Touched

Fifty

Thea Elise

"Hey.." Bulong ko ng unti unting nagmulat yung mata niya.

"W-water.." he spoke groggily.

Agad ko namang iniabot ang baso na may tubig sakanya. Napansin niya sigurong hirap din akong gumalaw given na nasa wheelchair ako kaya umayos siya ng higa, as if hindi siya inoperahan at ininom yung isang baso ng tubig.

"You okay? Anong kailangan mo? Sorry, I asked everyone to give us a couple of minutes." Mabilis kong sabi ng mapansin siyang naging alerto ang tingin sa paligid.

"I'm sorry Thea.." He said helplessly.

Sa isang iglap nawala yung suot niyang maskara. This was the side of him that he's been hiding the whole time.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Inabot ko yung kamay niya at hinawakan ito ng marahan na agad niya namang hinawakan din.

Ito yata yung sinasabi nilang lukso ng dugo.

"Because..I don't want to burden you more. I know about the pain and neglect that you have undergone as a child. I don't want you to think that I have abandoned you Thea. At sa ilang taong pagmamasid ko sayo, I know you'll break the walls I've built around me in an instant. I don't want you to fight my demons. I decided I'll just protect you from afar." Ramdam ko ang bigat sa mga salita niya.

"No..I would never judge you Alpha, I'm sure you know that." I felt tears start to prickle my eyes.

"I..I know..I just don't know where to start Thea..everyone knows you were an only child. I only knew about our parents a few months before they died. Pinahanap nila ako---"

"Marunong ka palang magtagalog, pambihira ka." Sabat ko sakanya sabay kurot sa kamay.

"Sorry. A little bit lang." He smiled---for the first time.

A genuine smile!

"It's okay, please continue." Nginitian ko siya pabalik.

"They looked for me, that's what they said. Our mother had me when she was still 16..Hindi ko alam if alam mo, but our mother's aunt was against their relationship. Our mother was a rising supermodel back then, and she's like the cash cow for her aunt. Nung nalaman nitong buntis siya, her aunt suggested for an abortion, but our mother was a bit stubborn kaya naglayas siya and had me. She had to give me away to a foster facility. Hindi ito nalaman ng tatay natin, our mother explained her absence from him was that because she had to go home to the Philippines. Ang bata pa ng nanay natin noon, our father was already 21, totally smitten by our mother. Kahit nung nagpakasal na sila, our mother never had the courage to tell our father dahil na din sa takot at sa sobrang laki ng insecurities niya..until you emancipated yourself. Doon daw siya natauhan at sinabi ang lahat kay Theodore. They looked for me immediately while planning on how to get you back."

I laughed dryly at his last sentence.

"Hanggang sa namatay na sila. Plano? More on drawing..siguro sakanila ko namana ang artistic skills ko." I spat.

"I'm sorry. I know how much pain they gave you. Kaya nung binisita nila ako sa Zimbabwe while I had a mission there, hindi ko alam kung maniniwala ba ako o hindi. I knew of the Wyatts sino ba naman ang hindi nakakakilala sa kanila? I myself have been looking for my parents ever since I can speak." I felt the longing in his voice.

"Pinuntahan ka nila, habang ako si Victor ang namimilit makipag usap sakanila? It's a joke honestly." Hindi ko mapigilan ang galit ko.

"No it's not like that Thea. They were so ashamed of themselves. Wala daw silang mukhang maihaharap sayo, and when they told me how cruel they were to you, kahit ako nahiya para sa kanila. I almost killed our father for letting those things happen to you.I shouted at them for being fools dahil imbes na ikaw ang puntahan nila para mag explain, at humingi ng tawad sayo, andun sila sakin."