CHAPTER ONE
"A Father's Memory"

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The quality of air has not been the same since his former friend died a few days ago. Andres Capulong thought that his lungs were filled with breath so stale of death and regret that he can only barely manage through his day. It’s already too late to feel sorry for anything, especially now that he has lost everything.

To a hindsight, Andres should feel awesome. He had outlived his bitter enemy. But to what cost? Was it worth all that he had been fighting for? Like the leaves in autumn, everyone around him had been slowly dying one by one...and now he is all alone. He has no one to share his victory with.

Andres pondered upon his despairs as he went through his daily job as a head waiter at a prestigious local restaurant called the Blue Room. To say that he had not been his usual self was a real stretch. His previously robust cheeks had now sunk considerably. His pale skin had turned sallow and grey. Even his jolly eyes had now been overtaken by sadness. He used to have lush hair, now he was completely bald. Andres looked older than his 48 years.

“Pare, are you alright?” asked his buddy, chef Fred.

“Yeah...I’m fine...” Andres said weakly as he brought in an order slip into the kitchen.

“Do you have a problem at home?” Fred queried.

“No, why did you say that?”

“It’s just that me and the guys are kind of worried about you,” said Fred while flipping a steak on the grill.

“Why, what’s wrong with me?” Andres asked in return.

“Nothing much.  It’s just that you’ve lost a considerable amount of weight plus you looked confused and problematic all the time...”

“Look, I’m healthy as an ox...”

“When was the last time you had a medical check-up, Andy?”  Fred pressed further.

“I said I’m fine...” Andres insisted.

Fred can only sigh in return.

If only Andres could convince himself half as much. Truth of the matter was, he was feeling under the weather. It was as if some kind of a poison has spread throughout his body; and the only way to get it out is to every lousy feeling he had in him. It was the worst kind of feeling in the world, and that was because Andres grew back his conscience.

For years, Andres had not felt any remorse for the crimes he did or had been a part of. His heart was filled with rage that none of that humanity bullsh*t seemed to matter. He was so numb and devoid of any emotions. But now, his unwelcome sense of right and wrong has come to collect payback through guilt. Guilty, yes he was. Every life and limb he had severed has come back to haunt him. Every night, every dream, every waking moment. Andres might as well just lose his mind.

Andres could not seem to shrug off what he was feeling. He was too confused and emotional. To make it worse, Andres now found himself imagining things.

At first he thought he was hallucinating, but the more he scratched his eyes the more he confirmed it.

It was really her...his daughter. Alive! Alive in the presence of this other girl.

Andres felt like an invisible string drew him to the young lady by the corner table. She was alone and seemed to be fidgety.

“Hello, good evening, welcome to the Blue Room...” Andres greeted. “My name is Andres, I’ll be your waiter for this evening...”

The girl smiled. "Hello there."

“Can I get your order, maam?”

“Uhm, I’m waiting for somebody...maybe a bit later?”

“A drink perhaps?”

“Pineapple juice, if you have it...” the girl responded.

Andres was stunned. He thought he was seeing a vision. If his daughter was still alive today she would have looked just like her. Her almond shaped eyes were very pretty and expressive. Even the way her nose and full lips were placed on her gentle face, they were exactly dead-on as to that of his daughter.

And like his precious child, this young woman liked pineapple juice too. It was uncanny.

At first, Andres tried to dismiss the striking resemblance. But, as he came back with her ordered drink, he found himself a little bit more astounded.

“Mang Andres, why are you staring at me like that?” asked the young woman.

“Oh sorry, maam. It’s just that you looked exactly like my daughter...” revealed Andres.

“Really?” the young woman smiled back.

“Yeah, even your smiles are the same...” said Andres with a bitter sweet smile of his own. “Both of you are very lovely...”

“Thank you then, I guess...” said the girl.

Andres figured she must be no more than 23 years old.

“Where is your daughter now?” she asked as she sipped her juice.

“She is dead...” Andres replied too candidly.

The girl was so taken aback that she almost choked on her drink. “Really? I’m so sorry to hear that...”

“Almost a year and a half ago...she was seventeen then...” Andres explained briefly.

“What was her name?” the girl asked once more. Her eyes were now slightly animated. It was as if her whole attention was now caught by Andres’ mysterious revelation.

“Her name was Kim,” Andres revealed.

The young lady then gasped. Andres saw her hands tremble as she placed her glass of juice down. She slowly lifted her head and met his bewildered gaze.

“Would you like to keep me company for a little bit, Mang Andres...” she said.

“Um, I'm sorry miss. I don’t think we’re allowed to sit with guests...”

“Please, I insist...” she demanded. “I think we need to talk more about this...”

“Talk?  About what?” Andres said as he interestedly took the seat across her.

Her eyes were very animated.

“Because my name is Kim too...” she revealed staggeringly. “Kimberly David...to be exact.”

