It was like his heart had come alive.
What was torn from him by the world, he was now about to grab, hold on, and never let go.
Mr. Fablas's eyes were bloodshot as he thought back to the distant past.
16 years old, a year after his son was born, something happened in the underworld. A ferocious war broke out between many gangs.
As the leader of his own underworld family, Mr. Fablas had no choice but to participate. If he hides or runs away, his gang will be devoured by others and his family would without a doubt be erased by enemy gangs. If he fights, his gang will have a greater chance of surviving and growing bigger, and his family would be safe from all threats. The only regret was his small family—his beloved wife and son.
He didn't want them to be in danger because of him, so he smartly thought to send them away from him. To hide them from the all-out gang war.
He thought they would be safe. He thought that he would be able to pick them up after the war ends.
Sadly, that wasn't the case.
He didn't know what happened in the middle for them to suddenly disappear from the place he had arranged for him. When the war finally ended and he settled all the chaos in the gang, he went to pick them up with light footsteps.
Only to discover an empty apartment.
At that time, he felt his heart becoming desolate.
Back then, in fear and anger, Mr. Fablas ordered his subordinates to scour the entire city, digging seven feet into the ground in order to find his missing wife and son.
Nothing was found. Only a clue that they had moved away to another city for an unknown reason.
Saddened, but still holding hope, Mr. Fablas focused the majority of his energy on developing his gang, his only remaining family, while spending the rest on finding his lost wife and son. He never gave up even when there was no news for the past few years, even when his subordinates disappointed him again and again with the fruitless results of the search.
He moved to the city his wife and son were said to have moved to, which is the current city, to better facilitate the search. He mobilized all his subordinates for this search, reminding them to look for the familiar figure of their mistress and young master even while on missions. He decisively uprooted his own underworld organization's foundation and replanted their roots in this new and unfamiliar city, all to embolden his efforts to reunite with his family.
At last, after many false hopes and empty outcomes, Mr. Fablas thought he had finally… finally found a live lead.
That boy he saw in the hospital who looked so much like him and his wife.
Mr. Fablas looked down at the photo in his hand that his detective took of the boy in the process of investigating the other.
The other's aqua colored hair resembled his own. That pair of midnight blue eyes, so clear and bright even in the midst of life's trials, reminded him of his optimistic and loving wife who always supported him and encouraged him unconditionally. Those facial features—nose that resembled his, dimples that were cut from the same mold as his wife, and lips that looked thin and cold at first sight like his own.
Was it really only his imagination born out of his desperation and yearning?
That was the first thought that came across his mind after the disbelief he felt from seeing the results of the secret paternity test.
He had held great hope before seeing the test results. He was all but sure that that boy is his son, and that he is close to finding the wife he had missed day and night for 16 years.
During the time he spent waiting for the test results, he had his subordinates investigate the life of that boy and his family.
That boy's name is Geo. His son's name at birth was Geonaldo.
Geo only had a single mother. No father figure was around him.
The two depended on each other for life.
They were poor but cheerful, content with what they already have.
They began living in this city at the same time that his wife and son moved here.
Everything discovered in the investigation matched what his wife and son were like in Mr. Fablas's mind.
Yet when it came time for the final confirmation, the blood test, it came out negative.
Negative.
His heart broke for the last time upon seeing the results. Reality punched him squarely in the face.
He admitted defeat.
Now someone was telling him that they made a mistake. That the report he saw last time was a mistake.
There was still hope.
Hope.
Mr. Fablas clenched his fist and pounded it on the armrest of his car seat. A surge of excitement came over him.
No previous disappointments and empty leads could dampen his spirits now.
He felt fate calling for him.
This time, he won't be disappointed.
***
Inside Hospital A.
Outside of the operating room with its red light on.
A teenager sat motionless like a lifeless statue on the hospital chairs lined against the wall.
His midnight blue eyes stared into the distance. No one knows what he's thinking.
Suddenly, the red light on top of the operating room went out.
The teenager keenly noticed it and stood up.
Soon, the doors of the operating room opened and a doctor in a white lab coat came out. He wore surgical gloves that fit his hands and sported a face mask which he unhooked from one ear as he came near the awaiting boy.
The boy looked at the doctor with anticipation.
The doctor did not disappoint him.
"Mr. Geo? Your mother's surgery is a success. She only needs to recuperate for a while before starting the next stage of treatment," the doctor said with a smile, feeling happy and accomplished that yet another patient has gotten better under his hands.
