1
I've been in Sta. Lucia
longer than I can remember.
I heard so many stories about this place.
I've heard so many stories
that it's become hard to separate
the myths from the truth.
But I only know one story to be true.
Every midnight
at the end
of the third floor corridor,
beside the stairwell,
you'll find a comfort room.
No one dares to go there anymore.
Because if you go inside...
there...
when you reach the last cubicle,
that's where she hung herself.
Her name...
is Erika.
Do you trust me?
Do you know what this is?
When I count to three,
I want you to slam your hand here, okay?
One...
two...
three!
I ordered to turn the lights off
hours ago.
You must contemplate your sins in silence.
The confession will start tomorrow
at 6 o'clock sharp.
Do not be late.
Lie down!
Close your eyes!
If you cannot sleep, pray.
Be ready to confess your sins tomorrow.
Do you understand?
Yes, Sor Alice.
Jo.
Hey, Jo. Come with me, I need to pee.
Mich?
Come with me please, I need to pee.
Hey.
More.
Ready...
Miss?
Smile for the camera.
Okay, girls,
compress.
Okay?
Ready?
Pat, look at this.
What a waste.
Why weren't you smiling?
It's okay.
Maybe I had too much on my mind.
Especially after what happened to Anna.
Is it true? Sor Alice found her?
That's what I heard from Sister Luz
and Costanza.
I don't understand why she won't
let me talk to the girl--
Sor Alice can manage her.
But--
Pat, you're overthinking this.
Joyce.
They caught you on the rooftop again?
Hand it over.
It's already empty.
What's this for anyway?
To keep me awake.
Isn't it better if you rest?
Are you even getting any sleep?
I should have gone with Anna.
She could still be at Sta. Lucia if I did.
Joyce,
what happened to Anna is not your fault.
What do you think happened?
Did she see something?
No one's talking about it,
no one's telling us anything.
Only Anna can tell what really happened.
I didn't know you could leave
just like that.
I wish I left a long time ago.
Why?
It's the same every day.
That's why I stay on the rooftop,
so I can clear my mind.
It's as if everything's useless,
like nothing matters.
Joyce...
are you hurting yourself again?
Sor Alice will kill me.
-Joyce?
-I'm late again.
You can always come here
if you need someone to talk to, okay?
This is for you, Miss Pat.
Why are you sad here again?
That's not me.
The Supreme Court has put Ramon Pascual
on death row.
Pascual was caught in the act
decapitating the head of his mother.
Pascual is among the growing number
of criminals convicted with death sentence
since it was imposed in 1993.
Mr. Fidel.
-Good evening, Miss Consolacion.
-Good evening.
Working this late again?
As always.
You know I don't have anyone
to go home to.
Maybe you should start looking for...
someone to go home to.
So you don't have to work all the time.
Okay. Take care of yourself.
You too.
Good evening, Eri.
How have you been?
I read the last book in the library.
I've read everything.
Let's get out of here, Miss Pat.
Where will we go?
Anywhere.
If only I could leave this place.
Why cant you?
Is that what happens to people...
like you?
Maybe.
Do you want me to come with you?
Eri...
what happened to Anna?
Did she see you?
I didn't mean to.
I'm sorry.
They're all afraid of me.
Why aren't you?
Should I be afraid?
My father...
he wasn't afraid either.
I still see him sometimes.
There, in the corner...
staring at me.
At us.
Where?
Eri?
Eri...
Where are we going?
Why can't you leave?
Is that what happens to people...
That was the sixth session with Eri,
but she still wont tell me her story.
She needs someone to talk to,
but she wont tell me
what really happened to her.
Why did she kill herself?
If I knew the answer,
I'd know my students better.
I can keep them safe.
We forced her to stay late at night
just to punish her.
After what happened to Anna,
we should've known better.
We all know Mr. Fidel.
He spent his whole life serving
at Sta. Lucia.
Do you really believe
he could do something like this?
I'll talk to the children.
Maybe they know something.
Sor Alice, isn't that too soon?
A lot of parents called--
It's out of our hands
if they want to leave.
