Chapter 6 The Worthy Reason For Her Yes

• She woke up wearing her usual frown face when loud knocks banged the door of her room. As swift as she could, she quickly ran and opened it, only to be surprised. Her frustration suddenly begone. Led by their parents, they’re singing her the happy birthday song while holding a cake, which is obviously bought from the bakery near their place.
• “Happy birthday!” they greeted in unison.
• She looked at them one by one: her mom and dad that seems to age twice of their ages due to almost non-stop of working in able to provide them their needs, her two siblings that ages nine and eleven—both are wearing oversized old shirts.
• Trying to suppress her tears, she mouthed thank you in fear that she might choke.
• “Few more years and we will already have a frame of yours here, darling,” her mom said out of nowhere, pointing at the upper part of the wall above their so old television.
• “And few more years we already have an engineer!” her father proudly claims and looked at the spot as if he is imagining her picture wearing a toga.
• “And few more years we will be having more food for our birthdays!” the youngest of her siblings cheered.
• Under the wooden table, their one-year-old pup is wagging his tail. She smiled.
• ‘Few more years—that might be a decade,’ she thought.
• She simply cleared her throat and watched her mom carefully lay down her treasured plates on the table.
• “There’s no doubt that you’ll pass the entrance examination, Eu,” her brother assured her.
• She just nodded and remained silent. As the mini-celebration continues, everything seems to be perfect but for some unknown reasons, she feels like something is off. She shrugged it off and roamed her eyes around—one day, someday, all of those parts of their house will be the grandest in their town!
• The calming and soothing breeze of the twilight wind passed through her. The streetlights have started to light up the place, kids are playing their usual games, dogs are barking, and night insects are serenading the night.
• “Ahh, I don’t think I can let go of this simple life,” she uttered.
• “Do you think so?” her mom asked and sat down beside her.
• She turned sideways and smiled, “I think so, mom.”
• “When I was your age, I used to think that I can’t live a life away from mountains. It fears me the most to step on lowland…” the woman paused and held her hands.
• “But here I am, I left the place where I had always been wanted to stay in. Coming here gave me you,” she continued.
• She nodded and looked away. That must be really hard for her mom, knowing how family oriented she is.
• “I was just thinking, life has always been so tricky. One day, I was just wondering what kind of grown up I will become but here I am, I don’t know anymore if I should be worrying about it. I just want things to stay the same, mom.”
• Her mom stood up and went behind her, comb her hair with her fingers before hugging her.
• “Time won’t stop for us, Eu. Everything has to keep going, and so are we.”
• She was about to respond when she heard her sniff. She hold on to her mom’s hands. No matter how much she wanted to be carefree, she can’t. She has to make their lives to be better. She breathed in a lung-full of air and cheerfully turned around.
• “Guess what, mom. A university offered me a scholarship!”
• She felt chills down to her spine upon declaring it. It wasn’t for excitement, neither of uncertainty. It is more of feeling like she is about to do something she is not supposed to do.
• “R-really?! That’s good then! We should prepare for your needs now! Your dad will surely be happy about it!” her mom cried and gulp at the same time. She looks so proud. How can she turn them down? Her every success is their every hope.
• “Thanks, God! You have no idea how much we prayed for this, darling. Come inside, I have something to show you!”
• The woman pulled the drawer of their old cabinet and get a box from it. She kneeled and wipe the thing she’s holding. It is surprisingly not covered with dust.
• “Your brothers always saves some penny from their everyday works. They will always say you need this.”
• She opened the box and saw it full of small amounting paper bills and coins. Sure, it wasn’t a treasury of gems and diamonds, neither a couple of bars of gold. But, in her eyes, no treasure is more pricey than the ones she is looking at that moment.
• “I-I don’t know about it. I never knew about this,” she sobbed and grasp on the hem of her shirt as she tried to suppress her tears from bursting.
• “We always believed that you will make it to college, Hun. We always do.”
• She wiped her tears and started to count the savings. She doesn’t know whether to feel grateful or sad. She can’t help but to feel ashamed thinking about them being thrift to themselves just to earn that amount for her. Just then she realized, she was not supposed to feel pressured at all. She owes them everything she has and everything she is yet to have.
• “One hundred twenty, one hundred twenty-one, one hundred…”
• A loud banging on the door stopped them from what they are doing. Julia, her mom, quickly put the ones they have counted back in the box and hide it again in the cabinet. No doubt, it is Dan, the solicitor.
• She stayed inside and let her mom talk to the man. It is always like that, almost every day. It is not new to them, it is already a part of their daily life routine but still, she never got used to it. She can hear Dan complaining, and it sounded so irritating to her ears.
