03: Dyslexia and Dyscalculia (Part 1)

"And that is the beginning of the tragic story ahead...," Justin said. 

*** 

THE YEAR 2002

Stan rang the doorbell of their house while his foot was tapping because of the nervous rising in him. When somebody didn't answer for the second time, he pressed it again. 

He swallowed and heard that their front door was open. He looked at it and saw that Jane emerged. He smiled nervously and waved. Jane still looks smug even in the broad daylight that shines through the village. Her reaction didn't change upon seeing Stan standing outside of the house. 

She fumbled for the key of the lock on the gate and unlocked it. She opened it and glared at Stan. 

"Jane---" 

"Why didn't you get home last night?" Jane asked, emotionless. 

"Jane---" 

"Justin's birthday is yesterday, and your kid is waiting for you. Where have you been?" Jane asked, still not backing down her intense gaze towards his husband. Stan swallowed and opened his mouth. 

"I was... in a... in an overtime work yesterday... in the office," Stan said while licking his downward lip, hoping that Jane will believe it. 

"Overtime? Late at night?" Jane retorted. 

"Well, yeah. My boss is insisting to get the job done yesterday," Stan said while nodding his head numerous times. Jane looked at him for a moment and observed his eyes. Stan swallowed and locked his gaze, even if he can't stand it for a minute or so. 

'I am lying. I am lying to Jane,' Stan said, guilty. 

"You are lying," Jane said while still staring at him conspicuously. Stan darted his eyes over the side and swallowed constantly. His breath quickens as he looks at Jane again. Jane narrowed her eyes and held out her hands.

"Your phone," Jane said. Stan widened his eyes and searched for it in his pockets. He retrieved it from the backside and gave it to his wife. Jane looked at him first then shifted his eyes towards his cellphone. Stan looked at his neighbors and fortunately, no one was observing them. 

Jane opened Stan's cellphone and gasped. It doesn't have a password or something, and she was astonished to see a picture of Stan lying naked with a woman beside him. She swiped it through while tears dripped down her cheeks quickly. Jane looked at her husband and threw the phone. It broke and Stan opened his mouth wide. 

Jane shook her head while tears were continuously pouring out of her eyes. Stan looked at her as Jane shouted, "You! I knew it!" 

Stan held up his hands and stared at Jane. The tears also brimmed in his eyes and a minute later, he was also crying. Jane sobbed and looked down. 

"Jane... Jane, I can... I can explain," Stan said while crying. Jane shook her head and turned her back. She entered the house, leaving the front door and gate ajar, and walked rapidly towards the master's bedroom. 

Jane opened the drawers, picked up Stan's fresh and clean clothes, hustled it in her arms while she felt her shoulders shaking due to pain, and went outside of the house again. Justin saw that her mother was going outside so he stood up from playing with toys in the living room and followed her. 

When she reached the gate, she threw all of the clothes onto the street. 

"Get out! Get out! Get out of this house!" Jane shouted at her husband while she was kicking the clothes further onto the wide street.

"Please, Jane. Let me explain," Stan pleaded while tears were dripping in his eyes. Jane glared at her and slapped his face. Every one of their neighbors peeped out of their house and watched what was happening in the sunlit.

"Explain? I knew it. You are cheating at me!" Jane shouted. Justin walked towards the back of them and clutched her mother's shirt. Jane held Justin in her arms while crying. 

"Jane, please," Stan begged and kneel. 

"Get out of the house! You will never see Justin again!" Jane spat at him and held Justin tightly. 

"Jane," Stan cried. Jane howled her eyes out and dared to turn around and get inside the house. 

"Jane, Jane, please!" Stan stood up suddenly and held the gate railings tightly as she locked it. Jane hustled Justin in her arms and they locked the front door behind them. 

Jane cried silently as Justin crawled over in her lap. 

"Mommy, where is Daddy going?" Justin asked her mother. Jane wiped her tears and smiled at her child. 

"He is going to paradise, my baby. Don't worry about him, huh?" Jane said sadly to him as she stroked Justin's hair. 

"Mhm. He would bring toys again?" Justin asked with his baby voice to his mother. Jane nodded as silent tears poured again no matter how many times she wiped it.

"Yes, baby. Yes," Jane said as she tucked Justin in her arms and tilted her back. Justin slept peacefully as Jane wept silently, not wanting to wake him up.

***

"Justin turned into a 3-year-old boy without even knowing and remembering the face of his father. He always thought that 'Where did Daddy go?' and as his mother said to him that he had gone to paradise for good, Justin believes it. In the ears and eyes of a kid, whenever their parents say anything, it is the one they believe in," Justin said.

***

THE YEAR 2002

"Justin, say 'A'," Jane said while pointing at the alphabet written on a paper that has been plastered onto the wall. She is teaching Justin the basic alphabet before enrolling him in the nearside kindergarten school. The teacher suggested that she should teach Justin the basics for him not to be left out with other kids. But further discussions on the basics will be done by the teacher.

Justin didn't say anything and just played with his toys. Jane got the toys scattered in front of him and placed it on her back, hiding it so that Justin wouldn't be distracted by Jane's lesson.

