"What time did you come home last night?" My mom asked me as she put the foods on our table one by one.
"At nine o'clock, mama, it took me a while to find a car and I also buy some vegetables in the market." I'm lying.
I don't want to say the truth that I was sent home by a rich man whom I did not know. Then we were just the two of us in a car.
What else might mom think if I said those words to her? She'll kill me if she found out that her beloved daughter accepts the anonymous offer.
Mama nodded and served the hot and just-cooked dish. I inhaled the fragrant and delicious smell of my mom's dish.
"How were your entrance exams, Heart?" My mom greeted my entrance exams as she smiled widely.
I spooned rice before answering her question.
"It went fine, and by the end of this month, we will get the results of the entrance exams," I answer and drink my coffee first.
Mama called my siblings first and one by one they went out of their respective rooms.
Our youngest seems to have no sleep and seems to have had no food since last night. Surprised, I looked at his face from head to toe.
"Are you awake the whole night, Edison ??" I asked my brother.
"Of course not, I sleep the whole night." He hesitantly replied to me.
"Just make sure you get a good sleep at night. Especially when you're just a young man, you can't skip sleep for a night." I preach to my brothers.
Moira came out and curiously looked at the faces of our two siblings. She turned her gaze to the food already prepared.
"Who didn't sleep the whole night?" My sister asked in surprise while spooning rice and a dish into her plate.
"These two, they didn't sleep the whole night," I exclaimed and pointed them one by one.
"That's because Calla is still on her cellphone, she's just reading a novel." My sister agreed and nodded while eating.
"Of course not! I went to bed early it was Heart who went home with som---,"
"My god! Calla! If you continue reading the novel, I'll buy you when I have money. Is it okay?" I cut her off before she could say something and even added her rice and dish.
I glared at her and stepped on her left foot. She stopped talking and just ate.
Annoyed, she looked at me while smiling broadly. She pointed to her broken book who only had content, was a pure love story.
She gave me her best puppy eyes and Jesus, she looks like an animal and that made me angry.
"Calla do you want to smell a burning book?" Thrilled to ask him.
"At Heart, do you want to know who send cinderella last night?" She challenged my words as she also asked me.
This young animal, is she trying to blackmail me, scared me and thought that I would be scared? I was really scared!
Damn that! What on earth did just hhappenand god let this girl saw us last night.
Maybe she'll say everything she saw last night if I didn't buy her all the books she loved to read. What else will mama and papa say in case they find out? This naughty child, she's challenging to fight back.
After we ate, Calla put away everything we ate. Mama also left with papa for the farm.
They are said to harvest fruits and a few vegetables with good fruits. I was planning to go with them and help them to harvest everything.
Unluckily I have to go to our store cause no one will watch our veggies in the market.
Moira and I will still be selling in the market. There will be no one to look after our food if we both go together to harvest vegetables and fruits.
I first took a bath and then dressed in clothes to wear when we went to the market. As always, a simple color-coded lavender t-shirt and blue pants.
After they have finished harvesting vegetables and fruits, Mom will help us in the market. Edison and Calla were left at home for household chores.
They are still young and the things we do now are too heavy for them.
Thriving for food to feed ourselves, and have a good life isn't easy. But we already train them two, just in case something happened.
So that when the time comes for my sister Moira and me to have our own family. The two of them who left already knew about the works that our parents also taught us before.
"Heart, are you ready? We're leaving we have to be there early," My older sister informed me and first to get off the house.
I looked out the window and saw my sister's avid lover who had just arrived.
He was well dressed and with his motorbike. Her lover had no one else on board but my sister and me.
I don't know my sister hasn't answered the man who has been courting her for a long time.
They both graduated from school but have no plans to get married. After all, maybe they just wanted to help each of their family sides first before getting married.
We will help our parents together before we get married, that's our promise.
"I'm here, let's go, the rain might reach us here," I exclaimed and made my sister stand before me.
Pablo started the engine of his motorbike and slowly drove it down the mountains.
The descent of the mountain is not far, it is farther away if we go to Manila.
Apart from the distance the fare price there is also expensive. So sometimes we take care of all the important things to do with them in a day.
Next week I will be back there again to catch up on the results of the entrance exams.
I wish I had passed, and that it would not be difficult for me to take an exam at another university.
"How's your exam, Heart?" Brother Paul asked while we were in the middle of the trip.
"It's okay brother. Other questions are a bit difficult but I might have passed," I replied and faked a laugh.
"You must have passed that exam. You are a smart and hard-working child, it is unlikely that you will not pass." My older brother will pretend to be me.
I just laughed and let my sister mumble while they were talking with her boy. We were also very close to the village and we were only a few meters away.