Chapter 3: Petition For A Mommy!

Regardless of the twins’ weeping, Lola still took them to the lost and found just in case. She couldn’t just take two children home just because they called her "Mommy." But when they reached the lost and found, the twins still claimed her as their mother. It took some identification cards and a few documents for her to prove she wasn’t the twins’ mother. "Boss, are you sure we’re just leaving them there?" Silo asked, jogging to follow Lola as they left the management office. "Aren’t we going to wait for their parents to arrive?" Lola rolled her eyes at him. "Silo, you just want to see if I look like their mother, don’t you?" Silo grinned. "The resemblance should be impeccable if those kids mistook you, right?" "Goodness, you," she sighed, shaking her head. "Wait for me a bit — bathroom." With that, Lola made a turn and searched for the bathroom. That encounter almost made her pee her pants. After all, it wasn’t every day that someone would mistake her for their mother and make a huge fuss about it. Once she found the women’s restroom, instead of heading to the cubicle, she found herself standing in front of the sink. "Hah..." she breathed out, gripping the sink’s edge tighter before lifting her eyes to look at herself. For some reason, Silo’s question rang in her mind. Since when did you have kids? Five years ago, but alas, her child didn’t even see this world. It wasn’t that she hated kids; in fact, she liked them. It was just that her child never got to call her "Mommy," and she longed for him every single day. Hence, the bittersweet tug in her heart when those two suddenly hugged her, just like how she imagined her child would hug her. "Hah." She huffed and shook her head. "Don’t think about it, Lola. It’s just this world being silly." With that, Lola washed her face and redid only her lipstick. Once she finished and recomposed herself, she exited the restroom and saw Silo leaning against the wall at the end of the hallway. "Let’s go," she said without stopping. Silo flinched a bit, already seeing her a few steps ahead of him. "Wait!" he yelled. "That took you quite a while." Lola didn’t respond, heading straight to the parking lot where they left their ride. Meanwhile, Silo walked a step behind her. He studied her mood and tilted his head a bit to the side. She doesn’t usually get upset by something like this, he thought. Did she dislike being mistaken for a mother that much? But then again, those kids did sort of put Lola in a tight spot. Although they were kids — around four or five — and probably didn’t know what they were doing, it was still an unpleasant situation to be in. Little did he know, those twins? They knew exactly what they were doing. "By the way, are you dropping by your father’s home?" Silo asked, jogging a few steps to catch up to her. As he did, he reached out for the door of the van for her. Lola paused and thought about it. "No, never mind them." "Okay." Silo smiled and opened the door for her. As the door slid open, its rollers made a loud noise, and both Silo and Lola froze in place. They held their breath, their eyes widening at the people inside. There, seated inside, were the same twins she had left behind at the management office, waving at them with wide smiles. "Hello, Mommy," Second, the boy, greeted. Smiling just as sweetly was Chacha, waving at Lola and Silo. "Hello, Mommy." "What—" Silo and Lola opened and closed their mouths, horrified by this. Are these even children?! Or spirits?! How could they leave the management office? Or rather, how did they get in?! Were they being haunted?! Lola turned to Silo accusingly, and he quickly defended himself. "It’s locked!" he intoned. "It’s supposed to be locked!" "If it is, how come..." Lola trailed off, gazing at the twins seated inside. "How—" Second and Chacha giggled mischievously. "Kids, did you sneak out?" Silo asked in disbelief. "And how did you get in? I mean, how did you even know where we parked?!" "Second and Chacha didn’t sneak out!" Chacha, the girl, raised her little forefinger. "We just called someone and they let us go!" Second nodded solemnly. "And we remembered the car model and plate number!" "That’s right! And this van is not locked!" Chacha chimed in again, making Lola give Silo a dead look. "So, we waited for Mommy to come back!" "We’re good kids, Mommy! We behaved!" Second added. "You will love us!" "..." Lola was speechless, darting her eyes between the two. Silo, on the other hand, was slightly in awe. "Wow... they’re... they’re in perfect sync." Did they practice this? Lola