school at talagang matatalino rin at palaging nangunguna sa klase.

While no matter how hard I try I just can't equal the level of the siblings intelligence and strength in many things. I'm always at the average...

But there's one thing I'm sure I can do that I realized with the years I lived with the Zachmanns. And that is I can be as physically strong as them. Although I may not be as strong as Aldrich and Levi but I can say that I'm not useless in this. I know that I can fight. Kahit hindi ko pa alam noong una kung sino ang lalabanan ko at kung para saan ang mga naging trainings namin...

"You can do it, Aeva. You are strong. And you can fight. You'll be ready in no time." Aldrich gave me a smile and said this to me in one of our trainings.

Aldrich gave me assurance and confidence. And I believed him.

Kaya rin siguro hindi na ako pini-pressure nina mama at papa to do good as well in school kagaya sa mga kapatid ko. Dahil mas mahalaga ang bagay na ito kaysa sa grades sa school...

"Ano'ng ibig mong sabihin..." I asked her.

Naalala kong nagbiruan pa kami ni Ate Asherina sa mansyon noong isang araw. That girls in school can get jealous of me because I'm close to Aldrich. Especially that people wouldn't think that we're siblings at first look. Iyon ang sinabi ni Asherina kahit hindi ko rin iyon masyadong nakuha agad...

And now that I remembered it and I'm being confronted now by a girl, I think I understand...

I wouldn't call Aldrich 'kuya' in my mind. Pero kapag nag-uusap kami ay iyon ang tawag ka sa kaniya dahil iyon din ang sinabi sa akin na itawag ko sa kaniya kagaya kanila Kuya Levi at Kuya Asher. But I realized that there's a reason why I wouldn't recognize him my brother even just in my mind.

"What's happening here?" Ate Asherina came as I was being confronted.

Natakot naman agad iyong babae nang dumating ito at napaatras na. "H-Hi, Asherina!" The girl tried to greet.

"Hi!" Asherina greeted back cooly.

Noong bata pa ako ay kailangan niya pa akong ipagtanggol sa nambully sa akin noon. But when Aldrich knew about it, he punished me. "You are training, Aeva! Why didn't you fight back and just let those stupid kids bully you. Asherina should have not defended you. Defend yourself next time. Or get killed because you couldn't protect yourself." This was what he said to me.

While my eyes widened. Pero tumatak na iyon sa isipan ko. Lahat ng sabihin ni Aldrich ay pinapasok ko sa utak ko.

I thought that it was simple bullying and we were just kids. Pero iba kay Aldrich. Tahimik akong tao at hindi ganoon ka sociable. Ang rason kung bakit siguro nabubully rin ako noong bata. But because of Aldrich I already learned to fight back. At hindi ko na hinayaan ang kahit sino na may gawing hindi mabuti sa akin...

If Asherina didn't arrive I was ready to answer back this girl. Tahimik lang ako sa eskwelahan pero hindi ako pinapakialaman. And maybe this girl just doesn't really know me yet. At malakas ang loob dahil may masasabi rin ang pamilya niya sa lugar na ito. Pero walang pinipili ang mga Zachmann...

The girl, Cara Villanueva, was under the eyes of the Zachmann siblings. She's actually a transferee and her family just moved here thinking that they'll be saved from their illegal and wrongdoings... May ari-arian din kasi ang pamilya nila rito kaya sila umuwi para magtago... But it was a wrong decision because the Zachmanns are even living here...

The first time Aldrich brought me with him and I saw him with my own eyes how he killed a person that night... I was traumatized... I couldn't talk and eat for days and what I witnessed would haunt me in my dreams...

And I was young. I didn't understand a lot of things. Hanggang sa ito na ang buhay na kinalakhan ko...

And Cara Villanueva was the first person I killed with my own two hands and the weapon I had with me that night, too...

I was so young. Maging sina Aldrich at ang mga kapatid niya ay bata pa. That I thought that Senyor Frith and Senyora were cruel to make their kids like this...

But I was told that there's a reason why the family does this... At wala na rin akong panahon para makapagtagal pa ang mga ito sa isipan ko dahil naging mabilis lang din ang mga pangyayari... I have so many questions, but I couldn't. I wanted answer, but I am asked to just follow...

I thought that Cara's family were bad people anyway... And Cara herself killed people on her own at a young age, too. They were evil, criminals... But how about the Zachmanns... What are we?

I was so young when my real family died. But I remember myself going to church with my parents... At ang mga turo nila sa akin tungkol sa kasamaan at kabutihan...

But this is the life that I have now with my new family. And this is the reason for my training. Sometimes I think that I understand but I'm thinking too that I don't...

"Kill her." utos sa akin ni Aldrich.

Pinasok namin ang mismong bahay ng mga Villanueva... Si Aldrich, ako at si Kuya Levi... They killed Cara's parents in their sleep... And I was going to kill Cara...

I killed her.

There was blood... Sumigaw pa siya ng tulong...

But I killed her...

Bigla akong nagising sa kalagitnaan ng gabi na pinagpapawisan kahit galing lang sa pagtulog at hinahabol ko ang paghinga ko.

At first I would still be haunted in my dreams. Pero sa mga sumunod pa ay nasasanay na rin ako sa gawain ng pamilya... Nalamang patay na ang pamilyang Villanueva pero walang mga pulis na humuli sa amin. Walang nakaalam and I heard from Mama that it was a clean job...

Until I completely got used to it... I couldn't be haunted in my dreams anymore. Parang wala na lang sa akin... And I even felt like maybe my soul already left my body... Wala na akong pakiramdam sa mga taong pinapatay ko...