CHAPTER 9: MURDER
Things were back to normal again for the Santonios, but not for Arlene. Roberto was a very fine kid and acknowledged Isabella and Paulo as his parents almost immediately. He still had a few Chinese backgrounds in him, so it wasn’t surprising when he addressed Arlene as his Jie-Jie (Big Sister).
Arlene tried to make peace with herself and tried to accept him into the family but she could see that her position in the family and in Isabella’s eyes as her only little girl was beginning to sway yet again. She was often told to be lenient with Roberto and not fuss about little things Roberto did. There was once Arlene tried to get attention from her Mama by painting a pretty picture of her and her Mama together but the moment she turned her back, Roberto—the child he was—snuck up and doodled all over the painting. Needless to say, when Arlene complained this to Isabella, Isabella told her to forgive Roberto for he was only a child.
There were other times when Arlene felt threatened too, especially at the dinner table. Roberto would sit closely beside Isabella and Isabella would feed him. Arlene could only sit and watch Isabella feeding him spoon after spoon of food that she herself was not programmed to accept. All the Santonios did were laughing and fussing all over Little Roberto. Arlene could see that those eyes reserved for her were again taken away by the existence of this unwanted ‘intruder’.
Kitty, who was sitting at the dinner table beside Arlene, feared the worst.
Arlene was playing a game of dodge ball with Roberto in the yard, using a soft ball that wouldn’t hurt him when the ball hit him. People who passed by their home smiled when they saw how much fun those two siblings were having. What they didn’t know is that Arlene wasn’t doing this with her own free will. She did it to please her Mama.
There were a few times when Arlene threw the ball too hard that when Roberto dodged it, it rolled out into the busy street and Arlene often had to get it. But then when the ball rolled out into the road again, Arlene stood there without moving an inch.
“Jie-Jie, why don’t you get the ball?” Roberto was surprised.
“I want you to get it,” Arlene smiled innocently.
“No. You always get the ball. Why should I go get it?”
“Because I want you to.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m your sister,” Arlene smiled even sweeter as she advanced towards her brother, “and brothers always listen to their sisters. Besides, if you go get it, Mama would like you more.”
“Really?” Roberto’s eyes began to widen in wonder.
“If you go get the ball, Mama would say that you are a brave boy. She might even give you a candy, and I will give you a candy too. Do you want candy?”
Roberto nodded eagerly.
“Then go get the ball. And then I’ll go tell Mama and we will both give you a candy.”
Roberto smiled happily as he ran towards the road to get the ball. As the small child he was, he didn’t bother to look left or right. His eyes were on the ball and his mind was on the candies he was going to get when he retrieves the ball. He didn’t notice the dark smile on Arlene’s lips.
Needless to say, an accident was inevitable. A car came closing in unaware and was unable to notice Roberto’s tiny body in the middle of the road. It was so freaking big for a car and quite fast that Roberto was not going to make it. But luck was pretty much on Roberto’s side and not on Arlene’s, for when the incoming car came and was almost going to hit Roberto, it slowed down just in time to only bump Roberto a little and topple him like a pack of cards. Roberto landed slightly hard on his butt and was soon heard crying.
Isabella heard his cries and came rushing out of the house. The driver came out of his car too and apologized profusely to Isabella for all the trouble. Isabella carried Roberto in her arms and hushed him while Arlene glared darkly at the car that was leaving as she picked up the ball.
“Why didn’t you look after your brother, Arlene? You know it is dangerous for him to go out in the road!” Isabella said as soon as they were inside the house. Lucky for Roberto, he only had a few bruises and a small cut.
“Jie-Jie said I can get a candy if I get the ball,” Roberto pouted, looking at Arlene with tear-filled eyes.
“I thought there was no car, Mama,” Arlene replied innocently when Isabella looked at her. “The road was clear. I was going to get him when I saw the car, but I was scared, Mama…”
“Alright, alright, Arlene. No more explanations. Your father is not going to like it when he hears about this, so no more loco business like this, OK?”
“Yes, Mama,” Arlene replied as she watched Isabella carrying Roberto into the kitchen to get him a candy.
Arlene came into the nursery and saw Roberto playing with Kitty and some blocks. He was laughing all the way, as if having so much fun. Arlene came over and smiled sweetly.
“Can I play too? What are you playing?”
“I’m building a tower with Kitty!” Roberto giggled, much to Arlene’s silent detest.
“Really? Let’s play another game, a more fun game. Do you want to play?”
Roberto, as innocent as a 5-year-old child can be, nodded. Arlene took Roberto by the shoulder and smiled even more, which is something she would seldom do unless she was in front of Isabella or if her mind was up to something. And she definitely was up to something.
“We’re gonna play a game of hide-and-seek. I’ll be the person to look for you. While I count to 10, you and Kitty go and hide, and I will find you. OK?”
“OK!” Roberto grinned cheerfully.
“Good. Now I will count to 10. You and Kitty go hide. 1…2…3…”
Arlene could hear the pitter-patter of feet as Roberto and Kitty rushed to find some place to hide. Her voice slowly trailed off as she revealed her eyes from her palms. She waited for a minute or two until the whole house was so silent that anyone could hear a pin drop. She stood up quietly as not to make a sound. She tiptoed her way around the house, looking for them and yell the words “Found you” at them. So far, she hadn’t found any of them—Kitty was quite a good hider as he is a toy—but soon, when he entered her parents’ room, there she saw Roberto’s feet behind the curtains of the window. Arlene grinned; such a typical place to hide for a typical 5-year-old.
Without warning, Arlene used both of her hands to grab Roberto who was hiding behind the curtain. She held the struggling boy with all her might, all the while doing it in silence. She hugged the boy with one hand with the curtain still wrapped around him so that he could not see and held his head like a basketball with the other and, using all her strength, rammed the head onto the railings of the window. One blow, that’s all it took, and the boy immediately went limp. As she let him go from her deadly embrace, Roberto slumped to the ground and slipped out of the curtain, his head bashed beyond recognition and pieces of his flesh and hair quite stuck to the railings.
Arlene looked straight into Roberto’s blank eyes and smiled cheerfully, as if it was all a game.
“Found you.”
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