Stone

Chapter XLIII: Words of Affirmation (Part 2)

Drake

I'm not the real Drake. The young Drake, whom Kahel knew, died a long time ago.

The true Drake Slater Valentino perished on that day, when they were kidnapped and when he jumped to the sea. He did not drown; he had sickle cell anemia. Sa sobrang daming nangyari sa kaniya noong araw na iyon ay sinumpong siya ng sakit niya hanggang sa tuluyang nag-clump ang kaniyang mga dugo.

Gustong-gusto ko nang ipaalam kay Kahel ang totoo. He could hardly remember what happened that day. Kung paano niya sinubukang buhayin ang kababata niya. How he saw the color of the breath leaving that child's body. And most of all, how his powers turned the statue of Eros into the kid who loved him so much in an attempt to save him. It was a big flash of green light in the middle of the ocean. Kasabay noon ay ang pagiging bato ng mga dumukot sa amin. Kasabay noon ay ang pagpanaw ng kaibigan niya. He lost consciousness after that.

Nang saklolohan kami ng mga magulang ng batang kalaro niya, it was already too late. I could clearly remember the anguish in Mommy Cherry's face as she held Drake's cold body in her arms by the shore. Nakayuko sa harap nila si Daddy Sebastian habang para siyang pinagsakluban ng langit.

Hindi pa ako ganap na tao noon. But I was watching them as my body, made of gold and stone, stood near them by the sand. Kahel was sleeping on a stretcher habang inaasikaso siya ng nanay niya.

They took us home. Yakap ni Mommy Cherry ang katawan ni Drake habang papasok sa mansyon. His father placed me inside the house habang papalapit sa asawa niya.

I remember clearly. I was staring at their backs, habang paakyat sila sa magandang hagdan na may supistikadong red carpet, I suddenly felt the crust in my body fall.

"Mommy, Daddy?" kusang lumabas na mga salita sa bibig ko. The wings on my back folded themselves inside my skin, hanggang sa maging bahagi sila ng katawan ko.

They were shocked at first. Yes, they were scared. But seeing a boy perfectly resembling their son made them think otherwise.

That's when they started arguing. My mom was never able to process her grief for Drake because of me. I was the exact replica of Drake. Her love for her son made it hard for her to accept that he was already dead. Para sa kaniya, Drake was still alive, sa katauhan ko.

But my father thought differently. He knows that his real son is gone. He burried the real Drake himself habang inaakalang nahihibang na ang asawa niya dahil sa paniniwala nito.

My mom took me abroad. I have never seen Kahel since then. My parents never let the world know what really happened to us.

Years passed, and I grew up living the life of Drake Slater Valentino. My mom loves me so much, but my father never acknowledged me as his. Totoo naman. Hindi ko siya masisisi. I was just a living memory of a son they lost years ago. May mga panahong nagtatalo sila dahil sa akin. But I had nowhere else to go, so I decided to stay. Then they got divorced because of me.

I've lived the life of the boy who had sickle cell anemia. Unlike him, I was healthy, but there is that part of me that has been longing for Kahel, ang kababata ng batang Drake na hinalilihan ko. Whenever I felt lonely, Kahel's face would pop up in my head. Hindi ko sigurado kung bakit ko siya naalala dahil hindi ko naman talaga siya gaanong nakasalamuha noong naging tao ako. But remembering him made me smile on the days when I wanted to turn back into stone. And so I started asking my mom about Kahel in the years to come. From her, I learned how Kahel strived to be a good student habang lumalaki kami pareho. How he got into scholarships while working at a very young age.

I set aside the truth about me and embodied my pretentious life. I promised myself to live normally for the people around me. For my grieving mother. For my father, who built an empire as his coping mechanism for losing his son. And for Kahel, because he somehow inspired me to continue. I started referring to him as le vœu, the vow. He is my vow to myself to keep on living this borrowed life while making the most of my brief time here on earth. Kahit huwad itong buhay kong ito, kagaya ni Kahel, sisikapin kong magpatuloy; to honor the late Drake Slater Valentino.