The Adopted Son

[Calithea Sophronia]

"Paano mo nagawa 'to? Kapatid ka niya! "

I couldn't do anything but scream and watch him take a seat in front of us. He didn't smile or make an expression, unlike before. I knew him as a warm-hearted person who was kind and caring. Pero ano itong ginagawa niya ngayon?

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

Lahat ay nagising nang marinig ang malakas na boses ng chairman. Nang tuluyang makapag-adjust ay halos manginig ang iba nang mapagtantong nakatali kami sa upuan at nasa harap ang taong inakala naming mabait at magalang.

The CSO in front of us finally smiled. Pero ang ngiting iyon ay hindi umabot sa mga mata niya. Para bang nasasaktan siya at matagal na niyang itinatago ang sakit na iyon.

"Cali, are you okay? " Voughn asked me, worrying about me instead of himself. I just nodded in response and asked him if he was okay too. It was a relief that I didn't see any injuries on him. I guess Wave didn't harm anyone. Pero nasaan ba si Steven? Bakit wala siya rito? Wasn't he with us when the black out happened?

"You are finally awake," Wave said, trying to catch all of our attention. "Stop crying, will you?" he then shifted his gaze to Mrs. Choi, who was crying in fear. Napatigil naman ito dahil sa takot na baka ay may mangyaring masama sa kaniya kung hindi siya susunod sa gusto nito.

"Wave! Stop all of these bullshits!" the president shouted at him. Pero parang bingi lang si Wave at hindi na pinansin ang sigaw ng matanda.

"Ano bang pinagpuputok ng butsi mo at nagawa mo ito? I gave you everything! Binihisan, pinaaral, at binigyan kita ng posisyon sa kompanya. Ano pa bang kulang, ha?"

Hindi ko alam kung anong nakakatawa sa sinabi ng chairman, pero tawang-tawa ngayon si Wave. Para bang nakarinig siya ng isang kakaibang joke at nakuha nito ang atensyon niya. "Wave!"

"I don't care kung anong gusto mo. But how dare you include her on this? She has nothing to do with your shits!" mariing sambit ni Voughn na ikinatigil nito sa pagtawa.

"So, bakit mo siya dinala rito?" Wave asked in return, which made Voughn's jaw tighten. He balled his fist behind him, probably wanting to punch Wave in the face. "If you only didn't follow that van, hindi sana kayo kasali ngayon. At first, I had no intention of dragging you into this, but you're here, so I had no choice."

"What do you mean?" I asked him.

"I only need this man and this woman," he answered, pointing to the chairman and his wife. "But I think this is for the better."

"WHAT DO YOU NEED?" Mr. Choi furiously asked, which made Wave turn to him and stare at him intently.

"Why did you kill my mom?"

We were all stunned upon hearing Wave's question to the chairman. Hindi kaagad nakasagot ang ama ni Voughn sa biglaang tanong na inihain sa kaniya ng kaniyang adopted son. "Who do you mean?"

"Who else? Alam kong alam mo kung sino ang tunay kong ina. Knowing that she's alive, who do you think I'm referring to as my mom, who died 13 years ago?"

13 years ago? That was when Voughn's mother died in an accident. Did his mom die on that day, too?

Wait, don't tell me he was referring to Voughn's mom?

"Her?"

"That's right, she was your first wife-the one who adopted me and the one who chose me. Why did you kill her?" galit na tanong ni Wave. His eyes were blazing in anger as his right hand was clenched into a tight fist.

"What do you mean he killed her? WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SAYING?" Voughn interrupted. He was as shocked as I am right now to hear that his mom may have died due to a foul play. "Did you really do that?" he then asked his father, who immediately denied everything.

"No, I didn't kill her. That was a car accident! Stop spouting nonsense, Wave! Hinihintay ko sila sa park no'ng mga panahong iyon to celebrate with them, kaya paano mo nasasabing ako ang pumatay sa kaniya? I have no reason to kill my own wife!" galit na galit na sabi ng chairman.

