A Love To Remember

Special Chapter ♡

I stood up, putting the bag of chips that I was eating to keep myself occupied awhile ago at the couch, then followed Dad who's already outside Mama's DR.

Kumapit ako sa braso ni Daddy at sabay kaming naglakad upang salubungin si Mama, currently, we're here at the studio of ABS-CBN, liveshows na kasi ng TVT, that's why.Sumama ako kay Mama kanina kasi wala akong kasama sa bahay and Dad, being the most affectionate husband and father that he is, sumunod siya dito.

"You're creepy, Chia. Ngumingiti ka mag-isa, should I consult a psychiatrist for you?" Dad commented, I immediately rolled my eyeballs in return.

"I remembered something and duh, leukemia lang ang sakit ko Dad, hindi ako baliw, psycho or what." sagot ko.

"Speaking of leukemia, you're getting better, aren't you? Sabi ng Mama mo, nawawala na daw ang mga pasa mo sa katawan." sambit nito, making me smile bitterly.

It's been months since I was diagnosed with leukemia and really, it changed my life. Every week of medication, samu't-saring nga gamot, and, I get tired too easily.

Pero gaya ng sinabi ni Daddy, some of my bruises faded and I don't know why. Am I getting better now? Well, I'm not hoping, ayaw kong umasa dahil baka masasaktan lang ako sa huli.

"I wish.." mahinang bulong ko, I don't even know if he heard that so..

"COACH LEA!" we heard a lot of people yelling and shouting my Mama's name, meters away from us.

There we found a group of teens na pinapalibutan si Mama together with the press, their her fans, I thought.

"Kung hindi ako anak ni Mama, you'll probably going to see me there, together with those fans." sambit ko.

"True." tipid na sagot ni Daddy, habang palapit kami ng palapit, mas lalong umingay ang mga sigawan.

Some are holding merchandises to get an autograph, some are taking pictures. Infairnness, they have access to do this stuff. How? Akala ko ba sa studio kung saan sila nagtataping lang pwede or sa labas? Anyway, hindi maikakaila ang ngiti sa labi ni Mama while facing each one of them. So genuine.

I scowled. Their so loud for my Mama's comfort at halata namang pagod na siya, "Can you do something, Dad? Mama looked tired na o but she can't get away with those people." ani ko kay Daddy.

A smirked formed on his face, "Watch this, Chia. Dito mapapatunayan kung gaano ka-gwapo ang Daddy mo." he said confidently, making me arch an eyebrow. At ano naman ang gagawin niya?

"Sure. Bring it on." paghamon ko dito, tumango siya at inaayos muna ang buhok niya before walking towards the huge crowd's direction.

"OMG SI MR. BABES!" sunod-sunod na tilian naman ang narinig ko when they saw Daddy approaching. Walang kahirap-hirap na nakalapit si Daddy kay Mama as he gave her a quick kiss on her lips and again, halos masira ang building dahil sa mga sigaw nila. Their feeling that kilig vibes, like I do.

"Sorry but we need to go,  kailangan niya ng magpahinga, I hope you understand guys." Dad said, the fans we're dissapointed at first but after a moment of realization, they agreed to what my Dad has said. They said their goodbye's as a staff assisted them to leave the building.

"Hi Ma! How was it?" I greeted and kissed Mama's cheek when they reach my direction.

"Draining, but it was extremely fun!" she replied while we're walking pabalik naman sa DR niya so we can fix our things and eventually, leave this place.

Nakasunod ang makeup artist at stylist ni Mama sa likod namin. Those people are a plus for making my Mama look stunning all the time. But to tell you, may makeup man o wala, ang ganda-ganda-ganda pa'rin niya! I'm obviously a fan, always captivated by her beauty.

"You girls want to have dinner outside?" Dad asked, nakaakbay siya kay Mama while ako naman, nakakapit sa braso ni Mama. A back shot will be perfect for this.

"Yes please, I'm hungry." sagot ni Mama.

"Sure. Where?" tanong naman ni Dad, I was like craving for Jollibee, McDo, KFC and Chowking's chicken and gravy but when I'm with them, there's always a big 'say no to fast-foods', how sad.

"Italian cuisine?" Mama suggested, perfect!

In the end, we all agreed to eat at a, famous Italian cuisine, about to enjoy the rest of the night as a family.

___

"Here's a toast for me, being the luckiest daughter ever to have you both as my parents and for you, being the luckiest parents ever to have me as your daughter." I confidently said, raising my glass of lemon juice, Mama laughed while Dad looked at me with confusion, iyong nang-aasar na tingin.

"Weh? Kilabutan ka nga sa mga pinagsasabi mo, Chia!" he told me.

"I won't because duh Dad, it's true kaya!" mabilis kong sagot, okay, I was kidding. That's actually a humor but I'm not admitting it because they might laugh at me for being ccompletely illogical.

Ni hindi ko nga alam kung masaya sila na ako ang naging anak nila eh. I mean, come to think of it, these popular people are my parents and there are times that I feel so ashamed of myself. I can still remember the past, kung ano ang mga ginawa kong kasamaan dati at kung paano ko silang saktan.

Kahit nagkapatawaran na, kahit okay na kaming lahat ngayon, kahit araw-araw nilang sinasabi at pinaparamdam kung gaano nila ako kamahal, I still doubt myself's capacity as a daughter and as a human being.

I have a lot of issues in life.

"But seriously, masaya po ba kayo na ako ang naging anak niyo?" I asked out of the blue for it slipped out from my tongue, how ridiculous! They we're both taken aback as silence occurred, the musical instruments played by some people at  this restaurant creating relaxing sounds made it more dramatic, wow.

"We're not just happy, we're more than happy to have you, my Chiara." Mama said sincerely.

"But, most of the times I'm a complete failure." I blurted out.

"Wala namang taong perpekto Chia eh, we love you for being you  not minding the failures and the mistakes that you have done. You're Chiara at gaya nga ng sinabi mo kanina, we're so lucky to have you as our daughter." Dad told me, making me blushed. Okay, these words are encouraging enough.

They often ask me to define the meaning of love;

Love is blind? Love is completely illogical? Love is feeling a lot of butterflies running around your stomach? Love is having electrical shook all the time? For you, what's love?  Can you really define that abstract, every people dreamt of having?

For me.. love is when I'm beside my parents. Love is standing beside Lea Salonga and Aga Muhlach. Love is family.

"Indeed, I'm the luckiest. I love you both!" I beamed at tumayo mula sa pagkaupo as I give Mama and Daddy a big hug, much easier dahil magkatabi naman sila.

Iwanan ko man kayo balang-araw, I'll always be there, guiding and watching you from above..

In memories of ;
Chiara Isabel S. Muhlach

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