Since she had almost two weeks of vacation, Jane had decided that she would go home to the province to be with Mrs. Sanchez and her siblings.
That idea didn't come in her mind until Mrs. Sanchez called her that Monday afternoon.
She could feel the longing that Mrs. Sanchez had for her in the latter's voice.
Even if she was not the original Jane, she missed her, too.
Even in the short span of time that she was with her, she started to love her as her real mother.
Also, she was looking forward to meet Jane's siblings.
And lastly, she wanted to check on their situation back home.
She sent a message to Edric first informing him that she would be absent for this week's session.
While waiting, she also called Mrs. Shaw over the phone and gave her sincere apologies for not being able to do the tutoring session with Celeste on the coming weekend.
Thankfully, Mrs. Shaw was very understanding and she even wished her to have a safe travel going home.
Edric didn't respond her message right away.
However, Jane had already decided that she would go home whether she would get his approval or not.
Jane's home province was in C Province of Country P. She had to board in an airplane to go there. And she could not afford to wait for his late reply. She still had to book a plane ticket and a return flight so she won't miss the first opening day of her final semester.
Jane booked her plane ticket before the day ended with no message response from Edric, still.
Jane's flight was the night of the following day.
It took her forty-five minutes to arrive at C Province's airport which was in the L City.
Mrs. Sanchez was already waiting for her at the arrival section of the airport.
Jane knew that her mother might not be able to recognize her with this look so she approached her first.
Mrs. Sanchez was surprised to see Jane having a new look.
She immediately enveloped her daughter with a tight hug.
"Jane!"
"Mama!"
Then Jane recalled what the old Jane would usually do when greeting her mother.
Jane grabbed Mrs. Sanchez's hand. The former then bowed down and placed the back of the latter's hand on her forehead. Touching it.
"Oh! Bless you, child!"
The mother and daughter hugged for a while.
"Jane! You looked amazing!"
"As if you didn't know how I really look, Mama." Jane teasingly refuted her mother.
"Yeah. My Jane is the prettiest!" Mrs. Sanchez sang her praises for her daughter.
Mrs. Sanchez offered to carry her bag but Jane refused because she could handle them.
The mother and daughter hailed a cab going to their booked hotel to stay for the night.
Tomorrow, they would ride a bus going to their hometown in Rosemary Town of C Province which was in the northern part of C Province.
"Mama. I miss you!" Jane said while they were riding the taxi cab."
"I miss you too my Jane." Mrs. Sanchez sincerely said even if they had seen each other less than a month ago.
The mother and daughter arrived at the hotel and they checked-in.
It was a small budget hotel which was okay for them to stay for the night.
The mother and daughter shared a twin room.
Though they had a lot of things to talk about, Jane and Mrs. Sanchez decided to postpone it later when they arrived in their hometown tomorrow. Jane and her mother fell asleep after Jane was done with her night skin care routine.
Before she slept, Jane checked her phone to see if Edric had responded to her message but there was nothing.
"Probably tomorrow." Jane mumbled to herself and then placed her phone on the bedside table.
When morning came, Jane and Mrs. Sanchez had their free breakfast before they went to the bus terminal.
It had taken them four hours to reach their hometown.
When she arrived, Mrs. Sanchez led Jane to a small pink wooden gate standing between them and the very familiar house. A white bongo truck was parked in their small garage.
"It was Anton who painted this in rush yesterday. It was Naomi who suggested the color." Mrs. Sanchez told her.
Though she had not met Anton and Naomi yet, Jane smiled warmly when she heard his name.
With Jane's old memories of them, she saw them both as very sweet siblings to her.
Anton was fourteen and Naomi was twelve. They still had the sweetness of innocence in them.
The moment Jane and Mrs. Sanchez entered, two voices rushed to open the door to welcome them.
Both Anton and Naomi did what Jane had done in the airport.
"Mano po, Ma!" They said simultaneously.
And then, they turned their attention to Jane.
"Ate? (Sister?)" They had to ask because they were confused when they first saw her.
(In Country P, Ate is the local term for an older sister and it is pronounced as /a-te/. And yes, Country P is the country called as "The Pearl of the Orient Seas".)
They only confirmed that she was indeed Jane when they saw Mrs. Sanchez smiling at her.
"Ate! (Sister!)" Anton and Naomi came to hug Jane.
Jane was surprised by the hug but she still hugged them back. The feeling of sisterly love rushed to her.
"It's really you! I thought it's someone else. I almost forgot how you actually looked like." Anton said in relief.
'So this is how siblings love felt like.'
Though she had a sister in her past life, she had never felt this kind of connection with her step-sister.
It was her step-mother's fault while they had grown up with no sisterly bond at all.
Maybe she was at fault, too. She was not persistent enough in trying to build a relationship with her.
Going back to the present, she felt happy now that she could experience the things that she missed to experience back then.
Especially becoming a big sister.
"It's just me. I'm sorry if my new look has caused confusion to you both." She said softly.
"Look at you both! You've grown up so well!" She added.
"You're taller than me now!" Jane told Anton and the young man just chuckled and replied, "Not that much, Ate. But soon, I'll be taller than you with a huge gap."
