DANIEL closed his eyes and tried to think of the place that they were about to visit. There was nothing to worry about. Their flight would be safe and besides, it was only about an hour and they would reach Manila. He knew that he shouldn't need to panic but he couldn't avoid getting nervous the moment he stepped on the airport.
Jasmin wrapped her arms around Daniel's body. She murmured something in his ear and said a lot of things but all that he understood was that he didn't need to worry. Maybe she knew what was lingering in his mind.
He finally opened his eyes when he felt that the plane was running smoothly.
"Honey, relax. We need to do this once and for all. We can not stay in Davao forever."
He turned to Jasmin and took a deep breath before he replied. "I know...I'm sorry, honey. It's just that—"
"I perfectly understand. You don't need to explain but I need you to trust me. We'll be staying in Manila for a good reason. Just imagine the cute little angel that we're going to bring home when we get back to Davao, okay."
Daniel nodded. He couldn't say anything because the truth was that he was really not okay. He felt like there was an earthquake. He wanted to divert his attention by talking to his wife but every pulse in her body palpitates. His heart was pounding very fast as if it would escape his chest any moment. Then, all of a sudden, the plane seemed to dip. Some people screamed in panic. Some of the old passengers started to pray. Then, there was an announcement that they need to stay seated and should secure that their seat belts were all fastened.
The plane took another dip. Daniel's eyes widened; he couldn't help but grab Jasmin's arm. One stewardess approached them and checked their seatbelts.
"W-what's going on?" he asked nervously.
The woman in her flight attendant uniform smiled at him. "There's nothing to worry about, Sir. It was just a little turbulence."
Daniel adjusted himself to the seat but a terrifying scene just suddenly flashed in his mind. It was like a nightmare. He could clearly see himself while looking for any exit inside the plane. He startled when the airmasks from the ceiling of the plane suddenly fell in front of the passengers. Almost everyone was crying, screaming for help. Then he felt a sudden drop which shook the whole plane, throwing the passengers out of their seats including him.
Daniel shivered in fear and sweat immediately dripped down his forehead. He knew he couldn't die yet. Not at this point because someone was waiting for him. He tried to think the face of the person he repeatedly called in the midst of the tragedy but he failed to remember it.
"Honey, don't panic...it's just turbulence, okay."
Jasmin was calmly looking at him and that helped him to get back to his senses, fondly wiped the sweat off his forehead while looking around the airplane. There was not a single sign that they were in danger. He was just hallucinating. Some passengers were sleeping peacefully while others were having their own activities to have a comfortable trip. Only then did his breathing returned to normal.
"Honey, look at me. Are you okay?"
He nodded softly at her. "It's just that…I have... I remembered something again," he said confusedly.
"What was that? What did you remember?"
He quickly turned to Jasmin when he hinted something in her voice, but she immediately smiled at him.
"Well, that's good news!" she exclaimed. "Are you sure you really remembered something? Come on, tell me what it is."
He shook slowly. "Blurry. Everything was blurry."
"Take it easy, honey. You will remember everything in the right time."
"Yeah, you're right. But I just need to ask something; where were you during the time of the accident, Jasmin?"
He looked straight to her eyes but she avoided his stare. Then she gently tapped the back of his hand.
"Honey, please. I'd like to forget that day as much as possible. That accident brought me sleepless nights and trauma if you must know. But don't worry because everything will soon get back to normal; I assure you. Don't rush things, okay?"
Jasmin finished the discussion just like that. She didn't answer his question once again. But she might be right. Some things in the past shouldn't be remembered to avoid getting hurt once more. Who would want to go back to the past that almost took his life?
But then again, it could be different when it came to him. If everything was a stage play, Jasmin was just a viewer while he was the one acting on the stage. He was the main character of the story that needed to understand every detail of the script so he could have a better portrayal of his role. Because that was his past and everything that happened was already part of him.
He took a deep breath and then closed his eyes once again.
UNTIL now, Bernadette still couldn't believe what she just heard from Roxanne. Well, she just told her that she knew some people who get what they want at all costs.
Is there really a woman who would be willing to spend a huge amount of money for a baby? And another woman who would accept that money in exchange of nine months pregnancy? Seriously?
