TALA
Nervous, curious, and a little leery, Tala agreed to meet with Noli a few days following the funeral. His office was in River North, a small suite in an industrious building down Ontario Street, a short ride from her condo. It wasn't anything lavish, his office, in fact it was an unassuming space where he and a receptionist occupied half of the floor, sharing the other half with another tenant.
The receptionist, a lady who couldn't have been more than twenty, sat behind the suite's front desk, unaware that anyone had entered. Without any effort, she exuded…eagerness? Happiness? Tala couldn't quite place the right word. She was dressed in a bright orange, long-sleeved dress with a large accent bow, and Tala couldn't help but smile. It wasn't often she comes across anyone in the city wearing such a loud outfit.
Tala stood in front of her for a moment, hoping to catch her attention but when it was obvious that she had absolutely no clue, Tala cleared her throat.
The receptionist looked up, surprised to see her, "Oh! Hello, good morning, how can I help you?"
Tala smiled, "Hi, good morning. I'm here to meet with Mr. Aguinaldo, our meeting is at ten-thirty."
"Oh yes, are you Ms. Tamara Meyers?"
Tala paused for a moment, unsure if she heard what she said correctly. "Uh, Tala Meyers?"
The receptionist looked at her monitor again and let out a laugh that scared Tala a bit, "Oh my gosh, sorry – yes, Tala Meyers. I'll be right back, I'll let Noli know you're here."
She wasn't gone for long; she came right back to take Tala to Noli's office, "Noli is just on a phone call. You can sit here until he gets back, it shouldn't be long."
"Okay, thank you so much…I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."
"I'm Eleri!" she gave Tala a big smile and left the room.
I've never met anyone so happy, Tala thought, sitting on a chair facing Noli's desk.
She was still thinking about Eleri and her bright orange outfit when Noli came into the office, "So sorry Ms. Tala, here – I have, uh, kape."
Tala knew not a lick of Tagalog, but as the language shares a handful of Spanish words, "coffee" was easy enough to understand.
"Thank you," she smiled, taking the coffee, "and please call me Tala."
Noli laughed, "Ah, it's a habit Ms. Tala — it feels more respectful if I address you like this."
"We can't be that far apart in age." Tala said, taking a sip of the coffee.
"Oh, I am much older than you, Ms. Tala," Noli nodded, "more or less fifteen."
She almost spit out hers, "Sorry? You're fifteen years older?"
He was really laughing then.
"Oh shit. I would not have guessed you're anywhere in your forties."
Still chuckling, he started to take some paperwork out, "Ah, Ms. Tala – don't worry, with your genes, you'll never grow old."
There was something in his tone that Tala didn't quite catch.
"I don't know, my dad…he was still young but he for sure didn't age well."
Noli simply smiled, nodding. He then took out a folder and began to announce the inheritance.
"Well, Ms. Tala Meyers, I am Noli Aguinaldo. I am the named executor to your parents' will and I will now announce the details of the inheritance," he cleared his throat and continued, "On behalf of Theo Meyers — regarding the two-story single-family home, including all of the property's contents, in Grayslake, Illinois. Regarding a sum amount of two million, five hundred thousand dollars. Sole beneficiary is Ms. Talmia Maria Meyers. On behalf of Armia Lamiking—"
Tala's eyes widened at the sound of her mother's name. It suddenly occurred to her that she hadn't been told what her name was until then. Armia Lamiking.
"—regarding the five-acre land in Los Baños, Laguna as well as vehicles on the property, furniture, and other property structures. Regarding a sum amount of three hundred million philippine pesos. Sole beneficiary is Ms. Talmia Maria Meyers." Noli stopped reading and looked to Tala, who he found in either utter disbelief or complete shock. Perhaps both.
"Ms. Tala, any questions for me?"
Tala stayed quiet for a moment, "I can't believe my mom left me money – how much is that in US dollars?"
"Today, just under five and a half million dollars."
"Oh god. And the property – I can't believe she hid all of that,"
Noli cleared his throat, "Actually ma'am, the property was supposed to be your father's suc gift to you this year. That is why I asked about your birthday."
"Oh." Tala slowly shook her head, "Uh, I didn't know."
They began discussing Tala's next steps following the inheritance. Noli recommended to fly out to the Philippines to see the land itself and to handle paperwork including the transfer of title. He started to say that generally, foreigners are not allowed to own land in the Philippines, but they can inherit it. However, there are strict rules in disposing of it within a certain amount of time, unless the inheritor qualifies for a special kind of visa. The alternative is being a Filipino citizen…
All the legal talk was giving Tala a headache.
"I'm sorry, this all sounds so…extensive. I'm not a Filipino citizen, so maybe it's just better to let the land go." Tala took a deep breath. Of course, she didn't want to let the land go, but it was all becoming too much too fast.
Noli scrunched his brows, confused, "Oh, Ms. Tala, I suppose this is one of the surprises that Theo left for your birthday, but…you are already a Filipino citizen."
"Say what?"
"You always had the Filipino citizenship. You've had it since you were born." Noli took a sip of his coffee, "Your parents applied for your citizenship when you were very young. I've been managing the renewals for it for the last two decades; legally speaking, you have always been a Filipino citizen."
He continued, "Armia was Filipino, and by principle of jus sanguinis, you were eligible to the Filipino citizenship. They registered your birth a few months after you were born."
"They registered my birth?" she repeated, "Together?"
Noli nodded.
Tala took a second to really look at Noli. Something about him seemed…off. How do you know so much, she wondered, yet I have never heard of you?
"Ms. Tala?"
"Mr. Aguinaldo." Tala straightened her posture, "My mother, according to my dad, died at childbirth. So, how did they register my birth together a few months after I was born?"
Noli's demeanor suddenly shifted, his tone turned more official, "A child born to a Filipino parent still has a right to the citizenship even if the Filipino parent has passed."
"That's…not what I asked." Tala said, unconvinced. She placed her forefinger on her lips, an unconscious habit she does when something doesn't quite add up to her. "Noli, did my mother not die giving birth to me?"
The silence was loud. So loud.
"Oh my god." Tala stood from the chair and slowly began to pace the room, "Oh my god, what else? Do I have a long-lost sibling too?"
Noli cleared his throat, obviously contemplating how best to deal with the situation. "Ms. Tala, there were some complications with Armia following your birth."
"What does that even mean?!" Tala could only laugh, exasperated. "And why do you keep talking like you've known my mom her whole life."
"I did."
"You're not giving me answers, Mr. Aguinaldo." Tala became guarded, suspicious about everything, "Please send over whatever paperwork that is left unsigned. I will find my own lawyer to execute everything."
Noli kept his voice steady, "Ms. Tala, plea—"
"I assume you have my address." She turned the knob of the door and pulled it open, "I expect it delivered within the week. Please ensure a signature is required at delivery."
The door shut behind her and Noli took his glasses off, muttering a few words under his breath. That was not how he intended the meeting to end.
Moments later, Eleri entered the room, popping her head through the opening. "Noli? Someone called for you, but he didn't want to be transferred. He just said to pass along his message."
She continued to look at Noli, seemingly waiting for him to acknowledge her statement. He finally said, "Eleri, what was the message?"
With a big smile on her face, she replied, "Oh! Oh, he said 'bring her home.'"