CHAPTER 6 SOMETHING EASY

(Jasmin POV)

“Hasmin!” she challenged.

I mentally rolled my eyes. I could have had slapped her already if she wasn’t my father’s wife. Lilibeth was already catching up to her bad ugly attitude. I stood up unwillingly, stretching my body that was still exhausted from yesterday’s work.

“Alright. I’ll make her coffee.”

“Coffee?!” Nadine scoffed. “Good heavens, she’s too young to drink that junk!”

“Then buy some breakfast,” I replied. My blood was seething at her. She was about to rant back when a voice distracted our heated conversation.

“Hey sis, where’s my phone charger?” Dexter asked Nadine. His hair was so unkempt and needed haircut badly. The flabby stomach he’s growing from idling around all day was bulging through his loose shirt. I rolled my eyes for real.

The door slammed open and the hinges creaked loudly from dilapidation. I mentally noted buying new ones but a little iffy about squeezing the expense to my small weekly budget. It was already late in the morning and Amy had just went home.

“Where have you been, Amy?” I asked worriedly “And you’re wearing a man’s shirt. Whom is that from?”

“You don’t fucking care,” she spat as she went directly to our room. I shrugged my head in disbelief. She’s become so different.

I sat crestfallen in the corner as I watched them whine on and on. How everybody acted towards life made me sad. I was slowly losing hope that our poor living will still improve. Everybody in the household was proving me right about it. My attention was averted to the faint coughs coming from father’s room then back to the bunch of whiners who wondered loudly what they’d be eating.

I sighed. Even I hasn’t eaten yet.

“There’s fried egg here,” Lilibeth announced as she held the Tupperware I saved for father.

“Hey, that’s Pa’s breakfast. Put it back,” I chided.

“Oh, the old man gets too eat while all of us here starve,” Dexter complained. He intentionally raised his voice for father to hear. “He’s just laying down all day.”

At the corner of my eyes I caught father push his wheelchair enough for us to see him. The face that was too thin from lack of nutrition looked solemn but his eyes were downcast. He used to be a cheerful person but after the accident he’s always been shrouded in gloom.

“Jasmin, give my breakfast to the young. I’ll be fine,” Pa spoke softly. His eyes looked moist and like me, he was just keeping his tears from falling. My heart broke a hundredfold.

“Don’t touch father’s breakfast,” I reminded “I’ll see if I can borrow some goods from Aling Nena’s store.”

I stood heavily and trudged to the store. We still have huge arrears to pay there and I doubt Aling Nena will allow me to take more credit. But the good woman she, she still lend me some canned food. I had promised to pay half the amount of our debt with my salary and again nothing will be left with the money I’ll be earning.

The route home was an isle between shanties that usually made up the slums. Gossipers littered around every day and today was nothing different.

“Whoever the young Zel Cantheliz marries is surely lucky,” a fat woman happily exclaimed as she narrated to three more women at the center of the alleyway. “His father has just died and left him two companies to run. He’s so rich and handsome even!”

They were blocking the way as if they own it so I excused myself as I went through. As I passed, they proceeded to gossip about my younger sister Amy. I scrunched my face at the rumors I was hearing and glared at them before going back home. My family was usually the talk of the people around us and Amy wasn’t excused. They have their eyes on her and assume stories whenever she goes home late or never at all.

The house went quiet when I arrived with food. I expected Amy to be the only reasonable one I could talk to and ask to feed father when I leave for work but with indifferent courage she refused.

“Are you ordering me around?” she replied with an irked expression.

How could all these people treat father as if he hadn’t even cared for them before he turned invalid? Day by day my heart was shattering to pieces. I wiped my tears off before I went to father’s room and give him the food he deserved to have. The only ray of sunshine I have in my bleak world stared at me with a smile. My heart turned to mush.

Before leaving for work, I took one last look at our poor house, signs of ruin was everywhere. If there’s only a genie, I’d wish for everyone to change and maybe, just maybe…

Give us a pretty decent place I could call ‘home’.   

(Atty. Elthon POV )

I stood surprised for a second as I watched his car sped off down the road. And even more surprised that his men did nothing to prevent him. These were highly trained executive protection officers who I expected not to be intimidated by Rhio’s words no matter how he threatened their jobs. After all, Eriez and I decides who to fire among his men. Rhio would just be too pleased to fire them all and be free like a bird.

“What are you all waiting for?” I shouted in disbelief. “Follow him!”

I averted my look to Deo whose head was bowed in guilt, “And you even let him borrow your car!”

Good Lord! What were these people thinking? What would happen if Rhio is endangered?   

“But yesterday…” Deo muttered.

“Follow him or lose your jobs!” I cut him short and repeated my words. Not waiting for any reply, I took my keys and started my own car. I activated the GPS I had installed in Rhio’s phone and drove off in livid curiosity.

What in the world was he thinking?

(RHIO POV)

The old chapel eerily made my heart warm. Something about it reminded me of a happy moment that rarely happens in my burdensome life. An old woman sat in the corner as she tended to her flowers for sale and it made me recall the white roses ‘that lady’ gave me that night.

“One basket of roses please,” I smiled at her through the car window. “The most beautiful of the white ones.”

“Here son,” she reached to me and I gave her whatever bills I picked in my wallet.

She looked at me in utter surprise and tried to return most of what I had given. “This is too much dear.”

“Please take it,” I smiled again in response. How miraculous it was that this place made me smile often. I can’t wait to see her once more. I wished, prayed rather, that she’d pass by again.   

The chapel was empty when I went in. I expected that much but somewhere within, I was disappointed. My longing was just too much to bear. The porcelain vase by the platform beside the altar went to sight. The roses we had put there the other night still looked good although most of the petals had fallen down. I didn’t exactly know how to do a decent flower arrangement so I left the basket on the feet of the altar instead.

“Wow.”

  I recognized that sweet voice. It was her. I kept my back to her to hide my smile.

“Is there a funeral?” she teased.

“Maybe,” my smile fell and I turned to finally see her.

“Really?” her eyes widened in surprise. “Where?”

“Not exactly here,” I chuckled sadly.

“Thank God. I’m afraid of coffins and corpses,” she admitted. I raised my brow in curiosity.

Her attention went back to the basket of flowers and she excitedly approached it. “Did you buy this?”

“Nope.” I lied. “That basket was there when I came.”

She seemed to really like them and although she believed my lie, I was happy that it made her smile.

“Why are you here?” she suddenly turned to ask and I was forced to hurriedly avert my eyes somewhere else again.

“Oh, that…I just came to visit. This place ease me up,” I thought of another lie to spill but in fact it was true.

She took my hand, my hand, and pulled me close to the votive candle rack. She took out a matchbox and some candles from her bag. She gave me one candle and lit her own. It was then my turn to light mine so she gave me the small box.

“Light yours then we’ll pray.”

I attempted to use it although never in my life had I held something as such. I’ve got a Zippo that was probably on the car so I just took one stick and stroked it against the side of the box. It didn’t light up. Second one broke. Third one did too until it slowly ran out of content.

Something like that should be too easy to use then why can’t I do it?   

@DEATH WISH 

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