He felt like he was dreaming, or maybe the voices in his head were trying to play games with him.
He raised his head and looked at his daughter.
"Did you say something? Repeat what you said," he demanded.
"I said I have paid for their tuition fee already. You don't have to worry about that, let's just focus on how to clear your debts," Rachael said, turning off the cooker.
It was a hard decision for her to make. She had always loved to go to school, and her parents made sure she went to one, no matter how financially unstable they were.
Knowing how things were, at home, she did many menial jobs to get little bucks, and rather than spend it recklessly, she kept saving the money.
She didn't know her father had borrowed some money to take care of her mother's hospital bills until her sisters told her.
They were too young to drop out of school, while she continued. As the first daughter, she knew she had responsibilities, and those responsibilities began now, as she took up the role of the mother in the house.
"We.. where did you get money from?" Her father asked, quite shocked that she paid it without his knowledge.
"I used part of the money you sent to me for my college tuition fee. I was going to pay it when I got a call to come to the hospital. I know you want me to go to school, but Dad, Jane, and Judy are too young to stay at home. Besides, who will take care of you, and settle your debts? All I am saying is I will stop going to school, to make enough money to take care of all of you," she said, setting the kitchen table, before placing his food in front of him.
Her father was speechless. This was a huge sacrifice, and he didn't even know how to express his gratitude. He walked close to her, and pulled her into his embrace, shoving his fingers into her hair, as he played with it.
He was grateful to have a child like her; putting others first, before herself.
"Thank you so much, Rachael. Thank you," her father said.
It was the only thing he could say to her, as he was at a loss for words.
Her father sat down back and began to eat. As he was munching his food, Rachael's question made him choke.
"How much is the debt?" She asked.
She wanted to be sure, to know if it was something she could settle, or not.
"It's…uh, one thousand US Dollars."
Rachael was surprised. How did her father borrow this much? When did he even get it from?
"What? Dad, that's a huge amount of money! What did you do with all of that?" She asked, still shocked that her father would borrow such an enormous amount of money.
"I…I used it for your mother's hospital bills. I know it's huge, but I just need to clear that debt," he replied, even though what he said was half-truth.
He had not used all the money for his wife's hospital bills, but a part of it was spent on gambling.
He thought he would be lucky, and win a huge sum of money, so he could pay up his debts, and take care of his family with the rest.
He could not tell Rachael about it, else she would be mad at him.
She believed him and didn't say anything else.
"Wait, who did you borrow this money from?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Uh...from Andrew, the manager of Archie's establishment," he confessed, and it seemed like every time he said something, it was another blow to Rachael.
"Dad! Why would you even think of borrowing money from him?" She said, almost yelling, as she slapped her forehead.
Her father could not reply, anymore. They knew that Andrew would want more than the money.
She sighed and left the kitchen, where they sat.
She went to her room, and slumped on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
Her money was insufficient to pay even half of the debts.
Her father was too old to work for anyone, so it was left for her to take up the responsibility of paying her father's debt.
She needed to start looking for companies she could work in, but it was going to be a bit difficult for her, as she hadn't completed college.
She tried to be positive, but deep down, she was scared. Would any company accept her?
Would she be able to clear the debt? Thinking of that amount made her even more scared.
She decided to try her luck. With a sudden wave of motivation, she got out of bed, and to her little office.
She began to search for companies online, for different job positions with good pay. She wrote a lot of letters, and forwarded them to them, hoping that anyone would respond.
At the end of the day, she had applied to 15 companies, but none had yet to reply.
It had been two days, and she kept hoping that they would, at least, send a message to her.
The more she kept checking, the more she lost hope. She would never be able to get a good job, to support her family.
She lay on her bed with lost hope. The sun had risen, casting its beautiful ray on her, as though wishing her a brighter day.
It shone on her like it was telling her that her hope was renewed. She closed her eyes and wished that a company would send her a message.
As she closed her eyes to sleep, her phone beeped. It was a notification sound.
She jumped up, quickly, as though someone had chased her. She swiped right and opened her email that she had longed to receive.
It was an acceptance email from a company, to start working as a secretary.
"Oh, my goodness! It's Archie's Establishment!"