"Yes, I have and she needs me now. You may go," I immediately said.

"Who's the father?" In the way he asked, he seemed excited to see Magdalen. It was as if he was hoping that the child inside the hut was his child. But no. He was not the father.

"It's none of your business, but he's definitely not you." It’s true that he’s not her father.

"Mom?" Magdalen called me again.

"I'm coming, darling."

I gave him a serious look. "Please go, Tary."

I did not wait for him to answer because I immediately entered the hut and closed the door. I approached Magdalen who was still lying. She yawned when I caressed her cheek. "You may sleep again, darling."

"Mom, what happened outside?" She’s curious.

I didn't answer her question because Tary might still be outside.
After a few minutes… "I just talked to a guy friend. We haven't seen each other for five years. He just said hello," I said.

"Mom, does he want to see me?"

Why did she suddenly ask? "Of course, darling. He wants to see you. I'm sure he'll be happy to see you."

"Is he kind?"

"Of course, darling."

I smiled after answering her question. Honestly, I was not sure of my answer. Tary was kind way back, but there were times that he became so selfish and he even slapped me for Pete's sake. He used to pursue his vices. She was also a womanizer. But I knew no one is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes. Everyone has bad habits.
"Ma ..."

"Oh, why?"

"Can he be my dad?" she suddenly asked.

I was shocked by what she asked. I couldn’t find the right words.

"Don't think about it, darling. Just remember that I love you so much. Mama won't let you down."

She smiled sweetly as her response. Then, she stood up and gave me a kiss. My heart almost melted at what Magdalen did.

A few days later, I was lucky to find a job at a vegetable store. I became Aling Nilya's vegetable seller. I thought I would never have a job. The store I was working with at was just near the elementary school. Sometimes Magdalen came with me but she was often with Aling Speranza in her house.

One time I was with Magdalen while guarding the store. Various vegetables were displayed in front of the store while she was behind me playing. The interior of the store was spacious and concrete. There was a wide and somewhat elongated bench on which Magdalen could lie down when she wanted to sleep. I would just put her on the bench. I brought a pillow so she could still sleep when afternoon came.

Tary and I never saw each other again after he left the hut last time. I thought that's great, so I didn’t feel awkward. I shrugged my shoulder. I focused my attention on the tomatoes, eggplant, squash, and many other vegetables in front of me.

"How much is a kilo of tomatoes?" an old woman asked.

"40 pesos," I replied.

"All right, give me a kilo of it."

After she confirmed she would buy, I immediately put some tomatoes in a paper bag before I weighed them. Paper bags were used as eco-friendly pouches as said by Aling Nelya. We had different sizes to suit the vegetables.

"Thank you," she said after paying and getting the tomatoes.

"Thank you too," I said with a smile. Then, I just watched her walk away.

We had a quick transaction.

After a few minutes, I was packing some tomatoes when suddenly I heard footsteps approaching the store. I didn’t see who was approaching because of the tomatoes I was staring at.

"What about you, what do you want to buy?" I asked before I looked up to see who would buy.

"You again?" I asked a little annoyed when I realized that it was Tary who approached us.

He didn't say a word so I spoke again, "Will you buy, sir?"

I was just holding back because I was with Magdalen. I didn’t want to be a bad example to her. I didn’t her to see that I was angry or annoyed to someone like Tary.

"Sir, will you buy?" I sarcastically asked because he didn’t answer my first question.
He just smiled while looking at ...

I shivered when I found out who he was looking at ... He was looking at Magdalen! And I was shocked because my daughter was smiling at him too.

He’s crazy!

"Darling, just stay here. Mama will just talk to this person."

When Magdalen nodded in response, I didn’t waste the time. I had walked away and pulled Tary.

"What's the matter with you?! He's not your child!" I said as I made sure we were a bit far from the store. Although my voice was lowered, the emphasis was still on every word. I never forgot that I still had to be careful because Magdalen might hear me.

"Why are you like that? I didn't say he's my child. I'm just happy to see her," he seriously answered.

"Because you’re so annoying. You didn't answer my questions, but you smiled at my daughter. Are you crazy? Remember this, Tary, you can't come near her. You can't talk to her. The of you are connected. She has no connection with you, so don't come near us. Remember what you did to me/ I haven't forgiven you yet. "

"I can't promise anything," he said briefly.

"I don't want you to promise anything. I want you to do a thing. Keep away from us. I want a quiet life with my daughter. And our life will only be quiet if you don't come near us anymore. I knew you're smart, so I hope you understand what I want to happen. We haven't been together for a long time, so you don't have any rights to me and especially to my daughter who is not your child." What I was saying wasn’t right, but I really wanted him to stay away from us.

“Now, I’m more convinced to come closer to you because of what you’re saying,” he said.

"Tch. You just proved yourself even more. One word is enough for a wise man. I thought ---"

"I don't need to prove anything. That's it. Start from now on, expect my presence in your daughter's life. Taryx Ponce Domingo is back in your life."

"You're insane. You're no longer welcome in my life. You're no longer welcome in Magdalen's life. You're not going to be welcome in our lives," I said holding back the annoyance.

"Magdalen? Her name sounds gorgeous and it suits her well. She's a good-looking kid. I bet her father is ---"

"Stop your nonsense! Get out of here! Don't follow me because you might find what you're looking for and you'll be really embarrassed in this place."

I hurried to come back to the store to end our pointless conversation. When I turned back to see him, he was just looking at me as if he was watching me walk back to Magdalen.

But instead of being affected, I just kept walking.
He left after a few minutes.

"Give me a kilo of squash," a woman said. She wore a black lipstick and black shorts and a black crop top. Oh, pure black.

“Just a minute,” I said before I picked out a squash to slice.

"Is she your child?" she asked as if mixed with sarcasm.

"Yes why?" I asked as I was slicing the squash.

"She's beautiful…" I was happy with what she said so I smiled.

"Like me–"

"Well, she doesn’t look like you. Tsk."