As I walked down at the lonely park before the sun sets, I saw my little sister played with her peers in her ecstatic grins like forever. Seeing her cheering and healthy make my heart leaps for these are the rewards of taking care of her for many years. Then, I pictured those times she laid on my shoulders in her four months age, saw myself again warmed her by my shoulders with my calming lullabies.
Who would ever think an infant as small as the 20 inches doll is now my teacher who teaches me how to apply makeup properly and how to dress up nicely? Who would ever think that an abandoned child is now as smarter and talented than what I thought? Soon, she will have a boyfriend. I feel so old.
Indeed, there is a satisfaction to see her happy face because behind the good life we gave- before that was her darkest days.
Out of the heated temperature in the house, my mother unwinded to a nipa hut. I napped in the underground. In the middle of my lucid dream, I heard the yelling sonances above.
"Clare, Ken, Gina, Shane, Bas, common see who is in the house!", mother shouted in her exciting voice.
"Marissa, it's you!", my father said.
"I miss you uncle," the woman replied.
Then, my siblings and I welcomed the woman in our festive faces. She carried a piece wrapped in a white fabric which was a four months old smiling infant in a ramper.
"You have a baby again?, my mother in a puzzled voice.
Marissa was lost for 15 years. She was a teenager when she left my grandmother in our place as she tried to find a good fate in Manila. My grandma often visited the city to send her a telegram or give a long distance call. If someone left to find the job to a faraway place in that era, the world seems so far away. My grandmother can only communicate her lost daughters through telegrams and long distance telephones. Grandma has many children lost in Manila she never met for several years until she died. She only received their mails that took 3 months to arrive but she only got their letters three times. After those, my grandparents never knew where they are.
The woman in May who came with the baby is my mother's youngest sister. She never contacted my grandparents before my grandma died.
"How did you know our address?", my mother asked again.
The woman replied that our relative in Batangas gave it to her. My mother and Marissa chit-chatted many topics until they talked about my grandma who passed away before her visit. Yet, it was late but she didn't care about it.
"Ate, can I tell you something?," Marissa asked.
"What is that?"
During my slumber in the cold underground, the baby slept beside me laughed simple things she saw. My nap was disturbed by her grins like she tried to convince me to like her. I never liked a baby, so I always stayed away from her. Going back to the conversation between my mother and her sister, my aunt promised to come back after finding a stable job in Manila. She promised to support my sister, but as many days passed by, as many birthdays of my little sister passed by, we never felt her spirit at all.
I never liked babies, but I understood she had a pitiful life than me, so I began to love her more than myself. My family gives everything to her because we love her so much. She deserves all the love from the people in her surrounding because she was an innocent one being treated as toy thrown in the garbage.
As she grew up, my parents showed their love for her excessively, a reason why she's a spoiled brat a little bit. Our cousins who come home might say she is mischievous, but they never knew how deserving she is to live that kind of life. Now, I've seen her strong personality which is good. No matter how the higher tone of voice I have than my normal voice when I can't control myself to do the direct authority, she just cries and later, she'll be okay. It is very contrary to me because when someone raises a voice to stop what I do, I will not speak for two days until I'll be okay. I am very sensitive.
When my family moved to another house, my neighbors were shocked by the sudden visit of my little sister's mother. She came home with another child. I thought she'd give a hug to her and gifts and say sorry for all the wicked things she did, but she just snubbed my little sister. We were very hurt to see her being neglected by her own mother, so we decided to stay her away from her and changed her last name to ours.
We always heard that woman saying she can't love my little sister because her father was killed during her delivery to her. But the reason is very shallow for blaming an innocent one.
The infant is now a pretty and talented kid. At school, she has many awards with a higher grade among her classmates. Our money is not wasted to send her to a Christian private school and we are very proud of her. She has many interests such as swimming, ballet dancing, and crafting. When she sees the swimming pool, she's always enthusiastic to enjoy the water. She also teaches her friends ballet and she likes to watch crafting videos on Youtube. Her hobbies are drawing and makeup. She understands easily in Mathematics and the other subjects. Sometimes, we are worried about her for spending times on Youtube, but during her quizzes, she always gets the highest scores.
She grows up friendly too. During the day, she has many playmates that come to the house.
She is also a caring little sister to our nephew and they are cute to watch together. They may fight sometimes but it's normal for kids.
In this story, blood will never matter to be called as a family because what stands out among the rest is what we feel.