Andres immediately felt faint and lightheaded from her revelation. He was immediately glad he took the seat, or else he would have fallen down. Tears immediately stung his eyes. Their resemblance was glaring...and now she tells him they share the same name. Andres never believed in the existence of doppelgangers and body doubles until she has seen this girl. It was as if his own daughter was staring right at him. Andres was now more determined to know what else this girl and his daughter share in common.

Andres immediately looked around him. The restaurant was still a bit empty considering it’s quite early into the afternoon. There were two or three other tables occupied and that was it. Lucky for him, his boss Gerald Garcia was nowhere to be seen these last few days. Andres thought he could spare a few minutes talking to her.

“Mang Andres, tell me about her...” Kim David said.

“Where do you want me to start?” Andres said with a smile.

“I don’t know...” Kim said with equal fervour. “Maybe...start on the day when you remember her most vividly...”

"Okay," Andres replied. With a big sigh, he then began to open his heart...

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“To start her story on the day when you remember her most vividly...”

The thought stuck on Andres’ mind as he began to recall the life of his daughter Kim.

For most fathers, they would probably start from the moment their daughters were born. What could after all be the most colourful recollection of a young one but his or her birth? But for Andres, it wasn’t that day he could remember her most vividly.

Regretfully, Andres was absent from most of Kim’s young life. He didn’t care less for her when she was born. The moment the doctor told them that they were expecting a girl, Andres lost interest for her. He had wanted a boy. He wanted somebody to perpetuate the war he had started. What incensed him more was the fact that his nemesis, Andres Montanez had sired a son. If this rivalry would go past his own generation, then he needed somebody to carry on the torch for the Capulongs. Seeing his daughter made him think of himself as a failure...a failure to his clan.

Deep in his heart though, Andres cared for his daughter. He just wasn’t too gaudy in showing it. He was too stubborn to admit that the only product of his loins represented an integral part of his being.

People say that you don’t get to realize the value of people or things until you have lost them. The very same thing held true for Andres. His feelings for his only daughter changed when he almost lost her back when she was young.

Andres remembers keenly the day Kim was almost taken away from him. She was nine then.

“Boss, we heard that Montanez’ group is on to something new...” said his henchman Manuel.

“Oh yeah? What plans?”

“It involves your daughter, sir...”

“Kim? What are they going to do with her?” Andres said in complete alarm.

“They plan to kidnap her...”

“Kidnap? Why would they do that?”

“We do not know for sure, boss...” admitted Manuel. “But our mole said he overheard Andoy Montanez instructed his men today to pick your daughter up from school...”

"! As in today?"

"Yes, boss. That was what our mole heard."

“What time is it?” Andres demanded in panic.

“It’s four-thirty...”

“We have to get to her quick...” Andres said as he darted towards a waiting owner-type Jeep.

Fortunately, Andres learned of the Ilonggo group's intention to kidnap his daughter early enough for him to foil their plans.

He got to his daughter safely.

The garish motives the rival group had angered Andres. Their conflict had now sunk to an all time low. The Ilocanos retaliated by thrashing their rival groups’ houses. This incident once again reignited a bloody battle between the two groups. More people from both sides died.

This incident forced the local government to decree a law condemning street fighting in both areas. Though from that time on there was lack of large-scale violence, the groups' hatred for one another never mellowed. They seethed in silence. Members from both groups find it wise not to stray into each other's territory. Lucky for one to come out alive if they insisted.

From that time on, Andres then began to be more protective of Kim. It was as if he had suddenly realized how valuable Kim was to him and how close he ever came to losing her. Andres then began surrounding her with himself...and with that newfound closeness, his love for his daughter grew considerably.

His wife’s early death to tuberculosis a few years later made their father-daughter bond closer than ever. Since then, they were inseparable.

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“Hmmm...the day I remember her most vividly....” mumbled Andres. “I don’t know where to start really.”

“Start whenever it is you think she was at her happiest...” said Kimberly David, eagerly awaiting for his story to start.

“That would be the day when she met him,” said Andres with a bitter smile.

“Him?”

“Yes, her so-called soulmate...” Andres revealed as a heavy tear ran down from his cheek.

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It was the summer a year and half ago.

Kimberly Capulong had just turned seventeen. She was a breath of life to anybody she meets. She was beautiful as she was lively. She has this colourful, indomitable spirit...eager for life, Andres terms it.

Kim looked exactly like her beautiful mom. She was daintier and prettier for most Tondo girls. People around her tell her that she was fit to become a movie star. Andres agrees. His daughter indeed was the prettiest girl in that sea of faceless urchins called District I.

One afternoon, Kim came out of her bedroom, a bit giddy.

“Itay (dad), can I please go to the plaza?” Kim asked.

“Plaza? But it’s six o’ clock already...”

“Itay, today is the championship game for the summer basketball league...” Kim explained.

“In that case, no...”

Kim immediately ran behind Andres and hugged him. She does that oftentimes when she had something to ask from him. Frankly, Andres had no response to that. Kim knows that she was his father’s weakness, and she very well knows how to play him.

