UMANDAR na ang kotse. It was bound to take them to back to the hotel where Meika and her team were staying.
At first, Meika felt like she was having a private fan meet. Niyakap siya nang mahigpit ni Reka bago nakipag-selfie sa kaniya. After she requested to not upload the photos online yet, her daughter went on and on, talking about she loves her songs, how becoming her fan changed her life.
As she watched Reka’s enthusiastic tell-all about how much she admires her as an artist, Meika could not help feeling lonely. Witnessing how Reka views her as a diva brought it to her awareness that there’s this distance between them. Hindi niya malaman tuloy kung paano aaminin dito ang totoo.
Nang mapanakaw siya ng sulyap sa katabi ni Reka na si Trina, nahuli nito ang kaniyang mga mata. Tila nabasa nito ang kaniyang iniisip.
“Hindi talaga sila makapaniwala noong sabihin kong inspired ng kanta mong New Face iyong eggshell mosaic painting na ipinasa ko sa MAPEH class—”
“Reka,” tawag ni Trina sa dalagita. Napalingon tuloy ito sa babae na nakaupo sa tabi ng bintana. “Mukhang napapasarap ang pagkukuwento mo, a?”
“Oh, my gosh!” takip nito ng isang kamay sa bibig bago ibinalik ang tingin sa kaniya. “Sorry, Miss Jen! I . . . I said some Tagalog words. You understand them, right? I saw on Wikipedia that you’re a half-Filipina, righr?”
That Wikipedia page was made by Istela, her manager. And majority of the information there were well-crafted lies to protect her identity and private life.
Trina gave Meika this meaninful look. She was encouraging her to go ahead and tell the truth. Meika looked at her daughter so fondly, even if she was a little scared of what her reaction to the truth would be.
The truth, after all, isn’t what really hurts, but others’ reaction toward it.
“There’s a lot for you to know about me, Reka. Like for instance . . .” She took a deep breath and felt the pendant of her shell necklace. “I am your mother.”
Namilog ang mga mata nito. “Of course, mother!”
“Literal mother,” she clarified quickly.
Napamaang ito saglit. “But my real mommy . . .” Nagtatanong ang mga mata na nilingon ng dalagita ang Mommy Trina nito. “Sabi mo, makikipagkita ako today sa real mommy ko?”
Mommy Trina smiled at her softly and nodded.
“Hindi mo ba iyon sinabi lang para ma-surprise ako dahil hindi ko i-e-expect na si Jen Duh ang mami-meet ko? Totoo bang . . .” Natigilan ang dalagita nang tumango-tango agad si Mommy Trina.
Meika almost held her breath as she watched Reka slowly glance back at her.
Bahagyang naningkit ang mga mata nito. “If you are really my real mommy, paano kayo nag-meet ni Daddy?”
Nagulat siya sa tanong na iyon. At the same time, she was alarmed. Pinukulan niya ng nagtatakang tingin si Mommy Trina.
“Ako. Ako ang nagkuwento kay . . . kay Reka,” kabado nitong paliwanag sa kaniya.
Nang ibalik ni Meika ang tingin kay Reka ay nasaktuhan niyang napatingin ito kay Mommy Trina bago muling tumingin sa kaniya. Nagdududa ang mga mata nito habang pasimpleng sumisipsip sa straw ng kiwi fruit juice nito.
“Well . . .” Meika sighed. She thought that maybe, telling the story of how she first met and got together with Reka’s father would help convince her daughter that she’s her real mother. If this didn’t work, she wouldn’t mind taking a DNA test then. “Sige. I will tell you how I met your . . . father.” Gusto niyang maglagay ng mura bago banggitin ang salitang ‘father’ pero nangibabaw ang mother’s instinct niya. That instinct included doing something to protect her child. And she wanted to protect Reka from profanities.
