domestic dispute

while taking an afternoon nap the other day, i was awakened by loud voices of two people shouting at each other. it was our driver and our helper. i went downstairs to see what the bickering was all about only to see my cousin helping my 80-year-old lola get up; she fell while trying to stop the driver from punching the helper.

i was infuriated. two grown-up women, people you expect to be mature enough, engaged in a petty squabble inside our house, right in front of my lola, who ended up getting hurt in the process. if something bad had happened to her, they would've been spending the night in luneta.

apparently, it started when the driver made a snide remark while the helper was passing by. when the latter confronted her, the driver got upset, brought up long-standing grudges and challenged her to a fistfight. not getting what she wanted, she lunged at the helper and would've hit her were it not for my lola and my cousin who rushed to restrain her. all three of them fell on the floor. but the bickering went on, and wouldn't have stopped had i not told them to. they finally ended it but not before the driver threatened the helper to watch her back.

now it's the helper who's out of the house. probably frightened for her own safety, she asked permission to stay with a relative for the meantime while my aunt's not around (i'm living in my aunt's house kasi). i was told she's not coming back for so long as the driver is still here.

the driver meanwhile, is still with us. how fair is that?

lest you mistake me for being biased towards the helper, i don't actually have favorites. both have been kind to me. the helper has been serving me breakfast for the past three years. the driver drops me off at the train station every morning on my way to school.

in fact, i was surprised something like that had to happen. we've always treated our housemates as part of the family. we dine with them in one table, share the same food with them, and on christmas, we exchange gifts with them. it's a pity it is they who have to have problems with each other.

i told my aunt it's clear who was at fault. regardless of the cause, it's unforgivable when one starts hitting another person. shout at a person if you have to but never, never lay hands on another person. guess what, the driver attempted to do just that. she even threatened to kill the helper. why is she that angry? she gave me a couple of reasons, mentioning old issues, but really too petty in my opinion to warrant the aggression she showed.

but alas, the driver is more valuable at this point for my aunt. she couldn't fire her. so we can't ask the helper to come back. instead, we're getting a new one.

so that's how we decide things eh? not on who's right or wrong but on what's practical? and why do i get the sense that we're actually rewarding the aggressor?

but of course, i have to oblige.

i can't believe an injustice has just taken place, inside our own house, and there's nothing i can do about it.