Patient
2 years later…
“Take this patient,” Dr. Tennyson said. “That patient had her stroke, and this is her 3rd time.”
“Yes Doc,” Lance said.
It was 2 years later when he left everything and everyone behind. After he said his goodbyes to Nicole, Lance drove to the Hacienda Vergara to meet his good old friends – Bernardo and Alicia.
Lance told them what he found out that night, and Bernardo and Alicia told him something that would add another piece of his past.
“We’re sorry that we kept the truth from you,” Alicia said. “Greg asked us not to tell you, and he promised that he’ll do it himself.”
“It’s okay,” Lance said. “I understand. But, why did he ask you to do so?”
Bernardo and Alicia looked at each other.
“Is there something I need to know?” Lance asked. “Tell me please, I want to know everything about me, about my parents…”
“Remember what I told you about my daughter?” Bernardo asked.
“Yes, you told me that your only daughter was missing and the last time you saw her last was when she’s… Oh no, you mean…”
“Yes, Elena is your mother,” Bernardo said. “It was the 21st of February, 20 years ago. Elena was laboring; the midwife came to see her. But then Ferdinand Allegre sent people that night to take my daughter and kill you both, but the village people helped us and Elena was able to run away. But after that we never saw her again.”
“Why does this Ferdinand Allegre wants to kill us?” Lance asked.
“He’s Sandra’s father. He’s afraid that if your grandfather – Leon Vallejo – founds out about you, he won’t continue the merging of their businesses. You see, Leon Vallejo is a good friend of Ferdinand, but Leon is against the idea of your father and Sandra being married.
“After eight or ten years, Greg came here and told us that he found you. We insisted to see you, but he said he hadn’t told you about it. He promised us that he’ll take you here when your ready, but he never did tell you.”
Lance thanked them and left. He’s happy to know that his grandparents are good people, not like his father.
He went to Manila; he worked as a waiter on a fancy restaurant. He plans to take the board exam to have a license and work on a hospital as a nurse. After 6 months someone called him and said that he wanted to meet him. Lance met the guy, it’s a lawyer. To Lance surprise, it’s the lawyer of Mr. Abenidos, his patient who had a lung cancer and the one who encouraged him to tell Nicole about his feelings. Apparently Mr. Abenidos is dying and wants to see him. Lance went to see Mr. Abenidos. He asked Lance what happened after that day when he left the hospital. Lance told him all that had happened. After 4 months Mr. Abenidos died peacefully.
Mr. Abenidos doesn’t have a family, he’s only companion in life was his adopted son. Mr. Abenidos gave his foster son all his money and property. But to his generosity, he gave Lance his ranch at Zambales and 2 million pesos. Lance used the money to continue his studies. Luckily, the university gave him an exam to test what year level he can take, and the results said that he can take 2nd year. Lance’s happy because he’s not left behind.
He never lost his communication with his friends, but he never told them where he is. He never saw Nicole nor talked to her, not even once.
Now, Lance is currently studying at Washington University. Mark – Mr. Abenidos’ foster son – sent him there to study. Mark was 47 years old, and he’s a business minded person that he forgot to start his own family. He helped Lance to change his name, now, everyone knows him as Lance Robert Vergara.
Lance looked at the paper which Dr. Tennyson gave him. It has the name of his patient, his hand shook when he saw the name. Sandra Vallejo.
* * *
Sandra opened her eyes. The first person she saw was the person she hated and hid before – Lance.
“Lance?” Sandra said.
“Hello,” Lance greeted coldly. “I’m just here to introduce myself; I’ll be your doctor from now.”
“I see,” Sandra smiled. “Please sit down.”
Lance pulled a stool and sat beside Sandra’s bed. “Are you thirsty?”
“No,” Sandra said.
“Where’s everyone?” Lance asked.
“Charles was left at the Philippines. He needs to handle the business. Do you know that he’s married already?” Sandra said.
“Who’s the lucky girl?” he asked.
“Kristine Cervantes,” Sandra said. “He met her a year after you left.”
Lance just smiled.
“He’s here,” Sandra said. “Your dad I mean. He’s with Ivan and Janine. Ivan went with your Dad to get some things at the house while Janine went to buy some medicine.” When Lance didn’t answer, Sandra added “I know you didn’t ask about them, I know you’re still angry with him, but I just figured that you want to know.”
“Yeah, I’m kind of curious,” Lance said. “Lucky guess?”
“No,” Sandra said. “Of course there are times that I’m angry with my father, but no matter what it is, I still care for him, I still love my father. My father is not the best dad on earth, or the best person, but he’s my father, and no matter what mistake he has committed before, I still cared for him. I just hoped that you still care for your dad.”
Lance told Sandra everything that he’s been through since he left. Sandra said that he’s lucky, and that is the blessing from god for his kindness. Sandra told him then that she’s the one who left him at the orphanage and told him what happened to his mother, and that she’s the one who told Stephen to send him out of the orphanage.
“I’m sorry Lance,” Sandra said. “I’m sorry for everything.”
“You’re forgiven,” Lance said. “We can’t move on if we’re still thinking about the past.”
“If ever you want to see your mother’s grave, just look for a person named Lucio Santos. He knew where your mother was buried.”
“Thank you,” Lance said. “But can I ask you a favor?”
“What is it?” Sandra said.
“You have kept me for eight years before, now I’m asking you to do it again, please don’t tell anyone that I’m here in this hospital,” lance plead.
“Okay,” Sandra said. “I will do it not because I want to keep you away from them again, but because you asked me to.”
0 comments:
Post a Comment