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Jennifer Mandez
“How did you meet her?” Shawn’s deep voice resonated with curiosity.
“Huh?” Mia looked up, puzzled by the unexpected question.
What was he talking about?
“You said she’s not your birth mother, so how did you two cross paths?” He calmly inquired once more.
Mia’s eyes blinked repeatedly, and she took a deep breath as her mind strolled down memory lane.
She began, “My dad brought in a woman and a daughter a few months older than me right after my mom was buried. It was devastating. From the moment they stepped into our house, I knew no peace. Three years ago, one night, I left home with the determination never to return.” She paused and then continued, “Tears streamed down my face as I ran along the roadside with no destination in mind. Just as I kept running, I came across a burning vehicle.”
Shawn inhaled sharply, his heart pounding in his chest.
“An accident happened… Shattered glass scattered on the ground… Fear gripped me. Without a phone to call the police and the area eerily silent, I felt stranded. No passing vehicles in sight. Unsure of what to do, the only option seemed to be running to find a police station.”
Mia sighed.
“As I ran forward, I encountered a woman. She was covered in blood, dragging her injured legs along the road. It was evident she was involved in the accident. I hurriedly reached her side and asked if she was okay… All she kept repeating was ‘My son, my son…’, and then she passed out instantly.”
“I carried her on my back, racing to the hospital. I assumed the role of her guardian, filling in the details. In a moment of impulse, I filled in my mom’s name as hers-May Thompson-and claimed to be her daughter, Mia Thompson. She didn’t open her eyes from the moment she passed out until a couple of weeks ago.”
“When she woke up, she had no recollection of who she was or anything else… Her memory was gone. Recently, I laid out everything for her, urging her to go public… but she refused. She didn’t want to disrupt her family’s peaceful life. Convinced they must have forgotten about her, she believed reuniting would only revive painful memories for them. She felt it was better to remain a nobody, accepting the role of my mother since I had lost mine already.”
____
Flashback. A couple of weeks ago.
“Mom, there are some things I must tell you.”
“Hm? What is it?” May’s brows furrowed.
Biting her lip, Mia hesitated before finally opening her mouth to speak. “Actually, we’re not related.”
Her voice was barely audible, and her heart raced as she uttered those words.
But the woman beside her stayed silent, so Mia continued, “My real mom passed away a couple of years back. I found you in an accident and rushed you to the hospital… I’m so sorry for lying.”
Hot tears streamed down her face.
After a while, the woman spoke. “It’s fine,” she added calmly. “I know you’re not my daughter.”
“What?” Mia was taken aback, her eyes widening in astonishment as May nodded positively.NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.
“I knew the moment I set my eyes on you.”
“Wh-Wh-why didn’t you say anything then? Oh my, how did you know that?”
The woman shrugged, “I just knew.”
Mia stared at her for a moment before suggesting, “Now that it’s settled, we need to find your real family. We should announce online and post posters of you everywhere to-”
“No,” the woman cut in quickly.
“Huh?” Mia blinked. “Why?”
May chuckled, “Why? Are you in a hurry to dispose of me? Am I inconveniencing you that much?”
“What? No!” Mia scowled. “It’s not like that. You aren’t inconveniencing me at all. It’s just… I sense your family will be overjoyed to have you back-you will be too… It’s been three years… They should know you’re alive. Your so-”
“No, I don’t want that. Let’s avoid it. I don’t want to disrupt their emotions… They’re better off believing I’m gone. It’s more peaceful that way. Let me just keep living as your mother, alright?-Unless you’re tired, of course.”
“No, no, no. Not at all-”
“Then, let’s keep living like this. I love it here.”
Mia eyed her skeptically, “Are you sure?”
The woman nodded her head.
____
Back to the present situation.
Mia heaved a weary sigh, “but I suppose I’ll have to search for her family discreetly. They’re entitled to know she’s alive somewhere.”
The ward fell silent once more.
However, alll of a sudden, Shawn muttered, “they already know.”
“Huh?” Mia glanced at him, confusion evident on her face.
His mouth twitched. “I once mentioned losing my mom three years ago, didn’t I?”
She nodded affirmatively.
“That night, she was returning from the States-she practically lived there… It was my birthday. She had already mentioned she would miss it, but I pleaded and pleaded for her to come. However, she was adamant. Unbeknownst to me, she had boarded a plane that day, determined to surprise me by making it down here.”
His breathing ragged, he recounted, “She was involved in a ghastly motor accident. Her driver had been drunk that night. And that night, I believed I had lost my mother, Jennifer Mandez.”
“Until I saw her again today.” As Shawn uttered these final words, he locked eyes with Mia, who had been attentively gazing at him throughout his narrative.
Realization struck Mia, her eyes widening in bewilderment.
A tear escaped from Shawn’s eye as he smiled and nodded in response to her unspoken question. “Your mom is my birth mother-the one I thought had died three years ago.”
“You don’t say!” Mia was beyond speechless.
He chuckled tearily, “It’s true.”
“Are you serious? Are you sure? Maybe they just look alike, or she’s her twin-” Mia rushed the words out of her mouth.
“She’s the one. The real, original Jennifer Mandez. I recognize my mother.” Chuckling, he added, “I still find all of this surreal.”
“Ahhhh… So, you’re the one who triggered…” Mia noted thoughtfully.
Again, Shawn nodded in agreement. “It was me.”
Mia was rendered speechless.
So, for the past three years, she had been taking care of her husband’s mother-her mother-in-law… Unbelievable!