The Best Gift of Sunset

A short story about a daughter's love to her father. It is how love forgives even the most painful sin.

The sun has set. You can feel the kiss of the brisk October air on the narrow street of Sitio Pio which is once again filled with residents moving here and there, preparing to welcome the nightfall.

Women of the houses are rushing home to prepare dinner as their husbands arrive from another exhausting job. Students are walking home after devoting eight hours at school. The rest of the residents are just enjoying the serenity the twilight brought after a weary day.

Almost everywhere you can see the common, yet different faces of life in the Sitio. For the past seven years, nothing has changed except, probably the time that went by.

You will see the barbeque stall of Aling Lilia directly beneath the strike of light from the lamppost. It is there that costumers devour the grilled thinned pork, betamax or the coagulated blood of chicken, helmet or the chicken’s head, chicken’s foot or adidas and isaw or the chicken’s intestine which is also called as IUD. Costumers always come back not only because of her grilled internals’ delectable sawsawan, but also because of her beautiful daughter, Rosalie whom she thinks brings the luck.

Facing the stall is Aling Tekla’s sari-sari store where the plump, 60-year old widow kind-heartedly tends on the needs of her sukis. Residents choose to buy at her store rather than Aling Maring’s store which is only two houses away from hers. They love those creases beside her small black eyes and her friendly warm smile compared to Aling Maring’s frown.

Near Aling Maring’s store is an electronics repair shop owned by Mang Nestor, a jolly old man on his mid-fifties. His shop still accepts damaged appliances to be repaired. His wife, Aling Sita is a short, slim old woman who doesn’t talk much. She is known as the best tailor in the Sitio and even in the adjacent barangays. The couple has four children, two of whom are still in college while the other two are already happy with their own families.

Just in front of Mang Nestor’s shop, five adult men are sitting around a small bamboo table exchanging stories. Of course, there are some beers and pulutan to share with. It is normal for the residents to see these men every sun down to midnight drunk to sleep in the street.

Playing at the street are the kids of the Sitio. Not even time can erase their habit of playing patintero or tumbang lata after coming home from school. They even still play hide and seek whenever the moon is full. The only difference is: they are not the same kids anymore as those who played seven years ago on that same street.

Not far from the lamppost is the vacant lot owned by a rich Chinese businessman who has a wholesale business at the far end of the street, near the highway. The man planned of building an apartment at the vacant lot since he bought it from a politician, but years have already gone by and the lot remained as it is. It still serves as a basketball court for the teenaged boys of the Sitio who play from sun up to sun down.

The houses are still the same; some walls might have been painted with another different color, roofs might have been tattered by the typhoons that visited the country, yards might have been cleared out of weeds, but they are still the houses that the residents of Sitio Pio grown up having.

And like any other things that never change for the past seven years in that place, there still stood that old house made of bricks and cement at the end of the neighborhood. The house was built twenty five years ago. It was only made of wood back then and was supposed to be renovated seventeen years after it was built. However, after two more years, its settlers left. Its reconstruction has never been continued and no one knew if it is intended be lived at again.

A white car manoeuvres through the narrow street of the Sitio dragging with it the curious gazes of the residents. Everyone halts from what they are doing as the car takes a stop at the front of that old house. It is an unusual thing to see a car drive through the narrow street of Sitio Pio much more stop in front of that house.

A young lady comes out of the car. The residents begin to exchange whispers.

“Isn’t she the eldest daughter?”

“What is she doing there?”

“Are they planning to sell the house now?”

“I wonder what happened to them after they left.”

“It was seven years already. Do you think she had already forgiven him?”

Forgiven him…

She glances at her side upon hearing those words. The crowd stops murmuring and forces a smile towards her.

Same old neighbours…Same old attitudes…Same old habits…

She gives a smile back, not a false one of course. Although you may hate that manner of them, it is still one of the things about her former neighbours that she misses. Gossips make a place in this country alive.

“Melissa, kamusta? Are you planning to sell your house already?” asks Aling Maring.

She remembers this lady having a misunderstanding with her mother back then. Her mother is not the only one who had made an argument with Aling Maring. Almost most of the neighbours had. Although they do not like her treatment with others, but still, Aling Maring is one of those who gave color on her childhood life.

She shakes her head as to say no.

This house still holds good memories. Selling this means selling half of my life.

“My mother actually was planning to have it renovated.”

“Anyway, how is your mother? I’ve missed chatting with her. How come she did not visit even once for the past seven years?” It is Tiya Nida, the owner of the house nearest theirs. She had been a good neighbour to them. During the times when they were so poor, with no money to buy their basic needs at the very least, Tiya Nida helped them out by lending them money and giving them food to eat.

