The poor woman took her son to the city to find his father, but he cruelly rejected her. And because of the ending, everything stopped.
Lani was born in a poor rural area of Sorsogon. At the age of 20, she fell in love with a boy in the city who worked at a construction site near her house: Marco Villanueva – a warm-voiced, tall man, always making her believe that no one would love her more in this life.
That belief was shattered when Lani discovered that she was pregnant. She hoped to get married, she told Marco. But the cold answer came down:
— “You still have a career, not ready to be a father. You… take care of yourself.”
Lani returned home with a belly full. Mom was poor, so she worked in the fields and washed dishes to earn money to raise her son. On a rainy night, she stayed up all night holding her son, promising herself that one day she would let him meet his father, even just once.
Seven years passed. Little Nio was obedient but kept asking:
— “Mom, where is my father?”
Lani only whispered: “Your father is in Manila, working hard.”
Thanks to an acquaintance, Lani knew that Marco was now the owner of a mid-sized construction company, living in BGC, Taguig. She saved every cent, bought a bus ticket to Cubao station, and took Nio on the road. In her bag: some old clothes, some savings, a photo of Marco when he was still in the countryside.
Arriving in front of a high-rise apartment building, Lani’s hands trembled as she rang the doorbell. Marco opened the door—his eyes grew cold and quickly cooled down:
— “What are you doing here?”
— “I… I just want you to see your father…” – Lani stopped.
Nio gently grabbed his mother’s hand.
Marco glanced at the child, then turned to Lani:
— “I made it clear before. Don’t mess with my life anymore.”
The door was closed. The mother and son were alone in the airy hallway.
That night, not daring to rent an expensive place to stay, Lani asked to sleep on a folding chair of a roadside cafe. The owner took pity on her and brought her and her child a bowl of hot noodles. Nio ate deliciously, with the noodles still in her mouth, then looked up:
— “It’s okay if I don’t see Dad. I just need Mom.”
That needle hit the deepest part of Lani’s heart. She hugged her son, amidst the sound of jeepneys on the street, her heart full of determination: she would raise Nio to be a good person without mercy from anyone.
The next morning, passing by a construction site in Ortigas, Pasig, Lani overheard the manager saying that he was short of people. Thinking of the bus fare and food for her son, she took a risk and asked him to be a construction worker. During the day, she carried bricks, at night she washed dishes and cleaned the shop; Nio sat at the corner of the nearby sari-sari store and drew random things while waiting for her mother. Every night, Lani would come home with dirty clothes but still smiling, because at least the mother and son would have a balcony to sleep on.
One afternoon, while Lani was carrying a bag of cement, a black SUV pulled up. Marco went out to talk to the manager. Nio looked over. Just as Marco was about to leave, the boy ran up and handed him a piece of paper, so he stopped…
— “I drew this for you. It’s me and my mother.”
Marco stopped when he saw the scribbles and the childish writing next to the two figures: “I love you the most.”
That evening, Marco showed up at the cafeteria where the mother and son were having dinner. He sat down, his voice low:
“I’m sorry… I made a mistake.”
He said, as he looked at the drawing, he remembered his foolish youth and the years of fullness but nothingness.
“I didn’t expect you to forgive me so soon. I just wanted to study so that Nio could study well.”
Lani looked at her son and slowly replied:
“I will accept this for you. You don’t need anything for yourself. You have to keep your promise.”
Since then, Marco opened a savings account for Nio, and regularly transferred money every month. He would visit him occasionally, no longer avoiding him. Gradually, Nio got used to the fact that “Uncle Marco” was a small part of his life.
Years later, Nio was accepted into the University of the Philippines – Diliman. On the first day of school, Marco stood quietly at the school gate, and handed Lani an envelope:
— “Thank you for raising our son better than I ever thought possible.”
Lani accepted it, nodding slightly. In her heart, she knew she had won—not against Marco, but against circumstances, against the cruelty that wanted to crush mother and child.
Humanistic message:
Sometimes, life does not give us a complete family; But a mother’s love and sacrifice can be the strongest refuge for her child. And if there is still a chance, correct your mistakes before it is too late—because there are doors that can only be opened through courage and kindness.