AMACon 3: Oikos - Children

Intertwined - Chapter Four

Nervousness instantly sank in on Maine the moment they arrived at the Faulkerson's residence. So this was how meet-the-parent day felt like, she thought. She was so nervous, she felt like throwing up.

"Relax, she'll definitely like you. She really wanted a daughter in this house." Richard said, holding her fidgety hands and caressing the back of it with his thumb. She smiled as she let the warmth of his hand calm her uneasy self.

In his excitement, he almost half-dragged Maine inside their house. "Wait here," he told her. As she stood there waiting, she roamed her eyes around the house, or should she say... mansion. It was too big to be called just a house. Richard indeed came from a wealthy family and she was not sure if she deserved to be here... to be part of all these...

Maine, tama na pag-iisip mo ng ganyan. Eto na ang happy ending na hinihiling mo. You have been rescued by your savior. Your hero. With all the sufferings you have endured, take this as your reward, the silver lining behind a dark cloud.

She walked further in the hall and saw an area which seemed entirely dedicated to family pictures & portraits. She smiled as she saw a very cute picture of a toddler Richard learning how to walk, with his mom and dad cheering on him. Then there were his gradeschool and highschool photos; he was still so lanky that time, it made her want to make fun of him later.

But what caught her attention the most was that familiar face among the recent Faulkerson photos. How could she not remember that face? It was the face that she was praying every night to see when she was a child. It was the same face that she had learned to despise after all that she had been through. Here she was, in the photos, smiling beautifully like she never abandoned a family or a child at home.

Richard arrived and together with him was a woman on a wheelchair, pale & her bald head was covered with a bandana.

"Maine, meet my stepmom, Mommy Ann"

Maine turned around and Ann's eyes widened when she saw her. It has been years since she last met her but as a mother, she would know her daughter's face when she sees it. Is this real? She thought her daughter did not survive that fire. That was all her investigators told her.

"Nicnic." She said as she reached out her hand to her.

"Stop calling me with that nickname."

Richard stood there, dumbfounded of what was happening. "Would you care to tell me what's going on here? Why are you calling her Nicnic?"

"She is your stepsister, Richard."

"What?" Richard asked in disbelief. He could not believe what he just heard. Is this a prank?

Maine walked out of the scene, crying. Richard followed after her and found her in the garden.

"Maine!" he called as he held her arm. "Let's talk."

"MAY ALAM KA BA DITO?!" she screamed at him, her face fuming with anger. "Did you plan all these para maibalik ako sa walang kwentang nanay ko?"

"I am just as clueless as you are," Richard explained. "Wala akong alam dito. Sa tingin mo, kung alam ko, would I fuck my stepsister?"

"Malay ko ba kung hinarot mo ako para mabalik ako sa poder ng lecheng nanay ko!" she freed herself from him but Richard was quick to hug her and she screamed and cried with her face buried in his chest, her small hands punching it.

"Dapat ako yung nandun sa mga litrato, hindi ikaw! Dapat ako ang inaalagaan niya, hindi ikaw! Kasi ako ang tunay na anak e. Hindi sana nagkandaleche leche ang buhay ko. Hindi sana ako nagpakaputa para mabuhay lang. Pero tangina, kayo ang pinili niya. Swerte mo, ang malas ko. Buti pa pala ibang tao inaaaruga niya."

Richard just let her cry for how could she console her when he was also one of the people who contributed to her pain. Just then, a maid came rushing in.

"Sir Richard, si Madam, nawalan po ng malay."

"Manang, tawagan mo agad si Dok."

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Maine's mom was already diagnosed with terminal cancer. This was the reason he sent Richard to look for the grave where she thought Nicnic was buried as part of her dying wish. But she never thought that sending him with that task would lead her to find her real daughter.

Maine cautiously opened the door to her mom's room and found her lying on the bed with an intravenous line attached to her arm. Since the doctor said that her cancer was already terminal, she refused to be confined in the hospital and just preferred to stay here in the house, taken care by a private nurse.

"Come inside," Ann beckoned her daughter to sit next to her bed. "May tanong ka ba? Handa kong sagutin yan lahat."

Maine took a deep breath before proceeding with the countless questions in her head since that time she left them, that time she decided to escape and save herself from that hell of a life.

"Bakit hindi mo ako binalikan? Bakit hindi mo ako hinanap? Nasaan ka noong panahon na binubugbog o kinukulong ako ni Papa kapag lasing siya? Nasaan ka noong minamaltrato ako ng naging asawa ni Papa? Nasaan ka noong halos ibenta ko buong pagkatao ko para makakain at makapag-aral lang? Anong ginagawa mo ng panahon na iyon? Nagpapasasa ka ba rito sa mansion?"

"Hinanap kita..." Ann explained, reaching out to hold her hand. "Binalikan kita pero lumipat kayo. Kapag nakakakuha ako ng contact, hinaharang lahat ng tatay mo mga sulat at tawag ko. Ayaw niyang ilayo kita sa kanya. Tapos nangyari yung sunog. Kaya akala ko wala ka na talaga. Hindi mo lang alam kung gaano ako kalungkot noon. Umalis ako ng bahay na ni-isa mong picture wala ako. All I have is the image in my memory. Gustong-gusto kitang makita at mayakap.

Nagsisisi ako sa mga panahong wala ako kung kailan kailangan mo ako. Kaya nga siguro binigyan ako ng ganitong sakit para pagdusahan ko mga pagkukulang ko sayo. I will understand if you can't forgive me. Pero please... huwag mo idamay si Richard sa galit mo. Alam kong masama ang loob mo dahil naibaling ko sa kanya ang atensyon na para sana sayo. But I'm telling you, wala siyang kasalanan dito. He is a good man. He needs someone to watch over him when I'm gone. He's all alone now. Take care of him. He loves & cares for you so much."

Richard watched from the gap between the door and he smiled when Maine hugged her mother. Such a touching reunion. And he was glad that he had been instrumental to it.

For the remaining days of Ann's life, Maine had been hands-on on taking care of her mom and they spent each day bonding with each other, cherishing every moment they could. Both Maine and Richard became a doting son and daughter to their mother.

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A YEAR LATER.

"Kuya!" Maine greeted when Richard arrived home. He walked towards him and hugged him at the waist.

"Hay, ang bunso," Richard returned her affectionate act by placing his arms on her shoulder and kissing her temple.

"May good news ako," she showed him a pregnancy test and pointed to the double line on it. "It's positive, magiging daddy na si Kuya!" she announced happily while Richard was still staring at it in a pleasant surprise.

"Huy! Galaw-galaw ka naman!" Maine said, nudging her husband and she was surprised when he suddenly gave her a bear hug.

"Seriously though, we should change our term of endearment from now on." Richard said when he was able to recover from the initial shock. "It'll be weird for our child to hear you calling me Kuya at saka hindi na ikaw ang bunso sa bahay."

"But I married my stepbrother..." Maine said with a pout. Richard couldn't help her cuteness so he pecked her pouted lips.

"Let us visit mom. Sayang nga lang, hindi nya naabutan."

"I am sure she's happy for us."

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She may never be there during her hardest times but she eventually led someone to save her.

Two people. One love story. And the woman who got their lives intertwined.