Kapitel 5: The Lost Child 1
Thousands of people from all walks of life swarmed all the streets leading to the uptown of Cebu City, as well as the main roads going to the famous Basilica Minore del Sto. Niño Church.
A survey even had it that during the day of the festival, more than a million people came over to the city, occupying all rooms of the nearby hotels. Vehicular traffic took a reroute away from the Carousel Route of the Grand Sinulog Parade, and the riding passengers had to walk great distances from their drop off areas due to total road closures.
Sinulog Festival is an annual cultural and religious festival in Cebu City as a commemoration of the Cebuano's first acceptance of Christianity many years ago. Highlighted by the Grand Sinulog Parade and Street Dancing, many groups coming from different places in the country participated in the event. Thousands of devotees would always come to the festival wherever they may be in the whole world to fulfill their oath and allegiance. Some were also coming to pay their homage due to their special prayer request. Most prayers were about some illnesses occurring inside the family or marriages on the brink of breaking up.
Even until past midnight or early at dawn, the number of people in the streets would still not ebb down due to street parties or the earlier grand musical fireworks displays held by big establishments like the Cebu City Sports Complex, SM City and Ayala Center.
It was on this day that Issa got discharged from her hospital admission to one of the big hospitals located at the heart of Cebu City. She underwent removal of her left breast mass that required her to stay at the hospital for a few days. Due to transportation difficulty and the thick crowd, she and her husband, Leo, decided to leave the hospital early the next day.
While waiting for a taxi to take them to the North Bus Terminal, they sat down on a bench by the entrance of the hospital.
A few minutes after, Issa narrowed her eyes as she looked down at the boy lying asleep on the cemented plant guard beside the bench where they were seated.
"Leo, look at the boy! " She tugged down the sleeve of her husband, whose eyes were on the passing vehicles.
Leo turned his head and glanced at her and then shifted his eyes towards the boy.
"Issa, there are too many children lying down on the street sides. He is just one of the children of the beggars roaming around."
She shook her head to disagree, but Leo turned his head back towards the street.
"Look, Leo! His clothes are not shabby though its already dirty. Those may be from an expensive brand. And look at his shoes and socks! No beggar would wear a lovely pair of shoes and socks which would compliment his clothes! " Issa was already squatting beside him.
The boy must be three years old. His skin was very fair, and his cheeks were pinkish. His eye bags were swollen, obviously from crying. There were black smears on his face, which may be due to his dirty hands wiping his tears away. His appearance showed that he came from a well-off family. And as Issa looked at her closely, the boy wore a gold necklace.
The dawn of realization came to her. This child must be lost! Perhaps, his parents came over to watch the Sinulog Festival. The carousel route was not too far from where they were at the moment. And probably, he slipped away and got lost into the thick crowd.
"Leo, let's report this child first to the nearest police station. Perhaps, his parents are now so scared and worried sick for him," she said while looking up at him.
"We would miss the bus and the boat going to our place. Aside from that, our money is just enough for the bus and the taxi fare. It is not even enough to buy food for breakfast. I used the little amount left from the bill in buying your home medications," Leo explained as he was the one who processed and paid their hospital bill.
As soon as he finished explaining, a taxi pulled over and opened the window.
"North Bus Terminal," said Leo as he looked at the driver.
"Okay." He closed the window and went towards the back of the car to open up the trunk.
Leo picked up their travel bags hurriedly and placed it in the trunk. When he glanced at his wife over his shoulder to tell her supposedly to climb into the car ahead, he saw her instead, picking up the child into her arms. He was horrified! She was not allowed to lift heavy objects yet. He wanted to protest, afraid that they may be sued for kidnapping once the parents will find him. However, he was also scared that the child may not fell in good hands. What if a syndicate member will find him? What if a fellow beggar will pick him up? Or, if this child happened to be from a prominent family as he seemed to be, wouldn't he be traded for a ransom?
Having no time to argue or think about it, he picked up the child from his wife's arm while he assisted her in her seat. His nervousness and hesitance eased up a little when he saw the joy in his wife's expression. Perhaps, the joy that this child would give them may prolong her life's expectancy. He was too afraid that the mass in his wife's breast would be malignant. Too many women in their town died of breast cancer. Few of them were even his relatives. He couldn't forget what her doctor said on the day they decided to have the surgery.
"Decide now, while the mass still looks benign. Or else, it will be too late. However, we will confirm it once the biopsy result would be released."
So, it meant that her wife was not safe from cancer yet.
....
Kapitel 6: The Lost Child 2
After three hours of land travel, they finally arrived in a ferry terminal that would bring them to their hometown. Another three hours more on the sea and three hours by bus, they would finally reach their destination.
Issa did not feel any exhaustion and fatigue during the long hours of travel. She was too excited to go home with the boy that would soon call her 'nanay' because, at her forties, she never had a child of her own. They had been to different local midwives who got their title, not through their degrees in school, but through their innate gift and skills in making women conceive. They were also the ones who assisted in deliveries, especially to those who lived in far-flung barrios.
