Kaagad na sinalubong ni Micheal si Denzil nang dumating ito. Tinawagan niya ang family doctor nila kanina at ibinalita rito ang pag-respond ng stepmom.
It didn’t take long and Denzil arrived in the mansion. Nasa Jasmine Mountain Resort lang din kasi ito nakadestino bilang in-house doctor ng resort.
Matalik na kaibigan niya ang bata pang manggagamot na dalawang taon lamang ang tanda sa kanya. When the resort needed an in-house doctor, he offered the position to Denzil. Sa nakalipas na mga taon ay naging family doctor na rin nila ang lalaki.
“What happened?” kaagad na tanong nito sa kanya.
“You wouldn’t believe this but Mama Jasmin responded a while ago. I saw her blinked her eyes, Denzil. Dalawang beses iyong nangyari,” excited na pagbabalita niya sa nasaksihan dito.
“Really?” anito na nilapitan si Jasmin na ngayon ay payapang nakahiga sa kama sa silid nito. She wasn’t sleeping but she was just staring on the ceiling with her usual blank expression. “Hi, Tita Jasmin!” magiliw na bati nito sa pasyente. “Kamusta kayo? How do you feel?” Tinapik nito nang bahagya ang pisngi ng babae. But Jasmin didn’t show any reaction. Nanatili lamang itong nakatitig sa kisame, ni hindi kumukurap ang mga mata.
“Mama…” Lumapit siya sa tabi ni Denzil at hinawakan ang kamay ng stepmom. “Denzil is here and he will check on you. Do you hear us? If you can hear us, let us know by blinking your eyes again.” Pero nanatiling walang kibo ang babae. Parang wala lang itong narinig. “Mama Jasmin…” He cupped her face gently, and guided her to look at him. Pero tagus-tagusan ang tingin nito sa kanya. She wasn’t responding.
“Let me check her vital signs…” si Denzil.
Sandali siyang lumayo sa stepmom upang masusi ng doctor ang pasyente. Magkasalubong ang kanyang mga kilay. He didn’t understand. Jasmin responded a while ago, but she was back to her normal unresponsive state. How could that be?
Sa loob ng ilang minuto ay pinanood lamang niya si Denzil na tahimik na sinusi ang kalagayan ng stepmom.
“Her vital signs are fine.” Nilingon siya ng kaibigang doctor maya-maya. “I don’t see any major difference though from the last time I checked her.”
“But she responded a while ago. I swear!” Naguguluhan niyang pahayag. He was sure that he saw Jasmin blinked her eyes. That happened twice. He wasn’t dreaming or hallucinating when that happened.
Muli niyang nilapitan ang ina-inahan. He held her limp hand. “Mama please… can you blink your eyes again? Please? I saw you did it a while ago. You can do it again. Please…” pagsusumamo niya. But Jasmin remained unresponsive, much to his dismay.
“Ano ba ang nangyari kanina?”
Nilingon niya si Denzil. His lush eyebrows formed a line above his eyes. Ano nga ba ang nangyari kanina? His jaw tightened when he remembered Mia.
Micheal straightened his back and walked to the window. Magandang tanawin ang sumalubong sa paningin niya. He looked at the gate of the mansion. Her pickup wasn’t there anymore. Kanina pa nakaalis ang babae pero ang gulong idinulot nito sa kanyang pamilya ay nanatili pa rin.
Hinarap niya si Denzil. “There was a woman who came here a while ago claiming to be Mama Jasmin’s daughter.”
“’Di ba patay na ang anak ni Tita?” may gatla sa noo na tanong nito.
He heaved a sigh. “Yes. That’s right. Pero may naglakas-loob na magpakita rito at nagpakilalang anak ni Mama.”
“And that was when Tita Jasmin showed a reaction?”
His eyes turned hard. He could still remember how Mia cried in front of his stepmom. It looked really convincing. Must be reason why Jasmin reacted. “Apparently, yes. Ganyan nga ang nangyari. I saw Mama Jasmin blinked her eyes when the woman left.”
Nahulog sa isang malalim na pag-iisip si Denzil. “You know what Micheal, I’m curious of this woman who claimed to be Tita’s daughter. Come to think of it, she made Tita Jasmin respond. There must be something about her that triggered Tita’s reaction.”
He snorted in distaste. “She’s a con, Denzil. We all know what’s true. Patay na ang anak ni Mama. She might have triggered a reaction from Mama Jasmin simply because we all know that she’s just pretending. Mama knows that, thus, the reaction. She’s actually a great actress, Denzil,” napangiwi siya sa puntong iyon. “She did put up a good show in front of us a while ago.”
Denzil just shrugged his broad shoulders. Despite him clad in white scrubs, his wide shoulders were still evident.
“She’s nothing but trouble,” pagpapatuloy niya. “She wanted Mama’s custody. She even left a threat that she would involve the court to get Mama Jasmin from me.”
“Really?” Nagpakita nang pagkamangha si Denzil.
“The gall, right?” he snorted again. “Ang lakas ng loob maghamon gayung nagpapanggap lamang siyang anak ni Mama.”
Napailing na lamang ang kaibigan niya. “So what’s your plan now?”
His eyes narrowed dangerously. Nagdilim ang kanyang ekspresiyon. If that woman believed that he was an easy adversary, well she could think twice again. He would surely give her a dose of her own medicine.
“I won’t allow it, of course!” he uttered firmly. Hindi siya madaling banggain. He had the money and the power in this place to put Mia in her proper place. He would expose her as a fraud.
Paiimbestigahan niya ang babae. Hahalungkatin niya ang buong pagkatao nito. Malalaman at malalaman din niya ang dahilan nito kung bakit nagpapanggap itong anak ni Jasmin.
BINABASA MO ANG
Until Forever (Published!)
General FictionWARNING: RATED SPG. Contains theme, language and scenes not appropriate for minors. Read at your own risk. Mia went to Jasmin Mountain Resort for only one reason - to secure her inheritance. And that will only happen with the help of the person she...
