Until now, I am still staring at my food in front of me. I am sitting on one of the chairs here, and in front of me is the long horizontal table. In front of me are Mommy and my uncles and aunts eating. Next to me are their children, my cousins. At the very end of the table sits Daddy. Who symbolizes the Padre de Familia?
They didn't notice me because all I heard was gossip and laughter from the elders. But I couldn't escape my cousins whispering to me.
"Girl, aren't you going to eat?" Chelsea asked worriedly. Chelsea is a friendly one. She is always observant. She cares about everyone, especially my cousins.
The others tried to convince me, but I just shook my head. "I'm full, I already ate," I lied to them. I don't get full easily because I'm dead starving. But I have to leave here because I know that later my parents will talk bad about me.
They understood what I wanted to convey. "Do you want me to finish it? So you can leave," Bright offered me. Bright is the number one dead starving among our cousins. If I were dead starving, he would be even worse. But even so, we still didn't gain weight.
I smiled and nodded at him. It was a good thing that his being a dead starving man was also useful.
When all my food was transferred to his plate, I stood up. Which caught the attention of the talking adults.
"Mom and Dad, I'm done eating. I'm leaving." I was about to leave when Mommy spoke.
"Don't lie to us, Kid. I saw you earlier, you gave your food to your cousin." Shit, I didn't notice that. "Are you really that rude and don't want to join us for dinner tonight? " she cried and cried at me. I saw Daddy comforting Mommy. Dad glared at me. Those eyes, I knew they were going to punish me again.
"Since you have no class in 1 week. You're grounded. No phones or any other gadgets. We will lock you in your room. We will only feed you once a day since you don't want to eat and sit with us." he said with emphasis. I just stand there playing with my fingers. I wanted to beg but I didn't. I know that one word is enough for him. His decision will not change. The last time I begged, he just stared at me and walked away. What a shame.
I was surprised when Bright immediately stood up. "Uncle and Aunt, Xyci is not at fault here. I forced her to give me her food," he explained, and he is expecting you to listen to him.
I was even more surprised when Ate Akira stood up. Akira is the second eldest of our cousins. All of us respect her. Not just because she is older than us but because of what she has done for us. She serves as our mother whenever we are all together. She's like our mother, especially when she's admonishing or advising. That's why we feared her. You will just keep quiet when she's the one speaking.
"Uncle and Auntie, I think that's too much. Especially the one without gadgets and eating only once a day. She's not a kid anymore. She's in the 12th grade, and her responsibilities are no joke. Even though they have a 1-week break, she still needs to review or do the tasks left to her. And she needs to eat at least 3 times a day so that her body has the strength to do whatever she's going to do. And for clarification, Bright was right. Xyci is full because maybe Xyci hasn't digested the food she ate earlier. That's why Bright volunteered to eat her dinner. I hope you understand me, Uncle and Aunt." Ate Akira explained at length.
Silence. The surroundings were quiet after Ate Akira finished speaking. None of us spoke. While I was still standing and playing with my fingers. When my aunts couldn't stand the deafening silence anymore, they just laughed and agreed with what Ate Akira said.
"Yes, Jax. Akira is right too. Don't be too hard on Xy.
When Daddy came back to his senses, he immediately stood up. "Fine, this is your last warning, Xyci. If you're rude again, I might slap you," he threatened before turning his back on us without a word and going to their room. Mom followed to calm Dad down.
I didn't wait any longer, and without a word I ran up the stairs and headed to the bedroom. Right there, I hugged the pillow, covering my face so they wouldn't hear me screaming and crying. Before, I loved this family so much. Not now, I fucking hate this family. I'm always the one who's wrong, even though I'm not doing anything. Then when they're the one who's wrong and you just want to correct them, they suddenly call you rude for responding to an adult. Even a simple move will be criticized by them. They always vent their anger on me. I just keep quiet because I don't want the situation to get worse. That's why I want to stay away from them. Especially when I'm tired, I might tell them all my grievances.
After an hour had passed. I stopped crying. But there were still small tears escaping my eyes.
I just stared into the void while thinking about what happened earlier. What if that accident didn't happen? Maybe I would have gotten princess treatment from Mommy and Daddy. Not slave treatment.
It's been 7 years since that incident happened. I was running in the woods without slippers. I was being chased by multiple men. They were all wearing black. They were holding guns and knives. I had just woken up, so I didn't bother looking for my slippers. There was no point in looking for my slippers; I might have been dead if I had taken my slippers more than running for my life.