Fortunately, her husband did not leave her nor stained their marriage with infidelity despite her failure to give him a child. All their lives were spent on their farms and in raising poultries and livestock. And during weekends, they would go down to the market in town to sell their crops.
Though she and most of her siblings lived in the same province, they hardly saw each other because they lived in a mountainous barangay, too far away from the rest of them. They chose to live here after their marriage since the land where they settled was Leo's inheritance from his parents. He was an only child, so the ownership of all the land properties his parents accumulated was solely passed down to him.
Issa was only reunited with her family every time they gathered together during important family events like weddings and burials. Thus, when they introduced Ajie many years later to them as their son, no one doubted it. They also knew how much they wanted to have a child, and perhaps, this child was an answer to their long time supplication.
Once they reached home, Leo hurriedly prepared their meals, especially that the child was perhaps hungry already. He did not wake up during the travel, probably due to too much exhaustion in crying the night before.
"Issa, how come he was not noticed by the thick crowd when he started crying? I'm sure there were security forces dispatched throughout the parade routes," Leo finally voiced out one of the many questions in his mind.
"I'm also wondering about that. What shall we do now, Leo?" She gave him a glance while she took off the child's clothes and changed it into a new one.
Luckily, she saved the clothes she bought ahead during those many times she thought she was pregnant. She even washed it all and pressed it before they left for her surgery since she saw it being dusted on a baby's closet while cleaning it out. Fortunately, she bought big ones so that their child could still fit into them when he or she would grow up. Every time they went down to the town, she would always buy baby things and accessories. It even became her obsession as they had been into countless false pregnancy alarms. And she was amazed at the quantity of the clothes she had bought! It was as if she had prepared it ahead for Ajie.
"We will report it to our barangay captain so that he will pass on the news to the media."
Issac nodded sadly. She did not want the captain to take the child away from them, but how could she hold him back from his real family?
"How will we call him, Leo?" she asked while she racked her brain on what name she was going to give him.
"Let's ask the child. At his age, a child can already tell his name."
Just then, the child moved and opened his eyes. He looked around, and a sense of fear flickered in his eyes. He stared at both of them, and then he cried.
"Mommy! Daddy!"
Issa hurriedly picked him up and hugged him. His pitiful and sad cry ripped her heart apart that she also cried.
"Don't worry, son. Nanay and Tatay are here."
Leo suddenly got nervous, and he felt he must do something to make him stop crying but did not know what and how.
"Leo, the food! The child must be so hungry now," Issa yelled at him, who stood up stupefied in watching them.
"I see... " He then hurried up to the kitchen, and soon, he was back with a plate of rice, fried egg, and a bowl of soup.
Dancing to calm the child, she immediately let him look at the food Leo brought for him.
"Baby, are you hungry?"
The child wriggled in her arms and blurted something that made them happy.
"Ajie wants to eat. Ajie is hungry!"
Issa and Leo looked at each other, and they started laughing!
"He already knows how to talk, Leo!
And his name is Ajie," exclaimed Issa happily as she helped the child into their wooden dining table.
"Yes. I'll get some fruit on the farm. Perhaps, he likes to eat fruits."
Issa then turned to the child, "Baby, do you eat fruits?"
The child nodded after she fed him with a spoonful of rice and egg.
"What certain fruits do you like?" she asked again, rejoicing in the fact that the child answered her.
"Ajie eats a banana, apple, grapes, and strawberries!"
Issa was stunned! Where on earth would she get that?\in the city. Those were only available in the city.
She was sure of her speculation now. This child, indeed, came from a wealthy family because average people would seldom buy these fruits due to its high cost. And the fact that he addressed his parents as 'mommy' and 'daddy'. Local folks instead let their children call them "mama" and "papa".
The first few days were challenging for the couple. Their hearts broke many times every time the child's sobbing awakened them. He would usually cry when he was sleepy and would suddenly cry in the middle of his sleep. During the daytime, they could prevent him from crying since they would bring him to the farm and let him see the cows, carabaos, goats, and chickens. They also brought him to the creek, spring, and waterfalls while riding in a horse. But they could not spare him from his loneliness during the night. To avoid this, they would always make him tired in any activities so that he could have a long and undisturbed sleep.
Many years passed by then, and Ajie grew up as a brilliant, young boy who excelled in his class and in every competition he was joining. While the truth about his personality was not oblivious to him, Ajie had loved his foster parents as his own just as how the couple loved, cared, and accepted him as their real son.
After his high school graduation, Leo and Issa decided to sell some of their properties and deposited it in the bank under Ajie's name.
"Son, go to your uncle in Cebu and build your future there. The city can offer you better opportunities to be successful. Use the money wisely for your education."
Geschenke
-- Geschenk
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