*Drrrrr!*
*Crash!*
*Bang!*
Melo was awoken by crashing and banging happening outside his room.
*What kind of ruckus is happening?* He thought to himself.
He slightly opened his eyes but all he saw were the lights peeking through his window blinds, beaming across the room. He scooted to the other side of the bed, facing his big glass window that is covered with white blinds. Then, he slipped two of his fingers in between the blinds and allowed just the right amount of light to pass through.
*Argh! My eyes!*
The sudden gush of white light from the opening lightly burned his eyes. He once again twisted and turned to the other side and reached for his alarm clock on top of his night desk. He saw that it was already 8 o'clock in the morning. He groaned out of disbelief on what was happening outside that couldn't even wait 'till he had woken up. Slowly he slipped out of bed, slightly opened his door, and peeked through the gap.
There he saw three other men in their dirty work clothes holding hammers, drills and nails, his father in his casual t-shirt and working pants, geared with protective goggles and a pencil hanging on his ear. His mother was wearing a blue round neck blouse partnered with a red, knee-length, A-line skirt, feeding a piece of her freshly baked muffins to his father while placing down the rest to the nearest table available.
*blueberry muffins!*
Melo closed his eyes and the sweet aromatic scent of freshly baked muffins danced its way to his senses, making his mouth watery that he failed to notice that he was drooling.
"Good morning, young master. How was your sleep last night?" Nanny Hearty greeted with his usual sweet smile.
Startled, Melo let out a small shriek and fell on his back.
*Thud.*
Mr. and Mrs. Daetes' attention was caught by the thud coming from Melo's room and turned their eyes to see Melo sitting on the floor. The couple smiled sweetly at him. Mr. Daetes rolled up his blueprint and handed it to one of his men, giving some instructions. He removed his goggles together with his gloves and walked briskly towards Melo.
"Morning, son! I'm sorry if the ruckus woke you up." Mr. Daetes greeted as he extended his arm. "Get up now and get dressed." He added in a lively tone as Mrs. Dates approached his side. He grabbed her by the waist,
"Your Mom and I.." he said before he kissed Mrs. Daetes on her cheeks.
"John, stop." Mrs. Daetes reacted as she giggles
"Anyway, your Mom and I have new plans to liven up this place, would you like to join us?" Mr. Daetes invitingly said to Melo. Melo's sleepy head is finally awoken by the scene he's seeing. He was so excited that he jumped up to his parents and gave them a tight hug. His parents hugged him back as well while his dad snatched him and swooshed him around the room.
Melo loved this.
He laughed his heart out until his father finally brought him down. "Well, young man. If you want to join us, better start prepping yourself. Go on." Mr. Daetes gave Melo's tiny nose a pinch and snapped his fingers to signal the maids to attend to Melo. He turned to Nanny Hearty who was standing beside the doorway and said, "Nanny Hearty, you know what to do." He ushered Melo back to his room while he and Mrs. Daetes went back to decorating the living area.
Minutes have passed, Melo was all dressed up and ready to join the commotion outside. He could hear the crisp laughter of her parents behind the doors on top of the background noise coming from the banging of the hammer and dragging of furniture. He hurriedly opened the door and saw his parents lying down, with their clothes and faces splattered with paint. His mother gestured him to come closer while offering him to help them paint.
Of course, he rushed to their side and grabbed one of the brushes. He started painting the linings. Melo also suggested a few things to add in his living area such as a separate room where he could have a time alone painting, a gaming area where he can place his very own virtual gaming console, and his own mini library. Well, his dad immediately approved of it and started doing a new sketch of the plan while his mother sat and ate beside him. Melo and his mom took turns laughing at the comical reactions that his dad was making while trying to figure out how he will fit everything Melo requested in that floor without doing much alterations.
It was getting late.
"Sweetie, I don't think we can finish this tonight. You'll need to camp somewhere else in order for you to get a nice sleep tonight." His father worriedly said as he scratched his head. "Hmmm, well, get yourself all washed up and meet us at the dining table. Let's talk about it at dinner. Your mom and I will also get washed up clean and let's eat together." His father said as he stroked Melo's hair to the side and wiped the small splatter of paint on his cheeks. Melo nodded in approval and hopped back to his room with the maids following at his tail.
After a short while, someone came knocking on his door.
*Knock!Knock!*
"Who is it?" Melo asked.
"Sweetie, are you ready?" His mom asked.
"Almost, mom. I'll be out in a minute." Melo replied gleefully.
"Okay Sweetie. I'll be by the door, waiting." His mother replied as well.
His mom waited for him patiently at the door and the moment he opened it, she smiled sweetly as an angel at him, casting her loving eyes upon him.
"I'm ready." He said grinning playfully.
