My husband died, and I chose to stay and raise his three brothers to go to school. But when the day came when they were successful, they left the village one by one and disappeared completely. Everyone in the village was muttering, calling me a “fool”, “I intentionally tied myself to suffering”…
But one day… Something suddenly appeared in front of my house—something that startled the whole village, as if they couldn’t believe their eyes…
Twenty years ago, Maribel Santos‘ life changed forever when her husband died in a construction accident in New York City. Her passing was sudden, leaving Maribel with her husband’s three younger siblings.
At the time, Maribel was only 25 years old—beautiful, hardworking, and working as a seamstress in a small factory in Caloocan.
On the day of the funeral, the whole ship murmured:
— “Maribel is young, she’s just going to get married again. Why would he have to bear his wife’s three brothers?”
Some of her husband’s relatives said bluntly:
— “Your fool, Maribel! You’re going to raise three people, and then one day they’ll just leave you. Why don’t you just find a rich man to make your life easier?”
He replied quietly:
— “If you don’t want to take care of them… I’ll take care of it.”
That response infuriated relatives. They cut ties with Maribel and even spread throughout the barangay that she was “stupid”, “mindless”.
The crowd behind him murmured:
— “The scorpion! Why would he take care of his wife’s siblings? When they grow up, they just forget about it.”
Someone even worse said:
— “Maybe he just wants to get the family home.”
Maribel did not answer.
She worked quietly from morning till night—sewing clothes, student uniforms—just to raise three children.
He didn’t teach them in words. But it is in love.
The eldest—Rico—was very intelligent, and later went on to study engineering at the University of the New York City.
The second—Jomar—is a businessman. Maribel even borrowed money from the ship’s cooperative to pay for her education.
The youngest—Paolo—dreams of becoming a doctor. Maribel endured hunger once, just to have something to pay for her tuition.
Life has not been easy.
There are nights when it rains heavily and the roof leaks, but she makes sure the kids get a good night’s sleep before she gets back to sewing until the early hours of the morning.
Some days the dish is just rice and dried fish, and she gives the better part to the three kids.
But once upon a time… He didn’t complain.
Until the day comes…
They finished one by one.
One of them worked in the city.
One of them went out of business to do business.
One of them went abroad.
At first, they were calling.
But gradually… Calls have been reduced.
Messages have become rare.
until they were completely gone.
No one came back.
Walang nangamusta.
No one remembers the woman who dedicated her entire youth to them.
The whole ship nodded again:
— “Oh, right? He’s been abandoned.”
— “It is better to raise a non-blood than a wife’s brother.”
— “Tanga talaga siya.”
Ngumiti lang si Maribel.
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