Forgotten Child

Fourth Chapter

"Huy Mao! Seryoso ka ba diyan sa gagawin mo?"

Napatigil ako sa pagsusulat at tinignan siya.

"Abo, sorry. Alam kong hindi mo ko susuportahan sa gagawin ko, pero intindihin mo na lang sana ako," sagot ko sa kanya saka pinagpatuloy ang pagsusulat.

"Pero Mao! Si Mommy Zie ang kakalabanin mo pati ang angkan niya! At dahil―"

"Hep, hep! Teka nga," napatingin ulit ako sa kanya. "Bakit, aber? Nagpropose na ba si Joker sa'yo ng hindi ako inform?"

Umiling siya. "H-Hindi."

"Nagpahiwatig ba na papakasalan ka na niya?"

"Hindi din."

"Eh ikaw? Nagpropose ka na ba sa kaniya?"

"Hindi pa nga din eh!"

"Then hindi mo pa 'mommy' si tita Zie! Echusera ka! Wag ka nga diyan, Aliyah," I rolled my eyes at her. "I know how much you love Dark a.k.a. Joker, your lalabs, pero hinay-hinay sa buhay pag-ibig. At tsaka, kailangan niya munang hingin sa'kin ang kamay mo, 'no?"

She pouts. "I know naman, Mamao."

I sighed, ripped the paper, and walked towards her to hug her. "I know that you're trying to sidetrack me, Abo, but I'm sorry. My mind is already set and its not gonna change until I get what I think I need to get."

Gumanti siya ng yakap. "P-Pero Maiah," she starts crying. "W-What if mali pala 'yang gagawin mo? W-What if masaktan ka sa plano mo? What if―"

"Haaay, kung hindi puro 'pero,' puro 'what if's' ka naman ngayon?" I held her in arms-length. "Wala akong sinabi na tama ang gagawin ko, wala din akong sinabi na hindi ako masasaktan, pero walang mangyayari sa'kin if I'm not gonna take this risk."

"There's no going back once you stepped in their territory," she grips my forearms.

"I don't intend to go back," I assured her. "Here," I gave her the paper. "List 'yan ng mga wala dito sa bahay. Paki-bili na lang ha?"

"Haaa? Mamao!"

"What?" I replied innocently. "I'm serious. Kailangan mong i-grocery ang mga 'yan. Don't worry about the bills dahil ako pa rin naman ang magbabayad nun." I hugged and let her go to pick up my duffel bag na nasa gilid ng sofa.

"Maiah..." she called me by my name again. "Do you ever wonder what... what kuya Aidan is thinking right now as he watches you do this?"

Aidan...

Napatigil ako at napatingala. "Never," I bit my lower lip and gulped. "Never had I stopped thinking about him and what he thinks about all of these... but Aliyah," I bit my lip again, "He's not here anymore to give us the answer, and we will never know what he is thinking right now."

"Me, I know," kontra niya. "I know that he doesn't want you to do this. That you're already in danger and even going for it, asking for your own death."

I shook my head. "I'm not going to say that I'm not going to die, but I will live. I won't die until I get the story behind my birth... until I find out the reason why tita Zie―no," I stopped. "Why Mackenzie Ayala and Sylvester Travis have their names written all over my mysterious past."

Tulad ng pangako ni Doctora Niets Neknarf, she met me in front of a Café Shop.

"Duffel bag, huh?" she greeted me with a smirk. "Girl scout ka ba dati kaya ready na ready ka? Haha!" she laughs then squints her eyes. "Bet you even have weapons hiding somewhere inside, huh? What are they? Knives? Scissors? Machete? A gun? Cutter? Ice pick?" she gasps. "Oh, my gosh! A syringe with poison―"