She reached her arms to Melo. Melo extended his arm as well and held his mother's hand tightly. However when they reached the dining table, no one was there but a note. Melo read the note and it says,
*Nvvg Nv Rm Gsv Yzxpbziw*
Melo chuckled and shouted, "Dad, this is the lamest code I've ever read." He heard a low laugh coming from their back door. Melo grabbed his mother's hand and pulled her towards their backyard door. Melo's eyes grew as he saw how wonderfully his dad set up a geodesic tent in their backyard, lit with small light bulbs enclosed in colorful lanterns. There was also a small fire pit, and his dad grilling burgers.
"Wow.." Melo said in amazement.
His mother patted his shoulder and gestured to him to follow her and they raced towards Mr. Daetes. The moment Mr. Daetes saw the two of them rushing, he placed down his spatula and ran around their tent, trying to evade his wife and child till the both of them grabbed him by the clothing and fell to the grass.The three of them rolled and faced the sky.
"Dad," Melo called.
"Yep, son?" Mr. Daetes replied.
"Why did you make such a lame code?" Melo asked.
The three of them laughed simultaneously.
"Has the night sky always been this wonderful?" Melo asked with a slight melancholic voice.
"I guess so." His mother replied. "We seldom go out at night so--" His mother was cut off when Mr. Daetes shouted,
"Look, a shooting star" as he points up to the sky. " Close your eyes Melo and make a wish." he added
"Well, I have everything I wanted. What else would I wish for?" He smiled but as the cold wind blew, he smelt something burning and thought of the patties his dad was grilling. "Hmm maybe I'll wish at least one of the burgers will not be burned." He said.
"Yeah. The patties are burning." His father replied in a calm tone then he realized, "Oh my gosh! The patties are literally burning!" He shouted as he springed forward, rushing towards the grill. Melo and his mother laughed at his dad once more as he tried to flip the patties with his bare hands. His mother stood first and rushed to her husband's aid and handed him the spatula. Melo soon stood up and went closer to the fire pit near their tent. His mom fetched some hot chocolate with white marshmallows floating on top together with some thick wool blankets.
They spent the night exchanging stories while adoring the majestic fullness of the moon that night that shone brightly even as they turned the lights off. As the wind grew colder, they decided to take shelter inside their tent. His father pressed a button and a black cloth of sorts covered the whole tent, making the inside pitch black. Fans inside the tent activated as well to add a bit of ventilation inside.
"Are you ready, son? Don't forget to breathe 'cause this might catch you breathless." His father said as he pressed another button.
There was a flash of a spectrum of light then millions of twinkling and sparking lights popped out and scattered above them, filling the entire room of pitch black with a spectacular light display. The colorful gas like images of the galaxy and the revolving planets were inside their tent, all thanks to his dad..
Melo's eyes grew out of disbelief, his jaws dropped out of amazement. He was speechless.
"You know son, I've always wanted to fly to space." His dad said with melancholy in his voice
"What happened?" Melo asked.
"Well, your grand-parents didn't have the fortune we have now. I used to sell newspapers and junk I gathered from our neighbors to compensate for my school fees. Then, when I was sixteen I met your uncle and from then on, opportunities flooded me. Next thing I know, I met your mom." His dad gazed at his wife lovingly while reaching for her hand. He pressed her hand towards his lips and gave it a light kiss. Then he turned his head and snickered. His tone changed from low and softly spoken to flamboyant and loud as he said, "Your mom was head over heels over me. She chased me around like a gosling and wooed me all day long." Her mother shook her hand from his grip and slapped him playfully repetitively.
"Oh come on! John, God knows you were the one dying to date me." Her mother replied, still continuously slapping any part of his father available for slapping while their sound of non-stop laughing reverberated throughout the backyard.
As the three of them gasped for air from laughing too much, his mother hushed Melo and his father and stared back up the holographic galaxy they have, "You know, Melo. I wished you upon a star." her mother whispered gently in Melo's ear.
"You did? Why?" Melo asked with his inquisitive eyes locked at her mother.
"You know how your dad can be very workaholic and back then, business was still young. Mommy got lots of miscarriages before you came. Mommy was so afraid to lose you that she had to sacrifice work and daddy had to do the same. He had to work shorter hours to take good care of us." She narrated, stroking his hair back, trying to reminisce about the past to the best she could. "Mommy pushed a lot of people back then." pausing for a while to let out a chuckle. "I only want daddy to come near me. I think it was 'cause of the baby blues." She continued in a low-tone.
The sleepy-eyed Melo with drooping eyelids opened his mouth and let out a big yawn .
His parents then embraced him and told him to save his remarks for tomorrow since they are going on a trip to the city to gather new furniture that would go well to Melo's newly furnished living area . They scooted closer to him, kissed him on the forehead, and slept beside him all through the night.