Chapter 56: Origin
Dumating ang weekend. Madaling araw palang ay sinundo na ako ni Alexander mula sa apothecary. With a simple sage green dress underneath a long brown coat, I took the passenger seat next to Alexander who was driving the car to the train station.
Sumulyap ako sa bintana ng sasakyan. Ito ang unang beses na makakatapak ako sa train station ng Van Zanth. Alexander told me that there used to be an old train station on the other side of town. Ang bagong train station na ginagamit ngayon ng mga residente ay pinatayo fifteen years ago.
Matapos ang halos kalahating oras na byahe, in the middle of a flat meadow and field was the train station. A concrete structure with a small bell tower and circular glass windows above different archways doors. From the outside, it looked close to an open church.
Station 11: Van Zanth
We arrived on the gravel driveway. There were few orders stationed in the area. Isa sa kanila ang agad nagtungo sa pintuan ng sasakyan upang buksan ito.
"Magandang umaga, Ms. Eleanor," bati nito. I greeted the order back with a smile.
Alexander was already outside the car talking to a group of orders. I roamed my eyes around the place. There were several cars in the gravel driveway, though smaller than the station I used to see in cities, the station was a busy one. Madaling araw palang ay may ilang residente na ang naghihintay dito. There's at least twenty people in the place, including the orders.
Alexander guided me inside. We pass by one of the several open doorways with archways above us. Ilan sa mga taong nasalubong namin sa loob ng station ay bahagyang yumuko bilang paggalang kay Alexander.
Alexander told me to wait at the bench while he line up for our tickets. The people stepped aside for him to go first. But Alexander insisted to line up with them.
Habang naghihintay, pinagmasdan ko ang loob ng station. There were several benches and seats surrounding a small fountain inside. The glass mosaic on the circular windows gave the place colors and it would be more breathtaking once the sun completely cast it lights through the colorful glass.
Upon receiving the tickets, binigay sa'kin ni Alexander ang isa. I stared at the name typed on the smooth paper. Town of Grassco. It was a half-a-day train ride from Van Zanth.
Makalipas ng ilang minutong paghihintay, a train arrived at the tracks. These trains pass different towns and cities from north to south. Again, before leaving, muling nagbilin si Alexander sa mga orders na nasa lugar.
Pagdating namin sa loob ng train, the conductor bowed to greet us. They said they were informed in advance about the Van Zanth's beta taking the train.
"Please follow me."
The conductor guided us in the far side of the train, separate from the other passengers. We arrived at a closed passenger compartment with a sliding door. Inside were two wide couches separated by a long sturdy table and wide enough space for several luggages.
"It's for security purposes," Alexander commented nang mapansin ang pagtataka ko. "Magpahinga ka muna. They will serve the breakfast an hour from now."
I sat comfortably on the couch and laid my eyes to the scenery outside the window. It was my first time seeing this part of town. I was used to the mountains and forest surrounding the town proper. But the train swiftly pass through meadows and green fields with running irrigation under the train tracks. I realized, it was my first time being away since I stepped in Van Zanth.
Breakfast and lunch were served throughout the half-a-day train ride. By twelve noon, we finally made it to Grassco. Alexander told me he had visited the town a few months back after becoming a beta. In Grassco, hybrids only occupies fifteen percent of it's population, which was a small percentage compared to Van Zanth where hybrids outnumbered humans.
Alexander was able to immediately hire a car from the train station. Or was it already waiting for us? I didn't really know. It seems like Alexander had already built enough connections in the place for us to visit comfortably.
We pass by what seems to be their town proper. Since it was already noon, the streets were busy and flocked with people. There were avenues and sidewalks lined with shops and places to eat.
We drove for fifteen minutes before Alexander motioned for the driver to stop. "Let's walk from here so you can see clearly," Alexander told me before he opened the car door on my side.
I stepped out of the car under the afternoon sun. I raised my hand to protect my eyes while waiting for Alexander who was talking to the driver. I glanced to the street in front of us, a quiet neighborhood of family homes.
