My mom almost fainted when she saw me standing outside the door with Kim. Her eyes were on his arm on my shoulders, and I could tell by her expression that she was gritting her teeth in anger.
“Where do we fail in raising you, Yen? Why do you bring another man into the house? Is it because he’s richer? Why? Are you not content with Zed’s income?”
I was taught to keep silent every time my parents scolded me, so I just swallowed all her hurting words.
“Come inside and let’s hear what your dad has to say. You put us all into shame.”
My knees trembled right away as I imagined dad slapping me in front of Kim. If that would happen, I would surely die in shame. So, when I heard his footsteps on the stairs, I held Kim’s hand tighter. Kim also raised his arm again and pulled me close to him. Damn it, my mom’s eyes almost fell out from their sockets.
“Yen, you’ve finally remembered us. Do you have any idea how many times we went to your house?”
“I’m sorry, Pa.”
Dad had all the reasons to get angry. I blocked them all and avoided them. It’s because I also needed time to accept that they were not my biological parents.
“And what would your husband think? You’re not introducing him to us right away.”
“What are you talking about? Have you grown so old that you can’t remember who your daughter’s husband is?”
“I know, but your daughter’s marriage to Zed was invalid. Zed had talked to me about it and had asked us to understand.”
My mom ran her questioning to the three of us, and I knew she could faint in shock anytime. Kim then cleared his throat and started to talk, addressing it to mom.
“Yen and I met in Japan and got married, but something happened to her. It was an incident that caused her to forget all her experiences in Japan and the people she met there, including me. She then came back to the Philippines and married Zed.”
“I looked for her everywhere and when I finally found her, I fought for our marriage. And to cut the story short, her marriage to Zed was annulled.” Kim paused for a while, waiting for their reaction, but mom was too shocked to nag again. So, he continued.
“I felt sorry that I hurt Zed, but he understood.”
My mom then burst into a loud cry, and I could relate to how she felt at that moment. She also knew how Zed loved and cared for me, and perhaps she found it hard to accept the news.
“You’re selfish! Why should you disturb her marriage? It was already five years ago, and you could have married someone else.”
I froze, realizing that mom was right. Zed and I were already happy, but he came to ruin it. I looked at Kim and was too scared for his reaction, but to my surprise, he was calm. Before he opened his mouth to explain, a loud knocking at the door interrupted us.
“Maybe, it’s Zed. Poor man. Perhaps he’s here to fight for you.” I was amused at how mom clung to the hope of Zed and me reuniting.
All of us fixed our eyes to the door, but no one got the courage to open it, thinking that it was Zed. Kim stood up and walked to the door, and mom closed her eyes. Perhaps she expected that Zed would throw a fist at him.
But to our surprise, an old man American man appeared at the door. My heart leaped when I recognized him. Because he was my biological father, Mr. Williams.
And I remembered that when I was a child, other kids would tease me as a daughter from a bamboo tree. And now I realized it’s because I had foreign blood; thus, a mixed-race beauty.
“Good morning, Mr. & Mrs. Perez,” greeted Mr. Williams. He smiled at us, but we all responded to him with shocked expressions.
“Good morning. Please come in,” dad finally found some words to say. I also stood up, wanting to hug him, but I stopped. It suddenly felt awkward when I realized that my family was looking at me.
“Kids, come here. Mom is here.” I furrowed my brows as I saw two kids stepping out of the car. One was a boy, and the other was a girl. They looked like fraternal twins.
Mom is here? My heart immediately raced, and I didn't know why.
I peered at the door but I could see no other woman aside from mom and me. The two kids then walked inside, roaming their eyes around until they rested on me.
“Yen, you might think I am selfish because I took you away from Zed. But every time I looked at our kids growing up without a mom, I'm always hurting for them. During their fifth birthday, I let them ask me for a gift. But both of them said, “I want mom.”
My vision dimmed as I slowly took in the news. The kids also stared at me, perhaps wondering why I didn’t look excited to meet them.
When the girl started to cry, Kim lifted her in his arms. He then comforted her and said, “It’s alright. I told you already that mom got sick, her eyes are blurred, and she can hardly see."
Kim then shifted back his attention to me.
“They are our kids, Jakara. You had no idea how it hurts to know that you also forget our twins.”
I still stood pinned on the floor, too overwhelmed with the news. I got lost in my thoughts that I didn’t see that the boy was already standing in front of me. I only snapped back to reality when a tiny hand reached out for my hand.
“Mom?”
I dropped to my knees and threw my arms around my son, squeezing him tightly into my chest. I subconsciously raised my head and saw my daughter sliding down from Kim’s arms. I gestured for her to come over and finally hugged them tight together.
I cried so hard as I tried to run my thoughts back into the past. And right then, scenes of the past flashed in my mind. I then remembered myself screaming as the waves of contraction hit me. I could even still hear the doctor saying,
“Congratulations, Miss Jakara! They’re beautiful.”
I didn’t know how long I had cried. And when I finally looked up, I saw all of them wiping their tears. Then, my eyes fell on Mr. Williams. And at that moment, he didn’t have to explain who he was. Because I already remembered them, including my love for Kim.
I stood up and ran to my dad, throwing my arms around him. This man never gave up on looking for me, just as Kim didn’t give up on finding the mother of his children.
“Welcome back, darling. Dad misses you so much.”
“Thank you, dad.” I cried once again, but dad whispered something in my ear.
“Someone is also waiting for a hug, dear.”
I pulled my brows together as I looked at him. But then he moves his eyes on Kim who was standing at the corner, lost in his thoughts and wiping his endless tears.
“Kim, thank you also for not giving up on me.” Kim got startled as my voice drew him out of his thoughts. He didn’t reply right away but enclosed me in his arms.
“Can we now start all over again?” he asked, smiling through his tears.
I nodded and smiled. And at that moment, I also sent a quick prayer for Zed that he could also move on and start over.
THE END
Author's note:
Thank you so much for reading Book 1 and 2. Book 3 is now available and is a standalone story of Zed. We also want him to be happy, right?
And if you like the story, please reward this author with a review. I wish to know your thoughts on the characters' journey. See you on their next journey.