Since Stan has been kicked out of the house, Justin rarely says anything. Jane is now living with his father, Jordan Mendoza, who always carries his cane everywhere because of his amputated leg that he got from a car accident when he was looking for his son, Dave. Jane's long lost brother is now missing for 30 years. He has been declared deceased by the police, and Jane never knew where did he go.

Her mother died a long time ago before Jane became a kid and Dave was just a newborn baby back then. Jane found out from his father that her mother died because of breast cancer. Jordan is a simple farmer harvesting crops from an own plotted land of the surname of Sy back then. Sy is the most well-known family and the richest in the province of Laguna.

When her mother got sick, no one was left behind to guard or feed her. Jane and Dave were just kids, and all they knew is play while their mother is dying on the wooden bed without any cushion for comfort. Jordan always went home late at night, brought something for dinner, fed the kids, and thoroughly healed his wife with some herbal leaves he never knew if it would be effective or not.

When she died, Jordan felt nothing but oblivion. He felt that his world crashed, having nothing to do to save his wife, and just left the kids to go astray. Jane was just a ten-year-old kid at that time, and they live in the woods, deep in the center, where everything can be eaten whether it is raw or cooked.

Dave was a 5 year-old kid who wanted to wander around the trees, the mountains, and the highway ahead of them that leads to the urban cities of the province. When Jane is talking to his father who is crept up into a blanket, shutting the world out, Dave went missing when she checked his brother outside of the small house. The two got alarmed and they searched everywhere.

They got on the national road looking for Dave, and that is when he got into an accident.

"Justin, just say 'A'," Jane emphasized the letter 'A' as Jordan stood up from the couch and sighed. He walked carefully with his cane simultaneously following and stopped at Jane's place.

"Jane, don't force a kid if they are playing," Jordan said with his hoarse voice. He is wearing pajamas and a simple white shirt. His hair turned white out of his age, his skin got saggy and wrinkled, and his face still looks the same, but it is old enough to look upon. He had the same face features as Jane: dark brown eyes, prominent nose, and a heart-shaped set of lips. His hair is brown naturally, but it is turning into white like snow. He stands 5 foot and 6 inches, but his back is always slightly bent down.

"Dad, he will turn 4 in January. He should be learning the basic alphabet from now on," Jane said, looking at his father.

"Jane, he is just a kid. Sometimes they are not in the mood," Jordan explained.

"Dad, since Stan left, he didn't say anything. He always kept his mouth shut," Jane retorted. Jordan sighed and put her arms over Jane's shoulders.

"Jane, I know you are worrying about Justin. He will learn, so don't be so anxious about it," Jordan said quietly. Jane looked at Justin and saw that he was playing happily with his dinosaur toys.

"Dad, thank you. I'm a little more calmer now," Jane said and put her right hand over Jordan's left hand over her shoulders and lay down her head on his father's shoulder.

***

"Little did they know that Justin has a lifelong condition called dyslexia and dyscalculia," Justin said to the class. The children furrowed their eyebrows and got confused.

"What is dyslexia?"

"Dyscalculia? Never heard of it."

"What is that, sir?"

The children asked while they were still puzzled by what they heard. Justin smiled and said, "Dyslexia is a lifelong condition that pertains to a learning difficulty disorder that causes problems with reading, writing, and spelling."

The children opened their mouths like an 'O' and gasped.

"Yeah. It's a rare case for everybody, and not anyone knows about this condition. Dyslexia is a disorder present at birth. It cannot be prevented or cured, but it can be managed by special instructions or support," Justin told the class while walking back and forth through the small pathway in the middle of the room.

"Dyslexia is thought to be caused by impairment in the brain's ability to process phonemes, the smallest units of speech that make words different from each other. The causes are not from vision or hearing problems, or due to mental retardation, brain damage or lack of intelligence. It is inborn," Justin said to the class while sitting down at the chair behind the table and clasping his hands.

***

THE YEAR 2005

"What is it, doc? My kid has dyslexia?" Jane asked while draping her arms over Justin's. Justin is observing the room with his eyes and didn't say anything. He is a 6-year-old kid now, and he is still learning the basic alphabet.

"Yes. It is an inborn condition which pertains to a learning difficulty disorder and has problems with reading, writing and spelling. If you wonder why Justin can't read the basic alphabet, or can't spell and write his name out in a piece of paper, that is the sign of a dyslexic condition," the doctor explained to Jane.

"Based on our test with Justin, he has visual disturbances when reading. And he talked well orally, but he has difficulty writing what he has said. Even if he is a 6-year-old kid now, he still has problems with the basic alphabet," the doctor added while Jane is swallowing down.

"Is there any way to cure this disorder?" Jane asked.

"There is a way, ma'am. But unfortunately, dyslexia is a lifelong condition. It cannot be cured, but it can be treated using specific educational approaches and techniques. Well, the sooner we started it, the better. There are also psychological testing for the teachers that may help your child," the doctor explained as Jane looked sadly to Justin while hearing his condition.