Lance
"Lance, have you talked to Aera?" Lizzy asked, while I was watching television. "These days we cannot talk that much. Why?" I asked back.
Since I have been busy these past few days, I could not text her. Usually, I will text her in the evening and ask how school and stuff is going.
"I am just worried about her. We didn't get the chance to talk for days. I don't know if something's going on or what―but I am not yet sure, okay?" She said, confirming that it was her own thought because I was about to stand up.
"Maybe she's busy with her school stuff?" I asked.
"She will still answer my text. She even talked to me, even though she was reviewing for their quiz. I even went to her room last night, but she was not there. Aera's friend, Leus, is a soccer player. I saw Aera watching from the building on the second floor, but yesterday she did not watch it." She replied.
"Maybe she went home already? Why didn't you ask Leus since you were that worried?" I asked again.
"I don't think so. Leus' friendship with Aera is the talk of the university. So I asked my friends the story about it because they know and like Leus, too. I heard that he is the one who asked to be his friend. Some of his classmates shared that he's the one who made the first move. Somebody saw him introducing Aera to his teammates. And..." She paused.
She is looking at me, not sure if she will continue or not.
"What? Did he harm her?" I asked.
"No!" She answered quickly. "He saved Aera when someone from their department bullied her because of her condition. And... it happened again that she was brought to the clinic by Leus and his friend."
"What? When did that happen?" I asked, surprised by what I'd heard.
"3 days ago, I just knew the story a while ago while I was on a call with Aina," She answered.
"I'll go to Saint Angel to ask her myself. Do you want to come?" I asked.
"Just tell me when you get home." Lizzy answered, so I hurried back to my room to change.
After an hour of traveling, I am already at the Saint Angel Orphanage. The children were playing outside, but Aera's wasn't around.
"Mr. Guevarra?" Sister Ailee said, shocked by my sudden visit.
I turned and faced Sister Ailee, "I heard what happened to Aera. Is she okay?" I asked directly.
She asked me to come into her office. I think she's going to say something serious about Aera.
"I do not know if you can talk to her well, Mr. Guevarra. She has been down for a few days and we can't talk to her properly," Sister Ailee said. "Of all Aera's fears, it is the wounds she has on her body. She was once bullied here by Sandra, her former colleague, who now has a new family. Whenever other people see it or make fun of her about it, she is having a hard time breathing." She added, sadly.
That's why she's always wearing long sleeves, jackets, or pants to hide them all.
"Can I still go and see her?" I asked. "I want to see her and make sure of her condition, if it's okay." I added.
She nodded. "You can. She has this habit that you need to know about," Sister Ailee answered. "If she is sleeping and you cannot wake her up quickly, like if, for example, she is in deep sleep, please wake her up immediately." She added.
My brows knitted. "I-it happened before already, does it still happen here?" I asked, surprised by the news I had heard. "I assumed something was wrong with her because she wasn't waking up or moving. Did you consult a professional?" I added.
"We already taken her there. We were told that it was a result of what she went through. They go to sleep to forget what they are thinking, but they said that we should not let it go because the child may get used to it and may sleep without waking up. So we always monitor her." She shared.
She had been doing it for a long time. Oh, god.
After talking to Sister Ailee, I went to her room. Aunt Nora is sitting inside, watching Aera sleep. I told her I would watch Aera for her and then she went out to do her work.
"Aera," I called, trying to wake her up. "Aunt Nora told me you have been sleeping for hours already. Aren't you in your own world right now?" I tried to tap her hands and shake her a little, but just like what happened before, she's not moving nor affected.
"Stop sleeping too much. You might not wake up, and that's not what I wanted to happen." I said and shook her more strongly than a while ago.
She moved and opened her eyes. When she met my eyes, she pointed her index finger at my cheek.
"I heard what happened to you. I am worried," I said, and let her sit comfortably. I give her some water and sit beside her. "Are you okay?" I asked and she shook her head.
The smile I always see is not to be found in her this time. The sadness in her eyes tells me that she is suffering too much.
"I'm here." I said after pulling her into a hug.
Our hug lasted for a minute. She's now writing in her pad.
'Will you accept me too, even though I have many wounds on my body?'
Is she worried about that?
"I've seen them already since then, and I don't see anything wrong with them," I answered. "I still like you. Those people who can't accept you don't deserve you. Remember that." I added.
She looked at her hands before looking at me.
"Can I see your scars?" I asked.
I can see that she's hesitating.
Aera slowly rolled her sleeves up, then showed it to me.
If her scars can be fixed by laser treatment, I would gladly help her if she's okay with it.
I held her hand, tracing her scars. "I don't see anything that would make me disgusted by your scars. They will accept you no matter who you are. So don't think that these scars of yours are a problem when it comes to finding friends. You can show it to them first so that you will know if they would still like you or not, if they find it disgustful then they don't deserve you, okay?" I said, trying to explain that her scars aren't a problem.
Those people who are finding it disgusting are the ones who are the problem, not her.
"Can you promise me one thing?" I asked. "Stop sleeping in your own world. You can always go to my company or hang out with Lizzy. She is worried about you because you are not answering her texts. You can also go to our house since Mom is finding you and saying she wants to hang out with you more." I added.
Sleeping is her only way to avoid her problems, and I don't want her to do it anymore. She has us now, so she can rely on us. I won't let her suffer again. I won't.