Stuck in the Illusion Called Us [Siegfrid & Eleanour]

Kabanata 17

A smile broke out my lips at the sight of the Iron Man figures on the glass displays here in the mall. Somehow, it reminded me of my son, Elixir Connor.

May kumurot sa puso ko nang muling maalala siya. Kung siguro ay buhay pa siya ngayon ay mahihilig din siya sa mga ganitong laruan. Because Siegfrid did and I was sure that he would take it after him. After all, lahat naman ng tungkol sa kaniya ay nakuha niya. And I promised to buy him everything he would want. Kahit ilang laruan pa. Mahal man iyon o mahirap hanapin ay pipilitin kong ibigay sa kaniya.

Kung sana ay naririto lang siya at buhay pa.

“You know, Elie, these toys reminds me of Kuya Siegfrid,” Lily remarked.

I blinked back tears, turning to her and finding her lost in a gaze at the toys displayed behind the glass windows, a smile playing on her lips.

“His room at home is filled to the brim with Iron Man toys. Can you believe that? It is funny, isn’t it? He comes off so cool to girls, and then you discover he has these collections. Like a kid. I wonder what their reaction would be if they found out about this,” she chuckled.

Napangiti rin ako at natahimik habang pinakikinggan siya. Of course, I knew about that, dahil ganito rin ‘yong naging reaksyon ko noong una kong malaman ang tungkol dito.

“Are not you too old for these toys, mmm, Siegfrid?” minsang tanong ko sa kaniya noon.

“Aren’t you investing too much time, money, and effort to that kid, Elie?” tanong ni Lily sa akin habang may dinadampot siyang laruan.

Nginitian ko siya at kinuha ang isang set ng Iron Man figures na napili ko. I was sure Connor would love this. Madalas ko kasi siyang makitang nagbabasa noong comic books na tungkol sa superhero na ito.

“I love doing this, Lily. You know how much I love kids, ‘di ba?” sagot ko. Isa pa ay wala naman akong ibang pagkakagastusan ng pera.

Matapos kong bayaran ang laruan ay hinila ko naman siya sa isang party decor store. Sa isang araw kasi ay birthday na ni Connor. I wanted to give him a simple birthday celebration, and besides, we did not have much time left. Siegfrid mentioned, who was one of Connor’s attending physicians, that the child needed to undergo surgery as soon as possible. So, I was doing everything I could to convince him, and I believe I was making a progress. In the past few days, Connor had become more comfortable with me. And Jed was right; the child simply craved attention and time, which his parents could not provide due to their busy work schedules. Additionally, the child was afraid of the idea of surgery.

“Alam ko po na busy kayo sa trabaho, pero sa mga pagkakataong ito ay mas kailangan po kayo ng anak ninyo,” minsang sabi ko nang makausap ko ang mga magulang ni Connor.