***
Bumigat ang mga hininga ko. Nanlalaki pa rin ang mga mata at tumutulo ang mga luha. She's so calm and she's smiling while looking at me. Napatitig ako sa napakagandang dalaga sa tabi niya, her daughter. She looks so much like her. Just like her mother, she looks so calm and gentle.
"Hi-" hindi na niya natapos. Niyakap ko na siya kaagad at do'n na bumuhos ang mga luha ko. I felt her hug too. It felt so warm.
"Eunice..." bulong ko habang umiiyak. I missed her so much. I waited for so long. I felt so guilty that I wasn't with her when she needed someone. I felt like I was the worst friend ever. I couldn't protect her before. She suffered a lot. But it makes me smile thinking that even if a lot of things happened in the past, and with that condition, she maintained to be strong. She managed to raise a good child.
"I... I missed you," my tears won't stop. I am so happy that I couldn't stop my tears.
"Nandito na ako, Zai," bulong niya. Pahigpit nang pahigpit ang yakap ko sa kaniya. Pakiramdam ko ay hindi na siya makahinga kaya bumitaw muna ako saglit. Hawak hawak ko ang magkabilang balikat niya at tinititigan siya nang mabuti. She changed and matured a lot. Ang mahaba at magulo niyang buhok dati, ngayon ay maikli, makintab at sobrang straight na. Her baby face is no longer there, mas nadepina ang matangos niyang ilong. Naroon pa rin ang natural na mapupula niyang mga labi at pisngi. Tumangkad siya nang kaunti at mas nag mature ang katawan.
"Eunice... I... I'm so sorry f-for not being there. I'm... I'm-"
"Zai," she called. Natataranta na kasi ako dahil sa nag uumapaw ang mga emosyon ko.
"I'm okay. I've been better, everything's going well. Don't worry about it anymore. Mas mahalagang isipin muna natin ang kondisyon mo ngayon, ikaw ang nangangailangan at hindi ako," she said and smiled. She looked at her daughter at sinenyasan na lumapit.
"Zai, this is my daugther, Dorothy," pagpapakilala niya. Makikipag kamay sana siya but I hugged her instead.
"H-hello po," tunog naiilang pa siya. Napatitig ako kay Dorothy. She looks so much like her mother. Some features are from... that guy. But I'm not saying that those features are ugly. Napakagandang bata ni Dorothy. Napalaki siya nang maayos Eunice.