I'm still shocked that day. I didn't know what was happening, all I could think about was getting away from them.
Add that my parents were nowhere to be found and the tent is covered in blood. We were camping that day because it was my birthday, and it was my birthday wish.
"Happy Birthday, Nakshie! " Mommy and Daddy greeted me at the same time. I smiled at them. I was surprised when Daddy suddenly took out the cake he must have hidden behind his back. I didn't notice it.
My brown eyes immediately lit up. I was jumping for joy. "Thank you so much, Mommy and Daddy." I said sweetly and hugged them together.
"Anything for our princess," Dad said while squeezing my cheek.
"Blow your candle now, Bibi. Make a wish too! " Mommy said, smiling. As she said, I closed my eyes and made a wish. I blew it out strongly.
"What is your wish, Princess? " Daddy asked while smiling.
"I want to go camping! " I said enthusiastically and gave them puppy eyes so they would agree to me.
I didn't fail. They immediately nodded at me. I was jumping up and down again because of excitement. That was my first time; they didn't allow me to join the Girl Scouts because they weren't there to watch over me.
I happily hugged them again and thanked them. After that, I quickly went to my room to pack my things. It is still tomorrow, but because I was excited, I packed first. When I finished packing, I went downstairs again to join them for dinner.
I was stunned to see what Mommy and Daddy had prepared. Almost all of my favorites were served. There was spaghetti, chicken wings, fried chicken, adobong chicken, shrimp, crabs, calamares, igado, and many others. And for the drinks, my favorite iced coffee matcha would not be missing. And a Nestea juice apple for Mommy, Daddy, and my aunts, uncles, and cousins who will go today. They are the only ones coming to my birthday because that was also my request to them. That was fine with me because I didn't want to invite our plastic neighbors who did nothing but gossip about us.
I immediately turned around when I heard the doorbell outside. I quickly ran to meet them. When I came out, my cousins came to me holding a cake. And my uncles and aunts were holding confetti. The contents of the confetti spread all over my hair and face.
"Happy Birthday, Xyci! " they said in unison before setting off the confetti again.
I cried with joy. I hugged them all while they rubbed my back, making me calm down.
"Thank you so much, Aunts and Uncles. Thank you too, cousins," I said, crying. They smiled.
"Let's go inside; I'm hungry," Bright interrupted us. Everyone laughed at the child's mischief because they were also hungry.
We all went inside and went to the dining room. Mommy and Daddy were still there preparing the food. We helped them so that everyone could eat.
Before they even eat, they sing to me. While I was still smiling and crying with joy.
We had a great time that night. The adults were talking and laughing. And the teasing and teasing of our cousins.
They decided to spend the night here for now. Aunt and Uncle slept in the guest room. While my cousins slept in my room. Aunts and uncles didn't want to agree earlier and said that it might be too crowded to sleep. I shook my head and just said that it was our bonding and sleepover with my cousins. It didn't do anything because I had a point. Besides, my bed is spacious, so we can fit in there. The space down the bed is also spacious, so the men can stay there.
We're all sitting here watching TV. We're eating popcorn while talking about leaving tomorrow. Yes, I convinced Aunt and Uncle. They have work tomorrow, so they don't know if they'll be able to come or not. But I promised I'd be a good girl if they came. In the end, they still agreed. They canceled what they had to do tomorrow. I immediately hugged them and thanked them. While my cousins were jumping for joy.
"Guys, omg! I'm so excited for tomorrow!" Chelsea said dramatically.
"I don't even want to go," Bright said with a frown.
"Why?" Avi asked curiously. Avi is a war freak. She's a war freak, but not with us, but with those who want to oppress us. She's short-tempered. But with us, she's gentle. Except with the boys, she always teases and scolds Bright.
"What about the worms in my stomach? Don't they bring food when they go camping? Because they have to catch and kill animals in the forest to eat! " Bright said. We just laughed at him. He really only had food on his mind.
"Don't be an OA! Don't be a Boba either! You're talking about hunting and not camping! " Avi shouted at Bright. Which made us laugh even more. He did have a point; we would bring food, but we would just cook it over wood.
The room was filled with laughter and teasing before we went to bed. But it was already eleven o'clock, and I still couldn't sleep. Maybe because I was too excited. I looked away when Lizie spoke. Lizie is the clown one. She's the one who often jokes with us. Even if others are corny, she still has no shame. But she can still be relied on when it comes to serious situations.
"You can't sleep either, Xyci."