The place reminded me so much of the neighborhood where Ms. Venise and Sir Sebastian live. With trees lining the sidewalk, a pathway for walking, wide open grassy lawns and cozy homes.
Dumating si Alexander sa tabi ko at pareho naming pinagmasdan ang payapang kalye, ang tahimik na paligid. "This used to be our neighborhood growing up."
I didn't say anything. I remained staring at the place... because in my mind I expected different. I expected to see something horrible, a neighborhood full of noises and crimes and poverty. All my life I believed I came from such place because that's what they drilled in my mind.
But the neighborhood in front of me... was peaceful. The houses were homes and not just properties. And I could even hear families in their lawns with their kids.
Sinundan ko si Alexander nang maglakad siya. Isa-isa kong pinagmasdan ang mga bahay na nadadaanan namin. All these trees and gardens, little playgrounds and toys on the ground. Somehow, these scenes made my heart ache.
Alexander and I stopped in front of a house with flowering bushes lining the driveway and low thick hedges separating it from the next house. I stood in trance as I stared pass the wide yard, to the glass windows, and the peeking backyard surrounded with fir trees which looked familiar to my senses and yet strange to my eyes.
Without noticing, I placed a hand over my thumping chest. I could almost taste it on my tongue, the air of my childhood. The sound of running footsteps on the ground, the laughs while playing with the other neighborhood kids, and the smell... the smell coming from the kitchen after a long day of playing outside. Of newly baked apple pies and pastries.
Inabot ko ang sleeve ng damit ni Alexander nang hindi namamalayan. "I have a home," I mumbled. "Alexander, we have a place we can call home."
Tumango si Alexander sa tabi ko. "We did," he said to me. "It was abandoned for years and when I came here months ago, a new family already made it their home too."
A moment later, bumukas ang pintuan ng bahay. A mother stepped out of the house with two little kids beside her. Sumunod na bumukas ang garahe where a father was preparing the car. The mother seemed to recognize Alexander dahil lumapit ito sa'min.
"Alexander," she greeted saka siya bumaling sa'kin. "So you finally brought her here to see the house."
Despite the emotions building inside my chest, I managed to offer my sincerest smile and shake her hand. "I'm Eleanor," I greeted.
"I know, I know," she answered cheerily. "I'm Marlene. Your brother came here months ago and told me you were the family that once lived here."
Pinisil niya ang magkabila kong palad. "We're on our way to my kid's baseball game. I'm sorry I can't take you to tour the house at this moment."
Umiling ako. "It's okay," I told her. "It's enough for me to see the house."
Sumang-ayon si Alexander at sinabi na napadaan lang kami sa lugar at may iba pang kailangang puntahan. Nakahinga ng maluwag si Mrs. Marlene dahil dito. Patuloy siyang hinihila ng dalawang batang hawak ang kanyang palad kaya wala siyang nagawa kundi ang tuluyang magpaalam sa'min.
"You can visit us anytime," paalala niya. She went to the car with her adorable kids and before they drive to the road, the mother and her husband waved from the open car window.
Pinagmasdan ko sila hanggang sa tuluyan silang mawala sa aking paningin. "Kuya, do you think our family was like that when we were young?" I mumbled.
Sumulyap akong muli sa bahay. "My owners..." My words faded in my own mouth. It didn't seem right to say those words in front of the house that held the memories of my childhood.
I gulped air and tried again. "The people that once surrounded me, they said I was sold by my family for money. All my life, it was what I believed in."
"Our parents would never do such thing," answered Alexander beside me. "I didn't know where that story came from. Maybe they wanted you to fear your origins." He balled his knuckles into fists. "If not for the accident that killed both of our parents, we wouldn't have been separated."
I lowered my gaze to the cemented ground because I didn't want him to see the tears brimming in my eyes. "I wasn't sold, right? I wasn't sold by our parents?"
"It's all a lie."
Tuluyang tumulo ang luha ko. All my life, I believed I would never amount to anything. That there's no such thing as self worth when my own family sold me for money. But I was wrong. I have a family. My parents... they loved me all their lives.
