Chapter 7

My knees were trembling as I walked down the hallway toward my children’s room. I didn’t know why I felt so nervous. Sweat began to form on my forehead as I tightened my grip on the plastic bags of food I was carrying. Halfway down the corridor, I stopped, took a deep breath, and shut my eyes tightly.

“Think positive, Cassandra. Nothing bad is going to happen today,” I told myself, forcing a smile before continuing toward the room.

When I reached the door, I took another deep breath before pushing it open. As I entered, I saw my daughter sitting on the bed while her older brother sat on a chair beside her, frowning and rubbing his cheek. My brow furrowed when I heard him mutter under his breath.

“I really hate that doctor of yours, Ursula,” he grumbled. I closed the door, catching both of their attention.

Zebediah’s eyes widened when he saw me, and he clapped his hands excitedly. Zephyr, however, still wore a scowl, his fingers gently rubbing his cheek. I walked over to them, set down the bags, and affectionately brushed Zebediah’s hair before kissing his forehead. He wrapped his arms around me tightly, making me smile.

“Nanay, Doc came here, and I hate what he did to me. Argh! It hurt,” Zephyr complained as I let go of Zebediah’s embrace. I sat beside Zebediah, combed his hair with my fingers, and looked at Zephyr.

“Huh? What hurt? What did he do to you?” I asked, frowning slightly. Zephyr pouted, crossed his arms, and leaned back on the chair.

“He pinched my cheek and messed up my hair. Who does he think he is, touching me like that? I really hate him. He also messed up Ursula’s hair, Nanay,” he said indignantly.

I sighed, massaging my temple. I knew my children well—they hated being touched by anyone, whether they knew the person or not. The only exceptions were me, Lory, and Aling Fe. So, his reaction didn’t surprise me at all.

“Let’s just eat, anak. Forget about Doc. Maybe he just thought you were too handsome, that’s why he pinched your cheek,” I teased, laughing a little. Zephyr only scowled deeper.

I focused on getting them to eat instead. I had Zephyr sit on the bed across from Zebediah while I took the chair. I fed Zebediah spoonfuls of food as he happily chatted despite his weakness.

In the middle of our meal, there was a sudden knock at the door.

“Come in!” I called out.

The door opened, and Zebediah’s doctor entered with a basket full of assorted fruits. I looked at him, puzzled, but he just smiled warmly.

“Hi! Uh, this is a peace offering. I know your son’s mad at me for what I did,” he said with a small laugh.

“Okay?” I replied absentmindedly, still caught off guard, watching as he walked over to the small table and placed the basket there.

He turned back to us, smiling again. His gaze landed on Zephyr, who was still pouting while eating, and he gave him an overly cheerful grin. Then he looked at Zebediah, who simply observed him in silence, while the doctor continued smiling like a fool. What’s wrong with him? I thought.

“Do you need anything else, Doc?” I asked, trying to snap him out of it. He quickly shook his head.

“Nothing. Alright, I’ll go ahead. Sorry for pinching your cheek and messing up your hair, young man,” he said before leaving the room.

“He’s weird, right, Nanay?” Zebediah asked suddenly, still staring at the closed door. I nodded in agreement—he was weird. But still, I was thankful; at least I didn’t have to buy fruits anymore.

“He’s not weird. He’s a crazy doctor,” Zephyr muttered.

Next morning...

“Zephyr, anak, go take a bath first,” I told my son, who was lying lazily on the sofa, staring blankly at the ceiling.

He immediately sat up and turned to me with a frown.

“I don’t want to,” he said. I widened my eyes at him in disbelief. Oh, for heaven’s sake! He scratched his head and sluggishly walked toward me like a wilted vegetable. He took the towel and clothes I handed him.

“Can I just take a bath later, Nanay? It’s too early, and I know the water is sooo cold. Please,” he pleaded, giving me his best puppy eyes.

“Fine, fine! But you better take a bath later, or you’re in big trouble. You stink already!” I scolded.

“I’m not mabaho, Nanay.”

“Okay, okay. Anyway, anak, watch over Zebe for a while. I’ll go check how much our hospital bill is,” I said. He nodded and sat beside Zebediah.

“Zeb, Nanay’s going out for a bit. Kuya Hades will look after you. I’ll be back soon, okay?” I said, smiling at him. He smiled back, which eased my heart.

Don’t worry, my child. Once you’re fully recovered, we’ll go back home to the province and eat all the vegetables you love. I really want to go home, too. Maybe... no, it’s impossible, right? Manila’s huge. There’s no way he’ll find out his children are here — not just one, but two.

I left them and headed out.

