Sober

Chapter 29

“Mommy?” Aya asked upon hearing the hello from the other line. Her hands shook in anticipation. Her heart pounded in nervousness. But to her dismay, she no longer heard another response after that. “Hello… Mommy?” she called again.

“Hoy, anyare?” Hannah asked. They both checked the phone’s screen only to find it black. Aya tried opening it but it wouldn’t. Dead battery. “Fuck, fuck, fuck! Just what the fuck!?” Hannah exclaimed in irritation and embarrassment when she realized so. She immediately reached for her charger and plugged her phone on an available outlet.

“Shit, shit!  I am very sorry, Aya! Damnit! I should’ve charged it first!”

While Aya only remained staring at the blank space, without wearing any emotion, as she was still processing everything that just happened. That voice. She cannot be wrong in recognizing that voice who used to sing her to sleep. It was her. It was her Mom on the other line just a few seconds ago, “Hannah... it’s my Mom. I heard her voice… it’s her. I-I’ve talked to Mom.” she said as if it has just sank in to her. It just really did.

“I know, I know… here, my phone’s alive na. Let’s call her again.” Hannah said after connecting her phone to the internet again. Aya sat beside her and they tried calling Lea Veneracion again, but she is no longer answering. They checked the profile and saw that she’s active 2 minutes ago. “Fucking shit!” Hannah cussed herself and her phone for she feels so bad and responsible for this. Aya has been waiting for this for so long but it was cut short because of her stupid dead battery phone. She wanted to cry and knelt before her friend to say sorry. “Aya, I am very very sorry… this is all on me. God, bakit kasi ngayon pa!?”

“Hannah… Hannah, it’s fine. I am not angry at you because you’ve done enough for me. Just being here with me is more than enough. Hannah, I am just very happy right now because we already found her. It was her and we can just call her again anytime. I found her and that wouldn’t be possible without you.” she was teary-eyed that made Hannah emotional as well. She can clearly see how happy her friend is. “It’s Mom… It’s my Mom.”

_______

Lea stared at her phone’s screen with a frown when the call she made just ended shortly. She convinced herself so hard to make that call after receiving the sender’s message introducing herself as her daughter just to get hung up on? She isn’t happy for she feels like she was just being played on— pranked on. She misses Aya so much and those messages actually gave her hope about it. She thought that was already her daughter she’s talking to only to feel terribly disappointed by it for the nth time.

“Damn you!” she said and went to message settings.

Block.

“Lea?” she looked behind her just to see Ian getting up from his deep slumber. “Why aren’t you asleep yet? Anong oras na ba?” he asked.

She turned off her phone and put it on her nightstand before lying beside her husband. “I just did something. You remember that anonymous person who messaged me asking about Aya?” she asked to which Ian gave a nod to. “I replied to her and asked who she is. She replied and she said she’s Shaniah Allison Muhlach. Allegedly. I didn’t want to believe at first, but I eventuality convinced myself to try calling her. And I did. I called the account handler.”

“Really? Did someone answer? Was it really Aya?”

“Someone accepted the call but no one from the other line talked. It ended very shortly which made me think that that person is just fooling around. That person is just tripping on me and she— or he may rot in hell for doing so. I am so pisssed!”

“Ang judgmental mo naman. Malay mo naman na-lowbatt lang kaya naputol. O kaya nawalan ng internet connection. Give it a benefit of a doubt.”

“Lame excuses. I won’t accept that. If she is really my daughter who’s determined to look for me, those excuses should not even be there.” she said and sighed heavily— feeling exhausted and dissapointed— feeling exhausted for being so disappointed for so many times. “In the first place, I should have not believed it’s Aya. I mean, it’s very obvious that it’s not my daughter. It’s just someone who took advantage of my vulnerability and I hate the fact that I let her. I let her play with my weakness.”