1 Chapter I: Naomi Ruth O. Sandoval

"OH, OKAY! Now it's my fault again why our electricity is cut off? If only you went straight home last night and did not spend almost half of you salary on drinks and gambling, we would have been able to watch the morning news today on the television! Aba, Gregorio! how long do you plan to be like that, huh?!"

On her bed, Naomi Ruth opened her eyes unenthusiastically that morning. The day is yet to start but she's feeling weary already. Peeking outside her blanket, she looked at her door and heard her mother at the kitchen, ranting about her father's vices.

She can only sigh. Nao's getting used to this kind of 'alarm clock' that wakes her up every day – her mother's loud tirade at her father.

She sat on her bed and looked at her reflection on the mirror. 'What's new anyway?' Her forehead furrowed as she heard tiny sound at her window. She looked at the sill and saw two birds flirting at each other.

Naomi grabbed the pillow and threw it at the window. "Shoo!!!" It sent the feathered animals flying away. Last rainy season, their feathers and dirt clogged the drainage outside her window thus flooding her room with rainwater.

She doesn't want any more problems and if those birds will be back tomorrow their cat, Tom, will deal with them.

Naomi sighed once more as she laid on the bed again.

'Will it always going to be like this every morning forever?'

Fresh from bath, Naomi went downstairs dressed in her school uniform.

She saw her father quietly reading the newspapers while biting his toast between his teeth. On his left is deaf, younger sister, Hope.

When her sister saw her, Hope's smile immediately lit up on her lips and greeted Naomi through sign language. 'Good morning, ate!'

She forced a smile."Good morning, Hope."

And, as Hope's name suggest, her only sibling is the only hope left for their troubled family. Naomi sat beside her sister and began to pick up the toast that was on the plate to place the sunny-side-up egg atop of it.

"Both of you..." said their mother, Lumen, who had just come out of the kitchen carrying a plate of pancakes. "We lost power so let's suffer with candles and fan later."

"Aysh, Lumen!" Exhausted by his wife's non-stop Gregorio yap, he looked at her. "I already told you that I'll pay the bills after lunch! Why you got to be so noisy about it! Our neighbors can literally hear you through their walls."

"Oh! I'm the noisy one now?!" Lumen placed her hands on her hips, already in her offensive stance. "You think I'll be this noisy if you've been just frugal with your salary!'

Naomi was just munching her toast as if there's no World War III happening next to her. She turned to his sister who is peacefully eating their breakfast. It's not that Naomi's romanticizing Hope's handicap but… damn she's lucky to be deaf especially in this noisy household.

With Hope's sweet smile, it seems her sister sees more positivity in this world than her who is in better physical and mental condition.

"HOW I WISH I CAN TURN BACK TIME AND NEVER MARRY YOU!" the lady growled at the husband.

"YOU THINK I DID NOT REGRET CHOOSING YOU?!" their father replied.

"Okay!" Naomi finished her glass of milk. Inisang lagok ni Naomi ang gatas sa baso. "We'll be going now, Mom, Dad," she said even though her parents couldn't hear them because of their bickering. "Come on, Hope!" She grabbed her by the arm. Hope innocently waved at their parents goodbye.

At the garage, Naomi pulled her bicycle parked beside the car used by their father who worked as a supervisor at a footwear factory.

She is in the middle of cleaning the seats when Hope tapped her by the shoulder. "Hmm?"

Hope motioned, 'Are Mom and Dad fighting again?'

She sighed and shook her head. "Nope. That's just how they talk."

Even though her sister is deaf, she's good a lip-reading so there's no need for her to do sign language to answer.

Hope gestured again: 'But why does Mom look angry?'

"That's how Mom smiles." She rode her bike and patted the chair behind her. "Come on."

This is the daily scenario of her life – waking up to the noise of his mother; leaving home with her parents fighting; riding her bicycle and taking her sister to a school for people with special needs and her… attending Don Mariano de Abad National High School where is currently studying as Grade 10 Student.

Then, in the afternoon, she'll fetch Hope and they would go home together. At night, she would do her assignments, help her sister with her homework and do chores before going to bed.

She didn't have any friends she could hang-out with after school anyway.

Naomi is still sixteen years-old young but she feels like she's thirty-forty years-old or something due to her dull, colorless youth. Not to mention that she's an introvert that prefers solitude. Her classmates didn't even know that a certain Naomi Ruth Sandoval was in their classroom. They only knew she exists during group activities because surely there will be one or few groups that lack members.

