I was just an another ordinary Filipina who treasures her little sisters, so.. How could something like this happen?
"Ate, do you mind going to the parents meeting I have this Saturday? Mrs. Agbayani told us if we don't have a guardian present, she won't give us our report card."
Razzia informed her big sister who was busy typing away in her laptop. She watched her sister as her eyes shifts from left to right as the words form quickly, creating a sentence that soon turned into a paragraph with the newly added words. Rey, the oldest sister, hummed while her fingers stopped their movements before turning her whole body to look at her youngest sister.
"Mhmm, I cleared my schedule for this weekend because I had the feeling that you'll have another parents meeting." A soft smile adorned her lips while reaching out to pat Razzia's head, "If not, Ate Rica can fill in."
Razzia smiled, "Yeah. Thank you."
"No problem, bunso." Rey chuckled at how adorable her little sister looked then she turned back to her laptop, eyes still on Razzia, "Have you eaten yet? There's a leftover pizza by the table. Go eat it and make yourself something to eat if you're still hungry."
"Okay. Good luck with your work." Razzia nodded and waved at her big sister before turning around to exit the room.
Rey absentmindedly hummed as her little sister leaves her alone. She continued with the documents in front of her to finish early and spend some time with her little sisters.
. . . .
The day of the meeting immediately approach and before she knows it, she's already on her way to Razzia's classroom. However, Rica's too worried about missing their youngest sister's meeting that she ended up calling Rey on the way to her university.
"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry, I can handle this. Just focus on your midterm, okay?"
"I'll do my best. I'll just bring home something for Razzia so she won't sulk."
"We both know that she won't feel upset about it. She approached me about this because she knew that your midterm would be the same day as the meeting."
".. Yeah, but still.."
"Hush. Stop worrying about it, focus on your examination and enjoy it. I have to go anyways, I'm already here." As soon as she said that, she stepped inside of the classroom and looked around.
When she saw a vacant seat near the chalkboard, she immediately made her way and sat down.
"Okay. I love you, be careful on your way back."
"I love you too. Be careful and good luck."
After the call, the meeting started almost immediately. The teacher skimmed through each students flaws regarding academics before jumping to the furniture needed to make the students' learning as effective as they can. It went on and on and on. She does not care what's happening because it's all about how much a legal guardian can contribute to the classroom.
She bought out her tablet, her finger tapping against the screen as she finish the project proposal. She merely checked for misspellings and possible error in her proposal, but she's getting bored.
Before she knew it, Razzia's adviser ended the meeting. Rey contributed five thousand cash in exchange for Razzia's peaceful first semester in that school. She has the money and people loves money, as long as she has it, she's willing to use it to make her little sisters' life as smooth as possible.
She made her way down to the first floor, somehow, due to her little sister's chosen strand, her classroom ended up being on the third floor. The same floor and classroom that she was in when she was still learning in that school.
My alma matter better take care of her. I'm willing to contribute anything as long as no one will look down nor sneer at her.
She doesn't want the history to repeat. Her mother and father didn't like attending any meeting when she was still studying so they didn't attend any parents meeting, recognition, event or anything that happened in terms of academic due to their low expectations of their daughters.
It was upsetting for her that Rica received the same treatment as her, but she was glad that the moment she turned eighteen, she earned the rights to attend her little sister's meetings in school. They are only two years apart after all.
Now that Rica is in her fourth year of college and Razzia in her last year of high school, she gets to see them graduate and be there for them.
They make me proud every day. All those sleepless night and exhaustion were worth it because.. Look at them now. Striving high in society and doing their best to grasp their own spot at the top.
Really, who wouldn't be proud of them?
Rey didn't have much to think about except for going home and buying something on her way back. She decided to use the public transportation today because of the good weather so she waited on the terminal of free-ride bus that her city mayor provided for it's citizens.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
The familiar ringtone of her phone reached her ears, she bought out her device from her pocket and looked at the ID of the caller before sliding the call button to the right.
"What's up?" She asked the person on the other side of the line.
"The ceiling— well, in your case, it's probably the sky." Razzia's giggle made Rey smile, not that her little sister can see it.
"Uhuh, it's actually the bus terminal's roof, but whatever makes your boar float, I guess."
"You're such a killjoy."
"So I've been told."
"Ugh. You're lucky I love you. Anyways, how was the meeting?"
