Chapter 23
"Waaaa!! Mama!! Mama!"
A loud scream from behind us caught our attention. A little girl was crying for some unknown reason.
"Hm?"
Sophia was the only one looking back. She saw a little baby just like her crying.
"Dajjy, she's cwying, she's sad."
"That's right sweetie."
"She's not mature at all. Pwathetic."
"..."
I almost choked when I heard what she said. Sophia was smiling as she watched the little baby behind us make a scene. She looked like she was having fun.
The other passengers looked at the baby and some of them were irritated. It was still early and they were disturbed by a loud, irritating cry.
The mother apologized to the passengers as she tried to calm her baby.
As for Sophia, she found it entertaining.
"Don't worry, Dajjy, I'll be good. I want a new fwiend for Aria."
"That's good to hear, sweetheart."
Now that Sophia understood that it was annoying to cry. She promised to be a good girl.
"That's my princess, muah!"
"Dajjy, your beard tickles my face!"
I kissed her forehead, but Sophia giggled as she pushed me away. I hadn't shaved in a month and more stubble was growing on my chin. They prickled Sophia when I kissed her.
"I'm so proud of you, baby, you know how to be a good girl. When we get to Dagupan, Pangasinan, I will find you a beautiful Barbie."
I'm sure I can find it in the provincial market. I traveled back to 1999, but I'm sure every town has at least one market.
Pangasinan is not a backward place, they have infrastructure.
Hours passed and the sun was shining in the sky again. The kids are tired of looking out the window.
Three hours have passed and we are now in Bulacan... Still far from Pangasinan.
It was a blessing that we didn't have to take a boat or a plane to get to Pangasinan. Plane/boat tickets are expensive. Tickets for a family of four would cost thousands of pesos.
Sophia happily talked to her Barbie doll. She didn't care if the other passengers looked at her. Of course, since she was sitting on my lap, I had to join in the fun.
And now I'm talking to 'Aria' too.
"Dajjy, say hello to Pwincess Aria."
"Your Highness, it's a pleasure to meet you."
To make sure Sophia didn't get bored, I did my best to entertain her.
"Dajjy, Pwincess Aria said you are ugly. Please don't talk to her with your filthy mouth, peasant."
"..."
What can I say? My daughter is really smart! She knows what a peasant means!
"Baby, where did you learn that word 'peasant'?"
"I heard it on TV, Mommy likes to watch soap operas."
She answered me innocently.
I turned to my wife and she was embarrassed. It seemed that she did not know that Sophia was learning bad things from television.
"I was watching a drama about a poor woman who married a prince charming. But the rival rich woman showed up and kept saying that the poor woman was a lowly peasant... Sophia probably learned that from that drama. I will not watch it with her again."
Penelope declared with blushing cheeks. Then she looked at Sophia.
"Honey, you can't say that word again."
"Why?"
"Because it's a bad word."
"But the rich lady on the TV can say it."
As expected, television is bad for children. They can learn inappropriate things if we leave them unsupervised. If they are going to watch television, we must stay and counsel them. Parental guidance is a must.
"Still, you have to promise Mommy."
"Okay, Mommy."
Sophia didn't understand, but she agreed anyway. In her opinion, "peasant" was not a bad word. The rich lady was just being honest.
"..."
"Roman, are you okay? You look pale."
Suddenly my wife noticed that our son was quiet. But unlike the usually quiet Roman, he was pale and looked weak.
Penelope touched his forehead to take his temperature. Fortunately, he seemed fine.
"Are you feeling sick, honey?"
She asked worriedly.
"Mom... My stomach is churning. I feel like I'm going to throw up what I ate earlier."
"You have motion sickness?"
"Hm."
Roman nodded.
Unlike baby Sophia, who was used to being gently rocked and shaken(rock-a-bye) by her mother. Roman was not used to the constant shaking of the bus.
It was understandable since this was his first bus ride in two years. Maybe his body could not keep up.
"Bwother, don't you feel well?
"Hm."
"Why are you pwathetic too?"
Sophia sighed as she realized that she was the only strong one in the family. She was even stronger than her brother. As expected from Sophia.
"..."
Roman kept his mouth shut. He was afraid that he would vomit if he spoke.
"I have flavored candy here, you can eat it to calm your mind."
Penelope was relieved to know it was not a serious problem. At least it was motion sickness, nothing serious. Anyone can get motion sickness.
Roman had a fever last week and Penelope was still worried about his health.
"Thank you, Mom."
He accepted the candy and chewed it while closing his eyes. He was not weak enough to succumb to motion sickness, he had to overcome it! Or else Sophia would make fun of him!
Fortunately, the highway was smooth and there were no potholes. The bus didn't bounce much.
Another hour passed and our bus stopped at the Pampanga terminal.
"Dajjy? Are we there yet?"
Realizing that the bus had stopped, sleepy Sophia asked me again.
"You can go back to sleep baby, we're still not there."
I sighed. Even I was getting bored. My body is full of energy, but I can't move. I can only sit...
"Okay..."
The sleepy Sophia yawned and continued to sleep on my shoulder.
As for my wife and Roman, they went to the terminal to get some fresh air. The bus would stay here and collect passengers for 10 minutes before leaving. I stayed on the bus to make sure we had seats before the bus take off.
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