But she doesn't really mind at all. Yes, she's a little bored with her seemingly pause-rewind course of her life but she prefers it over socializing with other people just to have a temporary relationship. She believes that: The lesser the people in your life, the better.

It's exhausting to have an emotional attachment on people, object, or animal when in the end they just leave or disappear.

Just like their neighbor, Jane. She wailed almost a week over the death of her dog. Then there's her classmates who stopped talking just because of an unreturned ballpen.

Naomi smiled as she continued driving her bicycle.

People tend to mull over petty reasons.

She looked around the wide and green rice fields on both sides of the road they were on. Her sister was sitting in the back.

Then she felt Hope tugging the side of her uniform to get her attention. She looked at her and saw her pointing a store.

Naomi immediately winced. "Arrgh…"

It was novelty/convenience store which sells cute stuffs such as stuffed toys, chocolates, stationary notes and other girly things. It also has a mini-flower shop at the entrance.

Her eyes hurt seeing all those pink and red balloons. Not to mention the heart-shaped cut-outs glued on the glass wall of the store. "What… the…" 'What month is it now? Oh… February.'

This is what Naomi meant about a forty-year-old woman living inside her sixteen-year-old body. When her peers of her age are busy dating and coloring their faces with make-ups to look mature, she's getting more and more repulsive on the things young girls gush over with.

It's not that she prefers to act like an old maid but why are they in such a hurry to get old? At sixteen, she doesn't put on make-up, even powder. She doesn't even know the difference between liptint and lipstick and why are they drawing their eyebrows using a weird pencil with a brush.

Similarly, Naomi doesn't get why everyone is getting excited about this time of the month? For what again?

Also, she doesn't have the means to buy clothes. 'Or maybe she just doesn't want to?'

Naomi is not impressing anyone as of the moment. Even their parents are unaware that their children, Naomi and Hope, are teenagers now.

Hope pulled the hem of Naomi's sleeves. She turned to look at her. "We can't, Hope. We'll be late by the time we arrived at your school."

Her sister shook her head and pointed an elderly man carrying a basket and walking towards their direction. Naomi has no choice but to slow down.

Hope clapped her hands with joy.

"Good morning, Hope!" the old man greeted them. "And to you, too, Hope's sister."

Naomi nodded. Curious about why Hope is excited, she peeked the contents of the basket he's carrying. "What's that, Sir?"

"Ah… Fortune Cookies, hija." He smiled.

"Fortune— HOPE!" Her eyes widened when her sister suddenly grabbed one cookie without permission. Flustered, she looked at the man. "I-I'm r-really sorry, Sir. How much is it—"

"Oh, these cookies are free, hija. We've been giving them out for free to every passersby every February."

Hope motioned her hand: 'For three years now, Ate.'

She pondered. 'That long, huh?'

Her sister motioned again. 'They're the owners of the store.'

"Oh." She looked at the man embarrassed. "S-Sorry. I did not know you owned the place."

He laughed lightly. "Hope is one of our favorite customers."

"Is that so…" She saw how Hope happily bit her cookie and pulled the rolled paper inside then ate the crumbs.

The thought of Hope leaving their house alone and unsupervised worries her. It's not that she's restricting her sister but Hope's condition is something that needs to be considered for.

"So, what does your quote says?" she asked.

Hope lift the paper for her to read.

"Be happy. Always smile. Someone loves you."

That painted a smile on Naomi's lips. "Would you look at that! It's telling the truth!"

Hope giggled.

She pinched her cheek. "Ate Naomi will always be here for you, Hope."

Naomi is about to pedal away when her sister pulled her uniform again. "What is it now, Hope? There's no time left already."

The girl pointed the basket.

"You mean you want me to get one, too?"

Hope nodded.

"Nah… I think I'll pass. I am not into cheesy stuffs like—"

Annoyed by her dismissive attitude, Hope literally pointed the basket – directly telling her older sister to pick a cookie.

She sighed her resignation. "Okay, okay!" She looked at the man. "C-Can I?"

"Please do!" He lends the basket. "Like I said. It's free for all."

Naomi picked one and slid it inside her skirt's pocket. "There…" She looked at her sister. "Happy? Can we go now? Your teacher will definitely scold us." Seeing Hope frown over her curiosity on Nao's quote, she shook her head. "I promise I'll read you my quote later at home.

At a distance, a noisy group of three guys then caught her attention. Each of them had fortune cookies on hand.

Her eyes then met a pair of dark, beautifully hypnotic, Chinito eyes…

Before she could be enticed, she shook her head, thank the man and cycled away.