There are still those who chose to stay.
That's all that matters.
Miss. Consolacion,
may I speak with you?
Just a moment.
Hand it over.
You'll get into trouble again.
The matches too.
The session isn't over yet, all right?
Come in.
I'm Julian. I've been assigned
to investigate this case.
How can I help you?
You know Fidel, right?
He was working here,
even before I was hired.
Which got me thinking...
if he's capable of doing this,
why only now?
I've been asking myself the same question.
Is it true
you're taking him to Muntinlupa?
Yes.
Death row?
I can't say just yet.
-You also own one of these?
-Maybe there were other people
at the crime scene
the night Clara was murdered.
I'll ask around,
my students might know something.
They trust me.
Good.
Use that. When you get information
useful to the investigation...
call me.
Here's my number.
Thank you.
Most of the conversations
I have with my students are confidential.
Their secret is my secret.
I'll call you when something comes up.
Ms. Consolacion, I'm here to help.
We won't tell this to the chief yet.
The chief is already convinced
that Fidel did it.
Thank you.
Thank you for your time.
Clara?
What do you think?
How old are these butterflies?
Butterflies only live for a few months.
They don't look dead to me.
They look like they could still fly.
They're not moving...
because they are imprisoned.
I know...
you want to talk to her.
Do you know where she is right now?
Why would I tell you?
You know, you can always talk to me,
right?
You know, Ms. Pat, you have a nice voice.
Not like my mother's.
It's been decades now...
I still can't forget my mother's voice...
It echoes around me,
still ringing in my ears.
It was like how the nuns
at school shouted at me.
It surrounds you, suffocates you...
until you're totally helpless.
Until all you can do is submit.
I can still hear the nuns screaming.
Even now that I'm...
dead.
Someone's coming.
Who, Eri?
There will be a new set of rules
here at Sta. Lucia.
Students are not allowed to walk around,
unless in pairs.
Students will be assigned to a partner
for every trip to the hallway
or the washroom,
and during recess.
Everyone must sign attendance
for every class.
And most importantly,
all faculty and students
must be off the campus by 6 p.m. sharp.
Those who do not abide
will be suspended...
Do you still remember...
the time when I had the chance
to defend Ces
when she was bullied by Mary?
-But I did nothing.
-Clara don't blame yourself.
What if you ever see me in need of help,
will you come to my rescue?
But you're a grownup,
you can take care of yourself.
Even grownups need saving sometimes.
Okay, Miss Pat.
When the time comes that you need help,
I promise to be there for you.
And I promise to be there for you too.
Sor Alice?
-Hello, Julian? It's me, Pat.
-Hello?
Is there any way I can talk to Fidel?
Pat, Fidel's case is high profile.
Not anyone can talk to him.
I just want to hear him out.
How about you? How have you been?
The suspect accused of strangling...
I haven't gotten anything yet.
It's as if they want to forget
the whole thing,
-just to save the school's image.
-...in the murder
of fourteen-year-old student,
Clara Nemenzo...
Sorry, Julian.
...whose body was found at 6 o'clock
in the morning by a nun in Sta. Lucia...
Pat? Hello?
I'll call you back.
We will do everything in our power
to make sure
the bastard gets the death penalty.
I hope the president hears this.
I hope he helps us.
We deserve justice, even if that means
death for that son of a bitch.
Fidel Cariaso, the caretaker
of Sta. Lucia Academy,
is now being charged with homicide.
Clara?
Clara?
Did I startle you?
Don't--
Don't look at me.
Clara?
Clara...
Don't worry.
I didn't mean to.
Clara, who killed you?
Someone's coming.
Miss Consolacion!
Sor Alice...
what are you doing here?
Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?
There's a new rule now.
No one should be here after 6 p.m.
What about you?
I'm just making sure
no one is loitering around here.
Fidel is no longer here, and the school
isn't going to look after itself.
What happened to Clara that night
you were punishing her?
What are you trying to say, Patricia?
Someone died that night,
and we both know Fidel didn't kill her.
If you're going to make trouble...
while others are still mourning...
dont bother coming here.
