The sun is setting on the horizon. She lets out a ray of scarlet across the skies. From scarlet to orange, she takes her beauty rest. I wish I could take the same rest as the sun has. As Eloisa and I walk down the familiar road that leads us back to the busy streets of the downtown St. Lucia, I could see her downcast eyes and feel her tears building up. I am not one for emotions, but personally, her show of sadness is one I have not seen for years. It was either she was high, or she is priestly.
"What troubles you?" I ask calmly.
Her quavering voice answers back. "I just received a message from my father's lawyer. He says that I am to have no inheritance and I am only my mother's daughter, who even she, refuses to acknowledge out of spite and anger towards her husband. I've lost a home to turn to. I am a pauper. I don't have a job due to my criminal history and background. I am nothing."
I let out a sigh and put my arm around her shoulder as we walk. What has become of us Three Sisters, Three Fools? Life's wheel of fortune threw us high and tossed us down once again. "Do your parents love each other?"
"Yes, I suppose. It all went down when they go against each other's wishes. It is complicated to explain, Rosanna. But, anyway, since they are first cousins, they would need some kind of special permission to marry. They did not get that. So, they used this as a reason to annul the marriage without even considering me."
As we walk the darkening streets, streetlights open one by one as we walk past them. It was as if our mere presence lit up the lights to guide us along the way. "Well, since they love each other, they could work things out. They will get back together, Eloisa. They can remarry once more. You just pray that it happens since love conquers all."
What kind of optimism am I playing right now? I am a realist. Most importantly, the last thing I would suggest to someone is to pray it out. I doubt a good prayer would miraculously solve all the world's problems. You will have to do something before God would grant what you wish. I do not even believe my own words. I just trust in the fact that Eloisa will cheer up as I try to bring her back to her old self.
In my words, she merely sighs. "Do you think so?"
"I think your parents love each other in their hearts and they would remarry for you once love breaks boundaries."
I should not have said that. She falls to her knees and breaks down into tears. Truly, what is happening? I stoop to console her and take her into my embrace. Embarrassing as it is to cry in the middle of the sidewalk, we cannot help ourselves. Life is a big disaster itself. Three sisters who are meant to live after college became three fools who struggle to live. One is half-alive. One is addicted. And one has a target on her back. Alas, this is what will become of us.
"Hush, now," I say as I stroke her hair to soothe hair. "Why are you crying?"
"Rose, I just can't believe that you believe in that. All through my years, they always fought, and it all ends in naught. You, two, were always there for me. When things were great, I felt like I was the nun, the one who seems to have come out of the convent, but now, things have not been great."
I feel her tears flowing through my arms. Gently, I wipe the tears away from her eyes. As I wipe the tears, I can feel her tighten her grip on me, as if she will never let me go again. "We will always be here for you," I say to her as I continue stroking her beautiful locks of hair. "Well, certainly not Emma, because you know, but I will be here for you. I'll always will be."
All of a sudden, she breaks her grip away and looks at me straight in the eye. "Then why do I feel this?"
No, there were no more tears. All I could see in her eyes is fire. Fire burns through her veins as if I have triggered a lion within her. In her times of distress, I have been here for her, but never did I see her like this. All I could do is lower my voice. "I don't understand."
"Rose, why do I feel this… I feel… betrayed."
All of a sudden, she falls back into my arms again. I don't believe I understand what she means. As she leans towards me, she looks at my eyes again, but this time, tears are falling unwittingly from her eyes. "Why do you feel betrayed?" I ask her calmly, despite this rush of emotions she is feeling.
"You have always been there for me. Emma has always been there for me, and yet, I feel like you, two, killed me on the inside." In a fit of a rush, she stands to her feet and wipes away her tears. "I'm sorry, Rose. I have to go!"
Suddenly, she runs away as if she has an errand to chase. The world is truly weird. I cannot believe how she could leave me just like that.
