Pagkasabi ko ng pangalan ko, lahat sila ay napahinto at natahimik. Pati na ang katabi ko na ikinataka kung bakit ganon ang mga reaksyon nila. Ngunit sa sandaling iyon, Hav was the first to recover from the surprise.
"Quillen?" he said, confused.
"Yes, Quillen is my last name," naguguluhang sabi ko rin dahil sa mga reaksyon nila.
"Anak ka ba ni Papa sa iba?" kinakabahang tanong ni Rav.
"Huh? Anak, may anak si Daddy sa iba?" hindi na kami magkaintindihan sa aming mga tanong.
"Is Javier Van Quillen also your father?" Hav asked more coherently.
Nanlaki ang mga mata ko sa Gulat at napatayo. "Are you Tito Pogs' children!? Are you his twins!? Vein and Vien!?"
"Tito Pogs!?" sabay nilang sabi, at tinanguan ko lang.
"Yes, Tito Pogs is my uncle, Javier Von Quillen. And my Daddy is his twin, Xavier Van Quillen. My Mommy is Valerie Cortez Quillen," I explained, as if trying to introduce my entire familiar circle.
"You're Tito Von's child!?" the twins shouted in unison.
"Oo nga! Bakit ba ayaw n'yong maniwala? Eto, oh!" sabi ko at inabot ang bag kong nakasabit, taking out the wallet with our pictures—actually, there were four of us in there, including my sibling who was still in Mommy's womb. I handed it to them, and they looked at it, even Lian and Nicco sneaked a peek.
"Tama nga ako, kamukhang-kamukha mo nga si Valerie noong nasa ganyang edad mo rin siya," sabi ni Manang, na namamangha sa nangyayari.
"It's really you, our cousin!" Rav exclaimed, giving me a hug, immediately followed by Hav.
"Rie, ikaw pala si Rie! Hindi na kita nakilala, Rie ganda," sabi ni Hav, na humahalakhak. 'Yon ang tawag sa akin ni Tito Van.
"Havier Vein Quillen."
"Ravier Vien Quillen."
Rav and Hav both said their full names, and Lian and Nicco joined in.
"Lian Tyron Rodriguez," Lian said.
"Niccolo Klaus Morgan," Nicco said.
I looked at Nicco when his last name started to sound familiar to me.
"How are you related to Tito Nicholas Morgan, the pilot?" I asked him. He smiled at me and answered,
"So you've met Papa. Yes, he's my father."
"Wow, nice!" Hindi ako makapaniwala sa narinig ko.
"So, kasama din ba ang mga parents n'yo si Tito Von? Ang Daddy n'yo kambal?" Umaasa akong itanong sa kanila.
Sabay na nagbuntong-hininga ang kambal. "Hindi namin alam, Rie, pero malaki ang tsansang magkasama sila," sagot ni Hav. Bumalik ako sa upuan ko, nadama ko ang mga balikat na bumagsak habang naupo ulit.
"How about my Dad?" Naluluhang sabi ko sa kanila. Ramdam ko ang pagpulupot muli ng braso ni Argus sa bewang ko, at hinapit ako palapit sa kanya. Naramdaman ko ang halik nito sa ulo ko na tila pinapakalma ako, at naging epektibo naman ito.
"Kumain na muna tayo, mga anak," Manang suggested to us, and the twins immediately agreed. Despite the disappointment, I didn't lose my appetite. In fact, my eating became even heartier. This had become my habit whenever I felt sad or stressed.
But nalang hindi ako tumataba.
We finished eating, and I also took a shower to get rid of the lingering smell on my body that didn't go away when manang cleaned me earlier. Ngayon, nakaupo na lang ako habang may yakap-yakap na jar ng pochi, sumisilip sa bintana, at pinagmamasdan ang dagat sa hindi kalayuan kung saan kami nakatigil ngayon.
BINABASA MO ANG
Dark Awakening
Action"In a world devoured by darkness, survival is our only hope. Brace yourself for an apocalyptic journey through the land of the undead."
