"Momy, Dady, look what I found."
Tina showed a 1 peso coin with so much excitement.
"You look so happy," I said.
"What are you going to do with that?"
My wife asked our daughter with a smile.
"No," she shook her head.
"I'm going to save it. I will buy a house if I will find many of these."
I hugged my daughter as I looked into my wife. I hid my tears from my daughter and said.
"My little girl is so nice. Don't worry, Daddy will be the one to buy for you."
I hugged her tightly and kissed her head. It has been a month since we have been living under the bridge after our house was destroyed by the typhoon. The flood washed out our house and there's no house we can shelter because all of us are experiencing the same.
"Okay, let's eat."
My wife interrupted the cold vibe that surrounds us.
"A rice porridge again Mom?"
My poor daughter asked and my wife just smiled.
"Don't worry little girl. It will make you grow fast and you can earn a peso coin fast."
I said diverse words to make my daughter love the food.
Luckily, our daughter listened and ate without hesitation. My daughter is kind because she always thinks about us. She doesn't want us to let our tears fall. She forced us to smile despite the hardships in life.
Even in the state of poverty. We still managed to make ourselves happy. We are not forcing it but we just want to have a positive insight into life. We thought nothing would change if we kept worrying. Instead of crying, we decided to have a cheerful way of facing life.
"Father--- Father---," I can hear my daughter calling me.
"Tina," I replied.
I couldn't find her no matter how desperately I searched for her.
"TINA----!" I shouted because I thought this wasn't right.
I cried when it took so much time that I couldn't find her.
"Love, where are you?"
I called my wife because the surrounding was covered with darkness.
"What's going on?"
I feel like I can't breathe. I'm catching my breath because of the faster heartbeat. I began to be afraid and worried about what's going on now. I feel like I don't understand anymore.
"Jay----Jay----"
I woke up with such a strong heartbeat.
"What happened to you?" My friend Joshua asked me.
"Nothing," I stood up and left my friend.
I was just dreaming. Years passed already since my mother and daughter died because of an illness. It happened during the time our place was being called a state of calamity. A lot of people died because the air became polluted. I survived because perhaps I have a strong immune system. My two beautiful girl didn't make it.
"I miss them so much."
I said it with a low tone voice while the tears began to pour. I still can't accept that they were now gone. If I'm not dreaming, they came into my imagination about how happy we were back then. People think I'm stupid laughing or smiling alone. I never cared because in that world that never exists I saw them. I can touch them and I can feel them. Sometimes I just wanted to live in that imagination because reality just gives me pain. I wanted to keep on dreaming and never wake up where my happiness is there.
END...
mrnightmare