--
It was already late afternoon when we managed to met the alpha of the hybrids living in Grassco. He was the one who accompanied us to the hill where we can visit our parents. According to him, there were less than a thousand hybrids in the town of Grassco and our parents were one of those.
We met him near the town center. He had a loud booming voice and a pleasant approachable face. I think he was older than Sir Zander, the former alpha of Van Zanth, but the alpha of Grassco had a more laid-back personality.
"What a pleasure to meet one of the leaders of Van Zanth." He joyously clasped the hand of Alexander before he turned to face me. "And of course, the alpha's mate."
He sounded in awe of Van Zanth. It was only then I realized how fascinating Van Zanth was in the eyes of other people knowing it's dominated by hybrids. A respected town.
We went to the hill with the him, which was only several hundred meters from the town square. While walking through the sloppy ground, he told us things about my parents I've never heard before.
"Your father was one of my advisers. He mostly deals with pleas and requests from the hybrid residents of this town," he told us. "Your mother works in the town hospital. We have no apothecary here but we had an agreement with the local government to lend us a part of the hospital exclusive for treating hybrids."
Mother... was she also a healer?
"Your father was too kind for his own good," continued the alpha. "It's what I always tell him. Try to be vigilant at times. But he always try to see the good in people. That's why there were times that people used it against him."
We stepped on the steep ground as we approached the hillside. Thick clouds hide the afternoon sun in the dome sky. There were only three of us in the hill surrounded by several sycamore trees.
"My best guess was your father met suspicious people who later learned that his daughter has the skill to heal." Bumaling sa'kin ang alpha. "He must have entrusted the two of you to those people before he had the chance to learn the truth."
Bumuntong hininga siya.
"I was informed too late that both of you were taken by your parents' so called family friend. If not for Alexander who I've met again several months ago, I'd still be thinking you were both in good hands. Not knowing you have suffered a great deal."
We finally arrived on top of the hill. There were dozens of names carved in different gravestones on the grass. Some were made of marbles, most were made of granite and slate. We stopped in front of two gravestones situated side by side.
L. Eldridge
A. Eldridge
"Matagal nila kayong hinintay," said the alpha.
Tinitigan ko ang dalawang pangalan na nakaukit sa puting marmol. Was that their names? Was that... my surname?
Dahan-dahang ibinaba ni Alexander ang dala naming mga bulaklak. Unti-unti akong umupo sa lupa, ang mga binti ko nanghihina. Are they here? Are they happy to see me? Tumulo ang luha mula sa aking mga mata at pumatak sa lupa. Hinapit ko ang aking dibdib na tila hindi magawang huminga nang maayos.
I accepted every bad things that happened to me thinking that's what I deserved. But no... I never deserved those things. I have people who loved me until their last breath and that fact completely changed how I see myself.
Hinayaan kami ng alpha na manatili bago siya bumalik sa kanyang trabaho. Alexander and I spent the rest of the afternoon on the hill with our parents. There were times I heard Alexander mumbling, talking to them, telling them not to worry anymore because he had kept his promise.
All the while, all I could do was touch their engraved names on the stone with my trembling hands and tears in my eyes. I silently told them about Zackary too, and my hope to bring him with me so they can meet him.
It was almost sunset when we finally bade goodbye, with the promise of visiting again. Back in the town center, nagpasalamat kaming muli sa alpha ng bayan bago tuluyang nagpaalam. The car drove us back to the station.
I couldn't help but stare outside the window as we pass by the places and neighborhoods who held our forgotten childhood. The sun had retreated in the horizon casting orange glow all over town. A calming closure.
I was about to pull my gaze back to the car when I saw something eerily familiar from the crowd of people crossing the street. Binalik ko ang tingin sa labas at lumingon para makita itong mabuti but it was no longer there.
"Is there something wrong?"
Nabigla ako sa tanong ni Alexander na nakaupo sa tabi ko. Hindi ko napansing nakatulala na ako.
The plump round figure, the familiar limping walk and the feathered brim hat she used to wear.
Napahawak ako sa aking dibdib nang maramdaman ang pamilyar na takot. Why is she here?
***