"You have no reason?" Wave scoffed, completely amused by his adopted father's claims. "Akala mo ba hindi ko malalaman ang totoo, ha? I knew everything. I knew that I was your son! I WAS YOUR BIOLOGICAL SON, TOO!" he cried out. Kapwa kami napanganga ni Voughn sa narinig. Anong ibig niyang sabihin? Anong biological son? Akala ko ba ay adopted siya?

"What the hell?" Voughn exclaimed in bewilderment.

"Yeah, what the hell indeed, Axle? And you know what?" Wave leaned closer to him, as if expecting a reaction he would love to see. The tears in his eyes welled up, wanting to escape. "WAVE!"

Napalayo si Wave kay Voughn nang marinig ang pagsigaw ng chairman na para bang pinipigilan siya sa anumang maaari niyang sabihin. Nahagip pa ng mga mata ko ang pagngiti niya na para bang nagustuhan ang nangyayari. He wasn't the CSO I used to know anymore.

"What? Were you trying to stop me from spilling the tea? Secrets never remain a secret; you know that."

"Enough, Wave. Stop all this nonsense! Hindi ko alam kung anong nangyari sa'yo sa ampunan at nagkaganiyan ka!"

Napanting yata ang tenga ni Wave at nanlilisik ang mga mata niyang napatingin sa chairman. Napasigaw ako nang mabilis niyang hinugot ang baril na nakasabit sa pantalon ng isang taong kasama niya kaninang pumasok. Itinutok niya ang baril sa ulo nito habang nakakuyom ang isa niyang kamay.

What the hell is wrong with this chairman? Mas lalo niya lang ginagalit 'yong tao!

With a gun pointed at the chairman's head, he was fuming with anger. "How dare you run your mouth like that when you were a cheating cheapskate?"

"Drop the gun, Wave. We can talk it out, can't we?" Voughn tried to calm him down; he was probably scared of what might happen if this took any longer. But thankfully, he listened to him and immediately withdrew the gun from the chairman's head.

"Okay. Pag-usapan na lang natin 'to. But if you ever stop me again, I won't hesitate to put a hole in your head, alright?" he said to the chairman. Natakot naman ako sa narinig. What if magwala na lang siya at madamay kami? Ayoko pang mamamatay nang ganito kaaga. Marami pa akong pangarap sa buhay!

"So, why did you bring me here, too?" the president voiced out, questioning his involvement. Napalingon naman kaming lahat sa kaniya.

Wave also shifted his attention to him. "You knew everything," he then uttered.

What? He knew what?

"You know that he was cheating," Wave added, which caused a bolt of shock for both me and Voughn. I looked at him. His eyes were like those eyes I saw for the first time in the airport. He looked sad and miserable. Just like Wave's.

"Tinuring ko na parang tunay na ina ang taong pinili akong ampunin. She was the most loving, caring, and kind woman I've ever known. She loved me as her own child, even though I wasn't. But all this time, you cheated on her," Wave began to tell us everything.

"That woman," he then pointed his trembling finger to Mrs. Choi, who was now trembling and couldn't even speak a word. "That woman is my biological mother!"

WHAT?!

"What do you mean by that?" Voughn asked. He was clearly hoping that he heard him wrong, but...

"That woman and that man are my biological parents. Don't you understand everything now, Axle? Wala ka pa no'n, so wala kang alam. Ang lalakeng 'yan ay nakipagharutan sa babaeng 'yan at nabuo ako. And guess what? They abandoned me in that orphanage."

Based on what he just said, parang may nabuo nang ideya sa utak ko kung bakit niya ito ginagawa. Considering that Mrs. Choi is his biological mother and Mr. Choi is his biological father, this wasn't just a simple cheating case. It was more than that. A deeply personal betrayal.

"They abandoned me like nothing happened," Wave momentarily stopped to wipe away those tears scaping from his eyes. Medyo masakit para sa akin na makitang umiiyak ang isang lalake. Iba kasi 'yong feeling kapag sila na ang lumuluha.

