Chapter 8: THE PAINFUL TRUTH
Rexana kept on twisting and turning from her bed. She couldn't sleep. She could see her parents on the other side of the hut, they were both sleeping soundly. They were on the other bed and since they didn't have rooms in that small hut their beds were only divided by a threadbare vermilion curtain.
Her mind was busy. She couldn't stop thinking about what happened that day, especially the moment when she met Daerin. Especially the moment when he told her that she was pretty.
"Pretty…" she chuckled as she mumbled and caressed her face with her hands. She already got a feeling that she couldn't sleep and it would be hard for her to forget what happened, she couldn't help but wonder what had Daerin seen in her that she told her that.
She just couldn't take it out of her mind. The conversation and how he saved her by punching Bruno in the face. Nobody had yet talked to her that long except Bruno, who she always try to escape from.
She had to get up, as her mind was all over the place. She couldn't really that she was beautiful. But why did Daerin say that she was. She stood up and picked up the kerosene lamp on the table and head towards the partly broken whole body mirror.
She stayed standing in front of the mirror simply staring at herself. She realized that it had been a long time since the last time she watched herself in the mirror and even though it wasn't so bright she still could see the dirt on her face.
"Oh no," she uttered as she felt so embarrassed by the way she looked. She didn't look pleasing at all. The color of her skin was uneven, there curtain was looking better than her clothes. She even forgot the last time she took a bath in fresh water and not in the sea.
However, though, she also couldn't stop noticing her bust. They looked beautiful and healthy. She held some parts of her dress near her waist to form the shape of her body and she couldn't help but awed over herself. Her body shape was way much better than those girls she saw who were wearing a few pieces of clothing while swimming on the beach.
Nevertheless, Daerin had noticed that part of her. She did notice him glancing over her face she didn't even notice how long. But, she never noticed him staring at her body. Besides. It was always unnoticeable with the kind of dress she wore. It never gave a good judgment on her shape.
However, she was pleased while looking over her face. The shape of her lips, her pointy, sun-tanned nose, and her long lashes. Her face was good to look at.
Staring for quite a while in the mirror, she noticed something. None of her looked like her parents. Their hair looked exactly like the rest of the people on the island, her's was so different from the rest.
Even her face, non of it resembled her parents. She never looked like their child. Rexana turned around and moved closer to her sleeping parents. She suddenly became confused and couldn't help wondering, was she their child?
Daerin looked the same as his father and even as other families on the island. Most of them had a part of their physical look that resembles each other and it's making each family distinct.
In their case, it would be hard for people to tell who her family was.
Rexana shook her head, trying to avoid that thought in her mind. She didn't want to think, that her parents were not her true family. It will hurt her so much to accept that she actually had a family on that island. The more she would feel alone.
She tried to go back to her bed and forced herself to sleep but it was hard for her to do that. She would prefer to think of Daerin than think that she was not her parent's child.
However, was she? She suddenly got the feeling of curiosity and she couldn't stop asking herself again and again and she seemed to want an answer to her question at that very moment.
She had to find the answers to her question or she could never sleep at all. She pulled herself up again and went straight towards her parent's bed. She crouched over the sand floor while staring at the mom.
Part of her was hesitating to disturb her parent's slumber as she also knew that they were tired from the whole day's work. Nonetheless, at that very moment, she badly needed to talk to them for clarity.
"Mang?" she uttered, her voice barely a whisper. "Mang," she said again hoping that her mom would finally notice her. However, she didn't. She stood up and decided to just asked them in the morning and not disturb them.
But then, just before she could cross over the curtain she heard her mom's voice.
"Ana? Are you okay?" She asked as she slowly got up from her bed.
Rexana smiled with faint guilt inside her. She had disturbed her mother's slumber. But it wasn't just her mom, her dad slightly moved and groaned before he mumbled?
"Why aren't you sleeping? Is there any problem?"
"Mang, Pang? Am I not your true child? Am I just adopted?" Rexana knew that she had to directly ask the question so it won't take too much of their time and they could all go back to sleep, thinking that they could go back to sleep after that.
Her parents looked at each other nervously. There was a hint of sadness and fear on their faces that was making Anna worried. She realized that her parent might be about to tell her the truth and she was scared that she might not be ready to know the truth.
She had to take back her question, however, before she could stop and take back what she asked for she heard her mom say.
"Yes Ana, your hunches were true, you are not our blood."
It seemed the world busted out behind her sucking her under the water with all the unexplainable emotions she felt. Some part of her was feeling relieved at the same time hurt from knowing the truth.
She wished she never asked, she wished she never had to know the obvious. But then, now that she knew, she had to face the truth and was hoping that nothing would change after that. A single tear came out from her eyes at, the same time as she noticed her parent both wiping their cheeks.
"Ana, please come here." Rita opened her arms asking for an embrace and Rexana didn't hesitate to give that. She ran towards them and hugged them both with her shaking shoulders, crying.
"That might be the truth but nothing will change. Being a family won't depend on blood ties. We love you like our real child." Andre said while kissing Rexana on the forehead.
"I promise too that this truth wouldn't change the way I felt for you. You will always be my mamang and papang and I love you, more than anyone else," she sighed.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone