I didn’t know how I should feel. Anger because he bought me? Or pity because his heart was full of sorrow?
Years passed. I studied hard, and gradually, Don Victor became like a real father to me. I even started calling him “Tatay Victor.” I sent part of my allowance to Mama and Papa, but we had no news from them for several years. Until one day, Tatay Victor visited me while I was studying at the university.
“Lara,” he said, “there’s something you need to know.”
There was a sadness in his face I hadn’t seen before. “Your father has passed away. And your mother… she is in the hospital. She wants to see you.”
We immediately traveled home. Upon arriving at the hospital, I saw Mama—thin, weak, barely able to speak. When she saw me, her tears fell.
“My child…” she said weakly, “forgive me. I only did it because I didn’t want you all to die of hunger. I thought I would lose you forever.”
I held her hand. “I don’t need to forgive you, Ma. Because if it wasn’t for what you did… maybe I wouldn’t have met Tatay Victor. I wouldn’t have received an education. I wouldn’t have learned how to love, even after being hurt.”
In that moment, I saw Tatay Victor smile and place his hand on my shoulder. “She’s right. Sometimes, pain becomes the path to a new beginning.”
A few weeks after that, Mama passed away, but peacefully and with a smile. I forgave her for everything, and I finally forgave myself too.
Years later, I graduated from college and became a social worker. In every child I care for now, I see my own self who was once lost in the darkness. Tatay Victor was always there, quietly sitting in front of the house, incredibly proud of me.
One day, while we were having coffee together on the veranda, he said, “Lara, maybe it’s time for me to rest. You should continue my projects for the poor children.”
I smiled. “I won’t promise perfect results, Tatay. But I promise to give everything I have—just like you gave to me.”
And for the last time, he held my hand and looked up at the sky. “Now, I know my life still has meaning.”
Sometimes, the wounds of the past don’t need to be erased—because it is there you see how time has changed you. The child once sold because of poverty is now giving hope to others. And the man who lost a daughter found a new reason to live.
Because sometimes, the people who come into our lives—even through the most painful means—are the very ones who become the greatest blessings we never expected.