ALIENS AND STARS, LIKE YOU AND ME (BOOK 2)

CHAPTER 31

I followed Mom, and we went to what looked like a room where other things were kept. When the light was turned on, there were boxes there. "Here are the things I hid," she said.

She took a box, and I took it from her to help her lift it. I said, "Mom, let me help you." She let me carry it and said, "Thank you, anak."

After that, we went to her room. Upon entering, I put the box I was carrying on the floor. After putting it down, I asked Mom, "What's in this box?"

Mom opened the box, and when she did, I frowned in wonder. As I saw what was inside, the wrinkle on my forehead slowly disappeared. After she picked it up, she wiped it to get rid of the dust. 

Once she had wiped it, she sat on the bed and placed what she was holding on her lap. After she sat down, she turned to me and said, "Come, sit here beside me." I sat next to her.

She then said, "This is an album. Album pictures of your real father." I looked at the album she was holding and then she opened it. When she opened the album, I saw pictures of a man. 

I stared at the pictures. Mom said, "This is a picture of your dad when he was still in school." The man was tall and a little thin, with black hair and fair skin. 

Mom continued, "This is a picture of your dad when he was drawing as a young man." I was surprised and asked, "He can draw? He drew too?" Mom nodded and smiled, saying, "Yes, he can. In fact, you are both good at drawing." 

Mom took something from the box. When she showed it to me, she said, "This is your father's drawing book." I took it from her and looked at his drawings.

As I stare at it, I was amazed at how clean and detailed his drawings were. I said, "Wow, these drawings are beautiful, and I am impressed by how good they look." Mom replied, "I told you, you are both good at drawing." 

I looked at Mom and smiled. After that, we looked at the album again.

Mom said, "Your father and I met on the foundation day at our school. Mahilig kasi ako tumingin ng mga pictures, painting o drawing kaya nung nakita ko ang booth nila ay agad naman na akong pumunta doon. There, I saw your father's drawing. It was of a woman with a sunset and sunrise. I was amazed by it. As I stared, I noticed that the lady looked like me, so I looked at it for a long time." 

 I looked at Mom and saw that she was smiling as she looked at the pictures and talked.

She continued, "Nung nakita ako ng dad mo ay nilapitan niya ako. Nagulat nga ako dahilsa bigla nalang siyang lumapit ng hindi ko namamalayan.Sinabi niya sakin na siya ang gumawa ng drawing na tinititigan ko. He mentioned that drawing it at first was a bit difficult for him because he couldn't think of anything and lacked inspiration until one day when he saw me walking at sunset. He said that when he saw me at that time, he suddenly felt inspired to draw me. It was as if seeing me gave him the inspiration he needed. He said he was so dedicated to capturing my image that he decided to draw me at both sunrise and sunset."

Mom smiled even more as she said this. I had never seen her smile like this before. I felt that the smile she was showing now was even more genuine than before.

Mom said, "After he told me that, he thanked me because... he said I was his inspiration. I was happy when he thanked me, and I was also pleased because his drawing was so beautiful. After that, he introduced himself to me, and I introduced myself to him as well." 

She looked at me and smiled. I asked, "And that is how you both met?" She nodded and said, "Yes, that is how your real father and I met. The next day, we became closer. I got to know him better, and he got to know me better. Until he confessed his feelings to me. Pagkaamin niya sakin ay tinanong niya kung pwede siyang manligaw sakin. I agreed because I felt that he really liked me. After eight months, I finally said yes to being his girlfriend because I couldn't take it any longer and... because I already had feelings for your dad."