Chapter 2: Family & Miracle [Part 1]

It had been nearly seven months since her 20th birthday—today was almost February 2016. Last year, precisely on October 29, 2015, Helen received some great news that she was selected to receive a scholarship to study in Japan from the company where she works at present.

"Congratulations, Helen. You can finally go to Japan soon," said her supervisor.

"Thank You, Mrs. Naoko," responded Helen, who had froze in disbelief before getting excited in the next second.

Helen felt immense joy! She was almost jumping with happiness and acted a bit strangely in the office shortly after hearing the statement from her supervisor. The reason for the girl with the full name "Helen Marvelyn Anwar" to act like that was because she had longed to study in Japan. However, due to financial reasons, she had to put her dreams on hold. Even so, Helen never gave up! She continued to search for a way to make her dreams come true, even though she had become an orphan after losing both of her parents in an accident just as she was about to start high school.

"Dad, Mom, I did it! I will work hard to fulfill all of my promises to you!" 

She would never forget the promises she made to her parents—Helen would one day fulfill her dreams; even if that seemed impossible, she would continue to struggle and strive to reach them! 'There must be a way, as long as I try!'

Since that accident, she had to fight and survive on her own. It wasn't that she had no relatives, but she was reluctant to ask for their help. What was more, to request compassion from those hypocritical people. Because those who claim to be "relatives" or "families" never seriously considered Helen and her parents as part of their family. 

They hardly ever visited her little family while the two of her parents were still alive. They would only come to her parents when they were in trouble and needed money! They consistently shouted to emphasize their rights and the obligations that her parents had to fulfill. They would constantly "preach" about morals, truth, family, and anything they could use to corner Helen's parents with their status as "family."

'Bullshit! All they want is wealth!' They only thought of her parents as cash cows!

Every time Helen went with her parents to main family gatherings, those people would act cunning! They would seem polite—behave nicely and look so friendly in front of other people or when they wanted something from her parents. They could, however, flip their attitude 180 degrees in the blink of an eye, as fast as lightning, once their goals and purposes were achieved! In fact, if their pleas were not granted, their demeanor would deteriorate significantly. They would start bullying her parents, portraying them as unconscionable, arrogant, and ignorant, not caring about their relatives, kin, and family. 

"How can you be so heartless towards your own relatives!?" accused one of Helen's uncles, her father's second younger brother.

"Yes, we are your brothers!" said another relative who joined in cornering her parents.

"It's not a matter of whether we are brothers or not. However, our financial condition is currently unstable," explained her father to his blood-sucking relatives.

They didn't care about Helen's family situation even when her father said that they couldn't give them more because he needed to allocate his budget to his company first, resulting in their financial situation becoming tight before he could get some benefits. As a matter of fact, these pests also asked for a lot of money for various reasons just a few days before that day, and then, they came again with a bunch of nonsense as their new reasons.

'Though dad and mom always did their best to help our relatives, especially those siblings from the main family branch, when they were facing problems. In reality, those guys were the ones who were never there when we needed them!' Helen still felt irritated whenever she was reminded of this.

'When my dad's company went bankrupt, and we all had to sleep on the street, one by one, those cunning beasts began to show their true colors! Especially when our family was truly down, and we needed help.'

Helen sighed. She couldn't stop herself from harboring a million complaints in her heart! Because those parasitic, leech-like bastards would come up with a million excuses to refuse her family.

'Even speaking with us, they felt disgusted. Moreover, we even got kicked out and insulted like beggars or stray cats when Dad went to the house of one of his brothers just because he wanted to borrow a small amount of money to buy "a mouthful of rice[1]". They treated us lower than animals!'

Helen would never forget how those people treated her and her parents when they were poor. She would not forget those ungrateful traitors! How despicable and lowly they were, treating her parents! Absolutely disgusting!

Although their little family had to face ups and downs, it never broke her parents' spirits when it came to educating and raising Helen, let alone thinking about abandoning her! She was immensely grateful to have parents like them. She never felt embarrassed when people made fun of her for being poor and taunted or mocked her as a homeless person or a tramp. She was never ashamed or resentful when her parents were simply peddlers who became street vendors later. Frankly, she was proud! At least it was much better than eating black money[2]. 

Both of them never complained about their condition. Their sole concern was Helen! They feared they would not be good parents for her and worried about their daughter's well-being. They were even willing to go hungry as long as she could eat and withstand the cold to ensure she stayed warm. Helen believed God would never neglect or ignore good people and His obedient and faithful believers. 

And indeed… Thank goodness! God saw their efforts and heard their prayers. This little family was back on its feet! The small business conducted by her beloved father and mother also paid off. When her dad was selling his merchandise and her mom was busy preparing lunch, they accidentally saw an old man standing near their stall.

The old man looked tired and seemed confused. That grandfather then approached their stall. As soon as he saw the plates and leftover food they had eaten, he wanted to take it. Helen's mother didn't chase him away; instead, she just took their leftovers and dirty dishes. The mother then replaced the plate with a clean bowl and gave the grandfather a portion of chicken porridge that was still fresh and untouched for that old grandfather to eat.

"At that time, that grandpa ate eagerly; he looked so hungry and starved. We sat and waited for the grandpa to finish his meal. After that, Dad started asking him. What was his name, where did he come from, where did he live, and did he still have a family? Unfortunately, of all those questions, none of them could be answered by that grandpa," Helen muttered to herself while reminiscing about the events of that day.

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[1] A mouthful of rice = just some metaphor or figurative speech

[2] Black money = money earned illegally