Days later, the kids settled down in the Tan's house. They were all sensible children, so much to the relief of Nanay Onang.
Luna would even wake up in the morning as soon as she heard the old woman did. No matter how much the old woman ask her to just go back to sleep, she wouldn't just do it. Instead, she would help in the kitchen para maghiwa ng mga rekadong gagamitin nila Veira sa pagluluto ng kanilang mga paninda. Kaya rin nakuha niyang agad ang loob ng matandang babae.
Then there was Andres.
This kid...
Veira felt this kid had been influenced by the traffickers so much. He had so much potential to become a villain. Although he was grateful to be saved by her, but some of his thoughts were too dark and twisted. If he wasn't still a child and hadn't learned yet how to hide his emotion from showing on his face too well, baka maging siya ay mapaniwala nito sa maamo nitong mukha.
Well, she couldn't really blame the boy. She heard he had been the longest one na nasa puder ng mga traffickers. Sometimes, they would even forced him to lure kids towards them.
He would regret doing so, though. So when the traffickers finally bring those kidnapped kids in the hideout, he would be the one taking care of them the most. He would convince them to be obedient para hindi sila mabugbog ng maigi. He would save some of his food and give them secretly to those na naparusahan at di pinakain sa gabing iyon.
You might be wondering how these acts were related to the words dark and twisted.
Well, now that they were no longer in that precarious situation, Veira had been observing them and Andres would only play with her foster siblings all the time. Kapag may ibang bata na, his eyes would look at them coldly to the point of frightening them. He didn't like to mingle with outsiders at all and he would even sometimes instigate his foster siblings against them.
Veira made it a mission na ituwid ang isipan ng batang ito. Although this world is unfair and full of evils, there were still light and kindness hiding beneath it. She would definitely not let this boy turned to a complete villain in the end.
Meanwhile, the three five-year-old kids, Emilio, Rodelito and Clara, were obviously children who had been showered by loved before they fell in the hands of the traffickers.
They were the ones who loved to play with other kids the most. But of course, being taken by the human traffickers affected their psychological aspects too. They would only play sa tapat ng bahay nila Veira, otherwise, they would be in the house trying their best to help Nanay Onang, Lili and Lulu with household chores though they would do them clumsily.
But the older ladies would still let them help. Ika nga ni Nanay Onang, children around their age would like to help adult when they see them working and then seek praises afterwards. So when these three kids ask to be given a task, they would give them small chores and then rained them praises later.
Anyway, Veira was guessing na nakidnap ang tatlong batang ito. So she was most hopeful na ang sila ang unang matatagpuan ng kanilang mga pamilya.
Well, Veira's thought wasn't entirely wrong.
Emilio and Rodelito were twin brothers. They were kidnapped while their family were outside watching a festival parade.
As for Clara...
She was just like Luna who were sold by a family. She was sold because she was a girl. The only difference with their experiences was, it was her grandparents who did so without her mother knowing.
At night, when everyone had fallen as sleep, Veira would be waking up because she would hear this little girl crying for her mother. She could only sigh in the end and wish that the law enforcers finally found her mother for her.
Lastly, Angel...
Angel was just exactly her name. She was gentle and lovely. She was soft and loved to hug Veira the most.
Veira even felt that this kid doomed her. Because she fell in love with her so much na kahit ilang araw pa lamang ang nakakalipas magmulala ng iniuwi niya sila sa bahay, she felt na kapag may dumating na mga magulang at niclaim si Angel, she would most likely be heartbroken at baka hindi pa niya ibalik ang batang ito sa kanila.
Anyway, Angel was too malnorished for her age that no one would guess she was already 3 years old. Ang timbang at height nito ay halos maikukumpara lamang sa isang taong gulang na bata. Kung hindi pa nga niya ito ipinacheck up sa ospital ay di niya malalaman ang tamang edad ng bata.
Also, when Veira brought her to the hospital, the doctor said both of her ears couldn't hear. Her condition was most likely in born and must be the reason why she had fallen in the hands of the traffickers. Veira guessed, if she wasn't sold like Luna and Clara, she was most likely abandoned due to her impairment.
But Veira didn't mind about her condition at all. If she was really abandoned by her family, she would readily take Angel under her household registration and wholeheartedly treat her as her daughter. That would be the same for the other kids na hindi papalaring mahanap o makabalik sa kanilang pamilya. Veira would gladly accept them as her children.
In her past life, what she regreted the most was the demise of her clan in her and twin brother's hands. But there was also a little bit of regret about not having children of her own.
In this lifetime, she would have many children under name. It didn't matter if she birthed them. Blood would not always be thicker than water anyway.
***
