PHANTOM: Tierra Firme Book 1

12: Mia

NANG MAKITA KO uli si Remi, or Kuya Remi kasi mas matanda siya sa akin, ay malinis na ang dugo sa kanyang mukha at balik na sa dating malinaw na kulay ang kanyang mga mata. His eyes weren't shaped like mine, though. And his irises were dark-brown.

He was already standing on the side of the bed. He was supposedly older than me by two years. Nang makita niya ako, ngumiti siya, saka bumukas ang mga braso.

I really, virtually, knew nothing about him until a while ago. As far as I was concerned, siya lang naman ang umagaw ng labi ng Mommy ko. Pero namalayan ko na lang na sumusugod ako sa yakap niya.

"I'm so, so sorry!" sambit ko habang naglalandas ang mainit na luha sa aking mga pisngi.

"I'm sorry we had to hide things from you. We didn't know what to do. We needed to protect you."

"And you and the others from me. I get that now. Hindi ko talaga sinasadya!" umiiyak ko pa ring sabi. "Akala ko noon wala akong power. Pero kahit hindi ko gustong maniwala pagkatapos nang mga nangyari dito sa isla kahit ayaw ko kailangan kong tanggapin ang totoo. I don't want to hurt anybody like I did you!"

Hinagod niya ng kamay ang likod ko. "I am fine. Ang mahalaga, pwede na tayong magkasama at magturingang kapatid."

Pero hindi ako makatigil sa pag-iyak. Ngayong nabuksan na ang gates ng emosyon ko, bumaha na ang lahat. This wasn't like the tears that I had shed in anger weeks ago. Ito iyong iyak na naglilinis ng galit sa dibdib ko at nagbubukas sa akin sa marami pang posibilidad tungkol sa magiging katayuan ko sa hinaharap.

Nang mahimasmasan ako, lumabas kami ni Kuya Remi sa beach at naglakad-lakad. You would think that after all I had learned since this morning, mapapagod na ako. But I was alert. My head was clear. Gutom na gutom ako sa impormasyon tungkol sa mga Artisania, ang angkang pinagmulan ko.

"Our clan lives in a village warded from the outside, at nasa pusod tayo ng kagubatan. Unfortunately, dahil sa wards ay walang electronic gadgets na gumagana sa loob, pero huwag kang mag-alala. Karamihan sa amin ay nagtatrabaho, may sari-sariling mga negosyo at mga residences sa lungsod ng mga Mundi. Our youngsters stay, grow up and study our crafts in Vyntoenn Woods."

"Vintowen?"

He spelled it, then laughed when my eyebrows slowly lifted. "It's the name of a fairy town some of our recent ancestors named our place para madala man lang nila iyon mula sa fairy world. Alam mo na bang may lahok na fairy bloodline ang lineage natin?"

"Sabi nila, fairy daw si Mommy?"

Tumango siya. "Yes. But even before her and our fairy aunties, may ugnayan na tayo sa mga fairies. They weren't the only ones that had ever crossed over, sila lang ang pinaka-recent, I guess. Si Mommy kasi, noong tumakas sa dimensyon ng mga tao, sa lupain ni Maximo Montierra siya nag-exit kaya sila nagkilala bago pa man niya marating ang Vyntoenn Woods na tunay niyang destinasyon dito. When my father died, she was drawn back to being with him. And so, now we know it was because of you."

"Did they love each other?"

"I believe Maximo is still looking for her," sabi niya matapos ang ilang sandali.

"Oh," nasambit ko. Saka ako napalunok. "She hid because of me."

"She hid because that's not her mission in this lifetime," sabi ni Kuya Remi. "Her mission was to beget you, and to protect you."

"Do you think there are other lifetimes when they can be...?"

"I believe there were lifetimes before when they have met and loved," aniya.

"It seemed so simple," sambit ko.

"Life is simple," aniya. "It's just that what we don't know is what's always making it so hard."