The son became more and more taciturn, less talkative, with more BRUISES on his body. The father secretly installed a camera and froze when he saw this scene repeated with his son every day.

In a small town in Batangas province, 4 years after his wife died, Ramon lived as a single father raising his children. During the long nights, looking at his little son Miguel curled up sleeping in his arms, he told himself to be strong, to be both father and mother. But then the empty spaces in the house, the hurried meals with the cold sound of spoons hitting bowls, made him long for a woman’s hand to share.

Teresa – the beautiful, skillful girl in the barrio next door – came to him like a ray of light. On the wedding day, in the bright light of the church, Ramon looked at Teresa’s gentle smile and believed that his child would have a new home. Before the wedding, he held her hand tightly, saying as if pleading:

– I don’t need much, I just hope you love Miguel like your own child. He was still young, and had lost his mother…

Teresa tilted her head, her eyes sparkling:
– I promise. Trust me.

In the early days, Miguel ate well, his face was rosy, his cheeks were plump. Ramon breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he had chosen the right person. But that joy did not last long.

The boy gradually changed. He no longer chattered to greet his father when he came home from work at the construction site. At mealtimes, he just silently picked up his chopsticks, his eyes staring down at his bowl of rice. At night, the door to his small room was usually closed, only letting out a faint light from the desk lamp.

One night, Ramon discovered purple bruises running down his son’s arms and legs. He panicked and pulled his son’s hand up:
– Miguel, who did this to you?

The boy was startled, bowed his head, and mumbled:

I… fell off my bike…

But his eyes were filled with tears, his trembling hands clutching his father’s shirt, revealing the truth.

That night, Ramon sat absent-mindedly, the house was silent except for the sound of the clock ticking into his chest. His intuition made him secretly install a small camera in the living room.

A few days later, when he opened the recording, Ramon’s blood froze. On the screen was… Teresa, with a cold face, holding a wooden ruler and repeatedly lashing down. The sound of the whip tore through the air, clanging and clanging echoed. Miguel knelt in the corner of the room, his eyes wild with fear:

Tita… I’m sorry… I won’t dare again…

Each time the ruler lashed down, his tender flesh was left with red bruises. Ramon sat motionless, his hands clenched until they bled. His chest was constricted, his breathing was heavy as if tearing his lungs. His father’s heart was both in pain and seething with anger. He just wanted to rush into the screen, snatch the child away from the woman he once trusted.

The next morning, Ramon returned home early. When he entered, he saw Teresa busy in the kitchen, the smell of sinigang and braised meat wafting up, but everything became so fake that it was unpleasant. He quietly went upstairs, hugged Miguel, who was feverish from the beating last night:

– Don’t worry, Dad’s here… – Ramon whispered, his voice choked.

Downstairs, he put the USB on the table. His eyes were burning:
– I saw everything.

Teresa was startled, her face pale, her mouth stammering:
– You… you misunderstood… I only taught him…
– Teach him? – Ramon roared, his voice like a hammer. – You taught him by turning my child into a punching bag?

The house shook in heavy silence. Teresa bowed her head, her lips pressed tightly together, unable to argue any further.

Ramon packed up Miguel’s things. Before leaving the house, he turned back, his voice as resolute as a knife:
– I may have made a mistake in marrying you, but I will not let that mistake kill my child. From now on, there is nothing between us.

The door slammed shut. Outside, the Batangas sunlight was bright. Ramon held his son’s hand tightly, his small hand trembling as he clung to his father’s. In Miguel’s tear-stained eyes, for the first time in many months, a ray of hope flashed.

Ramon knew that from now on, no matter how rough the road of life was, as long as father and son had each other, they would overcome it.