Down Under

Special Chapter: The End Result

Camila POV

On my 40th birthday, Tita Shaina revealed a secret that she has been keeping for a long time.

"I'm sorry, Camila... Your mother and father wanted me to say this to you when you're already at this age. They thought that if you found out about this by then, you will be mature enough to accept it." Tita Shaina said tearfully.

It was weird... but I was not crying at all.

I just froze in my place, not being able to say anything. I'm just feeling too much emotions and I could not contain it all at once...

When I refocused myself as I took a deep breath, tears welled up on my eyes.

I smiled in anguish, looking at Tita Shana who was still weeping.

"I'm sorry... but you understand now, do you? I knew this yet I didn't tell you when you found out that matter with your dad's family... with Amy... with Damien..." she said between her tears.

No, Tita Shaina, you're not wrong at all.

Wiping my own tears, I took Tita Shaina in a tight embrace.

Startled by my action, she weeped even more as she hugged me back.

"Your parents truly loved you, Camila."

"I know, Tita. I know..."

The truth was hard to swallow but I needed to know about it, for the sake of my real identity, I guess.

Tita Shaina just told me that I was not the biological child of my parents. Rather, I am a child of one of my mother's co-workers in a club. My real biological mother have died already due to poverty.

On the other hand, the mother that I knew was not able to have a biological child of her own because of a stabbing accident that she encountered when she was younger...

Therefore, along with her husband, they took me in and raised me as if I was their real child.

Although we were not related by blood at all, it was their love that nurtured and raised me.

And just thinking about how I treated them so badly... how immature I was when I was younger...

Again, I am overwhelmed by my grief and regrets.

I guess, before, I thought that the present reality was not as important. I was constantly looking forward to the future and thought that there would be more chances by then...

But I was wrong...

There's no more chances. They're already gone.

If anything, this revelation made me feel much more love for the parents I grew up with. I don't care about blood relations and whatsoever...

For me, they are my parents. And until their very last breath, they treated me as their their precious child. They even protected me from this truth because they knew, surely, I would not be able to handle the turmoil if I knew this back then...

After a long embrace, both Tita Shaina and I calmed down.

As if we were being ridiculous, we just suddenly laughed out of nowhere. It's supposed to be a teary revelation, but I'm already so old... I do not feel the need to do anything that is petty, or take it to my heart seriously.

I found out the truth and that's it. In the end, it doesn't change anything. I guess it just clears the burden that Tita Shaina must have... since for her and my parents, I deserved to know the origins of my birth.