Chapter 36

The Blind

"What the fuck?!" Lan and Spaise blurted out after hearing Hack's unprecedented announcement. "At kelan ka pa nagkaroon ng babae?! Paano ka nagkaanak eh puro simulation games lang ang alam mo!" ani Spaise habang nanlaki ang mga mata.

"Yung totoo, man," Lan said in confusion. "Bumili ka lang ng egg cell ano tapos nagpa-in-vitro fertilization ka?"

Sabay-sabay kaming napanganga nang hindi lamang umimik si Hack at naupo sa kabilang upuan na nasa gilid ng bata.

I noticed that Avicii's phone was finally out. He's probably checking if it's all a joke.

"You hid it good, Hack. Wala akong mahanap," anito at sinilid na ulit sa bulsa ang phone. Nawala ang pagkabagot sa mukha nito at nagtanong. "Who's her mother? Why are you hiding it?"

"Ah!" Lan exclaimed. "Kabit ka ano, pre?"

"Ulol!"

"Baka ninakaw niya 'tong bata," ani Spaise habang masamang tinitingnan si Hack. "Kidnapper ka na pala?"

"Gago." Lumakas ang boses nito sa pagsagot at sinimangutan kami. "Ganyan na ba kaimposibleng magkakaanak ako?"

"Yes," we all said in unison. "Pero kaya pala pawala-wala ka nitong mga nakaraang taon-"

Lan cut off Spaise and said, "Lagi ka namang wala, man pero mas dumami ang disappearances mo nitong mga nakaraang taon."

"We thought you were having some shady business overseas," Avicii mumbled.

"Shady business?!"

"All of you shut up! Are you slandering my father?"

Pare-pareho kaming natigilan at napatitig sa anak ni Hack na ngayo'y nakasimangot. Nakataas-noo pa rin ito habang nakakrus ang mga maliliit na braso.

"How do you know the word "slander"?" Lan spat in surprise. Well, it is shocking to know that the little girl has a great vocabulary other than her curses. "How old are you really?"

"I'm not stupid." Kumunot ang noo ko sa tono nito. "I'm already 5 years old."

F-Five years old?

"I've never seen such a rude five-year old," Avicii said with a grimace. "But you can still learn to be well...kinder." Bumaling siya kay Hack at nagsalita ulit. "No offense, man but she's really so disrespectful. Kanino ba 'to nagmana?"

Alanganing natawa si Hack at napahampas-hampas pa sa mesa. Kami naman ay naweirduhan sa inaakto nito. He had this awkward atmosphere ever since he sat with us.

What's up with him?

Nang mahimasmasan na ito sa pagtawa, napangiwi ito.

"Totoong na-spoil namin siya nang sobra kaya heto at kakaiba mag-isip kaysa ibang mga bata," paliwanag nito at napakamot sa batok. "She was homeschooled so far. She didn't have any friends so her social life is bound to games, the internet, and television." Then he coughed and looked at his daughter. "Princess, won't you go to our room? It's already time for your favorite show. The employees can accompany you there."

"But I haven't eaten yet, Papa Hack!" she muttered and looked at me. "I wanna talk with Sir Quentin too!"

My chest warmed from that so I gave her a smile.

"S-Sir Quentin?" Nanlaki ang mga mata ni Hack at napailing-iling. "No, no. We'll be in deep-"he paused and grumbled. "I'll send your breakfast there. I have to talk with my friends first."

"But Papa-" She flailed her arms to try to reason out but was stopped by Hack's stern eyes.

"No buts."

Her shoulders drooped and it looked as if she became smaller on her seat. Akala ko iiyak ito pero isang simangot ang umusbong sa kanyang maliit na mukha.

"You're such a bloody asshole, Papa Hack," bulong nito.

What the- Pfft-hahahaha!

Lahat kami ay humalakhak maliban kay Hack na tila hindi makapaniwala sa narinig.

"Oh, man! Your daughter is killing me!" eksaheradong ani Lan habang kinakapos na ng hininga kakatawa. He slapped his knee and laughed like there's no tomorrow. "A bloody asshole? Bahahahahaha!"