"You sure will. And you, little girl, you're so big now!" Jane then turned her attention to her sister which in the coming years would be a beautiful young lady.
It had been more than three years since the last time the old Jane saw them so what she had were Jane's memories of them three years prior.
Anton was still ten back then while Naomi was still eight going nine.
"Did you behave while I'm away?" Jane asked them like how a good sister would usually ask when meeting their younger siblings for the first time after a long time.
"I know you have missed your sister so badly but let's get inside, shall we?" Mrs. Sanchez said after she saw their neighbors peeking on their respective gates to see who had arrived in their house.
"What's going on?" Jane could not help but ask especially when she saw how uncomfortable Mrs. Sanchez was.
"Ate, let's get inside." Naomi persuaded her to get in.
"Okay."
Anton took Jane's hand carry bag and brought it to her room while Naomi took care of Jane and their mother's sleepers.
She gave them both their indoor sleepers to change into.
"Jane, are you hungry?" Mrs. Sanchez asked.
"I already cooked lunch, Mama. Let's eat before the food get's cold." Anton shouted as he came back from Jane's room.
"It's already twelve thirty, what are you both waiting for? Do you want to get sick in the stomach?" Mrs. Sanchez scolded her children.
"Mama, it's not. We have estimated that you and Ate will arrive this hour so Kuya (Big Brother) and I have decided to wait so we can have lunch all together." The youngest said.
"Oho! Mama. Don't scold them, please. Come, let's eat. I know they're probably hungry, too." Jane said and she walked towards the kitchen/dinning area to prepare the cooked dishes so they could enjoy them together.
Mrs. Sanchez wanted her to sit and wait in the dinning area while she would be preparing for the food. However, Jane had already volunteered.
"No, Mama. You should sit down. It's been a long time since I (the old Jane) have done this. I miss doing this for you." She said. But more like she was speaking in behalf of original Jane's feelings.
"Alright." Mrs. Sanchez had no other choice but to let her daughter do what she wanted.
Anton prepared a chicken dish for lunch, rice and other side dishes.
When Jane was done putting the dishes on the plates, Naomi helped her sister putting them on the dinning table while Anton placed the clean plates, glasses and utensils for each of them.
It was still smoking hot when the food were served.
And of course, the meal won't be complete without their favorite brand of cola which was really famous all over the country.
After that, they lined up to wash their hands properly.
After making sure that everything was ready, Jane, Naomi, and Anton joined their mother in the dinning table.
Anton then volunteered to lead the prayer.
"Thank you God for helping us in putting food into our table everyday. Amen!"
Yes, Mrs. Sanchez had raised her children to be religious and to trust in the divine being who was sitting in his throne above.
"Amen!" They answered in unison.
With that, Jane scooped rice and put it on Mrs. Sanchez's plate while Anton placed a slice of chicken on her plate.
Mrs. Sanchez's eyes almost teared up when she saw her children finally complete and most especially they could enjoy eating their lunch together.
Jane paused as she thought there's something wrong with what she was doing especially when she saw her mother's teary eyes.
However, she recalled that they would usually do this every meal.
"What's wrong Mama?" She asked.
"Nothing. I'm just glad to see the three of you complete."
"Me too, Mama. How I wish Ate will just stay for good." Naomi said.
"Hahaha. Maybe soon, Bunso (Little Sister). For now, let's eat before the food get's cold." Jane said and Mrs. Sanchez agreed.
"Right!"
Jane then took a scoop of the soup to taste. She didn't know that Anton was looking at her with an anxious expression.
He idolized his big sister in everything especially in cooking. He wanted to impress her with this dish.
"Mmm!" She moaned the moment she tasted it and Anton did a fist pump.
"Yes!"
"This is good! Good job Anton!" Jane didn't forget to compliment him.
"Thank you! I learn that from the best!" He said.
"And who?" Jane asked.
"You of course!" Anton said but Jane used her lips to point towards Mrs. Sanchez who was acting like she was hurt with her son's comment.
"Oops!" Anton said.
"Oh my! I don't know if I should be flattered. Thank you! However, I have learn all my skills from Mama. So, Mama's still the best!" Jane said to console her mother who gave her a wink and Jane winked back.
Mrs. Sanchez was only teasing her son.
"Thank you, Jane," Mrs. Sanchez told her.
The quartet then shared a laugh before they formally started eating.
It was a good meal. Jane had eaten a lot.
After they had lunch, Naomi washed the dishes while Anton, Jane and their mom waited for her in the living room so they could watch a show in the television and to catch up with everything that they had missed.
***
(A/N: In Filipino culture, 'Mano po' is a gesture showing respect to an elder or the older members of the family like the parents and the extended elders like the uncles, aunties and grandparents.
Filipinos are known for 'Po' and 'Opo'. We use this phrase at the end of our responses when asked by a question or just when talking to an elder. That is also a to show respect.
We want to emphasize our side by not sounding rude to them as well.
But it all depends on the region and the language used.
Bunso- a term used to the youngest sibling regardless of gender.)