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."