• “No, no, no! Last day you told me you will pay today. Pay me the exact amount! I shouldn’t have lent you money!” he shouted to which made the poor woman cracked her voice.
• “I-I know, I know. It is just that we don’t have enough…”
• “I don’t care! It is not my problem!” he cut her off.
• Eunice covered her ears. It is a one hell of a conversation to listen to. She is thankful that her father and siblings are not yet home.
• “You’ll get through this. You’ll get through this,” she talked to herself repeatedly that she didn’t notice Julia standing right in front of the open door.
• “Eunice…” the woman called.
• She stared at her with eyes full of pity. How long will they bear life’s cruelty?
• “Mom.”
• “Shh, I’ll talk about it with your dad. This is normal. It is just normal for Dan to get mad.”
• “Mom, just because it’s normal doesn’t mean it’s okay.”
• For the first time, Julia turned her back on her and went to the kitchen to prepare for their supper. It is not so her. Eunice followed, but she was stiffened with the cries she heard. She tiptoed and peek. Julia is sitting on the floor in the corner, hugging her knees like a child. Thinking that the woman doesn’t want to be bothered, she walked out to breathe some fresh air.
• There were some of their neighborhoods simply glancing at their house. They’re on it again, talking about their life. She felt the urge to confront them, but she chose not to. Instead, she firmly clenched her fist and went back inside. It took her three deep breaths to calm down.
• “Naga! Stop it!” She heard Roel giggled, their youngest.
• “Mom! Eu! We’re home!” Ronald happily declared as they opened the door.
• She looked passed by them. Aside from their little buddy, Naga, their father isn’t with them.
• “Mom, look at these! This one will surely look good on you! This one, too!” Ronald pointed at the dresses shown on the brochure as he approached.
• “I think this one is better, though. Mom looks really beautiful in red,” the younger one opposed, dreamily smiling.
• She bit her lower lip. They’re supposed to be going to school and yet, instead of books, they are holding brochures which they called the contents ‘their inspirations’. They could barely read and write. So close to be illiterate—good thing they can count, they know a little. So little, that would never be enough to say that it is just okay.
• “Where’s your dad?” their mom asked without looking at them.
• A moment of silence silenced them. The two that were so noisy became quiet and looked at each other.
• “He will be late tonight,” Ronald answered.
• Roel glance at the dresses again and touched those as if he is touching the fabrics itself.
• “Mom, when we have a lot of money, we can buy these all, can’t we?” He then innocently shifted his gaze to his mom.
• “We can,” Julia replied in a low tone.
• The little one nodded silently and in an obvious forced smile, he reached for Eu’s hands.
• “Do your best in college, Eu. I want to have a new pair of slippers,” he said, looking down on his dirty feet then to his unpaired and worn-out slippers at the door.
• She pat his head gently and caressed his face. How can life be so unfair for kids like Roel? She sat down on his level.
• “I will. And we will buy you not just one but ten pairs of slippers, munchkin,” she replied and make a pinky promise.
• Ronald wiped his cheeks with his shirt. He wants to know how it is to carry a school bag, too, make assignments and do recitations. But, he understands that as long as Eu isn’t done yet, neither he nor Roel could.
• “Eu will surely do great, Roel! There is no doubt that she will,” he assured.
• Holding a couple of plates, Julia hopefully watched her children being dream-driven. How she wishes they won’t forget to stay the same. Without them noticing, she put on the table the coins she earned from washing her boss’s clothes. It is not enough for the three of them, but for Roel, it will be.
• “I saw some nice pair of slippers at the market this morning. I am sure they have a size for your feet, darling.” She handed to the kid.
• His giggles echoed while still in awe. The other two looked at each other, they smiled as they remembered that they had the same reactions when they first had their new slippers. It was priceless.
• “Are you sure mom, I can have this?”
• “Why not?”
• “But Eu needs this more. Even more now.”
• She was struck by guilt. It is always her.
• Just then, Naga barked excitedly outside. From the window, they saw the pillar of their home—covered with mud and their distance can’t even hide the smell of farm coming from him. As if he was aware that all eyes are on him, he lifted his head and met their gazes. He surely had a tiring day again.
• Norman lift held his head high and smiled as he felt his home’s presence. He can already smell the inviting smell of their viand. Along with a deep sigh, he limped heavily as he walked in.
• Eunice played with her fingers as she felt way more guilty. She must not make any mistakes. If she does, poverty will be their everyday lives companion.
• —
• As slowly as she breathes, she walked in an almost not moving pace and looking back at her family for a couple of times. She can still hear their cheers from where she’s standing. With that, she fearlessly went inside the campus and eagerly boost her hope to get accepted. Little did she know, it wouldn’t be as normal as she thinks, no matter how promising the future they are offering.