Tiya Nida’s eldest son, Jimuel was her best friend…and her first love as well. She never forget those wonderful moments with him.

“She’s okay. I entrusted the management of the restaurant to her.”

“Kay swerte naman ni Gina,” Tiya Nida says.

“How about your father?”

Melissa feels as if the world suddenly stopped. It is the question that she has been avoiding for the past seven years.

Her father...

I don’t remember having a father…Not even wanting to remember I have one.

She looks away from them to conceal the mixture of emotion that flooded her whole being. She lifts her gaze and looks at the house that holds her childhood dreams, memories and life…the house that witnessed every smile she worn and tears she shed…the house that she once called home where she once had a complete and happy family.

Seeing it again after seven years, she feels that familiar warmth once again even though there is still the pain, the hatred and the longing. And for the first time after a long time without triumph, she feels like coming back on the starting line…

…

The sun had set. You could feel the kiss of the brisk October air on the narrow street of Sitio Pio which was once again filled with residents moving here and there, preparing to welcome the nightfall.

Women of the houses were rushing home to prepare dinner as their husbands arrived from another exhausting job. Students were walking home after devoting eight hours at school. The rest of the residents were just enjoying the serenity the twilight brought after a weary day. One of them was Melissa.

After coming home from school, she immediately put her bag down and changed her uniform. Then, she rushed out of the house towards Aling Tekla’s store.

She passed by Jimuel and the other kids playing patintero who asked her to join. However, she just darted off and promised to play with them later.

Aling Tekla smiled at her when she arrived. She smiled back at the lady and sat at the bench in front of the store. She fixed her eyes at the Sitio’s entrance and waited for someone.

“Are you waiting for your father?”

She glanced at Aling Tekla and smiled widely. “Opo.”

The thought of her father coming home cheered her.

Her father, Mang Julio was working on a city far from the Sitio. He would only come home during special occasions like his three children’s birthdays. The last time he went home was five months ago when they celebrated the third birthday of Melissa’s youngest sister.

That evening, she waited for him again because the next day would be her seventh birthday.

She was not expecting for a lavish birthday party because she knew that her parents could not afford one. They were just like every family in the Sitio, who lived a simple life with no wealth except each other. Poverty might be mirrored upon the life of the residents in Sitio Pio, but nothing was better than the people’s bayanihan especially in times of crisis. The dwellers of the place treated each other just like a member of a big family.

The only thing she wished for was to have her father at home on that special day and that was enough for her.

The sun had already disappeared, yet there was still no sign of her father. The kids playing on the street a while ago already went home and were probably eating dinner already.

Melissa still had her eyes glued at the Sitio’s entrance, waiting for her father to make it for dinner. She was getting worried although she kept her hope high.

“Melissa, are you not going home yet? It is almost seven o’clock,” she heard Aling Tekla told her.

She did not answer.

Then minutes passed, she felt someone tapped her shoulder. When she looked up, she saw Jimuel smiling down at her.

“Your mother asked me to take you home. They are already waiting for you for dinner.”

She sighed and glanced back at the street. No sign of her father still.

“Come on. You can wait for him at your house. He never fails to come home during your birthdays, hasn’t he?”

It was true that her father never forgot their birthdays, but she was really worried that night.

The next morning, Melissa woke up with a sullen heart. It was her birthday, yet she was not happy. She went out of their bedroom still sleepy, so she failed to notice the man sitting by the dining table.

“Happy birthday, ‘nak!”

The voice woke her sleepy mind and cheered up her gloomy heart. She rushed toward him with open arms. He enclosed her in a tight embrace. The best gift she had for her seventh birthday�"a hug from her father.

…

The sun had set. You could feel the kiss of the brisk October air on the narrow street of Sitio Pio which was once again filled with residents moving here and there, preparing to welcome the nightfall.

Women of the houses were rushing home to prepare dinner as their husbands arrived from another exhausting job. Students were walking home after devoting eight hours at school. The rest of the residents were just enjoying the serenity the twilight brought after a weary day…except for Melissa.

The next day would be her tenth birthday, yet she did not feel like celebrating. She just stayed in their bedroom all day shutting the world outside.

Her father decided to go abroad to earn a living. The thought of her father working miles and miles away from them saddened her. Having him afar from them meant incomplete Christmases, incomplete New Years, incomplete birthdays, incomplete home...On the other hand, it also meant good future�"the thing both their parents wanted for them.

