The Answer

JIEGO

Good day, Mr. Santiago. I have already completed the test as per your request. Please come to the hospital to get your results in person. A representative will not be entertained. Thank you.

The email that I dread to receive just found its way to my inbox. After reading the words, my primary instinct was to come right away… despite the pounding on my chest.

“excuse me, Shee, can you cover me for an hour? I have an emergency.” – I said, taking off the silly cap I was wearing and jogged out of the store just in time when Sheila said, “again?!”

Yes, again. but this time is more crucial than yesterday. They already have the results! The answer was already on a piece of paper. I flagged a cab and directed it to the address of the hospital. The driver was singing along to the song on the radio, and it didn’t help with my anxiety.

“can you turn it down a little, sir?” – I asked politely

“oh.” – and he did.

Then I learned the silence was way worse. I couldn’t help but think about it. I know a large part of me knows the results would be negative and I would go back to my 8 am to 5pm daily job at a convenience store, earning a little less than enough. Nothing will change except the fact that I’ll have something to name as the weirdest experience of my life: taking a DNA test with a dead person’s hair. Maybe years from now, I would still smile when I remember it, but then everything would be the same: stale and ordinary.

Now, what if the answer will be yes?

I imagined what it would be like. How drastic would it be. If one day I found out I was actually someone else’s son, with a fat bank account to last me the rest of my life, that would be a huge plot twist. It would be great, of course, but also close to impossible.

“we’re here, sir.”

It sounded like a wakeup call and I gave the man the exact amount for the fare. I opened the car door and walked towards the main entrance of the hospital, my head rummaging with questions and possibilities. A nurse past by and redirected me to the doctor’s office when I asked. As I walked going there, my feet felt heavy like rocks. I was only a minute away from the answer.

I knocked and a voice inside said, “come in.” I did, slowly opening the door. He was writing something on a memo pad when I entered and sat down on the same chair I occupied last time. The doctor has a different expression this time. He looked… confused. His eyes looked at my convenience store uniform.

“I have your results right here, Sir.”

The doctor got something from his bottom drawer. I was shifting on my seat. Until I read the results, I know my heartbeat won’t go any slower.

“can I… can I open it here, doc?”

“sure. I already saw it anyway.”

I gulped. I held the folder with my right hand. In a slow manner, I opened it. The words DNA Results were written in huge, black bold letters at the center area of the paper. And then I saw my name as one of the parties, and Mr. Daniel Sy’s. I took a deep breath to scan the document, sentence by sentence, phrase by phrase, word by word, making sure I have nothing to miss.

And then I saw it.

It came out to be POSITIVE.

What?

“congratulations, sir.” – the doctor said. I had no idea what was he implying by that.

I looked at him with a shocked expression.

“wait… you really had no idea?”

I shook my head. it’s like my whole mental faculties stopped working upon seeing that word. I knew there was a thin possibility, but I didn’t count on it to happen. Now what?

“doc, I… I have to go. Can you please not mention this to anyone?”

“sure, sir. This is a confidential matter.”

“thanks.”

I closed the folder again and stood up to leave the office. As soon I stepped out, I just knew where to go next. Good thing I kept his business card.

I dialed Atty. Sumayo’s number and waited until it rang. It did, but I had to redial because the line was busy. Of course, he’s a lawyer, he has a lot of things on his plate.

“finally, you called.”

“I have the results.”

I heard a rustle of papers on the other line, coupled with background noises of people talking. Was he in a hearing or something?

“what did you say?”

“I have the DNA results.” – I repeated

“so you know?”

I sighed. How was he so certain about my own filiation when even I had no clue?

“yes. And I have a lot of questions.”

“expectedly… look, Jiego.. or should I start calling you Mr. Sy now. I’m in a middle of something right now. can we talk about this later? Let’s meet somewhere.”

I nodded and then realized how stupid that response to a phone call was.

“okay. thank you, attorney.”

“glad to help. I’ll text you the address of the place.”

And then the call ended. With it, everything also came into perspective. I realized that nothing would be as it was before now. I had lived my life as Jiego Santiago. How would I live now knowing that it was all a lie and that all this time, I should be called Jiego Sy? Even that name sounded too strange and foreign in my head.

I came back to the convenience store and pretended like nothing bizarre happened. This is huge, and with its gigantic size, I also learned to question what I knew. All this time, were my parents hiding something from me? There’s only one way to find out about it. looks like I have to pay my old pals a visit this coming weekend. To clarify everything. To know why.

“what happened this time?” – Sheila asked

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“something bad, huh?”

“maybe.”

But I know it wasn’t just bad… it was worse than that.