Duskfall

Chapter 35

Chapter 35

We ate dinner together. Dahil umiiyak si Aurora kapag binababa ko siya ay kinandong ko siya habang kumakain. She's well behaved as we sat, which I am thankful for dahil nakakain ako ng payapa.

"By the way, Solana, anong gusto mong pag-usapan?" Tanong sa akin ni mommy.

I looked around. Sinabihan ko ang mga maid na nasa dining room na umalis muna. Bakas ang pagtataka sa mukha nila mommy but they let them leave.

I took a sip of water before clearing my throat. "It's about Aurora's lineage. Is she...related to me by blood?"

Kaagad na natigilan si mommy at daddy and looked at me.

"Is your memory back?" Seryosong sabi ni daddy. I don't know why but I can feel a bit of hostility from his voice. Matalim din ang kanyang tingin so I was taken aback.

"No. But why you asked? Is she...related to my memories?"

May alam ba ako noon tungkol kay Aurora bago ako mawalan ng ala-ala? If so, is she really my half-sister? Do I know back then that dad had an affair?

Mom touched dad's arm kaya napatingin siya dito. Mom gave him a small turn of head, and it manage to calm dad down.

Dad cleared his throat. "Sorry for my outburst. It's nothing."

Bumaling sa akin si mommy at saka ako binigyan ng ngiti. "Why did you came in that conclusion, Solana?"

"Lien and I talked about it and...we just came to the conclusion that Aurora might be our half-sister, and decided to do a DNA test with Aurora." Sabi ko. Hindi ko na sinabi na si Lien ang nakaisip at gumawa noon para in case galit sila na pinag-isipan namin na gumawa si dad ng...masamang bagay ay hindi lang kay Lien nakafocus ang galit nila.

Mom sighed. "Let's talk about that later." Sabi niya while looking at Aurora. Tumango ako at napatingin din kay Aurora. I know her concern. It will be bad for Aurora to be included in the adult's conversation. Although hindi pa naman niya naiintindihan ang sinasabi namin and she'll probably forget it ay baka madala kami sa usapan. It's better for kids, specially babies, not to be exposed under the intense emotion. They are perceptive and will instinctively know that there is something wrong and will start crying.

Matapos naming kumain ay dinala ko na si Aurora sa kanyang silid. I made her sleep first bago siya iniwan kasama si Benny. I went to dad's office dahil doon ang sinabi ni mommy na lugar na pag-uusapan namin. I knocked on the door before twisting the knob but it's locked. Hinintay ko pa bago ako pagbuksan ni mommy.

"Have a seat, Solana." Sabi ni mommy habang iginigiya ako sa sofa.

Mom sat on the sofa katapat ng inuupuan ko. Dad, who was siting on his office chair, stood up and walked towards us before sitting beside mom.

Mom cleared her throat. "Honey, you mentioned kanina na nagpaDNA kayo with Aurora's sample?"

I nodded. "With Aurora and Lien's samples."

"So, how did the result came up?"

"Because it was Lien's sample was used, we didn't get the exact answer, but the percentage of similar DNA is 25%. The result suggested that the possible relationship of Lien to Aurora is either grandparent, uncle, nephew, or half sibling. Half sibling is the only thing possible among those possibilities."

Tumingin ako ng diretso kay dad. "So please be honest, dad, is Aurora your child with another woman?"

Hindi sumagot si dad. It sadden dahil mukhang totoo ang iniisip ni Lien. Kaagad din akong tumingin kay mommy to check her reaction. But unlike my expectation, mukhang hindi naman siya nasasaktan.