I stayed inside my room after I'm done cleaning. Someone knocked the door and I know who it was already. I saw Nana outside half naked with a towel on his shoulder, crossing his arms on his chest with a smirk on his face.
"What?"
"Mom told me to call you, she has something to say I guess"
I nodded. I went back inside to get my phone before following him outside straight to their main house. I saw Auntie Cana talking to someone I think I already know who. The moment she saw me coming, she poked the man beside her happily before pointing her fingers at me.
"That's him!" She exclaimed.
I gave the old man a waai to show respect and he did the same. He smiled at me. I can say that they look exactly the same as they were on the photo.
"Ren, this is my husband. You can call him Uncle Mond"
"Hello, Uncle Mond"
"Hello"
While talking with Auntie Cana for the first time at the phone, she told me that Uncle Mond is another part of their squad. He is close to the both of them but he sees my mom as a sister that Auntie Cana who became his wife.
He's an old man with a bit large nose, doesn't look that old yet, and he almost have the same face as his son.
"So what brings you here?" He asked, the four of us are currently sitting at the living room. Nana went to the kitchen with his mom to prepare some snacks.
"Ah, I've been stress in school lately. I want to runaway from the city for a while to take a break" I smiled.
"Does you—"
"No, I'm living on my own. I don't have to ask permission from everyone"
He nodded. Nana came with a tray on his hands. At the top of it are pieces of bread and a cup of coffee. Later on, Auntie noticed that I didn't take the last of coffee left on the tray so she hand it to me. I shock my head.
"I don't drink coffee, Auntie" She smiled before putting it back to the tray, "I'm sorry"
She smiled at me, "It's fine"
We had a good conversation together. Nana was busy playing with his phone at the side, while I'm being showered with questions.
"So what are you going to pursue in college?" Uncle asked before shoving the bread inside his mouth.
"I want to study Architecture, it was my mom's dream for me"
"But is that what you want?" Auntie Cana asked with worry on her face.
I smiled, "Mom helped me a lot to who I am now, as time passes by, I learned to hug what she wants me to study in college. Even though she didn't force me, I want to make her proud as well as my self"
It started when mom scanned my notes to check if I have assignments in school. I told her many times that I finished it at school already but she don't believe. She ended seeing a lot of drawing inside of unanswered assignments. I received a lot of praises from her that time.
"Sweety, your drawings were beautiful!" She exclaimed, looking at it with a wide smile on her face.
"Really? Thank you"
"Yes. I feel it that you'll become a good architect one day!"
"Architect? What's that?" I titled my head while looking at her confusedly, that time I don't know what that was.
"Aw, it's a person who study Architecture. They are in charge of designing structures such as buildings and houses" she explained.
From that day on, I dream to be an architect and discard my first dream which is to become an Astronaut. I watched a lot of video tutorials in YouTube a lot, videos that can help me enhance my skills.
Uncle Mond already left because there's an emergency. He is working as a police officer and was informed about a chaos somewhere. I'm left inside with Nana and Auntie Cana who is cooking food for dinner.
"Hey!" Nana suddenly called after being silent for a long time.
I raised an eye.
"Wanna go somewhere?"
"Where?" I asked.
I followed him outside. It's almost 5pm and the sun will disappear soon. We walked quite far from their house and passed by a lot of houses made from concrete materials. Base on my observation, their house is one of the better looking one in this place. We walked through a grassy place until we reached a huge tree with a chair made from wood near it.
"We're here" he said
If I look behind me, the road back to their house is not that far from us. Ahead of us is a green field that blend well with the light of the sunset. The view is something new to me that I immediately took my phone out of my pocket to take a pic. I smiled, but this smile is different the usual smile I have.
Different? I don't know how to explain but the feeling is not the same as the usual smile I have.
I heard the man beside me complaining because he was defeated. He leaned his back on the chair and unleashed a frustrated sound before he looked back at me.
"What?"
I shock my head.
"Do you like it?" he asked
"Like what?"
"The place, the view. You took a picture so it means you like it, right?"
I nodded, "The view is new to me. When I was a kid I'm not aloud to go somewhere else, I only stay inside the house to study hard. I can't play outside. I don't even have toys. My childhood is quite boring that's why seeing something new right now makes me kind of happy"
"Oi, you talk too much!" He exclaimed before playing another game because he's still mad after losing.
"Am I?" I smirked before looking at the beautiful sky. The sun will completely disappear in a while and the moon will rise. It feels weird seeing it for the first time. I'm like a small child who feels a mixture of happiness, amazement, and sadness.
