Chapter 23
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"Are you sure about this, Astraia?" bakas sa boses ni Lucas ang pag-aalala. I understand him naman, kung hindi dahil sa trabaho ko ay hindi naman ako uuwi sa Pilipinas but my job needs me.
"Yeah, I'm sure about thus and I will go back to Philippines because of my job." sabi ko habang nag iimpake ng mga damit ko at nilalagay ito sa maleta ko. Tumahimik ito ng ilang minuto bago muling magsalita.
"What if magkita ulit kayo or magkita sila ni Kio, what are you going to do?" malamig na sabi nito bago umupo sa kama ko. Napahinto naman ako dahil sa tanong nya, that's the same question running to my mind and my answer to that is I don't know.
"I don't know" maikling tugon ko bago bumalik sa pagliligpit.
"Baby, we are going to Philippines, are you excited?" tanong ko habang nasa lap ko sya at hawak-hawak ang magkabila kong pisngi. He kissed the tip of my noses before nodding.
"Yeah, Stratus is also going to Philippines, mommy" masayang sabi nito pero seryoso pa din ang mukha. Bagay nga silang magkaibigan ni Stratus.
Nagsimula na din akong mag ayos ng mga dadalhing damit ni Kio. It's Kio first time to go to the Philippines, we travel a lot because of my job but thanks God he enjoys travelling, it's a good thing that Stratus is always with his mom whenever we're travelling so Kio is not bored at all.
"Is lola there in the Philippines, mommy?" inosenteng tanong nito. I always tell about my mom to Kio, hindi man nya ito nakita ay alam pa din nya kung gaano katapang na babae si mama at hindi ako magsasawang sabihin ito lagi na napaka swerte ko dahil sya ang nagluwal saakin.
I pinched his cheeks and kissed the tip of his nose before answering. "Yeah, and we will go to your lola, do you want that?" agad itong tumango bago ako tulungan samga damit nya.
"Ayos na ba ang mga gamit mo?" tanong ko kay Katalina. Katalina is my friend slash make-up artist, she's always with me. We met at my first runway she's the one who made my make-up that's the start of our friendship.
"Oo, naayos ko na ang lahat ng kakailangin ko." sagot nito. We are living on the same house here in Paris.
Nasa sala na ang lahat ng mga bagay na dadalhin namin pauwi. Halos isang buwan lang kami sa Pilipinas doon at pagkatapos ng runway ay baka magkaroon pa ako ng mga photoshoot.
Papasok na kami sa loob ng private airplane, katabi ko si Kio habang nasa kabila ko naman si Katalina.
I planned many things when we get there, one of it is I want my friends to meet Kio. Simula kasi nang umalis kami ay wala na akong naging connection sa mga kakilala ko sa Pilipinas.
Maging si Lucas ay wala naging connection sakanila. Agad din kasing pumunta ito nang maka graduate.
Nang makalapag ang eroplano namin ay inalalayan ko sa pagbaba ang anak ko. Ang alam ko ay mas naunang umuwi dito sina Deiva.
One of my plan here in the Philippines is to file a case against Don Pablo. I want my mother to have her own justice.
Tita Sheila told me about the reason behind my mother's death.
Don Pablo molested my mother and that's the true reason of my mother's death. Hindi kinaya ng mama ko nang nalaman nyang buntis ito dahil sa kababuyan ni Don Pablo.
Kung nalaman ko din ng maaga ay hindi na sana hahantong sa ganito, sana kasama pa namin sya.
Inalis ko sa isip ko ang mga iyon. It only bring bad memories to me and I don't want to remember it again.
Nakarating kami sa hotel na tutuluyan namin ng matiwasay walang media ang nakasunod pero alam ko sa mga susunod na araw ay magkakaroon na din ng mga media sa baba ng hotel.
"Baby, are you tired? " malambing na tanong ko sakanya habang hinihimas ang buhok nya.
He looked at me boredly. "No, but I want to rest. " sagot nito. I smiled at him before kissing his cheeks.
Nagsimula na akong mag-ayos ng mga damit namin. It's already 7 in the evening when we plan to just order our food.
Kung hindi ako pagod ay nagluto na sana ako pero ngayong pagod ako ay nag oorder nalang kami.
"Do you want to meet mommy's friend? " tanong ko kay Kio habang kumakain ito.
Napa-anagt ito ng tingin bago sumagot. "Yeah!" sagot nito.
Ngumiti ako sakanya at nagpatuloy na din sa pagkain. Wala ngayon si Katalina dahil mas pinili nitong maglibot sa BGC.
"Mom, where's my dad? Me and Stratus don't have a dad and we sometimes get bullied because of that. " na alarma naman ako dahil sa sinabi nito.
Kio is very a silent kid, he's frank all the time he say what he want to say, but he never told me what is happening to his school.
"Baby, why did you not tell me that you are being bullied at school? " tanong ko sakanya.
He looked at me seriously, his stare reminds me of his father. "I can handle myself, mom, and Stratus is there we save each other if one of us is being bullied." napangiti naman ako dahil doon.
Lip is very mature if it comes on thinking just like his friend.
Nang dumating ang gabi ay tumabi alo sakanya sa kama. I brushed his hair. Nakatingin ito saakin habang ginagawa ko iyon.
"You didn't answer me when I ask about my father. " napahinto ako sa paghaplos ng buhok nya ng sabihin nya iyon.
I gulped. "Your daddy is here in the Philippines but I don't know exactly where he lives. " sagot ko.
"Does my daddy have..." nagdadalawang isip pa ito kung itatanong nya iyon.
"What is it, Kio? " tanong ko sakanya.
"Does my daddy have his own family?" diretsong tanong nito saakin.
I tried to hide the emotion in my eyes. I gulped and heaved a signed.
"We are not sure about that but if he has his own family, well accept it, right? "
"Of courser, all my life I'm with you and having a daddy is not my dream as of now. " sagot nya.
Pero alam ko na labag iyon sa kalooban nya. I grew up without my father beside me and I know that feeling.
I envied those children who have complete members of the family.
Alam ko na ganun din ang nararamdaman ni Kio, he's my son after all.