Andres readily takes her arms off him.

“I said no...” he said sternly.

Kim immediately plodded towards the batalan area.

“Itay...you never let me out at nights...what do you want to do...keep me here forever!”

“Yes...with good reason...” Andres answered tepidly.

“But I’ll be with KitKat...” replied Kim.

Kitkat was her first cousin who was now 25 years old. Like Kim, she is bubbly too; but Andres reckons her niece was just the same mental age as Kim was.

“Kitkat? In that case, definitely NO...”

“Itay...why not?!”

“I don’t trust Kitkat either...” Andres said mockingly.

“Itay, you’re being unreasonable!”

Andres sighed. It’ll only be a matter of time before his daughter could out-reason him. Once Kim makes up her own mind, there is very little Andres could do. He dotes on her too much for her own good.

“There’ll be lots of people there...” Andres said weakly.

“So...???”

“You know how those things are, baby...sometimes those crowd could get rowdy...”

“Please, Itay, I promise you...” Kim begged further. “As soon as we sense trouble, Kitkat and I will go home right away...”

“You better...” muttered Andres.

Kim's fake frown suddenly turns into a smile. She runs over to her dad and hugs him.

“You mean to say...we could go?”

Andres nods. He smiles nervously as his daughter celebrated.

“You’re the best dad ever!” Kim said excitedly as she jumps her way up and down towards her bedroom.

“Kim, wait, promise me you’d come back before nine...”

“Nine?” asked Kim, her head jutting out from her bedroom door. “Why?”

“Remember, Franco? The son of Congressman Moreno?” said Andres.

Kim groaned lightly. “Yeah, what about him?”

“Congressman called me earlier this afternoon,” explained Andy. “He asked me if it was okay for his son to pay you a visit tonight.”

“Pay me a visit? Why, I’m not sick...”

“You know why he wants to visit you, don’t you?” Andres clued in.  "don't give me that look as if you don't know."

“Itay naman, what did you say to them?” Kim said grimly.

“Of course, I said yes...”

“But why?”

“He’s a good kid, baby.” Andres replied. “He’s a good match for you...”

“Eeww, the guy is so mayabang (show-off)...” Kim said.

“How do you know? You have not even given him the chance to meet you yet.”

“Itay, all I needed was one look at him and I can definitely say that what is between his ears is nothing but air....”

Andres suddenly gave her a sardonic smile.

“Please, anak.  Do this for your dad...”

“Itay, I’m too young for this courtship business...” Kim said. “I’m only seventeen...”

“I’m not saying that you get married with this guy...” said Andres. “All I’m asking is that you get to know him...”

“Really?” she answered dryly.

“Promise...” said Andres. “After tonight, if you don’t like him...I’ll tell him off myself.”

“Okay, deal...” Kim said. “Let me have my fun first then I’ll come back to entertain that monkey...”

“Kim, please...be in your best behaviour tonight.”

“Don’t worry, dad...” Kim said with a wry smile. “You’ll be proud of me...”

Andres gulped nervously. Being the rebel that she was, Kim has something up her sleeve for sure.

Half an hour later, Kitkat arrived to pick up Kim.

“Tito Andy, is Kim ready to go?” asked his emaciated looking niece.

“Yes, she is...” Andres said. “Kimmy, baby, your cousin is here...”

Kitkat smirked. “Tito Andy, why do you still call Kimmy your baby?”

“Because she is...” Andres answered.

Kim emerged from her bedroom looking fresh and lovely in a bright green jacket and white shorts.

“Anak, don’t you think it’s a bit chilly tonight?” Andres said.

“Itay, that is why I have this jacket on.”

“I mean your shorts...they’re a bit...err, short...”

“Itay, this is how they should be...” Kim answered. “Kitkat’s are the same...”

“But Kitkat doesn’t have the legs to go with them, so it’s okay for her to wear that.”

“Uncle Andy!!! That is offensive!” Kitkat complained.

The father and daughter laughed.

“I was just joking, Kittykat...” chortled Andres.

“Tito Andy, did anybody tell you have a lousy sense of humor?”

Andres chuckled.

“Come on, Kit...” said Kim. “We’d better go now before Itay changes his mind...”

Andres then remembers something important.

“Kim, put on this cap!” Andres grabs a worn-out baseball cap hanging from their wall.

“Why?”

“Even though you guys are going to a place within our territory...I don’t want any Montanezes to recognize you...just in case...”

“Is that completely necessary, tito?” Kitkat said.

“Yes, Itay, we have a whole gang of Ilocanos to protect us there...” added Kim.

“Yes, it’s a must! ” Andres sighed as he forces the cap into her pony-tailed head. “Besides, I don’t want you to catch a cold...”

Kim groaned once more as she and Kitkat walked away chattering excitedly.

Looking back, Andres wished he never let her go.
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April 30, 2009