The Royal Nanny

Kabanata 4

Watching

Ngiting-ngiti sa akin ang batang babae at hindi ko maialis sa aking kandungan. She looks so comfortable with my embrace.

"Nana, missed you!" she said.

Bakit 'Nana' ang tawag niya sa akin? I'm not her grandma, I'm very sure of that. Hindi ko alam kung kaninong anak ito at wala naman akong mararamdamang espesyal sa kanya. She looks like an ordinary baby wearing a fancy little glittery dress.

"Where's your Mama?" tanong ko sa kanya.

Tinuro niya ang pinto palabas, I assumed that her Mama was outside my room.

"Nana, play!" sigaw niya sa akin at tinuro ang mga laruan na nasa may sofa. Kumunot ang noo ko, paanong nagkaroon ng mga laruan diyan?

The door opened again and a girl, who I think was in her 5th year, entered my room.

"Princess! Nana!"

Lumaki ang kanyang mga mata nang makita ako at kagaya ng ginawa ng anim na taong gulang na bata ay niyakap niya rin ako.

"Nana! I missed you! Where have you been?" tanong niya habang may luha sa mga mata.

Wala sa sariling pinunasan ko ang mga luha niya. Oh, this feels familiar, I know the feeling but my brain didn't recognized any of these girls.

"Uncle Rav said you lost your memory. Is that true? That means you don't remember us?" she asked then cried again, harder this time.

"Why are you crying? You will get wrinkles if you cry so much." I wiped her tears again.

"You said the same thing too!" She cried louder.

Napasinghap ako at napatingin sa limang na taong gulang na bata na naglalaro mag-isa na ngayon ay pa-iyak na rin. Tumakbo ito papalapit sa amin at yumukap na rin sa akin.

"Nana!" paulit-ulit nilang sabi.

Hindi ko na alam ang gagawin ko dahil hindi naman sila nakikinig sa akin. I just keep on wiping their tears and saying 'it's okay', and that's not enough. The door opened again and a one-year-old boy entered the room. When he saw me, he immediately started crying and ran towards us.

"Nana came back!"

I bit my lower lip. "Stop crying. I'm here and I am not going anywhere. Hush now, babies! It's alright."

They started to calm down and the 5-year-old girl finally smiled at me. The two babies are still crying but they are now manageable. I saw some fruits on the table. "Do you want some tangerine? I will peel it for you," I asked them and they just nodded.

Bumaba ako ng kama at kinuha ang tangerine. Umupo ako sa may upuan na malapit sa lamesa. Lumapit sila sa akin at pinanood ako sa aking ginagawa.

"Nana, love fruits!" the baby boy said.

I smiled, he's so adorable. "Really? What's your name?"

"Anthony!" he shouted his name like he was so proud of it.

"Like fruits too, and grapes, I'm Risha!" the two-year-old girl said.

So, this is Risha. So lovely.

"I'm Irish, Nana. I know you don't remember us. But we still love you, and we missed you so much. When uncle Rav finally agreed to us to visit you, we are so happy," the 5-year-old girl said.

May kumurot sa puso ko at hanggang hindi ko na lang namalayan na umiiyak na ako sa harap ng mga batang ito. I don't know what is happening to me, it just, I just feel that these kids are so precious to me. Seeing them cry makes me want to cry, too.