"Now you're getting the fruit of your great parenting," Avicii said while snickering behind his hand but after a few seconds, he couldn't control his laughter. "Fuck. Hahahahaha!"

Si Spaise ay napapamura na lang sa kakatawa dahil siya rin ay hindi na kinayang makita ang namumulang mukha ni Hack.

"Why are you laughing? I call Papa Hack an asshole all the time."

"Shit."

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

~

"Criminal Minds really?" I asked as I watched how the little Princess is now intently watching her favorite show. Tiningnan ko si Hack na nakangisi sa akin. "Tell me man. Do you want your daughter to be a criminal?"

"Your taste is cool," rinig kong sabi ni Avicii matapos maupo sa tabi ng bata sa harapan ng TV. It seemed like he quite liked talking with the child. Nawawala ang pagkabagot sa mukha nito sa tuwing bubuka ang bibig ng bata.

Does this guy want a child too?

"Ano pa bang magagawa ko? Eh 'yan ang paborito niya?" I rolled my eyes at Hack's poor excuse. "Okay fine. She's into gore and some other violent shit but she still likes Princesses and rainbows. And she doesn't go that far, you know. Just some pellet guns-"

"P-Pellet guns?!" Para akong nabingi sa sinabi nito. "Did I hear that right? Pellet guns?"

"Calm down, man. They're just pellet gu-"

"And I assume she didn't shoot you?" I asked in sarcasm. Hack groaned and bit his lips. Just as I suspected, this guy has taught the little child to shoot like a real gun.

He's really done it.

Hack, even when he likes playing games so much, has been a Champion of numerous shooting competitions. If he didn't mention a gun, I would've forgotten about this important fact.

"Oh, I'm a really good shooter!" Her sweet voice rang with pride and enthusiasm while she stood in front of my friends as if saying they should worship her. Her animated actions looked like she's shooting something which made Avicii and the now gaping Spaise freeze like statues. "Bang! Go die, bloody gits!"

Tatawa-tawa lang si Hack dahil doon.

I can't believe he's so happy watching his daughter act like that. Well, I admit she looks cute and sounds cute but the words from her mouth are rather menacing for a child.

"Encore! Encore!" Lan who now sat as the third idiot in front of her cheered like a madman. "Oh girl! I like your fighting spirit! You really remind me of someone!" Then he paused. "Why are you still wearing your glasses, by the way?"

"Oh! Papa Hack told me Filipinos have sore eyes because of the weather here." We all weirdly looked at Hack who's currently giving us a stiff smile. "Come to think of it, they don't have red eyes, Papa."

"What kind of bullshit is that reason, man? Why are you making a Princess wear this pair of sunglasses?" angil ni Spaise. Kani-kanina lang ay tinawag nitong tiyanak ang anak ni Hack pero naging "knight" na rin yata ito ng bata. We all fell for her charms, apparently.

Hack fidgeted with his own fingers. Kita ko kung paano siya nagsimulang pagpawisan. Nagtaka naman ako roon dahil malamig naman ang unit dahil sa air-con.

"Ah! She's s-sensitive to light!" sabi niya, klarong nagsisinungaling dahil sa nanginginig na boses.

"No, I'm not," she said with a slight frown. "You're lying, Papa Hack."

"Eh basta! Ayoko siyang ma-expose sa araw dito!"

"Dude, we have the same Sun."

"And we're inside a hotel room."

Hack clicked his tongue.

"Pakialam niyo ba? Anak niyo? Anak niyo?" We were dumbfounded by his embarrassing words. He then cleared his throat as if he practiced it a million times before. "Anyways, don't ever take her glasses-"

"You're not the boss of me, Papa Hack. How dare you lie?!" Tumili ang bata habang nakakuyom ang magkabilang kamay. "Is it because of my eyes? Is it because it doesn't go well with my black hair? Sir Quentin's eyes looked well with his blonde hair. Is that why?"

Bakit nasali ang pangalan ko sa usapan?

