Chapter Thirty-four: [ Something good is happening ]"You must quit attending school this year. If you fall from that high, elevated position, our daily budget will be jeopardized once more, and we will have to start eating dried fish and fish sauce to pay your hospital bill." John, who has long harbored displeasure towards Ericka, scoffed and threw caution to the breeze as Randy grinned and made fun of Ericka for being overly dramatic and forgetful in her responses to events.“I apologize, Papa and Mama. I was unable to stop them when they surprised me, and I was at a loss for words when they expressed delight at seeing our farm and the fruit-bearing coconut trees. Before they return to their own home in the late afternoon, Ericka humbly explains, "Our bananas are not yet harvested, and there is no coffee or tea here for them to sample.” Furthermore,"On top of that, tomorrow will still be an athletic meet competition. The following day is our great night to announce the winner. Of
Chapter thirty-five [Events from Grand Nights]The student body organization will be presenting activities that are ready for the magnificent night to continue. Additionally, despite the fact that Ericka is a participant, she still seems willing to wait for anything that her two brothers find boring."Wait, guys. I've heard that the best performance will come last. A dramatic presentation will take place, and the athletic game competition winner will be named and given a trophy at the conclusion.It would be helpful to know that the school administration still acknowledges the highly skilled team and the greatest sportsmanship award even though they did not win the title. "Ericka attempted to convey her readiness to finish the award ceremony on the grand night, but her brothers' drowsiness implied otherwise."Sister, it seems late in the evening. The banana fruits that are ripening still need to be harvested tomorrow. To transport everything to the city by truck, the buyer is requir
Chapter Thirty-six [The partiality]Ericka hastily wraps her nude body in an old cloth as her thoughts return to that same moment, dashes home to get ready for school, and puts on her school uniform before heading to class early in the morning. Those pesky thoughts that kept bothering her, knowing in shame,"It's likely that he witnesses me washing my body in my undies in the morning. Most likely other bystanders as well! Why did I never consider that washing my body in public here would be a disgrace? Since the river runs beside our field, I assumed that this region belonged to us and that I was free to do as I pleased. They are currently using this area to wash their bodies as well!"Her forehead wrinkles and brows tighten as she gets disgusted with her far-off neighbors who likewise wash their dirty old clothing and wash their bodies in the same spot. Ericka finishes washing after thirty minutes, and the rain hasn't stopped yet. When the younger woman realizes her basin is full an
Chapter Thirty-Seven [ The hub of fascinating activities] While continuing to stroll down the rocky, broad road, Ericka notes that Vicky is not a typical young person and that, in fact, people hold her in high regard because they share a respectable socioeconomic class.Ericka's mind goes back to her early years, when the community celebrated fiesta in honor of the patron saints."That Vicky was the small, adorable child who was her oldest sister floweret girl when her oldest sister was crowned as the community festivals queen. They rode in beautifully decorated queens throne vehicles during the general parade festivals with a happy musical band playing behind them."After walking down, a wide, rocky road with rice plantations on both sides, Ericka glances forward to see a dark lane with many mosquitoes attacking her. Her thoughts are still racing through her head."The residents of the town hold her family in the highest regard as one of the well-known, honorable families in the com
Chapter Thirty-Eight [ The uncontrolled wildfires]"Could you stop moving because I might lose strength and swiftly let go gripping tightly of your two legs?" Randy is chastising her younger sister further. "Make sure you hold tight to my neck so that even if we fall, the powerful current won't carry you down to the bottom of the river."Randy makes fun of Ericka for trembling and quivering in her knees, fearing that she may unintentionally let go of her larger and taller older brother.As is customary, as soon as they cross the river, they dash into the dark, cave-like plantation where large plants that can eat tiny animals reside and spread disease-carrying mosquitoes to onlookers.The land doesn't belong to Ericka's parents, but at that moment she saw large snakes clinging to a large banana trunk that had fully ripe fruits on it."Observe! This is outside the scope of our plantation. Come on, let the snakes devour the fruits instead of coming after us and consuming our entire body.
Chapter Thirty-nine: The typical youth's lifestylesOn Monday, Ericka is quite upset since she neglected to wash her school uniform the previous weekend. Fortunately, John still has a white T-shirt and an old pair of black pants that she intends to wear. He even laid them out neatly on the bed before heading out into the river early in the morning."Never mind. As long as I attend all of my courses today and learn something new from each of my teachers regarding today's subject matter, I can wear civilian attire today."Ericka speaks as she quickly gathers her old, worn-out bath towel, shampoo, and bath soap and heads downstairs to retrieve pails of clean water from the water pump faucets a short distance from the house.“Maybe I should just wash myself next to the water pump so that I won't have to carry a hefty bucket of water to the restroom.”She noticed that John and Randy were sprinting in the direction of the river, carrying their blue laundry soap and white underwear.“You're
Chapter Forty [Awareness of marriage and parenthood]After washing their used clothes for an hour, Ericka finished, and a twilight zone began to spread throughout the area. Additionally, numerous whispering mosquitoes continued to secretly feed on Ericka, only for her to become extremely irritated on her smooth, fair skin.As the evening dew swept across the shaded countryside, the water running over her large basins left her damp and chilly, but Ericka smiled despite her irritation at the pests, and then she heard her mother's nervous shouting as she cooked rice for their dinner."Erika, you really ought to leave everything in place and simply cover it with another large bowl." Tomorrow, I'll be the one to rinse them thoroughly. You should go to bed now, and in a little while we'll be having dinner.Elaine gave a gentle instruction as Ericka suddenly grabbed everything in her immediate vicinity, covered the freshly laundered garments with laundry soap, turned off the faucets, and got
Chapter Forty-one [ The future is unpredictable]As Ericka moved into her sleeping location, she began to feel at ease and content. After a moment, she lost awareness of her surroundings.Her battle to recover from her illness and her ambition to resume her academic pursuits ended that evening. She therefore makes sure to get enough sleep, and she was unaware that her mother had given her a large cushion on both sides and wrapped her in a blanket to help her doze off.Ericka is unaware that her father is seizing her mother before dawn because her parents are only a few inches away from her and are not disturbing her. The entire interior of the house is black, with only a little patch of light coming from a gas lamp. Even while her parents still do this every night, this night is unique because she was previously sleeping in her bedroom.However, she is shocked to discover that the quiet display of her parents' love awakens her from a deep sleep when noises of movement rouse her up.“I