Bernadette was really shocked for a moment. She really couldn't believe what Roxanne had just told her. They actually came from work and her friend invited her for a walk. She said she had to tell her something that could help her situation now that she needed money for Andrew's operations.
"Unbelievable, but that's true, my friend. Even I, myself couldn't believe it, at first. I thought, these things can only happen in movies," said Roxanne who was sitting beside her on a park bench.
There are really some people who would do whatever it takes to get what they wanted in life. Maybe, those people were just like her who was left without any choice. Or maybe, they were also mothers who have sick children like her.
"Wait," she turned to Roxanne, "you are telling this to help me? You mean--?"
"Honestly, I don't want you to know about this, Berna. I just can't stand seeing you suffer like this. God knows how much I wanted to help but I only know one complicated, but still a possible solution.
She took a deep bearth before she continued. "Andrew's life is in danger. He has to undergo two operations; otherwise…" She stopped in mid-sentence, looked up and tried to avoid the tears from falling down her cheeks. She felt Roxanne's hand on hers.
"There might be reasons why all these things are happening, Berna. I hate to give you this option, but I will let you be the one to decide."
Then Roxanne told her everything about this secret of her life. It was actually her cousin, who was involved in the said group. The group's primary mission was to help those women who wanted to bear children but didn't have the ability to do so. The secondary mission was to help those women who are in need of huge amount of money in exchange of an agreement for surrogacy or even more than that. But there were procedures and protocols to be done before a certain deal is sealed and that is Roxanne's part in the group. She's the one who checks the health and mental condition of the applicants, conduct some background checks and most importantly, evaluate their reasons for considering such a different kind of deal.
Tears welled up in Bernadette's eyes. These things won't happen to them if Leandro was with them. They would never suffer this way. She'd never feel this kind of pain and most of all, Andrew's life won't be in danger.
She believed her son got his condition when she was still inside of her. She suffered from too much pain and sadness when Leandro didn't come back to fulfill his promise to her and to their child. The thought that he left her for another woman then was too painful that she almost wanted to die. That incident broke her into pieces and perhaps, if not for the help of her close friends, she would have given up completely. Not to mention that his mother would still be alive if it were not for what happened.
She could still remember how she'd use to cry in the middle of the night when Andrew was asleep. But she regretted that she became coward and weak then. If she could only turn back the hands of time, she'd take care of her pregnancy. She loved her son dearly and he was all that matters to her now. Andrew was her life and she couldn't bear if something bad happens to him.
And now, she needed a huge amount of money for Andrew's two consecutive heart surgeries. Where would she get the money? Her remaining salary after loan deductions was just enough for their basic needs.
But she couldn't just afford to see her child while suffering from his sickness. She had to do something. If that means doing the most impossible thing in the world, who was she to protest? As a mother she was the first responsible for her child. If she had to give her own life to him, she'd willingly do it.
"Surrogate mother? Are you serious, Roxanne?" she unbelievably asked.
"Yes but you don't need to do it if you don't want to."
"Is that even true? It's really unbelievable!"
"I know but I was the one they asked for help. I have kept that thing a secret for a long time because even my mouth was paid by Ms. Janice then." She was referring to one of the company's bosses. As far as she could remember, their boss went to America after announcing that she was pregnant. She only came back after a year and a half, carrying her child who was already a few months then.
"I still can't believe it, Roxanne."
"Ms. Janice said she had a problem with her uterus so they just hired a surrogate mother so she could carry their baby for nine months."
"I've heard similar stories like that before but I don't know anyone who has personal experience about it."
"Wait until you hear another secret, Berna. What if you find out that their youngest child is not really Ma'am Gonzales' child?"
Bernadette didn't need to ask questions because Roxanne quickly continued. "The Gonzales couple hired a babymaker, my friend. They wanted a baby boy but because of Mrs. Gonzales' health problem, even surrogacy was no longer possible. Then they've decided to approach my cousin."
"Was their babymaker your cousin?"
"Nope. She's actually the owner of the secret agency for these kinds of cases. It is not legal but it is not directly banned so her office is still open for operations."
"Oh my God! I can understand surrogacy but hiring a babymaker is absurd!"
She was shaken by that news. She was hoping to find another solution to her problem but if there was really no choice, maybe she'd have to think about surrogacy. She accidentally caressed her womb while thinking about the said proposal.