Page 113 of Horn in My Side
“Really?You called just to check on me?”
“Yes, I had this feeling ...”He clucked his tongue.“Call it father’s intuition, but I wanted to hear your voice and see your face.”
“That’s nice, Dad.It’s good to see you too.”
Was it really intuition?Or perhaps something else at work.Had her prayers been heard and answered?Either way, her father was here.Maybe it was time for her to face her own truth.To address that shadow that loomed over their relationship.
“Dad ...since you called, there’s actually something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”Her heart raced all the way up to her throat.
Jed’s brows furrowed.“What is it?”
“I discovered something.A-about myself.”Pushing her heart back down to her chest, she scrounged up the words she had been wanting to say.“Dad, I have magical abilities.I can communicate with animals.Sort of, anyway.I can sense what they feel and know what they want.”
For a moment, Jasmine thought the video had frozen because Jed went absolutely still.However, her father’s face soon broke into a smile.“Really?That’s amazing.How did you find out?When?And can you do anything else?Can you heal the animals like your lolo does with his patients?”
“No, it’s not like LoloJoaquin’s abilities or anything like that and—Wait, Dad, are you happy for me?”
“Of course I am.I’m ecstatic,” he said.“Why wouldn’t I be?I can’t wait to call back home and tell everyone.My daughter, a magic wielder, who’d have thought?”he said, pride in his voice.“Your Tita Maritess will probably want to put a tarp up in front of their house to tell everyone.”
Jasmine couldn’t believe it.“Dad, there’s something else I wanted to talk to you about.”
“What?Wait, do you have a boyfriend already?”
“Er, no.”She took a deep breath.“Dad, back when ...when Lolo died, I overheard you talking to Tito Carlo.About The Inheritance.That you deserved it and the only reason Lolo didn’t pass it to you was because I was girl.”
“What?”His face was a mask of shock.“Anak, I—” He shook his head.“I’m sorry.You shouldn’t have heard that—No, no, I shouldn’t havesaidthat.I was grief-stricken and angry, losing your grandfatherandThe Inheritance.But that’s no excuse for what I said.And no, I don’t blame you.”
“It’s still my fault.You didn’t get The Inheritance because you wouldn’t have been able to pass it on to me because I’m a girl.And if you couldn’t pass it on, then the magic would disappear forever.”
“Jasmine, my father was never going to choose me.”Jed’s mouth pulled into a taut line.“The only thing I ever wanted was to make a difference in other people’s lives.I studied my whole life so I could do it.First under your lolo, and then I took up nursing so I could help even more people and give them comfort.But Papa said that was a waste of time.I’ve thought about it a lot and I think he resented me becoming a nurse because he didn’t like that I was learning modern medicine.He was afraid I would waste The Inheritance.That’s why he chose your tito instead of me.”
Jasmine’s words got stuck in the thickness in her throat.“Dad ...I never knew.”All this time, she’d thought she was the reason he never received The Inheritance.That cloud looming over their relationship had only ever been in her head.“Dad, thank you for telling me this.”Her entire body lightened, the weight of years of imagined resentment lifting away.
“I’m really sorry for the misunderstanding, anak.But you know I love you, right?”
“O-of course.”Oh Mother Goddess, she was going to start crying again.She inhaled a deep breath.“I love you too, Dad.”
“And hey, I’m sorry if I keep nagging you about going back to nursing.I just wanted to guarantee your future with a stable career.I love you, so of course I want things to work out for you.But I’m really happy for you, anak.Our ancestor spirits and the Mother Goddess guided you to where you are now.If you didn’t find your way there, you might never have discovered your own magic.It’s your destiny to be there.”
She laughed to herself, thinking of how she’d ended up here.If her car hadn’t broken down, she would never have stopped in Dewberry Falls.Never would have taken the job at Fantastic Tails.Never would have met Mal.
Mal.
She should have listened to him about calling her dad.And now she would never be able to tell him, because he was leaving.
What if I did stay?
Jasmine covered her mouth, her chest squeezing tight as a realization spread through her.
Love, Mal,was how he’d signed the note.He’d laid it out for her to see, putting his heart in her hands, risking it without any guarantee.
He loved her.
And she’d pushed him away.
“Oh no.”
“Jasmine?What’s wrong?”
