Life is not always happy and leads to a happy ending especially if the person who loves voluntarily relinquishes his or her promises and responsibilities just for personal preference and interest.
The true foundation of long-term companionship is trust, patience, forgiveness, love, and tolerance without selfishness and resentment towards the person loved.
Mercedes Buencamino is a beautiful teenager and her schoolmates notice her charm particularly her classmates so it can't be hidden that there are many suitors who court her, she often receives letters from unknown senders and often has visitors at their house and informs her parents to woo but only one man captivates her heart, Joaquin Arandela who is a young man who did not finish his studies.
"I love you so much, until the end of my life I will not leave you," were the words Joaquin promised in every letter he sent to Mercedes so that the girl became even more obsessed with him with a little belief in the fantasy of the idea of his love for her.
The two met when Mercedes was joined by her friends in the arcade where she met Joaquin who was playing with his friends. It wasn’t just the first time they met because it was followed elsewhere until they continued to talk and become close to each other which led the two of them to become lovers.
Mercedes Buencamino and Joaquin Arandela are happy lovers. Mercedes has just finished high school and she plans to take a midwife course, which her parents are very happy about. At first, they did not feel like poverty, but when her parents got sick and died, Mercedes' ’parents had almost all sold their property, and Mercedes suffered a lot in the company of her boyfriend.
Joaquin's father works as a fisherman, and his mother works as a housewife. He could no longer go to college because his parents did not have the money to afford his university tuition.
In a flash, all of Mercedes' dreams were ruined, and she was not even able to continue her studies because she found out that Joaquin had gotten her pregnant, so she chose to come with him and start a family.
That caused Mercedes' sister Gina's anger and hatred to build up, and she would leave her and join her own family. On the other hand, Joaquin did not leave Mercedes amid extreme poverty. They looked for a small apartment where they could afford a small rent. They lived there until Mercedes gave birth, to her first son, Park, while Joaquin was lucky to find a job as a construction worker. Despite having only completed high school, he was immediately accepted to the one he applied for because a worker was needed in a large building in Malabon.
He did not earn that much, but he was still able to bring it home to meet his family, but soon Joaquin joined his co-workers in bars, and he learned to drink as well as gamble. He began gambling as a hobby and only gambled small amounts of money, but he quickly became addicted to the vice, spending nearly half of his salary on gambling. But he was often looked down upon and could not take home a win, so he forced Mercedes to work to help him pay for their house.
Their son was then one year old, and he realized how hard it was every day to be with his mother, who was drenched in sweat and working all day selling fish in the market. It takes them a night to sell, where they only earn about one hundred to three hundred pesos a day, and sometimes they don't take home any money.
Park was then four years old and was beginning to hear his father argue and beat his mother. He often cried at night with his face and whole body covered. He could not fully understand why he could still bear to be with his father while he was hurt and tortured every day.
But their suffering with their father did not end there. One night, Mercedes caught up with his husband Joaquin who was with a woman inside their house. Exhausted and angry, Mercedes shouted at her husband and chased the woman with him to bed.
"You are shameless, after I have given my love to you as well as my responsibility as your wife, here is what you will repay me," Mercedes spoke with resentment against Joaquin.
"What do you want? Will I suffer for the rest of my life with your cries? I am of no use to you anymore, so you have no right to evict any woman I bring here to the house. " Joaquin mercilessly slapped his wife on both cheeks until she lay on the concrete floor of the house. Park was crying to one side as he watched his father abuse his mother.
"If we had brought our son Parker to the fair, we would have certainly been able to earn this child." Joaquin was about to grab Park when Mercedes suddenly pushed him away.
He immediately picked up Park and they ran out of the house. When they reached the doors, the mother and son hurried to the gate, but Joaquin grabbed Park's t-shirt, Mercedes was surprised and he immediately pulled Park's hand, Gina came running and she quickly hugged Mercedes, but Joaquin was very strong. Park's hands slipped and Mercedes released him, Joaquin grabbed Park by the waist and he quickly closed the gate to an explosive way.
"PARK! MY SON! " Mercedes sobbed in tears as Gina hugged her tightly.
It was the first time she had been separated from her son in the company of her cruel husband.
Before the night was over, Gina decided to take her sister Mercedes to her house and rest there for a few days before she could make a plan on how she could get Park back to Joaquin.
At first, Mercedes did not immediately agree, and she insisted on going with her sister, but she also realized there was no point in arguing with the only person who could help her get to Park so she also accepted her offer. She said goodbye to her son and she went to her sister's house even though she still had great longing and sadness in her heart.
She prays every day and trusts in God in the belief that she and her son Park will be together again and will be able to get away from Joaquin.