---

“What? Someone already paid? I haven’t paid the bill yet, nurse. Try checking again — maybe you misread the name,” I said in confusion as the nurse squinted at her monitor. She frowned, scratched her head, and looked back at me.

“It’s true, Ma’am. Your son’s full name is Zebediah Ursula Evangelista, right? See here? It’s marked PAID.” She pointed to the screen, showing me the record.

She was right. It said “PAID” in big, bold letters.

Who could’ve paid for it? I didn’t have any relatives here in Manila.

I didn’t argue anymore. I just took the receipt she handed me and walked back toward my children’s room. The word PAID stood out so clearly on the paper. My eyes widened when I saw the amount.

“₱15,000? That much?” I ran my fingers through my hair, sighing. Where on earth would I get that kind of money? But who could’ve paid for it? My goodness...

I hurried back, but stopped dead in my tracks when I saw four men in black suits standing in front of my children’s room like guards. My mouth fell open.

Who are they? Why are they here?

Then I spotted Zephyr — kicking their legs.

“Hey! Get off! Go away! Who are you, aliens? Why are you here, huh? Go back to your spaceship! Why won’t you move? Are you robots? Argh! Aliens or robots, I don’t care who you are — just get lost! Hey! This is my sister’s room! Get off! Get off!” he shouted in frustration. The four men just smiled slightly, glancing at my son who looked like he was ready to fight the world.

“Zephyr!” I called out. He froze mid-kick and turned to me, eyes wide. He immediately straightened up like he hadn’t done anything wrong.

I frowned, and he quickly looked away.

“Nanay, don’t look at me like that! I was just being a hero! They look like bad guys, Nanay. They suddenly appeared out of nowhere! They look like bodyguards. What are they even doing here?” he said, glaring at the men, who were still standing like statues.

I pulled him close to me and raised an eyebrow at the four men.

“Who are you? What are you doing here? Why are you standing outside my children’s room?” I asked one after another, but none of them answered. They stood there silently, as if they were deaf and mute.

“I think they’re robots, Nanay. Look! They don’t even move,” Zephyr muttered irritably. I sighed, rubbing my forehead.

“They’re not robots, anak. They’re called men in black.”

“Nyeh, nyeh, nyeh! They’re still aliens to me,” he muttered. First robots, now aliens? I decided to just ignore him.

“So? Are you going to answer me or not? Come on, speak up! You’re starting to annoy me. Move aside, will you? We need to get in,” I said firmly, holding Zephyr’s hand. Just as we were about to enter, one of them finally spoke.

“We were ordered, Ma’am. Boss told us to guard this room. Please don’t be upset,” one of them said, eyes fixed on the door.

I blinked in surprise.

“Huh? You must be mistaken. We’re not rich, and I don’t even know your boss,” I replied.

“Still, that’s the truth, Ma’am.”

“Then why are you guarding us specifically?”

“That’s confidential, Ma’am. We’re just following orders. And we’re not mistaken — Boss said Room 143, a mother with two children.”

“Well, yes, this is Room 143, but that doesn’t mean it’s automatically us. There could be someone else.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah! Nanay’s right,” Zephyr chimed in, nodding in agreement. One of the men scratched his head.

“Ah, we’re just following orders, Ma’am. We’ll stay here,” he said finally, giving up on explaining.

I sighed and shrugged, though uneasiness still gnawed at me.

Who’s their boss? This was getting strange.

Zephyr and I went inside. Zebediah was sitting on the bed, playing with her doll. Zephyr let go of my hand and ran to the mini table.

He grabbed two tumblers and walked toward me, holding them out with his eyebrows raised.

“Oh? What is it?” I asked curiously.

“Coins, Nanay. Coins. We’re out of water,” he said, shaking the tumblers.

“You’ll be the one to refill them?”

“Yap, yap! So c’mon, Nanay. I’m thirsty already,” he said, pouting. I hesitated.

What if he got lost? This hospital was huge. I sighed and reached into my pocket for some coins.

“Here. Are you sure, Zep? You might get lost. Maybe I should go instead,” I said worriedly. He shook his head and showed me his small fist holding six pesos.

“No, Nanay. I can handle myself. Don’t worry, okay? Just wait for me here, Nanay. Bye,” he said, waving as he left.

I watched the door until he disappeared. Then I turned back to Zebediah.

“Hi, Nanay! Don’t worry about Kuya Hades. He’s a big boy now. Come play Barbie dolls with me!” Zebediah said cheerfully. I smiled and went to join her.

But hours passed, and Zephyr still hadn’t returned. My chest tightened with worry. What if something happened to him? What if he got lost in this massive hospital?

I never should’ve let him go alone.