The Mercado house is filled up with guests. They enjoy the festivities because of the Maaravi Warriors victory. They celebrate the victory until the Lechon is now a skeleton.
The guests finally say their goodbyes and go home except for Sam.
"Let me stay here for a sec. I have something to talk with Mark," says Sam earlier to Cesar.
"What about your way home?" says Cesar. "It's getting dark. I don't want you to walk home alone."
"Don't worry about me. Roger will pick me up."
Cesar pauses and strays his gaze then back to her.
"Ok, Sam. I trust you," Cesar smiles at her.
Sam gives him an eager smile, "Thank you, darling."
So Cesar goes home along with Justin.
"Don't do anything stupid, bro!!" says Justin.
Mark throws a rag at his friend saying, "Stop saying stupid things, bro!!"
"Chill, bro. Haha," Justin turns away and waves goodbye. "Take care, you two."
Only Mark and Sam are in the house, while George goes with his buddies to have a good time.
"He's drinking… again." Mark says. "I thought he's not gonna drink this day of celebration. I guess I don't know that much about him."
Sam puts her hands on his shoulders.
"You didn't lack anything to him, Mark. We just have to pray for him to come back to the Lord."
Mark gives her a faint smile, "Would you care to pray with me? I… want that real bad."
"Sure, Mark."
They bow their heads and pray.
"Lord," says Sam. "Thank you for the life you have given to Mark. Give him strength to push forward in your faith no matter what happens. And may he never stop praying and hoping that his father will come back to you. Whatever his father is doing, Lord, keep him safe. Don't let him be in danger, Lord. Protect him in your arms. In Jesus' name. Amen."
They open their eyes while Sam removes her hands from his shoulders.
"Thank you, Sam," Mark gives her a faint smile.
"You're welcome," Sam returns the favor with a smile of her own.
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Mark furrows his brows and struggles to let out a word.
Sam chuckles, "Spit it out. Haha."
Mark chuckles back saying, "Uhm… Why did you— Why did you want to talk to me now?"
Sam lets out a sigh.
"I had a dream… Mark."
"Why? What happened in your dream?"
"You were—"
As Sam is about to tell the truth, Mark's phone rings.
"One moment," Mark walks to some distance to answer the phone.
Sam doesn't hear what they are talking about but she's on edge now that she's about to tell him the truth.
But something about Mark's body language tells her that something serious has come up.
Mark hangs up the phone and paces to and fro.
"Why? What's wrong, Mark?" says Sam.
Mark looks at her with eyes full of desperation.
"My dad just got in an accident and he's now in an hospital in Cebu."
"Cebu? Why was he there in the first place?"
"Every Sunday evening he goes to Cebu with some people and I don't know… I guess he's clubbing there and God only knows what he's doing. I just saw a card, one time, of a club and that's it."
"What did they tell you about his condition?"
"They just told me that he's in a critical condition and he lost lots of blood. Something about head trauma."
"Don't worry, Mark. We'll get you there as soon as possible."
Sam calls his father about the situation and moments later a van pulls up to the house. A honk audibly penetrates the walls of the Mercado residence.
Sam and Mark get out of the house and see Roger in the driver's seat and Al opening the side door.
"Come on in," says Al. "We'll get you to your father, Splash."
Mark's lips quiver but he takes a breather.
"Thank you, Sniper."
They ride the van with Sam inside. Roger speeds up with caution while the inside is quiet, no one dares to speak.
Mark is just in a daze until he says, "Why does this always happen to me?"
Sam and her dad look at each other searching to find a response. They resign in silence for a moment until Sam starts speaking.
"I'm sorry for what's been… happening, Mark. I'm sorry that you've got to go through what you're going through."
Mark huffs a chuckle and says, "Where is God in all this? He clearly doesn't know what He's doing, is He? Is He happy making me go through these trials and tribulations that He forgets to give me a break? What is He useful for anyways?"
Mark shakes his head and continues, "I don't believe in God anymore. He's… not faithful. He's… not loving. He's… unfair."
He pauses and finds the strength to speak, "I give up on God."
Silence again fills up the van. No one dares to speak for the second time.
Sam gazes at him and sees a broken soul. Sam scoots over to Mark and gives him a long and tender hug.
Finally, the dam opens its gates and the mighty waters start to gush out. Mark sobs uncontrollably as if the stored-up frustrations and anguish make themselves known.
For a while, this goes on and it seems that the sobs won't stop. But eventually, Mark calms down and reduces himself in some hiccups.
Sam pulls away from him and Mark sees her face being marred with tears.
"Oh, sorry for making you cry, Sam," says Mark. "I'm sorry I got you involved into this."
Sam gives him a gentle smile and says, "It's fine, Mark. I just want you to know that you have a friend who'll be here with you, by your side, no matter what."
Mark returns a smile, "Thank you, Sam. For being a good friend."
"Even though everything's been unfair and life gives you troubles, never forget that God will make it a good thing. Because He will not let His people go through something without a reason. Know that God also is always with you and He will help you get through this. Stay rooted in Christ, ok?"
"Yeah. I'm sorry what I said earlier about God. I'm just… very, very, very down right now and I don't know what just came out of my mouth. And I just… I don't know…"
"That's ok, Mark. Everybody gets a test of faith and sometimes they say or do things that they ought not to but know that God is always waiting for you to come back to him. He forgives you, Mark."
Mark nods and smiles gladly, "Thank you, Sam."