She heard that her father was all ready to leave, but he just couldn’t because he had not yet received a goodbye hug from Melissa. When, she heard him knock at the door, she pretended to be asleep.

“Melissa, papa’s leaving.”

She did not budge, but she felt her tears welled up again.

Mang Julio leaned and kissed her on the forehead before leaving. As the door closed, tears began to roll down from Melissa’s eye.

That was the first depressing gift she had received from him.

For two years, her father had been out of the country working for their family. On the end of his contract, he went home to attend her elementary commencement exercise. She was so proud going up the stage being recognized as the batch second honor with her father watching her from the audience. She felt like shouting, "Papa, see, I studied hard."

They spent the whole summer vacation together enjoying every moment they had.

For another two years, her father had worked again on the same country and on the same company. For the past four years, they had experienced a good life�"well fed, well clothed and well educated. It was so good that she failed to notice the changes.

His father's contract ended and he went home again. They decided to have their house renovated.

Two months after Mang Julio went back again to the country where he worked. Little by little, the house was reconstructed and little by little, Melissa’s life changed.

Her father’s call became infrequent. Her mother became ill-tempered. Melissa began feeling distanced from her family. Most of her time had been spent with friends and she learned to become irresponsible.

…

The sun had set. You could feel the kiss of the brisk October air on the narrow street of Sitio Pio which was once again filled with residents moving here and there, preparing to welcome the nightfall.

Women of the houses were rushing home to prepare dinner as their husbands arrived from another exhausting job. Students were walking home after devoting eight hours at school. The rest of the residents were just enjoying the serenity the twilight brought after a weary day…They became stranger to her�"the sunset, the narrow street of the Sitio, the residents, the house…her family…herself.

She would be turning seventeen the next day. People said that seventeen was the best year of a person’s life. You had to enjoy the carefree world of adolescence for the last time and prepare yourself as well for the responsible world of adulthood.

For Melissa, however, turning seventeen was the most dreadful event of her life because for the first time, she realized that she was not a kid anymore. The reality of life slapped her and she was unguarded, thus she was hurt badly.

“May ibang pamilya na ang papa niyo.” �" Was the most horrible gift she had ever received. That was more depressing than his first goodbye kiss.

Pain was the first thing she felt when she heard that news right from her mother. She already heard it from those gossipers at Aling Tekla’s store, but ignored it, thinking that it was only a rumor.

It had explained everything�"the coldness on her father’s voice whenever he called, her mother’s cries every night, her parents’ often arguments and the unfriendly chill in their home.

She was too busy enjoying her young life outside that she did not notice the changes that took place in their own home. It was too late now; she was hurting so much already.

Love became hatred. Longing became pain. And all the good memories with her father became a shattered glass that pierced her heart.

Mang Julio did not come home since then. They heard that he came back to the country and stayed with his new family, but she no longer cared. She tried to avoid any news about her father since then, much more tried to forget about him.

Since then, she hated the sunset and never celebrated her birthday again.

…

The sun had set. You could feel the kiss of the brisk October air on the narrow street of Sitio Pio which was once again filled with residents moving here and there, preparing to welcome the nightfall.

Women of the houses were rushing home to prepare dinner as their husbands arrived from another exhausting job. Students were walking home after devoting eight hours at school. The rest of the residents were just enjoying the serenity the twilight brought after a weary day…the things that they would be leaving behind.

After a year since Mang Julio officially left them, Melissa’s mother, Aling Gina decided to leave the Sitio with her children. They started a new life on a new place far from Sitio Pio.

Aling Gina started a small business out of the money they had saved. Melissa helped her mother by working as a part-time sales lady at a mall in the nearby city while studying at the same time. She became more responsible being the eldest child.

She graduated cum laude from college with the degree in Accountancy. Months after, she passed the licensure examination and found a job immediately after.

Because of her hard work, their life prospered. They were able to establish a restaurant that her mother has been managing. Her two siblings were able to go to college. She was able to buy her own car out of her own earning. She already has her own family living a well-to-do life.

Her life changed, but despite the success she attained, she still felt incomplete. She was yearning for something.

…

The old house looms before her. The sun is unfolding its final show, turning the sky into something red-orange. It had been her favorite time of the day back when she was still a child. Now it only serves as a reminder of what she lost along the way of growing up.

Melissa walks toward the house. People who are not familiar with the Sitio think that the house is haunted by ghosts. However, for her, it is haunted not by ghosts of the dead, but by ghosts of her childhood.

