Princess' Eleven Brothers

3: Still A Family

| Still A Family |

PJ'S POV

Nakaupo ako sa damuhan ng sementeryo habang yakap ang mga tuhod. Ito ang lugar na sinasabi kong tahimik at payapa dahil wala namang pupunta rito para umiyak lang na katulad sa ginagawa ko.

Siyempre sa walang nitso ako nakapwesto dahil ayokong maka-abala naman sa mga nakalibing rito.

Baka mabulabog ko pa sila sa iyak ko at magsibangunan kung sakali.

Nakasubsob ang mukha ko sa tuhod habang patuloy sa pag-iyak. Hindi ko pa rin kasi matanggap na yung magulang na nakakasama ko ay hindi ko pala totoong magulang, at yung bisitang dumating ay yung totoong magulang ko pala. It hurts me because I love them so much. Kahit si Kuya Gio na hindi ko pala totoong kapatid ay napamahal na din sa akin ng sobra-sobra.

What will going on in my life now? Nung mga nakaraang taon naman ay ang saya-saya ko tapos ngayon biglang ganito?

Napapikit ako.

Nakakainis. Why does this have to happen to me?

"Kuya's here," Naramdaman ko ang pagpatong ng kamay sa balikat ko kasabay ng pamilyar na boses na kilalang-kilala ko.

Napatingala ako kay Kuya Gio na nakaluhod ang isang tuhod sa harapan ko. Binigyan niya ako ng isang ngiti na ikinayakap ko sa kanya ng mahigpit at doon humagulgol sa bisig niya kaya hinagod-hagod niya ang aking likod gamit ang kanyang kamay.

I cried even more because of what he's doing. Ang caring at sweet pa rin niya sa akin kahit alam niya na hindi niya ako tunay na kapatid. Kung ano siya noon, gano'n pa rin siya ngayong alam na namin ang totoo. Nagi-guilty tuloy ako dahil natigil siya sa kanyang pag-aaral dahil sa akin. Incoming college na dapat si Kuya Gio if we didn't got lacked of money. Nag-volunteer siya at sinabing ako na ang unahin nila Mama at Papa na pag-aralin dahil magha-high school na ako no'n.

Humikbi-hikbi ako habang nagpupunas ng luha na patuloy lang sa pagtulo. Bumitaw ako sa yakapan namin at humarap sa kanya. "S-sorry, Kuya, ah?" kumunot ang noo niya sa paghingi ko ng tawad. "Ikaw d-dapat ang nag-aaral n-ngayon imbis na a-ako. I-ikaw y-yung tunay na a-anak pero ako pa na a-ampon yung pinag-aaral ng mga m-magulang mo." sinisinok kong sabi.

Lumambot ang mukha niya at hinaplos ang pisngi ko saka pinunasan ang luha kong agos ng agos. "No... Don't say that, PJ. That's my decision. Hindi mo 'yon kasalanan, okay? Wala kang kasalanan doon." pagpapagaan niya sa loob ko. "And besides, before that happened I already know that you are not my real sister." Nagulat ako sa sinabi niya. Noon niya pa alam? He smile and nod like he's reading my mind. "But I still treat you like a real one, right? At hindi 'yon magbabago kahit ngayon na alam mo na ang totoo. Nakababatang kapatid pa rin kita at Kuya mo pa rin ako."

Napangiti ako sa sinabi niya sabay yakap sa kanya ng mahigpit. "Thank you, K-kuya." nautal ko pang bulong.

"Welcome, Princess." sagot niya habang hinahagod ang likod ko.

Napasimangot naman akong napahiwalay sa kanya dahil sa tinawag niya sa akin.

Princess, amp.

Natawa siya nang makita ang mukha ko. "Why? Bakit naman ganyan ang mukha mo, Princess?" nang-aasar niya pang inulit ang pangalan ko.

"Kuya!" Pumadyak-padyak ako na ikinatawa niya ng malakas.

Kalaunan ay natawa na rin ako kaya pareho na kaming mukhang baliw na natawa sa gitna ng sementeryo. Nasa gano'n kaming scenario ng may marinig kaming sumisinghot-singhot sa likuran namin kaya napatingin kami doon.

"Aww... Mahal, tignan mo ang mga anak natin, oh?" sabi ni Papa kay Mama habang nagpupunas pa ng luha kahit wala naman. She just rolled her eyes to him and came to us.

She hold my arm. "Your Kuya is right, PJ. Kahit na nalaman mo na ang totoo ay walang magbabago sa atin. Pamilya pa rin tayo. Anak ka pa rin namin ng Papa mo at magulang mo pa rin kami. Ikaw pa rin ang bunso namin kahit na hindi ka namin tunay na anak, hmm." marahan niyang sabi sabay haplos sa pisngi ko na nagpaiyak na naman sa akin.

"Mama naman, pinaiyak mo ako ulit." nakanguso kong sabi sa kanya.

She laughed and hug me so tight as I am to her. Binaon ko pa ang mukha ko sa dibdib niya dahil patuloy na pag-agos ng luha ko.

Para namang waterfalls ang mga mata ko, e.

