“Good morning, mom, rise and shine.” I greet mom, sitting on her bed. “You look different this morning.”
The dark circles in mom’s eyes are lessening and her skin is glowing a bit.
“Good morning sweetheart. I feel fine this morning unlike yesterday, I felt lazy.”
“Did you have a good night's sleep?”
“Yeah, I slept a couple of hours. You know what, I was thinking if we can tour a little around the city. We have been so stuck in this condo. We only go out to the hospital and you only go out to buy groceries.”
“Mom, are you sure you’re fine to go out and walk a distance. If we want to tour around you’ll have to walk a little longer to enjoy the city and the places we will visit.”
“Angel, I know my body. I’m a little better now. Tell the driver, Lucy, and Candace that we will have a little tour after breakfast.”
At 10 in the morning, we are on our way to Merlion Park. The stress of being stuck in the condo is unbearable, the reason we are all excited to try a new adventure in Singapore.
“I like the view here, so relaxing. The sun is so good to us, it’s not showing that much now otherwise it will ruin our tour.”
“Yes, this is a good idea mom. This is long overdue, you barely had a break time when you were still working. Too much stress is not good for you. We will try to do this as often as possible.”
Mom nods as she inclines one arm on my shoulder. “Lucy, take a photo of me and Angel, please.”
“Sure.” Lucy takes her phone from her pocket and starts taking a picture of us. “One, two, smile. Two more.” And Lucy did great. I added them all in my social media posting.
The second place we visit is the Gardens by the Bay. 250 acres full of flowers and plants with over 250 species. The only downside is that we can’t view the night lights and music show at night. We make sure to tour every corner of the garden to enjoy the plants and flowers from the different continents of the world.
“Angel, we need to have a photo together overlooking the plants and flowers. This is such a beautiful garden. The fresh air and the smell of the plants make me calm down and forget about everything.”
“Sure, mom. After mom and I, let’s have a photo together guys.”
Ms. Lucy, Candace and Roland join us in a photo and we ask someone to take it for us. The place is so amazing that I feel mom doesn’t want to leave anymore.
The third and last stop is the Resorts World Sentosa where we get a lot of things to enjoy including food. We try local dishes such as Nyonka Laksa and Roasted Chicken Rice at Discovery Food Court for lunch.
Mom and Lucy choose to stay in a place where they could relax a bit after a long walk of exploring in the Gardens by the Bay. Candace and Roland join me in exciting rides like Transformers: The Ride, Revenge: The Mummy, and Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure.
For our snacks, we try pizza and burgers at Friar’s Good Food. We are having so much and full enough while mom is having her fruit shake, the one Lucy made for her. Mom has limited food to eat due to her health condition.
I sit beside mom while she's sipping her fruit shake.
“I remember how your dad would make time for us when we were together. Even if we had to escape his bodyguards just to have time together, he’ll do it. It was funny, one time Angelo had to disguise to escape his bodyguards.”
Listening to mom I notice that she is the happiest when she talks about Angelo. Her eyes sparkle as she continues with their love story.
“We met up in the park which is a place his bodyguards would not expect Angelo to go around. From there we went to a fast-food restaurant which again was not a place Angelo used to eat. We had a very typical date for a middle-class couple.”
“That’s cute. Until now, Angelo is still making ways just to be with you. Mom, I think he really loves you.”
Mom looks away, avoiding me. I don’t have to ask twice to know the answer. I have known the truth all along. Angelo is doing everything he can to make up for the time he lost. It is painful for me as their daughter to witness them apart even though they love each other so much.
“Mom, you don't have to say anything."
"Angel, you've changed. You are not angry talking about Angelo now. Does it mean you have forgiven your father?"
"Mom, I didn't say that. We are talking about you and Angelo. Ours is different. You know that, right?"
"I understand, sweetheart. I am happy to hear you talking about Angelo with ease. This is a good improvement. God answered my prayers."
"He always does, mom," I said, hugging mom tightly. Mom wraps her arms around me and kisses me on the forehead.
“Athena you have to take your meds now. I got you some water, here’s your med.”
“Thank you, Lucy. If you hadn't reminded me I would have forgotten about this. I enjoy looking at your guys, enjoying her day.”
“Thank you mom, I did have a good one today with you guys. It’s like all the burdens are lifted out of my shoulders. What a break we had.”
“That’s right Angel. This day was like a vacation from a year's worth of work. I think we all needed this break.” Candace agreed as she was finishing her burger. Sitting in front of Roland and Lucy.
Mom is so happy looking at us. Her beautiful face is even brighter when she smiles. It gives me hope, uplifting me to have a positive outlook in life, especially about mom’s full recovery.
We didn’t try the Canopy Flyer, Amber Rock Climb and there are a lot of them. We don’t have enough time for all of the rides as we head to the shop to buy some souvenirs.
"Angel, buy some souvenirs for your friends. They'll surely love any of these things."
"Sure. I'll get one for each of them."
I choose to buy Hello Kitty stuff for Lea and Samantha and Transformer merchandise for Luke, Glenn, and Maddox.
We also buy souvenirs for Lucy, Candace, and Roland that they can give to their family back in the Philippines.
We order food for dinner to avoid cooking for the three of us except mom. Mom’s meal needs to be more organic fruits and vegetables. We are tired but I think we can all agree that the trip was worth it.
We arrive home with someone waiting on our doorstep. Mom and I stare at each other as we both don’t know who she is.