Voughn was also crying in silence, listening to his brother's story.

"Minahal ako ni mom na parang tunay niyang anak. She made me the happiest. Then you came into the world, but she still loved me. Then suddenly, she died. I was lost and miserable too when she left me. It feels like I have no one. It feels like I was abandoned again. Suddenly, that woman entered the family." His eyes pierced through Mrs. Choi, who was now silently weeping, probably feeling guilty about what they'd done to their son.

They're so cruel. While some mothers would steal a child to have one to love and care for, others simply abandoned them. It was really heartbreaking.

"I later found out that they were my biological parents, which causes me to feel mad at them. Paano nila nagawang ampunin ako knowing na anak ako sa labas ng lalakeng 'to? Paano nila naatim na bumuo ng pamilyang galing sa labas? My mom died because of them. They're the ones who killed her!"

Wave burst into tears as he finally reached his limit of stopping himself. My tears fell as my heart ached for him too.

"I'm sorry, Wave. As his brother, I acted blindly and let him off the hook. Kasalanan ko ang lahat, hindi ko siya naturuan ng tama," sambit ng president.

"Ha! She wasn't even your real mom. I was your real father; you should respect me!"

This chairman really wants to die, ain't he?

Ang sama talaga ng ugali niya!

"Respect you? Don't make me laugh, please! Ang galing mo rin e' no'? Pinagmukha mo akong ampon when, in fact, I was your biological son. Harap-harapan mong niloko 'yong babaeng nagtiwala sa'yo. Hindi ka pa nakuntento. Binahay mo pa ang babaeng naging kalaguyo mo. So, ano 'to? Trying to make a complete family?"

Grabe pala ang pinagdaan ni Wave. Sino bang mag-aakalang tunay siyang anak ng chairman sa ibang babae na ngayon ay ipinalit nito sa namatay nitong asawa. It sounded like they were waiting for the first wife to die. Ang sama niya!

"I said, enough!"

"You made her so miserable that I often saw her cry late at night in silence," Wave ignored the chairman's words and stared coldly at him. Ramdam na ramdam ko ang gigil sa bawat salitang binibitawan niya. "That's why you should just die!"

Napasinghap ako nang itutok na naman niya ang baril sa ulo ng chairman. Pero mukhang hindi ata ito natakot dahil natawa lamang ito sa ginawa ni Wave. Mas lalo akong kinabahan dahil doon. Ano bang ginawa ng matandang 'to?

"Look at you. You acted all brave, yet you can't even hold the gun properly?" sambit nito na mas lalong ikinagalit ni Wave. Pansin ko ngang nanginginig ang kamay niyang nakahawak sa baril. He must be hesitating to pull the trigger. That looks more dangerous! Paano na lang kapag tuluyan niyang makabit ang gatilyo dahil sa panginginig niya? Takot ako sa tunog ng baril kapag pumutok.

"Voughn, stop him," bulong ko kay Voughn, umaasang may magagawa siya upang mapakalma ang kapatid niya, pero nang lingunin niya ako ay may kung anong kumurot sa puso ko. His eyes were emotionless as a cold tear fell down his face. Para bang sumuko na siya at gusto nang hayaan kung anuman ang mangyari.

Looking at him and everyone around us, I started to feel nervous as he shifted his eyes to his brother.

"You can do whatever you want. I no longer see this family as it is. I have no family," Voughn said in a final tone.

"AH!"

Napasigaw ako sa gulat at takot nang marinig ang nakabibinging putok ng baril. My body shakes in fear and shock as my heart beats rapidly, making me almost lose my breath. My left ear, where the direction of the chairman was, started ringing, which made my head hurt like hell.

"V-Voughn," nahihirapan kong tawag sa pangalan niya. I tried to look at him with my eyes squinting, but I could only see blurry scenarios, and the world suddenly turned upside down.

"It...it wasn't me! I didn't kill him!"

Those were the last words I heard before oblivion engulfed me.