Isn't now the time you need me the most?
When the children don't know what to do?
They will know what to do if they listen.
I just want to know what happened.
I'll give you one last chance.
Think about what you're doing.
If I see you again around here
at this hour...
I will be forced to suspended you,
Patricia.
Do you understand?
This isn't your purpose here.
I advise you to pray, Patricia.
So that your conscience will be cleared.
Joyce?
Joyce!
Joyce...
Help us!
Ms. Pat?
What are you thinking about?
Maybe...
my brother.
You have a brother?
My older brother.
Why didn't you mention him before?
He's not here anymore.
He died a long time ago.
What happened to him?
Mom and Dad weren't around that night.
My brother and I were the only ones
in the house.
And then...
I went to his room.
Then...
I can still remember the smell
of his room.
I opened the door...
The signs had always been there...
but no one listened.
Joyce.
I couldn't save my brother, Anna...
or Clara.
But you...
Promise me you'll fight through this.
How is she?
She can talk now, but she still...
she still needs to rest for now.
Why did you come here?
They already closed the case.
Pat, Fidel killed Clara.
There's nothing we can do for him.
Pat.
Pat, wait.
Girls, stop.
Girls, stop.
Girls!
Don't!
Sta. Lucia has been here for decades.
We've been this way ever since.
Nothing has changed.
For the longest time I've been here,
and not once...
did anyone question our methods.
It isn't right to treat them that way.
All you talk about is discipline,
when the children are dying.
If only you were doing your job,
Joyce wouldn't have attempted suicide.
-Pat, Sor Alice is only human--
-She's blaming me for Joyce's attempt.
I shouldn't say this, but...
she's been through this before.
What happened to her student
was even worse.
What happened?
It was a long time ago.
I've only heard rumors about it.
They said the child hung herself...
somewhere inside Sta. Lucia.
What was her name?
I can't remember.
It happened years ago,
long before I was in Sta. Lucia.
I need your help.
-Why?
-I need access to Sor Alice's files.
I need to know the name of the child
who hung herself.
I have a feeling that this is related
to what happened to Clara.
I can't, Pat.
Even if I wanted to help,
I might get suspended.
I'll do it myself.
Pat!
I'm already suspended.
What more can they do to me?
Wait.
You know Erika Sayco?
What happened to Erika?
To Clara?
I was a guidance counselor before.
During that time, only nuns
were permitted to work in Sta. Lucia.
How do you even help someone
who doesn't want to be helped?
Erika Sayco was like that.
The way of God was the only way
I knew to help her.
But God wasn't enough for her.
So, you gave up?
Now I'm starting to realize...
that God doesn't have all the answers.
I'm sorry.
Then why do you keep interfering?
Why can't I help them
in the way I know how?
Tell Erika to forgive me.
Tell her to ask for God's forgiveness
for what she's done.
"What she's done?"
Fidel wasn't the only one there
the night Clara died.
There's a reason why spirits
remain on this earth.
But I never dared to find out why.
This is what they have taught us.
I tried so hard to hide this truth...
away from Sta. Lucia, away from Clara,
and from you, Patricia.
There are things far too evil
for us to ever understand.
Some souls are so filled with hate
that they wish nothing but harm
for the living.
At that point I don't know what to do,
theres nothing I can do!
I'm not like you.
I won't give up on her.
Pat!
Pat!
-Pat!
-Sorry to bother you.
-Not at all.
-Come inside.
I found what you asked for.
You need to see this.
-What did you find?
-With Erika, nothing.
She hung herself in the comfort room
of Sta. Lucia.
That's the only evidence I found.
It was ruled out as suicide,
but I checked her father's files,
Ernesto Sayco.
Eri's father?
Two years after Eri's death,
he killed his wife.
Inside the car, outside of Sta. Lucia,
he strangled her.
-That's what she told me.
-Who?
A student of mine,
she told me about this rumor.
Ernesto was sent to the electric chair.
They said he went insane
after his daughter's death.
But there was no clear motive.
I got his confession.
Listen.
