Chapter XLVIII: The Unfinished House
The new house slowly rises beside the old Caluipat home. Day by day, hollow blocks stack upon one another. Steel bars stretch upward toward the sky. Cement hardens beneath the scorching sun. Little by little, Meric's dream house begins taking shape. It is far from complete. Yet every wall represents sacrifice. Every single post represents years of Ben working overseas. Every bag of cement represents money carefully saved instead of spent. Every steel rod represents countless nights of missing a husband and father. The house is not simply a structure. It is a physical manifestation of endurance.
One afternoon, Meric stands outside the store and watches the unfinished building. Workers move back and forth to finish it. The scent of cement lingers in the air. The sound of hammering echoes across the property. Raffy and Reina run circles around the workers, occasionally earning playful complaints.
"Those two are acting like site inspectors," one worker jokes.
Raffy barks proudly as if accepting the title. Meric laughs.
For a brief moment, everything feels hopeful. Meanwhile, life continues moving forward. Mark is now in Grade 8. He remains part of the Special Science Class. The timid boy who once struggled after Mercy's passing has changed considerably. He studies harder and asks more questions. He spends longer hours reading. Even Ben notices the difference.
One evening, Mark sits at the dining table solving mathematics problems. Ben looks over his shoulder.
"Oh, still studying?"
Mark nods.
"I want to improve, Dad."
Ben smiles.
"Deta ti Balong ko. (That's my boy.)"
Mark grins. The compliment motivates him even more.
Outside, construction continues. Then comes one particularly important evening. The workers prepare for the slab pouring of the second floor. It is a major milestone. In doing so, Meric calls Ben's other relatives from Saddeg. Others offer their help. The cement mixer whirrs, buckets move continuously and simultaneously, and wet cement mixes endlessly and pours unto the steel deck and rebars. Everyone becomes busy as Mark helps his mother manages the store, while Ben goes help the others on top. The work extends beyond normal hours.
The sky gradually darkens and the sun disappears. Eventually the moon rises yet still, nobody stops. LED bulbs illuminate the construction site and every worker is now covered in sweat and splashes of cement. Their arms ache and their backs hurt. Yet nobody complains. This slab must be finished.
At around eight o'clock in the evening, the final portion is poured. A tired cheer erupts. The second-floor slab is complete. The workers laugh. Some collapse onto plastic chairs, and others immediately search for water. One man jokingly declares he can no longer feel his arms. Another replies that he lost feeling in his legs two hours ago. At the end of the day, Meric and Ben give them dinner for their hard work. For that night, everyone feels victorious. The house has taken another step toward completion.
A week passes and construction progresses rapidly. The first floor becomes usable, well technically. But the walls remain exposed of their hollow blocks and no plaster, the floors remain unfinished cement, and steel rods continue sticking out of columns like giant metallic weeds. The stair opening remains covered by temporary wooden boards and seams. There are no tiles but purely concrete floor. There's no paint, no proper windows, no decorations, and an exposed steel deck ready with fuse boxes for LED bulbs, but there is still no budget. The house resembles a structure caught between birth and completion.
Meric and Ben assume they still have plenty of time before moving, but construction has completed Phase 1, yet Phase 2 might still be way ahead since the construction budget was just loans by Meric and Ben, and they needed to pay off these debts before continuing on to Phase 2.
One morning, she notices something strange. In front of the Caluipat house are their furnitures, cabinets, chairs, drawers, tables, and boxes. Everything sits outside the Caluipat house and it looks like the furniture are pointing at the unfinished house.
Meric is confused of this like why are these things outside of the house. She then turns and sees Rico carrying another chair and putting it in front of the unfinished house.
"Pang, what are you doing?"
Rico continues walking.
"I-trantransfer ko lang dagitoy alikamen yo. (I'm just transferring your stuff.)"
Meric freezes.
"What?"
"I'm moving your furniture."
Her eyebrows rise.
"Nudta? Ta karruba? (To where? The neighbors?)"
Rico points.
"To your OWN house."
Meric stares at the unfinished structure. There is no proper protection from weather. She slowly looks back at her father, at the house, then back at her father again. The disbelief on her face becomes almost comical.
"You cannot be serious, Pang"
But Rico is, he is very serious.
"The first floor is already finished enough."
Meric almost laughs.
"Finished enough?"
The phrase sounds absurd. Everything inside their dream house is still unfinished. Yet Rico continues moving furniture. Meric places both hands on her hips. She shakes her head repeatedly. The situation feels ridiculous.
Later that afternoon, Ben and Mark return from Hermosa. The moment they enter the property, they stop as they see furniture lining up the walkway or driveway. The scene resembles a family evacuation.
"Ma, what happened?" Ben asks.
Meric points silently to the Caluipat house. Ben immediately understands. And so, he approaches Rico. The two men talk, respectfully and calmly. Ben explains the obvious concerns such as the unfinished condition, the lack of protection, the hazards and dangers of impending disasters that might disrupt the unfinished house, and everything.
Rico listens, but stubbornly remains firm. His decision stands and the furniture stays in the unfinished house.
When Ben returns, he and Meric exchange exhausted looks. Neither knows what else to do. They have seen this attitude before like numerous times.
Since childhood, Meric has witnessed her father's flaws. Mercy often carried the burden alone. While Mercy worked tirelessly to support the family, Rico frequently made decisions that frustrated everyone around him. Mercy used to control the damage and used to keep things balanced.