pinched the bridge of her nose and peeked at the twins. She had already taken them to the management, and they had just let these kids go. But then again, when she first returned them, the people in the airport had announced missing kids. No one came to claim them. "Is this some kind of modus operandi?" she wondered, snapping Silo out of his daze. "Oh!" Silo’s mouth formed an o-shape as he looked at Lola and then at the twins. "I’ve never heard of such a thing, but it’s probably a new strategy?" Hearing this, the twins frowned, a bit disappointed by this. They thought that once they showed up, Lola would just welcome them with open arms. But now, they were being regarded as scammers. "We’re not like that," Second muttered with a frown. Chacha, on the other hand, pressed her plump lips together. "Mommy, you can call our Father Sir if you don’t believe us." "..." Lola’s breath hitched, catching how their mood plummeted so quickly. The twins just looked at her with puppy eyes, and with their round faces and big eyes, it made her heart clench. Was she being too harsh on them? A shallow breath slipped past her nostrils as her shoulders relaxed. "Fine," she relented, making the twins’ faces brighten up. "But first, I need your father’s contact number, alright?" "Lola—" "It’s fine, Silo," she cast him a side glance, nodding at him. Scam or not, Lola just needed to be a little cautious, and she would be fine. Seeing the resolute look on her face, Silo shrugged and let her be. "Your call." And with that, Lola flashed the kids a smile as she took out her phone. "Do you know your father’s number?" "Yes!" Second cheered. "Chacha!" Just in time, Chacha was already pulling something out of her small backpack. She stretched her little arm, holding a crumpled, sticky note. Lola smiled at the crumpled paper, but still took it. Once she unfolded the number, her brows rose a bit because the number was international. Hence, she tried contacting him through an app first. And it rang. Ring... ring... Lola listened to the ring, and somehow, each ring made her feel a little nervous. She didn’t know why, but if this was a scam, then... She glanced at the twins, who were looking back at her with expectation. I hope they’re not part of a grand scheme. Then, the line was suddenly picked up. "Hello, uhm... I’m at the airport, and there are two kids here — Second and Chacha," Lola politely said. "They said this is their father’s number. They’re with me now since the management let them go." Lola waited for an answer from the other end of the line, but it didn’t come. "Hello?" she called again, checking the screen to see if the call was still ongoing. She placed the phone to her ear again, about to speak, when finally, a voice came through. "Ok." The voice was cold, low, and oddly calm — or if she was right, distant and uninterested. Her brows rose. "Okay?" "Mhm," he hummed. "Look after them for me. Busy." Clack. Lola froze even after hearing the call end. She stood there, staring at her phone in disbelief and shock, fighting in her mind over what would come first. That was it? That was all their father was going to say? Look after them because he was busy? There wasn’t even a trace of panic in his voice or relief. Lola scoffed, gazing at the phone. "Lola, what is it?" Silo asked curiously, watching her glance at him. She smacked her lips and gazed at the children. A part of her was frustrated with their neglectful father, but now, she sort of realized why these kids were just here all alone. "Well," she sighed. "I guess they’re going home with me." "What!?" DING! Just as the words came out of her mouth, her phone pinged. Checking it, it was from the twins’ father. The message? [1,000,000 was sent to your e-wallet account!] Then, another message came: [Buy them dinner. Let me know if it’s not enough.] **** Meanwhile, in the grand office of a mansion, a man sat behind a desk, reading a well-prepared petition plan with the title: Petition For a Mommy! "Sir Atlas, they’re still searching for the Young Master and Young Miss." Suddenly, a man in a suit approached the desk with a distressed tone. "But they booked different flights using your card. Our men are still checking which flight they boarded." "Don’t bother. I know where they are," said the twins’ father, Atlas, tossing his phone to his assistant to show him the country code Lola used. He then raised the petition plan prepared by the twins. "Book me a flight there in three days’ time," Atlas added. "Those two made three typos in this proposal. If they want a mother, they need to redo this first."