PHANTOM: Tierra Firme Book 1

11: Mia

IAN WAS HOLDING ME when I came to, at binubuhat niya ako mula sa buhangin habang buhat naman ni Daddy Edds si Remi.

Ang kapatid ko.

Somehow, I didn't doubt that. Alam ko sa puso kong totoo ang sinabi ni Lola Ade. Napaiyak ako.

"Sshhh. You need to calm down, Mahal," sabi ni Ian.

"Kapatid din ba kita?" tanong ko.

Nakita kong tumikwas ang kanyang mga labi bago siya sumagot. "No. How I wish that is true, though."

And just like that, anumang natitirang galit sa dibdib ko ay naglaho.

Nagbalik sa dati ang lahat sa pagitan naming dalawa.

LIGTAS NA si Remi.

They took a few drops of blood from me by pricking a pad on one of my fingers. Hinalo nila iyon sa iba pang tonic (I think it was rum), saka nilagay sa maliit na bowl at pinainom sa lalaking bahagya lang may malay.

As I watched him, lying on the bed looking gray and drawn, hindi ko maiwasang hanapin ang pisikal na mga palatandaang magsasabing magkapatid nga kami. He had our mother's nose and lips. Hindi ko pa alam ang hugis ng kanyang mga mata, na may bahid nang natuyong luha at dugo. Naiiyak na naman ako, nagsisikip ang dibdib ko sa nagawa ko sa kanya.

My brother... what did I do...?

It was because I was so angry, and I refused to control it sa halip na maghintay ng eksplanasyon sa mga nangyayari. Kinam-pihan nga ako ni Ian dahil sa mga bagay na tinago sa akin, but it wasn't as if I was required to be responsible for big things. Ngayon ay nauunawaan ko nang may mga katotohanan at mga responsibilidad na masyadong mabigat at malaki, may sariling oras iyon bago isiwalat sa taong magdadala niyon.

Ako.

Kaya ingat na ingat sila. Kasi nga ako ang magdadala. Sino ba naman ako? Bakit nga ba ako?

Pero iyong galit sa nagdaang mga buwan mula noong namatay si Mommy ay naipon kasi pinili kong ipunin iyon. I chose to not trust these people, even when they had been protecting me all my life, even when they didn't know what they were really doing. I believe everything changed when my mother died so suddenly. Biglang naiwan ang mga desisyon kay Daddy Edds. Ako naman, naging brattinella pa. When they changed the urn into something that had symbols on it without providing any explanation, I buried the original one in my Mom's garden in defiance. That was where I usually commune with her, araw-araw siyang sinisisi dahil iniwan niya ako at nami-miss ko siya, as if she'd got a choice about dying.

Noong dinala ng lalaking ito ang abo ni Mommy, and I wasn't ever told I could visit, ang nasa isip ko ay hindi ko na iyon makikita uli kahit kailan. My hate, already fueled by my confusion and bitterness at the false belief that I was rejected by them all my life, festered.

Ngayong pinaliliwanag na ni Daddy Edds na inilayo ako sa mga Artisania para maprotektahan ang clan at ako ng aking ina, therefore taking her away from her other child, ay nalusaw lahat ng galit ko.

I had my mother all my life. This brother of mine hadn't grown up with her because of me. I remembered him looking at me that day he took the urn with our mother's ash, and looking back at it with a new understanding, I remembered the look better.

He smiled at me. It was just a moment, so quick, but I think he had tried to reassure me. I didn't think he was supposed to, but he still did it when no one was looking. Kaso galit ako kaya nagkaroon nang ibang kulay ang alaala.

Tapos ako pa ang papatay sa kanya?

"Si Remington ay bunga ng kanyang relasyon sa isang malayong kamag-anak na Artisania, at ikaw ay bunga nang kanyang ugnayan kay Maximo Montierra," sinasabi ni Daddy Edds. "Pero hindi ka pa pinapanganak, it was already prophesied that Amethyst will bear a queen. Kaya siya itinakas ng mga kapatid niya sa portal para makarating dito sa Terra Firme. You will be fathered by a pureblooded Warlock from this dimension, ayon sa kanilang seer sa dimension ng mga fairies."