The Truth Berries

XXXII

       When he woke up the next day, Miguel felt like his miserable world had changed in just a single day. Whether it was in a better or worse way, Miguel had no clue yet.

       He has always been an early riser but all the work they did yesterday had exhausted him completely and that made him stay in bed until eight that morning. Inday was nowhere inside the house but the he saw that she already prepared his coffee and his covered breakfast was waiting for him on the table. Inday was a very subtle woman; she made sure that his coffee would remain hot by leaving it on the fire. Miguel poured himself a cup of it and took a sip. He took his cigarette pack with him and went to his almost-finished room. Despite the warm sunlight already piercing through the thick canopies of the mountains, Miguel still found it too early for a solid breakfast. He still preferred his usual early breakfast and that was a cup of caffeine and a dose of nicotine. He knew it was a deadly combination but what else could he lose now?

       By the time he finished his cup of homemade coffee, he has already laid out the blueprint for the third box in his mind. He threw his burned-out cigarette and took his used cup to the kitchen. Then he brought the third unopened box to his war room but the big box itself was almost twice of his own weight. No wonder Bernie had a struggle with it yesterday. When he finally reached his new room, Miguel lowered it down very carefully. Then he grabbed a box cutter for the tapes and he opened the box. It contained different electronic gadgets. One looked like a radio receiver and then there was an old computer and a signal amplifier. There was also a set of wireless internet router and antennas along with a thick loop wire for its extension. The box also contained two sets of three-gang electrical sockets and a separate roll of flat electrical wire. At the bottom of the box were some discs and a book that looked like a telephone directory. Piece by piece, Miguel fixed everything and put it inside his room all according to his planned locations of them. He spent an hour and a half fixing everything and at a quarter before ten, Miguel was ready to test everything if they worked.

       “So, the operation Clear My Name has officially begun”, the same raspy voice from behind him said.

       Miguel was surprised to see the woman watching him.

       “I still can’t believe that you can talk, Inday. Yesterday was such a big revelation and I can’t seem to take it that easily. How long have you kept that a secret and why?”

       Inday clicked his tongue.

       “All in due time, Mikoy. You’ll learn about everything when it’s finally the right time for it.”

       Miguel felt cheated again.

       “I guess a little more than two decades is still not enough time, isn’t it?”

       The woman laughed at him. Then, she started talking to him with her signs again.

       Now, you are getting impatient again. And here I am thinking that you have grown to be the man who deserved to know the truth about everything. Now, I’m having second thoughts. Maybe I should wait for another two decades more?

       “Will you stop that nonsense? I know you can talk already so there’s no point in doing that.”

       The woman gave him a serious look.

       Everything has a point, Miguel. You’re not just getting it yet. And until I see that you deserve the whole truth about everything, I will continue to talk to you like this. Because this is what your father wanted for you.

       His eyes grew wide and his mouth went dry. He could not believe what Inday just told him.

       “You knew what my father wanted for me?”

       I knew him very well. I know it pained you when he just disappeared without prior notice but he had his reasons. And I believe he did what he did because it was for your own safety.

       Miguel did not want to but he felt his anger rising.

       “For my own safety from what? How can you believe what he wanted for me was right? Who are you to decide that one?”

       I know how you feel. But a twin sister should know.

       Miguel thought he already heard the biggest secret in his life yesterday. But now he knew he was wrong. For the woman he always knew as nothing but his father’s hired help was indeed her aunt. She was his own blood and flesh and the last remaining person he could call his own family. He wanted to say something to her. He wanted to hug her the way somebody always does when they found their long-lost family. But he couldn’t move a muscle and he felt like he was nailed on his feet. He just stood there like a dumb statue until she smiled at him and told him she was going to prepare their lunch.

       “I still think that you should eat a solid breakfast instead of just coffee and that stupid cancer stick. Bernie had a point; your life tends to shorten with that. I bet you lost a lot of days since you started that kind of breakfast in the force.”

       Miguel’s eyebrows crossed.

       “I knew everything, boy. Now get yourself a proper breakfast and continue what you do best.”

       Miguel ate his breakfast but his mind was still afloat. It seemed he was having trouble on trying to focus on anything. There was Nadia’s death to investigate and then suddenly, there was his newfound aunt. He has been there for just three days but his whole life was already being remoulded into something new. Still, he tried hard to keep his mind on the completion of his room. He left his half-done breakfast covered and went back to his room. He installed everything and plugged all of it to its proper places. He worked and worked to keep his mind off the new revelation she had just told him and a few minutes before he was done, she came calling for their lunch.

       “One minute more!”

       When he has checked everything, he stepped back to admire his work. Inday was already behind him that time, admiring it too.

       “Now what, Miguel?”, she asked him.

       “Now, we see if it works.”

       Miguel turned everything on and saw that all was perfect as he had planned. The computer worked and he had established a stable internet connection. He tried his radio receiver and after a few minute dialing, he started getting different transmissions.

       “It works! Good job, Miguel. You have done it, boy!”

       “No, Auntie. It’s not yet done. It has only begun.”

       It felt strange for her, but the new name sent unusual warmth to her bosom.  She congratulated him and then they went to eat their dinner. Miguel went back to his room as soon as he was done eating. He opened all of Nadia’s social media accounts and read every message she sent before she died. Then he checked all of her incoming and outgoing calls but he still found nothing. He kept on digging for something for almost two hours until he found something in her email. She sent a mail to one Helen Sandoval. And it was the very last one that she sent before she was gone. Miguel couldn’t be certain about it, but the name sounded familiar to him. Then he remembered. She was present at their marriage and she was the loveliest bridesmaid he has ever seen. Miguel knew one thing then.

       Wherever Helen Sandoval was now, they needed to talk.