The afternoon in Batangas was quiet. Andi was still on the terrace, talking with the caretaker, holding a notebook where the things that needed fixing in the hacienda were listed—irrigation, schedules, the farmers' wages—
Suddenly, her phone rang. Only one name appeared on the screen.
Lorenzo.
Her chest immediately tightened. Lorenzo won't call without reason. Well, except when he suddenly got sweet, and that was usually at night. Not at noon.
"Hello?" she answered.
There were a few seconds of silence on the other end. Then—
"Andi… Gesly is in the hospital."
It felt like something dragged her heart straight down into her stomach.
"What?" She stood up at once. "What do you mean he's in the hospital? What happened to my brother?"
"He's okay—" Lorenzo said quickly, clearly already worried about her panic.
"Then why is he in the hospital?" Andi whispered, but her voice was already shaking. "Where are you? Which hospital? What did he do?"
"Andi, please! Breathe first," Lorenzo said, calm but firm. "Listen to me, I will explain—"
But she wasn't listening anymore.
"Kuya Bert!" she shouted, already almost running off the terrace. "We need to go back to Manila. Now."
She didn't get to say goodbye. No goodbyes to anyone at the hacienda.
Inside the car, her hand gripping the phone was trembling.
"Lorenzo," she called again, softer this time. "Please… tell me… what did Gesly do?"
Lorenzo took a deep breath on the other line.
"During his therapy session earlier… the therapist noticed something."
"What?"
"His eye color was different."
Andi shut her eyes. "What?"
"Gesly has brown eyes, right?"
"Yes…"
"Earlier… they were green. Like, green. Not hazel. Not lighting. Green. Emerald green."
Andi's eyes widened. "Maybe he was just wearing contacts?" she said quickly, hoping it was that simple.
"That's what we thought too. The therapist assumed he was wearing contact lenses." Lorenzo paused before continuing. "But when she asked him… Gesly said he wasn't wearing any."
"What?" Andi could barely hear her own voice.
"When he was about to go home… I saw something in his room."
"What?"
"A box. It looked like a parcel. Inside… there was a small bottle. And a syringe."
Andi's grip on the phone tightened. "A syringe?"
"I thought—" Lorenzo said quickly. "I thought it was drugs. I thought he got into something bad."
"But?"
"But no. He doesn't inject it. He uses it… on his eyes."
It felt like cold water was poured down the back of Andi's neck.
"He uses it… on his eyes?"
"Drops," Lorenzo said. "The bottle contains some kind of solution. He puts it directly into his eyes."
Andi couldn't speak right away.
"Why?" Just one word, but full of fear.
"I don't know yet," Lorenzo answered. "They're still checking him."
---
When they arrived at the hospital, Andi almost jumped out of the car. She didn't wait for a nurse. She didn't wait for instructions.
"Gesly!" she called as she rushed down the hallway.
She saw Lorenzo immediately, sitting on a bench, looking exhausted, but he stood up as soon as he saw her.
"Andi—"
"Don't stop me," she cut him off. "Where is he?"
"Inside."
She entered the room. And there she saw her brother.
He was sitting on the bed, an IV in his arm, looking calm—too calm.
"Gesly…" She went straight to him and held his hand.
That's when she saw it. Green.
Not hazel. Not lighting. Not a reflection.
Emerald green.
They no longer looked like her brother's eyes.
"What did you do?" she asked in almost a whisper. "Dios mio, Gesly… why?"
Gesly looked at her.
"I just wanted…" he said softly. "To be normal."
It felt like Andi had been stabbed in the chest. "What?" she said tearfully.
---
Andi stepped out of the room, barely able to breathe. She leaned against the wall.
"Lorenzo," she said, trembling. "What kind of person thinks they need to change their own eyes just to be normal?"
"Andi, please…" Lorenzo held her arm tightly, trying to calm her. "Breathe first. He's okay."
But Andi was shaking. She felt the heat in her eyes, the heaviness in her chest like it was about to explode.
"This isn't normal, Lorenzo," she whispered. "This isn't normal," she repeated, shaking her head.
A man in a white coat approached them.
"Miss Andrea?"
She nodded immediately.
"I'm the doctor who checked on your brother. He's stable right now," the doctor began. "But we need to be honest… what your brother did was dangerous."
Andi's eyes widened. "Doctor, what was it? Was it drugs?"
The doctor shook his head. "It's not a typical illegal drug. It's a finished chemical product—not DIY, not mixed at home. It was a ready-made formula."
"Was it cosmetics? That's what he said earlier," Lorenzo interjected.
"Supposedly," the doctor replied. "But we have no way of identifying what it really contains. There's no proper labeling, no FDA approval, no traceable source."
"The effect," the doctor continued, "is a direct change in eye pigmentation. It was not a contact lens nor a temporary tint."
Andi covered her mouth.
"Doctor… will it go away?" she asked, almost pleading.
"We can't guarantee that," he said, shaking his head. "Another problem is irritation and pressure on the optic nerves. If this continues, his vision could be permanently affected."
She didn't wait for the doctor to finish speaking and let Lorenzo continue the conversation instead. She went straight back to the room.
Gesly was still lying on the bed, IV attached, just staring at the ceiling.
He's calm. Too calm.
"Gesly." Andi went closer and held her brother's face. "What did you do? What product was that? Where did you get it?"
Gesly stayed silent, just looking at his sister. His green eyes were steady.
"Online," he finally said.
"Online?!" Andi stepped back, nearly hysterical. "Why would you trust something online? Why would you put anything in your eyes?!"
"I thought it was cosmetics," Gesly replied simply. "Like an eye tint. There are lots of those."
"That's not hair that will grow back! That's not clothing you can just change!"
Lorenzo came in and held Andi by the shoulders, but she couldn't stop the tears.
"Why?" Andi asked between sobs. "Why did you need to change that?"
Gesly was quiet for a moment.
"I just wanted," he said, "to see them green."
Andi looked at him.
"Sometimes," Gesly added, "I wear contact lenses. Not all the time. Just when I feel like it."
Andi couldn't speak.
"So when I saw the product… I tried it," Gesly continued. "I didn't know this would happen."
There was no emotion in his voice. It was like he was just talking about the weather.
But Lorenzo's eyes were fixed on him intently.
Gesly wasn't scared. He wasn't regretful either. It was as if he was just… observing their reactions.
"You don't need to change yourself to be okay," Andi pleaded. "I love you no matter what."
Gesly stayed silent. He didn't pull his hand away, but he didn't respond either.