"You are finally awake, Naru." Yumi said with relief ng bisitahin niya ang inaanak sa ospital at naabutan itong nakaupo sa hospital bed.
Last night, Dos told her na nagising na nga ang binata mula sa coma nito. She didn't rush in the hospital though and gave the young lad time to rest to think.
"Ninang, my parents..." Naru's eyes were hazy as he looked at Yumi. He didn't want to cry at all. But the pain he had from losing his parents and watched it happened with his very own eyes was simply too much.
Yumi quickly gave the lad a hug.
"Hush now... Don't hurt yourself again for thinking of what happened too much." She tried to calm him down pero mas lalo lang nanginig ang binata.
"How can I not, Ninang?! Those people... they... they killed my parents!"
"En... I know."
"I want their lives too!"
"Naru, alam kong narinig mo din ang huling habilin ng iyong ama." Yumi could only sigh.
The lad didn't say anything anymore and just aggrievedly cry there. Yumi felt her heart was breaking.
This godson of hers...
She always unsure how to interact with him.
Don't get her wrong, there is nothing wrong with Naru. She and others watched him grew up along with Uno and Dos as well as the other kids of their family and friends. Since magkakalapit ang edad nila, they were close to each other.
Due to his mother's sensitive pregnancy, they didn't let her drink too much nurturing potions for pregnant women. Potion, after all, was still half poison. Nag-iingat lang sila noon.
Because of that, Naru was born frail. He was thinner and shorter kumpara sa ibang mga bata. With that stature along with his gentle attitude made Narcissa and Rui dotes on him so much. Fortunately, he didn't grow up spoiled or turned into a dandy boy.
But what made Yumi felt awkward when interacting with him was the fact that when he was young, there were moments that he would mention to his parents about his "past life" and Rui and Nyssa would share his words with them kapag nagkakatipon tipon sila.
He would tell them that he was a disciple of a Great Master of oriental medicine and that he had a Great General twin sister who couldn't just fight enemies mightily but also could cook delicious food for him.
Narcissa and Rui thought he was thinking of this because he wanted a sister, which made them feel sad because Narcissa could no longer bear a child.
However, Kami and Yumi thought otherwise. (As for Mateo, he just didn't care. His mind could only accommodate his beloved wife with a tiny space for his elders, siblings and children.)
The two believed that Naru as a disciple of Great Master of oriental medicine and having a Great General twin sister was real. They believed that he had memories of his past life but his child brain could only recall these memories when there were people, things or conversation that triggered them.
Ilang beses din nilang inassess si Naru kapag wala sila Narcissa at Rui kaya kumbinsido ang dalawa tungkol dito.
But then... Naru stopped talking about this when he aged thirteen years old. Even when his mother would recall what he said in his youth, he would just chuckle with others and tell her mother to leave him some face.
Yumi wasn't sure if he already lost those past life memories when he reached his teen years or he just simply learned how to fake things. Anyway, they also stopped questioning him about it to avoid any suspicions from Narcissa and Rui.
Going back....
Ibiniling maigi ni Yumi si Naru sa mga nurse ng ospital when she finally had to leave. Dahil na rin sa hindi niya makontrol na emosyon, the lad had contracted a high fever. In the end, she decided to have the young lad sedated.
Hopefully, when he woke up again, he would feel better.
***
"How is Naru?" Mateo asked Yumi nang makasakay na ito sa carriage. He had free time today so he picked his wife from the hospital.
"He's awake but too emotional. He ended up getting a fever dahil panay ang iyak niya. Poor child..." Yumi sighed as she leaned her body on her husband.
"Indeed. Don't worry too much. He is no longer the frail child he used to be. He will get over this." The man hugged his wife and comforted her.
"En... I really hope so.
"Anyway, nahanap na ba ng mga tao mo sila Uno?"
"Yes. Your son and his cousins are at H Capital."
Yumi frowned after hearing that. P Country had two Capitals, M and H Capital. That's because the country had two major islands divided by ocean. M Capital was known for its land trades to other countries. But H Capital was known for its sea trades. The whole island is basically surrounded of sea.
"Do you want me to haul them back here?"
"No. Let them be for now. Maybe, what Uno needs para magtino ay isang matinding karanasan. Whether that will be a good or bad one, who knows. Let some of Xiao Bao's men shadow them. But tell them not to meddle with them unless it is life and death situation."
Mateo chuckled. Seemed like Yumi finally decided to teach Uno a lesson this time. Should he light a candle for that prodigal son back at home?
"What about your brothers?"
"They also scolded and punished those three after na umuwi sila ng bahay mula sa Geisha House. So I guess, that's why they also went with Uno when he ran away.
"I feel ashamed to my older brothers dahil sa nangyari. But this time sila na mismo ang nagsabi na whatever I plan to do to Uno, they would do the same too.
"Sabi nga ni Kuya Koshi, tutal naman ay gusto nilang magkakasama sa paggawa ng kalokohan, then magsamasama din sila sa parusa."
The two ended up laughing, not really worried about Uno and his cousins. If those four lads knew about it, baka lalong magpakalayo layo ang mga ito.
"I don't think their wives would agree."
"I know. Lalo na si Amara na babyng baby si Rashi. And I know I will definitely hear some snide remarks from Lavina about this. Hmph! I'll let them be this time tutal ay kasalanan talaga ni Uno ito."
"Don't worry, if they give you a hard time, I'll get back to your brothers."
"Good!"
Then they laughed together once again.
***
"Achooo..."
Uno sniffed after sneezing. He caught a cold after staying all night upto dawn on that fisherman boat.
The distance between M Capital and H Capital could be covered by that kind of boat yun nga lang ay aabutin talaga ng ilang oras. And these boats didn't have walls to cover the passengers kaya naman lalamigin talaga sila.
"Kuya Uno, let's go to the nearest inn. I am exhausted." Cousin Rashi (age 18, Koshi and Amara's only child) tiredly said to Uno.
"Weak!" Cousin Alvin (age 17, Dachi and Lavina's first born) muttered while looking at the latter. He had been complaining noong nasa bangka pa lamang sila. Kung alam lang niya na maririndi lamang siya dito ay hindi na sana niya ito inaya na sumama sa kanila.
As for Asahi and Isabel's son na si Cousin Isagani (age 19), he was silent as always though his face had tiredness on it too.
"Let's go." Uno agreed.
***
