Broken Promises

Copyright 2011 Johnny Domawa

All Rights Reserved

She grinned. She couldn’t help herself. Today was the happiest day in her life. Granted that she might have been apprehensive since last week when she started to feel queasy in her stomach, but today… today is different…

Today is the happiest day in her life.

Perhaps… not the happiest… she smiled inwardly. The happiest day for her is probably the day he told her that he loved her.

She could still remember that day…

It was August, a beautiful day of August when the sky was clear blue and the flowers were in full bloom. He had told her that he loved her and that he would always be there for her.

The hours after that were filled with laughter and dreams coming true. Hours became days and days into weeks and months… like pages in a fairytale story that had no ending…

And now…

She smiled…

This day is the icing to the cake…

The beginning of a new chapter in their story… of their life…

She skipped along the path. A few passersby smiled at her gaiety and a few strangers even gave him a wink as they saw how her cheeks were flushed with life and joy.

She passed by the confectionery shop. The smell of freshly baked bread and cinnamon filled the air. She felt the delectable aroma of strawberry shortcake and her mouth watered at the thought of savoring the it’s taste.

On impulse, she went in.

“Sige na po Tatang… (Come on Grandpa...)” she cajoled the shopkeeper. “Let me have it for half the price…”

The man on the register smiled at her. She realized upon entering that she didn’t have the money.

“Please Grandpa…” She winked at him.

The old man laughed and wrapped up the cake. Laughing, she took it and blew him a kiss making the old man blush in return.

Once more, she was on her way, a merry tune on her lips.

This was her day after all.

And finally she was there.

He saw her through the window and his face broke into a smile. She grinned and ran into his arms.

“Hi Babe” She hugged him and nibbled his ear.

“And hi to you too Honeypot” He kissed her back.

“I’ve got a surprise for you.” She giggled, unable to contain her joy.

He grinned and let her go.

“Oh, I forgot…”She scampered back to where she left the box of cake. “I got you your favorite”

“Oh honeypot… you shouldn’t have…”

“Here, susubuan kita (I’ll feed you…)” She cooed.

“So what is your surprise?” He asked.

Her eyes twinkled and leaned close to him.

“We’re pregnant.” She whispered.

“Wha…!!!” He backed away, stunned.

She giggled and made a move to embrace him again

“I’m pregnant!” She said, louder this time and stepped towards him.

“What?!!” He remained stunned and avoided her lunge. She giggled and made another lunge again. But once more he avoided her.

“I’m pregnant!”

“I’m pre – “ She stopped. His eyes were clouded and the sudden change made her stop on her tracks. She felt as if cold water was poured on her.

“…pregnant.” She froze. He was different. His eyes were different. There was a sharpness there that pierced the distance between them.

“Babe…” She made a tentative step towards him. She reached for him. For a moment, she thought it was the perfect gesture and for a moment, he seemed to reach for her but just as she was about to touch him, he bristled and swatted her hands, the force of it pushing her towards the floor.

She felt herself lose her balance. She might have had regained it and for a brief instant, her instinct to break her fall was in her mind but the combination of surprise and disbelief numbed her reflexes. Her body felt heavy and she felt the vague sensation of her body hitting the floor.

There was no pain. Not when her face hit the hard concrete. The only pain she felt was the breaking of her heart. Her thoughts were jumbled… broken pieces of images without any order at all.

There was only the image of his eyes. More than anger, more than anything she feared.

She felt a dull sensation of something in her body, thuds that made her body twitch but those sensations were distant.

And then there was darkness…

“How does it look?” The detective asked the investigator on scene. Behind the yellow police line, he could see the broken glass and the red splatter on the walls that are just slowly drying up.

The investigator shook his head.

“That bad, eh?”

“She was beaten to a pulp… kicked a hundred times looks like it…” The investigator, a veteran of many crime scenes seemed badly shaken.

The detective simply nodded. Even veterans like them have their limits when looking at the results of human depravity.

“Any idea about the motive?” He asked instead.

The other flipped over his notebook.

“As far as we know, they are a happy couple.”

“Nobody beats their girlfriend to death like that if they are a happy couple…”

“I know...”

Their attention was diverted suddenly when a white robed man burst out from the scene and vomited into the bushes.

It was the coroner.

“What’s wrong doc?” the detective approached the man, dreading the answer.

The coroner winced, looking up at him. There was a haunted look in his face.

“She was pregnant…”

Copyright 2011 Johnny Domawa

All Rights Reserved