1 The Witness

(Sixteen years ago)

One rainy evening, the 6-year-old and innocent Gabriel and his dad were talking and playing on the extravagant and pre-hispanic inspired balcony of their luxurious 2-hectare mansion which is located at the very peaceful, tidy, and well-fixed barangay, Poblacion, Ronda, Cebu, Philippines.

" Thank you so much dad for giving me this favorite toy", Gabriel said to his father, and at the same time, he hugged him.

" For you son, I am willing to give and do everything", Mr. Fernando Manubay (Gabriel's dad) replied.

He smiled at his father and hugged him tightly.

" Son, please excuse me because I have something to do", his father added and immediately excused himself.

When his father immediately excused himself, his father's wallet also dropped on the ground so Gabriel hurriedly picked up the wallet and chased his father to return the wallet.

"Father, Father, your wallet!", Gabriel tried to stop his father.

Mr. Manubay did not notice Gabriel calling him because they were already far from each other so Gabriel just quickly chased his father and when he successfully followed his father he was startled. After all, he saw his mother too. He did not yet return the wallet to his father because he was wondering what his parents did in that abandoned warehouse behind their mansion.

He hid and observed what will happen next.

" Why did you do that?", Mr. Manubay shouted at his wife (Gabriel's mom).

Mrs. Manubay just kept on crying as a response to his husband. When she continued crying, Mr. Manubay mercilessly slapped her five times.

Gabriel was shocked by what he saw and tears starting to flow from his eyes.

" I am loyal and faithful to you all this time but why did you still do that!", Mr. Manubay exclaimed at Mrs. Manubay's face.

Mr. Manubay punched Mrs. Manubay which caused her to faint and he immediately brought Mrs. Manubay to the deserted backyard of that abandoned warehouse.

Thirty minutes later.

Mrs. Manubay woke up.

He hid under the big tree so that his father will not catch him.

"I am sorry Fernando", his mother said while crying.

But his father just punched his mother using a stone.

" Please spare me", Mrs. Manubay pleaded to Mr. Manubay.

What happened next was very shocking for Gabriel because his father got the butcher knife and immediately stabbed his mother's chest ten times and his father quickly dragged Mrs. Manubay onto the big hole he dug up earlier and after that, he covered it with soil.

Gabriel was sobering until his father noticed something.

"Who's there?", his father shouted.

Gabriel remained silent and cried silently.

At that very moment, the 6-year-old boy did not know what to do after he witnessed how his father buried his mother alive.

He just walked away from that place while still crying and wondering if that's a nightmare or reality.

" I hope it's just a nightmare, please wake me up", he said to himself while slapping his face.

He just wandered on that night to Ronda's 300-meter, peaceful, and refreshing wharf. He was alone, sitting on the end of the wharf feeling the cold breeze from the sea of very cold midnight.

In the morning after that very traumatic night for Gabriel.

Gabriel woke up and wondering why his eyes were swollen when he looked at himself in the mirror.

"Why are my eyes swollen?" he asked himself and he immediately went down to drink water.

"Mrs. Manubay is very helpful to all of us but why did she end just like that?" Housekeeper 1 said that to another housekeeper.

"I agree with you, how come that she was brutally killed" sadly responded by the housekeeper 2.

Gabriel heard all of their conversations and suddenly remembered what he saw that night. The time stopped for Gabriel at that very moment while tears are starting to flow from his eyes.

The housekeepers saw Gabriel and they immediately walked away.

Gabriel hurriedly went back into his room and all that traumatic scenes were flashing back in his mind.

"It is not a nightmare!" he shouted angrily and became wild in his room by throwing every single thing he touched toward the wall of his wall.

"Mr. Manubay, Gabriel is going wild right now in his room" the housekeeper reported to Gabriel's dad.

Mr. Manubay immediately went to Gabriel's room.

"Son, please stop that" Mr. Manubay tried to stop Gabriel by hugging him tightly.

"Don't you ever touch me again you brutal killer and old whore!" Gabriel shouted at his father and pushed him away.

"What are you saying about the son?" his father responded.

"Stop pretending! I saw everything with my two bare eyes!" he angrily responded.

"That is not what happened, please hear me out son" his father pleaded to him.

Gabriel is not willing to listen to his father's explanation and he chased him away.

Since then, Gabriel never approached or talked to his father even though his father tried his best to earn his trust again.

(Present)

A girl knocked and opened the door.

" Sir, please prepare for your next meeting with the board of directors because they are expecting you to present the new strategy on how to market our resort," Gabriel's secretary told him.

" I knew it already! How many times do I have to tell you that stop reminding me of the things that I am going to do because you are so annoying!" Gabriel shouted as a response to his secretary.

The secretary was very scared so she immediately went outside and closed the door.

Ten minutes later.

Everyone in the meeting room was chatting before Gabriel went inside.

(Footsteps approaching towards the meeting room)

"He's coming so everybody must be quiet," said one of the board of directors.

(Door opens)

"Good morning sir", greeted by everyone in the meeting room Gabriel.

"All of you be seated because since the day that I was appointed to manage this dying resort, my morning is and will always not good!" he said to the employees while pointing a finger at each one of them.

Everyone was not shocked by what they witnessed because they were used to Gabriel's attitude. Instead of talking back or saying something to Gabriel, they just seated immediately.

To be continued...