But as she is now gone, there is nobody to restrain him, challenge him effectively, and force him to reconsider. Rico starts to stand firm of what he believes. What he believes, he sticks to it and doesn't change it.
Both Meric and Ben sigh. Reality leaves them with few choices. They begin moving furniture. Mark helps yet despite being young, he carries smaller items. They go back and forth, again and again. Then an idea enters Mark's mind.
Mark goes to the Caluipat house, and approaches his grandfather.
"Pang."
Rico looks up and smiles charmly.
"Anya didiay Apok? (What is it, Grandson?)"
"What if we use the old Capiz windows?"
Rico pauses, yet Mark continues.
"The ones removed from the northern part of the old house."
Silence erupts, then Rico slowly nods.
"Wen, mabalin ah Apok (Yes, you may, Grandson)"
That suggestion actually makes sense. At first, Ben disagrees with his own son's idea, but later on, he agrees since it can help cover the northern windows. Soon, the old Capiz windows are retrieved. Together they install them temporarily. The ancient windows look strange against modern concrete walls. Yet they serve their purpose, at least partially. Mark feels proud. For once, he helped solve a problem.
For the rooms, the designated place for dining is where Meric and Ben positioned their bed, with a divider via drawers and study table for the other side which is the designated living room, Mark's bed occupies there.
When Elric and Jonn visit and see the situation, their reactions are immediate. They feel sorry for Meric. The house is clearly unfinished. But they already know their father's personality. Arguing would likely accomplish nothing. Jonn shakes his head, Elric simply sighs, neither of them is surprised of their father's doing.
On the contrary, the rainy season arrives, and with it comes suffering. The first heavy rainfall reveals countless weaknesses. Water enters through gaps as it leaks through the bonded seam-hatch covering the stairwell. Water also sneaks beneath temporary coverings, and finds every possible opening.
Inside the house, containers suddenly appear everywhere. They use buckets, basins, and pails, all left from the construction works in order not to flood their own unfinished dream house.
One night, Meric wakes up because rainwater drips onto her face. Another time, Ben discovers water flowing beneath their bed. The family spends hours moving things away from leaks.
During thunderstorms, the situation becomes worse. Strong winds force rain through the temporary windows. The sacks covering openings become soaked. Plastic coverings flap violently. The house groans and the family worries.
Meanwhile, Raffy and Reina completely lose their composure. The moment thunder strikes, both dogs sprint. One dives beneath a bed and the other hides behind furniture. Then they switch places alternatingly, yet nobody knows why.
Even during stressful moments, the sight remains unintentionally funny. Mark eventually crawls beneath the bed with them.
"If we're hiding, we're hiding together."
Raffy immediately climbs into his lap, and Reina follows. The three remain there until the thunder passes.
After every storm, the family begins cleanup. Wet rugs hang everywhere, towels dry on ropes, and blankets cover the slab on top. The entire house resembles a giant laundry station. Both Meric and Ben feel exhausted. Even Mark, since he is the one helping to hung these wet clothes to dry. Yet they continue because they have no choice.
One stormy evening, lightning flashes across the sky. Rain pounds the roof, and wind whistles through gaps. Standing silently within the doorway is an unseen figure is Mercy.
She observes everything such as the unfinished walls, leaking windows, and soaked floors. She also observes her daughter struggling, her grandson adapting, and her son-in-law enduring.
Her expression darkens. She slowly shakes her head.
"Okis ti Saba na daytoy nga Rico'n! (That stupid Rico!)"
The words leave her mouth with pure disappointment.
"Imbagam nga sika ti makammon tun. (You said you would keep control.)"
Her eyes move toward the old house.
"Tattan, kaasi la da Mayyang agiremremedion gapu ta kina-imot mon! Diosko! (Now, Meric and her family are struggling to put a remedy on everything because of your selfishness! My God!"
A second figure appears beside her and it's her mother, the one and only Doña Tory. She's older, and wise, yet watching. The Doña folds her arms.
"Imbagak met kaniam idin, Mercy. (I warned you before, Mercy.)"
Mercy remains silent.
"When you were alive, you controlled him."
Tory's voice is calm.
"But now, he thinks he is free."
Mercy sighs.
"I fear now may become worse in the future, Nang"
Mercy lowers her gaze. She hates seeing her daughter struggle, and unnecessary hardship.
"Ngem dumteng tu ngata met ti tiempo nga makaraman tu suna ti sao, nga kasla kenka. (But there will come a time that he will hear words like when you were around.)"
But she also knows something important. Meric is stronger than she realizes. Ben is dependable. Mark is growing wiser every year. The house may be unfinished as the walls may leak, the storms may come. But this family has already survived far worse.
Slowly, Mercy's expression softens She looks toward the living room. Ben is helping move another bucket. Mark is drying the floor. Meric is fixing a plastic covering near the window.
Despite everything, they are still together. And sometimes, that matters more than perfect walls. More than paint and more than tiles.
The rain continues outside. Thunder rolls across the dark sky. Yet inside the unfinished house, a family continues fighting forward.
And somewhere between the old house and the new one, two spirits quietly watch over them. A mother and a grandmother, waiting, and praying. In which they are hoping that one day the house will finally become the home Meric always dreamed of.