Guilty Until Proven Innocent

...

Crispin had a sigh of relief. He was glad Basilio didn’t want to talk about the problem anymore. But he knew that this wasn’t the end of it. Basilio would confront him for the next few weeks.

“We need to go home. Mother’s waiting for us.” Basilio turned around and ushered Crispin to walk. “She cooked our favorite.” Basilio looked down at Crispin. He expected the thought would make his brother smile and it did. He just hoped it made him smile too, but it didn’t.

†††

Basilio walked on the road leading to the marketplace. He was going to buy food for their family. His mother already had a job to do today so it was his responsibility to do the shopping. His mother had given him the list of things to buy. It wasn’t many, but they could manage.

Basilio’s mother, Sisa, didn’t earn much, while their father didn’t earn anything. He would always drink and get drunk. The money he used wasn’t even his. It was from Sisa or Basilio or Crispin. He would always hurt their mother if he didn’t get what he wanted. Basilio hated him.

There was one day when Basilio almost hit him with a rock. He got home at about twilight when he saw his mother getting shouted at by his father outside of the house. His father was ordering his mother to give money so could drink with his drinking buddies. Sisa didn’t give him anything. She said that she already spent it to buy their food for the night. Basilio’s father pushed his mother and shouted curse words at her before kicking her to the ground. The kick went in contact with Sisa’s stomach, which made the air go out of her. Sisa tumbled to the ground and embraced her abdomen. His father was going to struck her one more time if Basilio hadn’t run to interfere and stop his father from hurting his mother. He would have dropped to the ground, grabbed a big rock and punched it through his father’s skull if Sisa hadn’t grabbed his shirt and told him to stop. She told him that he was still his father and he should be polite to him. The always obedient son as he was, Basilio followed his mother and ignored his father, who stomped away back to his abhorrent and vindictive ways.

Why should their mother have to suffer? Why was she still with her husband? Why should their mother be the suspect of a crime she wasn’t guilty of?

The only crime Basilio knew that his mother was guilty of was to love someone who didn’t deserve her affection. She deserved more. She deserved someone who can return the same warmth she gave her children. She deserved someone who will care for her just as much as she cared for her children. Except for him and Crispin, Basilio didn’t know anyone else capable of doing that.

Basilio already bought the household necessities and food supplies his mother told him to buy when he decided to give his mother and his brother a gift. He put the bags down and sneaked at peek at the pocket of his trousers. There were only two things inside. He took one out and bought a new shirt for Crispin and a new skirt for his mother. His brother and mother would love it. He took the other piece out and bought three loaves of bread. It would be enough for them to last for a month unless his father got generous and gave it to his drinking buddies. He went out of the market and started his way home.

The air was full of dust, insects and gossip.

As Basilio walked down the human-trampled road, he heard whispers and snippets of conversation. Two women who wore long skirts up to the ground were talking about a young Filipino Guardia Civil who was accused of raping the daughter of a cabeza de barangay. One of the women said that the daughter’s tutor was the real father, but the tutor was so rich and powerful that the Guardia Civil wasn’t given a trial before throwing him to jail. A couple of noble men with high status in their crisp suits chatted about a man who allegedly stole money from a rich couple. It was never proven that the man stole the money. He was imprisoned even with the lack of evidence. Another group of high-ranking people smothered each other with talks and rumors of unjust in the community and adjacent towns. They spoke of a Senior Sacristan who accused a boy of stealing two pieces. They were still looking for the boy, but the Senior Sacristan was already sure who it was and it sounded like whoever it was, he was going to pay badly.

Basilio got nervous. He knew what they were talking about. He needed to do something about it, but nothing came to mind. He was helpless. He couldn’t help his brother. He couldn’t help him. He gathered up himself. He gathered up his mind. He gathered up his courage. He gathered up his things and ran towards home.

†††

“Crispin! Basilio! Where are you my children?!”

Crispin woke up in the dead of night. His mother’s voice still lingered in his ears. It was a cry of longing. Her mother was sad. She was looking for them.

But why?

Crispin looked beside him. His brother was sleeping soundlessly. His brother looked mostly like their father, but he wasn’t an inch like him. On the other side, his mother slept. Her face was beautiful. It was calm unlike when father was around. He didn’t understand why his mother would look for them.

Crispin was young and naïve. He still didn’t understand what the accusations about him meant. He didn’t know that Senior Sacristan was already plotting against him. He would be imprisoned for some crime he didn’t commit. He didn’t know that in a matter of hours or days his, his brother’s and his mother’s lives would change forever. Things would never be the same again. And it was all because someone stole two gold pieces from the Senior Sacristan.

Crispin decided to fall back to sleep. He and his brother still needed to get back to the church tomorrow. They wouldn’t see their mother for another week. He still felt horrible, but he knew that lying to his mother was the best way to go.

Crispin smiled and kissed her mother’s cheeks. It wasn’t a goodbye kiss. It didn’t even mean anything grand. He just did it to show his love for his mother. Most probably, it was just a good night kiss for Crispin quietly went back to bed.

†††

He took a deep breath, swallowed his tears and ran rapidly towards home. He was a coward. He didn’t save him. He didn’t save his brother. He couldn’t save him. He was too weak. He shouldn’t... He shouldn’t have stolen those two gold