28

Gian

"She caught me crying once. When she asked me why, I told her it was because I looked different. But I said, even if I looked different, as long as she was my mom, my dad was my dad, and Anna was my little sister, I didn't mind, because they didn't make me feel different. You know how our mothers' faces were like when you can't tell them anything but the truth and nothing but the truth so help me God? I couldn’t keep it anymore because I knew she already suspected something and she’d be angrier if I didn’t tell. I was hoping she'd just let them be. She would be burning bridges, and those were still our blood relatives. I didn't actually see what she did, but since then, our relatives have been very careful whenever we visit Calapan.

"It's not that she stopped being a relative. When I grew up, I understood what was really going on. Inay had money. She loved helping people out. She gave them work or lent them something for small businesses that she enjoyed helping them build up. And