Veronica
"Mommy!! Wakey, wakey!!!!"
My consciousness slowly drifted back to reality when I felt a small, energetic weight pounce on me. Multiple wet, sloppy kisses were being plastered all over my face from my forehead, to my nose, down to my chin. For a moment, I wanted to stay in that hazy, sleepy state, cocooned in the scent of my daughter’s baby powder. But the urgency in her voice snapped me wide awake.
"Oh, gosh! Mommy!!!"
I forced my eyes open, greeted by the sight of my daughter’s panicked expression. Vanessa was looking at me with huge, teary eyes, her small hands trembling as she cradled my face. My maternal instincts kicked in immediately, pushing aside the heavy fog in my head.
"Why, baby? What’s wrong?" I asked, my voice sounding like I had swallowed a handful of gravel.
She didn't answer right away. Instead, she started frantically feeling my forehead, my neck, and even my ears with such intense focus that it almost made me dizzy. I reached up to touch my own skin, and that’s when the reality of my condition hit me, the searing heat radiating from my body was enough to boil water.
"You're hot, mommy! Like, super-duper hot! Para kang baga!"
Despite the throbbing pain behind my eyes, I couldn't help but let out a weak chuckle. "Well, your mommy is always the hottest woman in the room, honey," I teased, trying to mask the shivering that was starting to take over my limbs.
But Vanessa was having none of my jokes. She glared at me, her tiny eyebrows meeting in the middle, before reaching out to pinch the tip of my nose. Hard.
"I’m serious! You're burning! Mommy, please don't die!" she wailed softly, her lip starting to tremble.
"Oh, honey... come here." I pulled her into my arms, ignoring the way my muscles screamed in protest. "Mommy is just a little sick. I just need a bit of rest and maybe some of your magic hugs."
Vanessa buried her face in the crook of my neck, her small arms wrapping tightly around me. "I'll give you all my hugs, mommy. Just be okay, please? You're the only mommy I have."
My heart squeezed. This little human was my everything. "Don't worry, baby. I'm okay. Strong kaya si Mommy."
But Vanessa, ever the skeptic, pulled back and stood up on the bed. She placed her hands on her hips, looking down at me with an expression that said she knew exactly what I was hiding.
"You're not okay! You're shaking! And your eyes look... sleepy-sick!" she pouted, her voice rising in protest.
"I'm—"
"Maybe you need a biogesex." gulat at nanlalaking matang napatingin ako sa anak ko na malawak pang nakangiti sa akin.
My heart literally stopped for a second. I stared at my daughter, who was now beaming at me as if she had just suggested the ultimate cure for all human suffering.
"Baby!" I gasped, my fever-induced lethargy momentarily replaced by pure shock. "Vanessa! Where on earth did you learn that word? Do you even know what that means?"
"It's a medicine for adults, right? Mommy tita said it's for when you're feeling hot and needs someone!" she answered proudly, tilting her head innocently.
Shit!
That bitch!
Veymie! I swear to God, I am going to skin my sister alive. Kung ano-ano ang pinapasok sa utak ng bata! I could already imagine Veymie’s laughing face while teaching my daughter such scandalous terms. Humanda ka sa akin, Veymie. You’re officially banned from babysitting for a year!