Yes, I killed my wife.
Why did you kill her?
I don't know.
I had no control over myself.
We've argued many times,
but not like this.
I was filled with rage.
A rage I've never felt before--
You have your tape recorder, right?
This is Fidel's confession.
-God help me, I didn't mean to.
-Not me, I couldn't do this.
-Help me, I'm not a murderer.
-It's not my fault, I couldn't control it.
-I wrapped my hands around her neck...
-I wrapped my hands around her neck...
-I choked the life out of her.
-I choked the life out of her.
-I don't know why I did it.
-I couldn't control myself.
-I had no control.
-I don't know why.
-Please sir, don't throw me in jail.
-I don't know what came over me.
I have a family!
I need to go.
Wait, where are you going?
-I need to go to Sta. Lucia.
-Wait, I'll come with you.
Why would he do it?
Why would he kill all of a sudden?
If he really did it, why?
Where is the motive?
-What will he get from killing her?
-Wait.
Pat, I don't understand
what you're saying.
There's something wrong here.
-What's wrong?
-Everything!
-I can handle myself.
-Wait, where are you going?
-Pat!
-Thank you!
Eri?
Eri?
Why are you crying?
It hurts.
It hurts so much.
Let's do it this way.
I'll go in.
You won't see me.
I won't see you.
But we'll talk.
Ms. Pat, why do you keep coming back here?
I want to find out the motive
of the people who did this to you.
If I can do that, I would learn
how to talk to someone like you.
People like me?
People who were wronged.
You'll stay with me?
Yes, I'll stay with you.
Always?
Always.
You'll follow me...
to Hell?
-What?
-Will you see your brother there?
Isn't it a sin to kill yourself?
That's what they taught us before.
Even Sor Alice said it.
People like me,
should have never been born.
Eri, that's not true.
That's what everyone told me.
I have no friends.
No one wanted to be friends with me.
Even her.
Especially her.
No one understood me.
They wouldn't listen.
Even at home...
my mother cut my hair so short...
So... ugly.
They laughed at me.
All of them.
I wanted to die.
They say, God is always right.
No one else, only Him.
All must submit to Him.
His happiness should come first,
even if we're suffering.
I tried to leave,
but they didn't allow me.
We must all suffer
for our most beloved God.
But I noticed
I was the only one suffering.
So, I promised myself that one day...
I won't be alone in my suffering.
For God, we must come together.
My parents went to Sta. Lucia
to collect the things I'd left.
There, I discovered I could do things
that I couldn't do
while I was still alive.
My mother, she was easy to kill.
She was weak.
But my father...
he was even weaker.
What did you do?
You still don't know?
I used Fidel to kill Clara...
so I could have a friend.
But when she was here,
she didn't want to be friends with me.
She's like the other girls before.
Eri, what they did to you was wrong.
But this...
Killing people?
They killed me. They killed me every day.
Now you know...
do you still want to be with me?
What?
I was okay being alone. I was contented.
But one day, you came along.
You befriended me.
You told me to get out
and be friends with others.
But do you know what I found out?
No one will ever understand me.
Not people like you!
I can't live again,
but you people can be like me...
Dead.
First, Clara...
now, you!
You're not going to run like her, right?
He's coming.
Miss Pat? Why are you running?
Isn't this what you wanted?
Now we'll know
what they all say and think.
You no longer have to ask.
Eri, don't do this, please, let's talk.
Let Julian go.
He's coming.
Help!
Help!
Eri!
I never saw them again after that night.
Eri, or Clara.
I don't know where they went.
It's now quiet here at Sta. Lucia...
Too quiet.
I don't know what to say anymore...
to Julian...
to the police...
to Sor Alice.
I don't have anyone to talk to.
No one's going to believe me anyway.
If Fidel really killed Clara...
there's nothing I can do for him...
or for Eri.
Joyce?
Joyce?
Joyce! Joyce!
Joyce!
Joyce!
Miss Pa--
Miss Pat,
if you can hear me...
If you can really hear me,
please, help me.
Joyce!
I'm right here, Joyce.
I'll always be here.