"You know, still the usual. Your adviser was taken aback from the amount of cash I gave her so— ah, hold up. The bus is here. Let me call you back once I got off, I'll bring you something to eat on my way back. Love you."
She didn't even let her little sister say anything and just ended the call. She immediately put her phone back in her pocket and waited for the people to get out of the bus.
She didn't know why, but the person who got off the bus last, looked at her, their eyes met and that unknown person was glaring with so much hatred that she involuntarily stepped back.
However, the stranger stepped forward then a stinging pain shot from the right side of her abdomen, the blade sinking farther down to her guts as the person continued to stare down at her before twisting whatever they used to stab her with.
She gasp outloud, eyes wide in horror as the blade sink deeper and deeper into her guts. They must have been standing there for a while because the bus driver and conductor called out to her. When she didn't answer, the conductor got off the bus to approach them.
"Miss, do you know this man— what are you doing?!" The conductor was quick to pull the person away from Rey, revealing the bloodied knife that was on their hand.
"Oh, God! Someone call the police and ambulance!"
Rey couldn't comprehend what was happening around her. The wound on her side is throbbing and the blood loss is already making her dizzy. She slowly walked backwards, swaying left and right until her back has hit the advertisement board behind her, making her sit down on the metal chair.
There was commotion in front of her, but she can't understand what they are saying. It's just statics, a white noise that hurts her ears.
She felt someone situated themselves beside her and pressed a hand on her wound, she involuntarily groaned out of pain from the sudden weight.
No.. Razzia.. She's waiting for me at home..
Tears welled up on her eyes at the thought of her little sisters receiving a call from someone they don't know, telling them that their sister got killed. Her heart ached more than the stab wound on her side just by thinking how heart broken they will be once they hear the news.
"Miss! Hang in there!"
"Why'd you pull out the knife, you bastard?!"
"He was the one who stabbed that lady! He was suspicious from the start and just attacked her! He tried to run off—"
Everything seem so blurry. Her eyes slowly blinked away the tears, trying her best to stay awake. She turned her head to the person who was pressing down the wound on her side, she gasp out in pain.
"My little sisters.."
The man who helped her was trembling and looked at her when she spoke, he pressed harder on the wound because she was bleeding uncomfortably which caused for her to wince.
"Y-Yes? You have little sisters?"
"Yeah.. They are both.. Pretty.. Smart.. Sweet— ugh, it hurts." She sobbed, coughing out blood as she gripped the stranger's arm.
"You're doing good, miss..! Don't close your eyes! The ambulance is near— m-miss, stay awake! Tell me m-more about your little sisters, okay? Do you love them? What do they do? Are they both very smart?" The man seem to feel her pain, tearing up as he started cradling Rey in his arms.
"Y-Yeah.. They are both smart.. They're both g-graduating this year and I'll be there to give them their medals...." She couldn't finish what she was saying because her heart started to ache terribly.
Her strength slowly left her body, her ragged breath turned steady until it completely stopped. Her eyes didn't close, but it lost the shine it had, the blood continued to drop and her grip on the man's arm slowly loosened.
I will be there to give them their medals, telling them how proud I am as their big sister because I witnessed every hardship they had to go through.
I was there when Rica experienced her first low marks at school which she cried so hard about.
I was there when Razzia felt anxious about her first day of school.
I was there when the two of them experienced being the care taker for days because I was sick.
I was there to take care of them when they had a fever.
I was there to cheer them up after every sad movie night.
I was there..
I was always there..
So why?!
Rey gasped, her eyes wide as she sat up, well, at least tried to. Her hand grasped the clothe on her side where she was stabbed. She was panting heavily, tears rolling down her cheeks as she recall the incident.
However, she was quick to realize that the pain that should be there.. Is nonexistent.
She looked around, lips agape as her brain processes her surroundings. Just now, she noticed that she wasn't actually sitting. She was still laying down with something wrapped around her hands that prevents her from actually gripping her side.
She tried to calm down, but her heart wouldn't slow down. It was fast, exhilarating, painfully beating inside of her ribcage.
Remembering what happened made her tear up, a lump formed in her throat and the corner of her eyes stung. She expected a sob to come out of her mouth, but instead..
"Waaaahhh!"
A baby's cry.
.. What?
—
Author's Note:
Ate = Big sister or a honorific used to refer to female who's older than you or to show a certain female your respect.
Bunso = Youngest or a honorific used to refer to someone who's the youngest in the group.