"Thank you, doctor!" Geo thanked the doctor with great sincerity and emotion, bowing repeatedly to express his unspeakable gratitude. A sheen of water reflected off his eyes as he raised his hand to wipe at them.
The doctor sighed, went on to talk about some precautions during the recuperation period, and then said, "That's it. You can go pay for the surgery at any time. I hope your mother recovers completely."
Geo thanked the doctor again as the latter left.
Geo's mother was pushed by the medical staff out of the operating room and into an observation room where she will be observed for 48 hours. After which, she will be admitted back to the regular ward.
Geo stood behind the double-sided glass of the observation room, staring at the person inside.
A pale and frowning woman laid on the bed. She was dressed in a hospital gown and covered with a thin blanket inside the room that maintained a constant temperature. Her skin showed the caress of time, no longer as tender and flawless as they once were when she was young. Her face looked sickly pale, but with a recovering breath. Her appearance was that of an aged beauty.
Geo stood there watching his mother for a long time. He was both happy and worried.
He was happy that his mother finally got the treatment that she needed.
He was worried because he didn't know how he was going to get the money needed for the next stage of her treatment.
His mother must continue to be treated. He won't back down on that. Even if he has to get a loan from the loan sharks. After all, he had nothing. No savings, no car, and no real job. He was only a student, not even a college student, and he was also the only breadwinner at home. Only their apartment belonged to them. No legitimate financial institution would approve his loan application, so Geo can only go to the loan sharks as a last resort.
Geo stopped himself from continuing to think fruitlessly. Only time will tell what happens next.
This teenage boy with aqua hair and midnight blue eyes turned around, his young back looking bleak and hunched from the pressures of the world. Yet his spirit remained unyielding.
Geo went to the front desk to pay for the surgery.
Forty-eight hours later, Geo's mother was transferred to a regular hospital ward.
After his mother woke up, she had insisted on going home to recuperate. She said that resting in the hospital is resting and resting at home is also resting, so why should she let her son waste his hard earned money on her hospital stay when she could clearly recuperate at home?
The doctor gravely disagreed with her. With Geo's mother's current condition, recuperating at home was not as conducive for her healing as recuperating in the hospital.
It took the doctor and Geo a lot of effort and time to placate Geo's mother and persuade her to stay in the hospital.
Geo finally convinced his mother with these words, "Mom, what if your condition worsens because you leave the hospital? Do you want to see your son work day and night without sleep to accumulate funds just to redo stage one of your treatment? Or would you rather that I only work as much as I do now to earn enough for your hospital stay? Mom, please, just think of it as helping me."
Geo begged his mother.
Geo's mother's heart was immediately filled with guilt and self-blame. Her heart softened and her original determination loosened. After thinking about it, she reluctantly agreed to her son's request. She wanted her son to be more relaxed, not to be even busier because of her recklessness.
Geo and the doctor both breathed a sigh of relief after seeing Geo's mother successfully pacified.
Geo smiled. His only wish was to see his mother, who single-handedly raised him, be healthy and happy. All his hard work was worth it as long as she could be cured of her illness.
His mother was settled. Geo could finally focus his attention on other things.
During this period of recuperation, Geo continued to go back and forth between the school, his jobs, and the hospital, these three constants, like a restricted NPC. He never strayed. He had no time for fun and games unlike other teenage boys his age.
He didn't mind, though, having long been used to this kind of working adult life.
Dull. Tiring. Repetitive.
But also fulfilling in knowing that all his hard work will eventually be worth it.
Geo smiled joyfully. He smiled the way he should've smiled on the day he was liberated from the bullies at school, knowing they won't mess with him again. He couldn't smile then because he had too much on his immature shoulders that were neither broad enough nor strong enough.
Now he could smile, because he didn't have to face the violence and humiliation at school while working and studying. While outside of school and work, he could concentrate all his energy on taking care of his mother rather than spending that effort to try and hide his injuries from her.
His only worry now is money. Money for his mother's remaining treatment. But it was a worry he can grit his teeth and close his eyes to deal with.
His shoulders felt so much lighter.
On this day, Geo bought fresh apples, red and juicy, for his mother to eat to supplement her vitamins.
Geo took a stool and sat behind the trash bin.
He had just begun to peel an apple with a fruit knife when a knock was heard on the door of the ward.