If you look at her, her eyes are already sleepy. And it seems like she wants to say something.
"I'm just too excited for tomorrow. You, why are you still awake? "
"To be honest, I don't want to come either, Xyci. I have a different feeling." I sighed at what she said. I know her instincts are always right. But maybe this time they were wrong.
"Don't overthink too much, Lizie. Nothing will happen because we're going to a secured place tomorrow."
She just nodded at what I said. And just throw in a joke to change the serious atmosphere.
After an hour, I was also visited by drowsiness. Lizie also seemed to be visited because she was yawning.
I closed my eyes and fell asleep.
I woke up early even though I fell asleep at twelve last night. Even though my eyes wanted to sleep again, I stopped it. I immediately went into the bathroom to wash my face and gargle.
My cousins were still sound asleep. Except for Aunt Akira and Kuya Max, who were now sitting on the couches in the room and drinking milk. They were really old.
Kuya Max was the oldest of our cousins. Ate Akira followed. That's why they got along together because they were both strict and acted like mom and dad to us.
I went downstairs and joined them. I went to the kitchen to make milk. When I got there, Auntie and Mommy were already preparing breakfast.
Pancit canton with a delicious egg was served at the table. The rest were the leftovers we didn't finish last night.
"Good morning, Bibi. Call your cousins, and let's eat."
"They're still sleeping, Mommy," I said as I grabbed a mug and filled it with milk. I also grabbed the thermos and poured its hot water into the cup.
"Oh my! I said it. Those kids are really sleeping on oil," said Aunt Zed while laughing.
"I'll try to wake them up, Mommy." I said goodbye. Mommy just nodded and smiled.
I went up the stairs, and as I opened the door, an authoritative voice stopped me.
"Are you going to wake up, or am I going to drag you? " Ate Akira continued to lecture my cousins, who were lying down. Next to Ate Akira was Kuya Max, who looked at my cousins with a bad look. Even though I wasn't in their situation, I was still terrified.
It wasn't even four o'clock when the five woke up.
"Sir! Yes, sir! Chelsea suddenly saluted".
"Whooo! Finally we can eat! " Bright said with a superhero pose.
"Hey, guys, let's eat downstairs if you don't want me to beat you up! " Avi said threateningly. She was still in a closed fist and in a boxing pose.
"Guys, what kind of banana turned into a fish? It's a hotdog," Lizie said reluctantly and laughed like a goat.
"Whooo shit, let's go; we might not get out alive if we stay here any longer. Those two dragons are scary," Neon said with a stretched body.
Neon is the neutral man among our cousins. Neutral because he has different moods. Sometimes he's crazy, and sometimes he's serious. Even when we're laughing, sometimes he's quiet. When we're in a serious situation, he'll just tease. You never know what mood he'll use every time.
"You guys should go downstairs; let's eat." I started when they finished talking. They followed me, and we went downstairs to eat. When we got to the dining room, Bright immediately sat down. It wasn't obvious that he was hungry, was it?
We ate quickly so that we could get to our destination early. We still had to set up tents, and it would be too hot if we had to wait until lunch.
My cousins had already packed last night. There were a lot of bags here and extra clothes for the guests.
The four of us were carrying heavy things. Except for Ate Akira, Kuya Max, Lizie, and Neon.
I remembered the things we put up last night.
Chelsea took the makeup from my room and any kind of body paint that would make you look pretty cute. Bright almost finished the food in our pantry room. Avi put all the heavy things there, just in case someone bullied us; she said she could use them to slap them. And me, I brought the things I wanted to bring. I don't know, but it seems like I need everything even though I don't.
We left the room and went downstairs. We ran outside, and our aunts and uncles were waiting. Daddy is in the front seat; he is going to drive. Mommy is in the passenger seat. We immediately got inside the van. It was spacious, so we will fit in.
When we sat down, I suddenly felt nervous. Maybe I was just excited.
Minutes had passed, and we arrived at our destination. The elders got off first and guided us.
Mommy and Daddy went down to go to the woman sitting in a hut. It looked like an entrance fee because I saw Daddy take out money and pay. While Mommy was writing in the blue book that was given to her.
My gaze turned to two men not far away. One was staring at us, and the other was looking to the side.
I was terrified. It was as if my blood ran out when I saw what they were carrying. They are carrying guns. Everything they were wearing is black.
My companions didn't seem to notice this. They were still busy chatting. When I turned my gaze to Ate Akira to tell her what I had seen. But just as I was about to point out the direction, I was stunned.
The two men were no longer there.