Princess' Eleven Brothers

2: Biological Parents

| Biological Parents |

PJ'S POV

What? È vero?

(Is this true?)

Pagak akong natawa. "Cos'è? I mean, a-ano po 'yon? Kayo? Totoo kong m-magulang? How?" nauutal kong tanong.

What is really happening? Paanong sila ang totoo kong magulang, e, sina Mama at Papa ang mga magulang ko. Sila ang kasama kong lumaki at hindi sila, kaya paano. I don't understand. Naguguluhan ako sa mga nangyayari ngayon.

Napangiti ang lalaki na parang may sinabi akong nagpangiti sa kanya. "Sì. We are your parents. Io sono il tuo vero padre e lei è la tua vera madre." Turo niya sa babaeng katabi na asawa niya. "We are your real family, Princess."

(Yes. I am your real father and she is your real mother.)

I was surprised to hear that he can spoke Italian, but I didn't say anything. Ang pinagtuunan ko na lang ng pansin ay kung paano nila nalaman ang tunay kong pangalan kaya naglakas loob akong magtanong.

"H-how do you know my name po?"

Yung babae naman ang ngumiti pero hindi tulad ng lalaki ay malaki ang ngiti niya na parang tuwang-tuwa siya sa nangyayari. "Because I named you myself, darling. Your name is Princess Jasmin, my daughter, our princess." marahan ang boses niyang salita na tila punong-puno ng pagmamahal.

Umiling-iling ako. Hindi naniniwala sa kanilang sinasabi. Nag-uumpisa na rin pumatak ang mga luha ko sa mata.

Hindi, hindi 'yon totoo. They weren't my parents.

Tumingin ako kina Mama at Papa na umiiyak na rin pala. "'Diba h-hindi naman po 'yon t-totoo? 'D-diba po kayo ang mga m-magulang ko? Kayo ang Mama at P-papa ko, 'diba? A-anak niyo po ako. K-kapatid ko po si K-kuya," Nilingon ko pa si Kuya Gio na nakatalikod na sa amin at umaalog ang magkabilaang balikat. Binalik ko kina Mama ang paningin. "N-nagkakamali lang po s-sila, 'd-diba? Hindi 'y-yon totoo..." umaasa kong sabi. Basag na basag ang boses ko dahil sa pag-iyak.

Hinintay kong sasabihin nilang 'Oo' at itatama ang mga sinabi ng mag-asawang nagsasabing anak raw nila ako pero wala akong nakuhang sagot. Instead, Mama cried even more na niyakap na lang ni Papa.

"PJ," Narinig kong tawag sa akin ni Kuya kaya nilingon ko siya. He was behind me and he is also crying. Para akong nabuhayan na siya ang babawi sa mga pinagsasabi nila. Na sasabihin niyang kapatid niya talaga ako... Pero hindi gano'n ang nangyari.

Hinawakan niya ang dalawang kamay ko. "You are still my sister kahit hindi ka namin totoong kadugo. Napamahal ka na sa amin ng s-sobra-sobra pero nahanap ka na ng totoong mga m-magulang mo, e." Pinilit niyang hindi mautal habang patuloy pa rin sa pagluha habang binibigkas ang mga salitang 'yon. "At ngayon, k-kailangan mo ng sumama sa kanila, Princess. Sila naman ang mahalin mo katulad ng pinaramdam mo s-sa amin." dagdag niya na tuluyan kong ikinahagulgol na.

Napatingin ako sa mga bisita namin na sinasabing totoo kong magulang. Umiiyak din sila pero hindi pinapahalata nung lalaki dahil siya ang umaalo sa asawa niya, na tunay ko raw na ina.

Tinignan niya ako. "My daughter..." mahina niyang tawag sa akin.

Umiling-iling naman ako na tuluyan niyang ikinaiyak. Patuloy lang ako sa pag-iling habang lumuluha at bumubulong ng 'Hindi'.

Hindi 'to totoo. Hindi sila ang mga magulang ko.

Umatras ako ng umatras hanggang sa tumakbo palabas ng bahay namin. Narinig ko pa ang pagtawag nilang lahat sa akin pero hindi ko sila pinansin at patuloy lang sa pagtakbo hanggang makarating sa lugar na payapa at tahimik.

~~ •• ~~

THIRD PERSON'S POV

When PJ left the house, both of her parents called out to her but she didn't even stop. She just kept running, crying as she went.

Both mothers broke down in tears, each being embraced by their husbands as they tried to comfort them. Kael wiped his own tears and followed after his sister, knowing exactly where she would go.

He had known for a long time that PJ was not his real sister, but he never treated her any differently. She was kind, sweet, and easy to love, which was why everyone had grown so attached to her. That's why it was so painful for them to be separated from her—something they had known would happen someday.

And now, that day had come.

As he comforted his wife, Jasfher—PJ’s real father—spoke.

"We are not going to force her to go with us, but we do want her to be with us—to come home to us. We will let the two of you talk to her first because we know she is still in shock after learning the truth, and we understand that. Here are the documents in case she wants to know more about her real identity and see the proof that she is our daughter." He placed the brown envelope containing the papers on the center table and helped his wife stand up. "We will come back after three days to see if she is doing better. I think that will be enough time for her to process everything she has learned. Thank you for letting us in and for taking care of our daughter. We’ll be going now."

Michael and Grace—PJ’s adoptive parents—could only nod as they listened, tears streaming down their faces.

They were about to walk out when Yasmin, PJ’s real mother, stopped her husband and turned to the couple who had raised her daughter.

She smiled at them through her tears. "Please, tell her that we l-love her so much. We d-don’t want to l-lose her. S-she is our p-princess." she said sobbing, before telling her husband to continue walking outside so they could go home—no matter how painful it was for her to leave without her daughter.

After they left, PJ’s adoptive parents looked at each other and smiled through their tears. At least now they knew that PJ’s real parents loved her deeply.

And that was enough for them.