She opens the front door. Unexpectedly, it isn’t lock. She wonders if someone is staying there without their family’s consent.

The air inside is musty just like any other house left untouched for many years. There is no electricity to light up the house, but she knows every corner of it even if it is dark inside. It has been a part of her.

The memories come flashing back. It’s as if she enters a time machine which brings her back to the past.

She imagines her whole family sitting by their sala; enjoying their favorite television program before going to sleep; the three of them, Melissa, her younger brother, Julius, and the youngest, Veronica teasing each other, joking and laughing…Their parents just watching them. The small table her father made where they shared a simple meal which her mother cooked. It was the same table which served as their study table, where books replaced the dishes after dinner. The pugon where her mother used to cook food and her favorite cat used to slept during the cold weather.

Such simple yet content living was what composed her childhood…the things she never realized she misses until now.

She is about to open one of the window when she hears someone coughed. She instantly turns her head to see who it might be, but there is no one. Then she hears it again. It is coming from the room that used to be their bedroom. She is certain that someone is in there.

Courageously, she heads to their old bedroom. The door is slightly ajar. Slowly, she peers inside. Something moves in the corner where her old bed was. Someone coughs again. She is now sure that someone is occupying the bed.

“Who are you?” she asks.

Strangely, she is not afraid of whoever it is.

A long silence passes before the intruder answers.

“Melissa…”

The voice sends a chill run down her spine. That voice…she will never be mistaken…no, she will never forget…

“Anak…”

Several emotions engulf her whole core�"happiness, hatred, longing…all those which she has never felt for the long time is consuming her now. And for the first time in seven years, tears run down her cheeks once again.

With the little light emanating from the surroundings outside and piercing through the closed window of the room, she can see a thin old man staring up to her.

He is not the same as the one she last saw�"healthy and full of life. Now, he looks like that old house�"aged and worn out.

Seeing him in that state, she suddenly feel regret for holding her hatred toward him for a long time. A twinge of pity touches her unhealed heart. The pain and anger that reigned in her for the past seven years is replaced instantly with longing.

With wobbling knees, she covers the distance between them�"the distance she never dared cross until now.

The man reaches out his hand. She stops on her track, undecided if she would reach out her hand too.

“Forgive me,” the man utters in a muffled voice.

Would she? For betraying her faith on him, causing her unbearable pain, teaching her to loathe someone important to her, leaving her wounded for many years…would she forgive him in exchange for her shattered childhood memories? Would it be worthy?

But the blood running through her veins tell her to do so.

She chokes back her tears and in broken voice she asks, “W-what…happened? Y-your…your family…where are they?”

The man’s hand falls to his side. “Forgive me for ruining our once happy family. I was so selfish. I walked astray. I’m sorry, anak.”

“My wife left me for another man three years ago with our daughter. I believe that was my karma because of what I did to you. After that I kept on looking for you to ask for forgiveness. I and your mother met. She had forgiven me. She even offered me to live with you again, but I declined. I don’t deserve it.”

“I inquired about you and your siblings and I discovered you already have your own family and is living a good life. I am so thankful that God never leave you after what I did.”

She wanted to pour all the pain and misery she and her mother experienced right in his face, but all she could do now is to stay silent and listen.

“Six months ago, my health began to fail. I went to a doctor and discovered that I am sick. I am suffering from lung cancer, stage two.”

The news shocks her. She never anticipated such news from him after seven years. She always thinks that he is living a fine life not even thinking that he might be ill. But with what he told her, she feels awful. It’s like the world has totally crushed on her feet.

“Before my life would come to an end, I only wish one thing: your forgiveness.”

Tears starts racing down her cheeks.

“Papa…”

She moves toward him and encloses herself on his hug�"the hug she never felt for the long time; the hug that guarantees security; the hug that tells her that he would never let go again.

For the first time after a long time on a tough winding road, she finds her way back, back on his arms…her father’s arms. In this moment, she feels like a child once again�"the child who waits for her father to come home for her birthday; the child who proudly walks up the stage while her father is watching; the child who finds her sanctuary on her father’s embrace…

“Happy birthday, ‘nak.”

The sun has set. You can feel the kiss of the brisk October air on the narrow street of Sitio Pio which is once again filled with residents moving here and there, preparing to welcome the nightfall.

Women of the houses are rushing home to prepare dinner as their husbands arrive from another exhausting job. Students are walking home after devoting eight hours at school. The rest of the residents are just enjoying the serenity the twilight brought after a weary day...one of them is Melissa.

Today is her birthday and she just received the best gift.