'I feel so guilty'

Dear Tita,

My daughter's best friend Susie was very close to us. They were more than sisters and were always together. Since our daughter is our only child, we were happy that she had a friend she enjoyed herself with. Susie spent a lot of time in our house as she told us that her parents were always fighting. I also learned from my daughter that Susie's parents would often beat her whenever they believed she did something wrong. I felt sorry for Susie as she was so loving and sweet. She would tell our daughter how lucky she was to have such wonderful parents.

Soon I found out that Susie had a boyfriend and she told her parents she was at our home when in truth, she was with her boyfriend. I didn't approve of this and I talked to her to stop doing it. However, my daughter came home on that day and told me that Susie was pregnant! I was shocked. When Susie came to our house, I asked her about this and she admitted that it was true. She told me that her boyfriend wouldn't admit that he was the father as he accused her of seeing other guys. She was in tears when she said that her boyfriend broke off their relationship and had left for Manila. Another big problem was that she was so afraid her parents would find out. I tried to explain to her that her parents should know about her situation. She became hysterical and begged me not to tell them as she was so afraid they might hurt her. I finally promised her I wouldn't tell.

Later, I thought about the situation and decided that her parents needed to know about what was happening. That day I called up her mother and told her the truth.

She reacted angrily and blamed my daughter, saying that she was a bad influence on Susie. Before I could answer, she shouted obscenities at me then banged the phone down. I was numbed. This was the first time in my life that anyone spoke to me that way. I told my husband about it and he warned me to stop meddling in other people's affairs. After two days, my daughter came home crying and informed me that Susie's parents beat her up. When she tried to run outside, she fell down the stairs and lost her baby.

Now I found out that Susie ran away from home and nobody knows where she is. I

feel so guilty about the whole thing. Am I to blame for everything that happened? Should I just have kept quiet? Please help me as I can't sleep thinking about this.

CONCERNED MOTHER

Dear Concerned Mother,

Stop blaming yourself. Sooner or later, Susie's parents would have found out about

her pregnancy. It is so unfortunate that they reacted the way they did. If they only handled the problem with more understanding, things wouldn't have turned out so tragically. Susie grew up in an unhappy home and tried to reach out for love. The poor girl was confused and tormented. The only good thing she had was your daughter's friendship. I just hope Susie is well and in good hands. The thing you can do now is pray for her.

TITA