"Her eyes?" I asked in confusion. We all looked at Hack. "And why did she say something about my eyes?"

"Papa Hack once said I look like Medusa!" Pumiyok ang kanyang maliit na boses. "But they're your friends, Papa Hack and they're kind too me. I'm not shy around them."

"Shit." Nahilot ni Hack and sintindo. "I'm so fucked right now." Isang mahabang katahimikan ang bumalot sa paligid bago nahilamos niya ang mukha niya sa kanyang mga kamay. "Fine. Let them see."

Bumaling naman kami sa anak nito na dahan-dahang inalis ang suot na sunglasses. We all saw her arched brows and long lashes. Then she slowly opened her eyes and looked straight at me.

I froze.

Bright brown like mine.

Another minute was left in silence until Lan decided to break it.

"Holy shit! You look like Wynfrost and Quentin's child!" he screamed after being petrified for a while. "Huwag mong sabihin na pinaglihian sila ng asawa mo, man?!"

"What's the meaning of this?" Avicii glared at Hack. "Is she who I think she is?!"

"Wow. She looks so much like both of them. What the hell?!" ani Spaise habang hindi makapaniwala sa nakikita. "Her black hair reminds me of Q's sister but her face is so much like the Frost girl."

"Hey, why are you mentioning MY wife, huh?" Lan mumbled irritably.

"Paki mo?" angil ni Spaise pabalik.

Hindi ko na sila pinansin at nanatili akong nakatulala sa mga mata ng bata.

Is she really-

My head went dizzy just by thinking about it.

Is she really?

"Nagnakaw ka ng sperm ni Q, Hack?" Lan said with a strange voice. "Binili mo ang egg cell ni Wynfrost?"

"What are you all talking about?" tanong ng bata habang magkasalubong ang mga kilay. Now that I can see her face, I found myself dreading of a day so many men would vie for her attention.

"She's so pretty," I unconsciously mumbled.

The little girl blushed but she tried to keep her cool.

"W-Well, I know that." I trembled when I saw how her bright brown eyes lit up in front of me. "Thank you."

"Wow. Bakit nag-thank you ka kay Q?" Lan chuckled. "Fucking hell. Hack, klaro namang biased ito kay Q."

"What's your name?" I repeated my question a while ago, hoping for her to answer me this time.

She blinked, looking quite confused but still replied.

"Uquia."

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

Memories of the time Wynfrost asked me about children names went inside my mind. Gusto kong sapakin ang sarili ko dahil hindi ko man lang napansin na seryoso pala ang kanyang tanong noon.

I'm damn frustrating as hell.

I can't believe she gave our daughter a name I picked. She told me my options were weird.

My heart thumped in my chest as I tried to imagine her crying happily as she first held our daughter in her arms.

I need to see her. Fuck. It's been so long. I badly want to kiss Wynfrost right now.

I grunted at the thought. I'll probably turn into a deprived beast once I see her.

Maraming tanong ang pumasok sa isip ko habang tinitingnan ang batang babaeng nakataas na ang kilay ngayon. A hint of arrogance spread on her bright brown eyes as she stared at me.

"Your name sounds cool," I muttered with a smile. Umismid lang ito pero nakita ko namang tumaas ang sulok ng kanyang labi.

Uquia... I didn't even know how I came to create that name. I'm sure I just thought of putting a 'q' and some vowels. I thought that many people would have a hard time over my child's name.

Nahiya ako para sa sarili ko bigla. Some parents wanted names with beautiful meanings and I only invented something with a strange requirement.

"Ang weird yata ng choice of name mo, Hack," komento ni Lan, ngayo'y nakangisi na parang baliw. "Parang si Q ang pumili ah."

Hack cursed under his breath.

My head snapped to look at my friend who I trusted for so long. Namutla ito sa malamig na tinging pinukol ko sa kanya. Nagtagis ang bagang ko habang iniisip ang kanyang nagawa sa akin nitong mga nakaraang taon. But out of my trust for him, I talked to him in a calm voice.

"Explain."