She is the 4th child of Lydia and Antolin. She was named Cecil because her mother is a devotee of Santa Cecilia, patron saint of the blind. They live in one of the townhouses built by her maternal grandfather. Of below average intelligence, Cecil barely passed a degree in Management from one of the lesser known universities in Manila. She was charming, pretty and has a gregarious personality that made her a campus crush. Men often mistook her friendliness for being a flirt and easy catch.
However, Cecil‘s outgoing personality differs from what she believes in as far as boys are concerned. She is very conservative and would not date men even for a short merienda at Goldilocks. She never joined any night outs with her female friends. She goes home before dark and stays home during weekends helping her mother with household work. Her father was an elementary school teacher who was forced to retire prematurely after suffering from a severe bout of pneumonia and a sprained ankle which never fully recovered that left him with a pronounced limp.
One Sunday, she joined a classmate of hers to Antipolo for the annual town fiesta. She met a young boy, Mitch, and started seeing him without her parents’ knowledge. She started to skip classes and would meet him in Recto, Sampaloc Manila. Her conservativeness disappeared when she fell deeply in love with Mitch. Her mother found out about the relationship only after Cecil got sick. She was pale and always feeling nauseated. Her mother instinctively asked her when her last menstruation was. Three months ago.
Although sad and disappointed, Lydia and Antolin accepted their daughter’s mistake and requested the boy to bring his parents over so they could discuss marriage plans. Mitch’s parents never showed up. Mitch started avoiding Cecil and after about two weeks, he just disappeared and never communicated with Cecil.
Cecil graduated from the university with a stomach bump. The toga hid her protruding stomach which is on its 4th month.
to be continued