"Uhm" the other one who is busy playing hummed.
I received a call from someone that I don't want to talk to. It's from the person who always wait outside school after class to guard all of my actions. I stand up from my seat and signed Nana that I'll be back. When I'm far enough from him, I take the call before it hang up.
"What?" I frowned.
"Is that how you greet your—"
"I don't have time for that, why did you call?"
The mood I have a while ago slowly fade away. I'm feeling annoyed right now.
"Where are you?" He asked before being silent for a second.
"Home" I answered dully
"I know you're not inside. Where are you?"
The corner of my mouth raised. Even if he knows today is the start of the school break, he still went in front of my house to check if I runaway. Our relationship is like I'm the prisoner and he's the cop.
"Somewhere far, I guess?"
"What the hell, Ren. Tell me where you are and I'll bring you back home!"
"No" I tried to remain calm, "I'll spend my break here, don't worry I'll be back after two weeks"
"I said tell me where you are!"
I chuckled, "Philippines? Japan? Korea? You can find me from one of this countries"
"I'm not—"
I hanged the call before being scold for long. I took a deep breath before going back to where Nana and I were sitting.
"Have a fight with your—"
"With my classmate, it's for the group project" I lied, cutting his words.
"I thought you finished everything before going here?"
"I did, but not all so that he have something to do" I forced my lips to smile.
He looked at me confused. Is he not going to believe me? I hate being ask a lot of questions.
"You sure?" I nodded.
It was exactly 6:30pm when we decided to go back home. We went to the main house first to eat dinner with Auntie Cana. Sadly, Uncle can't join us tonight.
Auntie was waiting for us at the living room while watching tv. When we're there already, we followed her to the kitchen. The plates as well as the spoons and forks are placed on the table already.
"I cooked a pork soup for dinner. I always cook this when your mom visit me here, she loves it!" Auntie Cana giggled.
"Really?" I smiled
"Yes. I remember one time when she told me to teach here cook it. Of course, I did! But it doesn't taste the same because—"
She paused for a while and we both said the same thing after.
"She can't cook!" Auntie and I laughed.
Mom's dish is horrible. She can't even cook egg perfectly or average. That's why we order food outside or let the maids cook food. I asked here why and she said it's because Grandma don't want here to cook, she's scared mom will get hurt or get tired, beside Grandma is an awesome cook! When I was a kid and lived with her in the Philippines, I gain weight a lot because she always cooked food for me.
"Oi, Let's eat now!" The hungry frowning guy who's watching us, crossing his arms on his chest complained.
"Let's eat?" Auntie asked and I nodded in response.
The moment I shove a spoon of soup with meat inside my mouth, I now know why mom like her food so much. The soup taste not too sour and not overcooked as well as the meat. She's almost as good as Grandma.
"I bought a lot of pork the day after I called you" I remember that day, "The first that came into my mind was this!"
I smiled then continue eating. I remember that I told I don't usually eat fish, it's because I always have a hard time eating it when I was a kid. Removing the bones by myself is tiring, but I'm not allergic to fish.
I leaned my back on the chair after finishing my food. Auntie Cana insisted to wash the plates so I followed Nana back to the rent house.
"Did you like the food?" He asked
I nodded, "Yes"
"Do you drink?"
"Water? Of course, I'll die if I don't"
He hissed at me after hearing the answer he wasn't expecting.
"I mean drink beer?"
"Ah!" now I know why he did that, "I don't. Not until I'm 19"
"Uh, disappointing" he said then we parted ways. He went straight to the bathroom while I went to my bed.
I know that it's legal already to drink when someone turned 18 but mom told me to do it when I'm 19. But I don't think I will. I don't hang out with everyone, as I said, I love to stay alone. Alcohol is not good for the body also. When my classmates gathered at the bar during weekends, I refused to go. Am I scared to be out of place? No. I just don't like to go in that kind of place and I know they're going to drink, I don't want to take care of them and have vomit all over my shirt like what usually happens in a drama.
I did my routine before going to bed. Scroll on my social media account, went to the bathroom to take a bath and I saw Nana half naked again along the way, then went to my room after freshen up, change clothes, then surf on social media again like what people my age does.
I received a text from the person who called me earlier telling me to comeback immediately before his boss find out. I replied telling his to give his best lie to cover me until I comeback home.
I plugged the charger of my phone and put it on the floor, unlike at my room in bangkok, there's no table beside me to place my phone. I placed my body half sitting to pray first before going to sleep. After doing so I lay down comfortably before closing my eyes.
"I hope I'll have a good sleep" I whispered to myself.