"Sali naman ang Papa," rinig kong sabi sa likuran ko kaya humiwalay ako sa yakap namin ni Mama at sa dibdib naman niya binaon ang mukha kong puro luha pa rin. "Tahan na ang Princess na 'yan!" may pang-aasar sa boses niya habang hinihimas ang buhok ko.

Pabiro ko siyang hinampas sa likod na ikinatawa nilang tatlo. Ayoko kasi ng tinatawag sa real name ko dahil babaeng-babae ang tunog. I'm not a lesbian or something, but I really prefer to be called just PJ, the both first letter of my name.

Nang tumahan na ako humiwalay na ako kay Papa at hinarap silang tatlo na nakatingin lang pala sa akin. Meron ding mga luha sa mga mata nila kaya alam kong umiyak din ulit sila.

I wiped my cheeks and spoke. "P-pwede ko po bang m-malaman kung paano a-ako napunta s-sa inyo?" sinisinok ko pa rin na tanong.

Tumango-tango si Papa at hinawakan ang kamay ko. "Sige, i-kukwento namin. Pero uwi muna tayo, ha? Ang lamok na kasi, e." Sabay hampas-hampas niya sa mga binti gamit ang isang kamay.

I laughed as I shook my head.

Sumang-ayon na lang ako sa kanya kaya nag-umpisa na kaming maglakad pauwi sa bahay. We walked for thirty minutes and as soon as we got inside, they make me seat on the sofa beside them. Pinapagitnaan ako nila Mama at Papa tapos si Kuya ay nasa kanan naman ni Mama.

Hinawakan ni Papa ang kamay ko. "Anak..." panimula niya pero agad rin namang napakamot sa kanyang ulo. "Paano ba 'to?" Napasimangot ako sa tanong niya. Si Papa talaga, oh! "'Ma, ikaw na nga magsabi!" pagpasa niya.

Napabuntong hininga kaming tatlo at sabay-sabay na napatampal sa noo.

Hays! Kahit kailan talaga.

"Oo na, oo na!" singhal sa kanya ni Mama kaya sa kanya ako humarap. Hinawakan niya rin ang kamay ko katulad ni Papa. "Anak, ganito 'yon..."

~~ •• ~~

THIRD PERSON'S POV

*Flashback*

11 Years Ago

"Mahal, bilisan mo para makain na natin itong uwi natin!" Michael said as he rushed toward the house, calling out to his wife who was busy opening the door. They had just come home from a fiesta and had brought food with them.

Grace paused and shot him an annoyed look. "Sandali lang! Maghintay ka nga!" she snapped, then continued inserting the key into the doorknob.

Michael could only pout, which made their 11 years old son, Kael, laugh. He rolled his eyes at him, making Kael laugh even harder.

When Grace finally opened the door, both she and their son were startled by the shout of her husband. They looked to see what had happened and found a little girl who looked about 3 years old. She was wearing a yellow dress, white shoes, and a small flower hairpin. A sticker name tag was pinned to her chest.

They read what was written on it.

Princess Jasmin

They looked back at the little girl, whose round eyes were simply staring at them. Kael walked over to her and crouched down to her height.

"Baby, anong ginagawa mo dito? Sino kasama mo?" he asked gently.

The child studied him carefully before slowly shaking her head.

He immediately understood what it meant and asked her again. "Nasaan ang bahay niyo dito? Alam mo ba?"

She looked around before answering softly. "'Di pow aham..."

After hearing this, Grace and Michael stepped closer, Michael having already recovered from his shock. They both bent one knee to be at the child's level.

"Paano ka ba napunta dito?" Michael asked.

The girl only looked at him, then at the food he was holding. Noticing this, he lifted the bag and showed it to her. Her eyes followed it eagerly.

"Gusto mo 'to?" he asked. The child nodded, her eyes still fixed on the paper bag. "Ayoko nga!" he teased, hiding the food behind his back.

The little girl searched for it with her eyes, but because she was still so small, she couldn't see it. Soon, she started crying—soft sobs that quickly turned into loud wails.

Kael panicked and rushed to her side to comfort her. Grace smacked her husband on the arm before picking up the child and rocking her gently until she finally fell asleep.

The three of them exchanged looks and decided to go inside. They turned on the lights and laid the child on the couch. Kael volunteered to stay beside her to make sure she wouldn't fall. The couple smiled at their son's behavior.

While their child stayed in the small living room watching over the sleeping girl, they went into the kitchen to talk.

They talked about Princess—the child—and what they should do for her. They decided to go to the police station the next day to look for her parents. But days passed, then weeks, and they still couldn't find them. As time went on, they grew more attached to the child. After several months with no one coming to look for her, they finally decided to adopt her.

They arranged for her birth certificate, listing themselves as her parents and keeping her name, along with completing all the legal processes to officially make her their daughter.

*End of Flashback*

After PJ heard everything from her adoptive mother about how she came into their lives, tears flowed down her cheeks once again-at the same time, she laughed. She still couldn't believe that her Papa had once teased her by refusing to give her food, which was what made her cry back then.

After all the drama, they hugged each other, smiles finally appearing on their faces.