The following day, I could just feel my body aching. I need to get back to work. After the havoc I had gone through all weekend, I can't believe it is another Monday. I can't believe I have to drag myself from my apartment to my office once more. The morning commute is awful. Though the train is a much faster means of transport, its constant breakdown had led me to believe that the bus is a sufficient means of travel. At the back of the bus, I decided to sit by the windowpane. I look around to see how the shopkeepers would ready their stores for the day, how the working class would rush to the stations to catch their rides, how the students would hold their reviewers as they walk, and how a simple journalist, like me, can only bear to take these all in and observe.
In this calm and peaceful day, the bus plays upbeat music that is calming for the soul. With all my stress, somehow, this is one of the rarest moments that I feel well.
My day started great. Unfortunately, every great beginning has to come to an end. I feel my phone vibrate through my handbag. As I look into the phone to see who it is, it is another unknown number. Once again, I am hesitant to answer this one. I've had terrible experiences with unknown numbers. Let's just hope this isn't another trap.
"Hello?" I say as I answer the phone.
"Miss Rosanna Aguinaldo?" the caller inquires.
"Yes?"
"According to your contacts, our patient is your last contact. Eloisa Acosta is confined to a severe drug overdose. Please, you ought to get here quickly. We are clearing the drugs out of her systems. We cannot find any contacts of her immediate relatives."
This is already no shocker for me. I have known her to take in drugs, alcohol, and so much more into her systems. I knew it would only be a matter of time until this happens. The question, however, is why? I thought she already turned sober. We were fine yesterday. That was until she decided to suddenly run away. What could have happened while we were parted that time?
Alas, I had to give up work for this emergency. I drop all my work. As I rush out of the newsroom, I can see my colleagues look at me. Yes, they know who I am. I would never drop and leave my work for anything. But this time, I know that this is an emergency. She needs me. I need to see her. I could hardly care less for what they think of me. They may recant their thoughts of me as a good reporter, but they cannot deny that I am a good friend.
I rushed to the hospital as soon as I can. Yes, it is always the same hospital – St. Patrick's Medical Center. The nurses at the lobby barely even check who I am as I am a frequent visitor of this hospital already. I run for the closing elevator and barely made it in. As the elevator opens at the floor of the ICU, I run for the door and see the agape faces of the visitors. As I rush to the ICU, a nurse suddenly stops me by the door.
"Eloisa Acosta, emergency patient," I say to the nurse. I think that's all the details that they need of my business here.
As she hears the name, she scurries through her clipboard. As she reads the details, I see her eyes widen at what she read.
"Right, follow me, miss."
I feel the nervousness in her voice as she leads me inside. I know, I am nervous for my friend too. As we walk, we pass by Mateo's former room – a room, which is now occupied by another patient. Near the end of the hall, she leads me in a room with a pale Eloisa lying on the bed. I see her pale lips as if life was almost taken away from her. As I was about to fall down on my knees, I clear my thoughts and approach this rationally. I need to keep my head above the clouds. I can't fall down. I need to be… constant. Yes, constant. I guess that's the right word.
"So, what were the drugs?" I ask the nurse beside me.
She pulls out her clipboard and flips through the pages. "It was a dangerous mix of prescriptions, narcotics, and several others. The doctor thinks she was trying to kill herself. It would take some time to clear it out of her systems, but she lives."
I look into Eloisa and all I can see is a shell of her former self. Dear God, what happened to her? She lies on the bed dead as a corpse. Still, she lives, but half alive. Her heart beats weakly, as shown on the screen. Her breathing is slow, like that of a dormant volcano. Yes, she lives, but it was as if she is only a corpse.
"How long will it clear?" I ask blankly.
"Maybe 2 or 3 days."
I sigh in relief as I hear of these words. Had no one saw her, she would have died. "What had happened?" I continue to ask her. "How did you find her this way?"
"Some people saw her wandering around town as if she had lost her sanity. But, suddenly, the witnesses say she fell to the ground. And that's when they called us. Fortunately, we saved her. Had we been anymore later, she would have already died."
I take a moment to look at her once more. This girl is my friend. Why must the world burden me so? Mateo is missing. Ysabel Javier is causing trouble within the elite. And now, Eloisa. I have grown tired and weary to the point that the nurse's words do not even shock me. I just signed the forms for her hospital admission. I hardly cared what this is going to cost me. I just need her alive. She needs to be alive for my sake. She is going to live.