10 Chapter 9 Real Talk it cannot be sold

A mother and her 10 year old son passed by, the son knew gabriel who was also his playmate.

"Gabriel! Are you selling something?" Clint asked while his mom followed along.

"Yes! This is called buchhis! dad made them today and they're so delicious!" gabriel said.

"How much is it then?"

"4 fot 50 Pesos." Gwyneth answered.

The mother took a look on the buchhis and was surprised from the brown colored and beautiful aroma. For some odd reason, the bucchis looked wonderful and fantastic to look at, She had to swallow several times to break her temptation to eat them right away.

Seeing the signage along with the table, She saw a man she assumed who was the father sitting leasurely on the side with his eyes closed.

"Hey we are going to buy. Can you wake your father up?" The mother asked the two kids.

The two kids blinked their eyes and looked at the lady.

"Father promised us pork barbeque tomorrow so no need to wake him up, how many will you buy mam?" Gwyneth answered while gabriel prepares a paper bag.

"Give us one order, here no need for change. Keep the rest of it" The mother gave Twenty Pesos to the kids.

Gwyneth saw the money and with her large eyes "It's 50 pesos per order mam, you're 30 pesos short."

"Ha? You can buy bucchis for 5 pesos a piece downtown!" the mother exclaimed.

"But ours is different! Dad worked for this all morning!" Gwyneth answered back.

The mother looked at the kids before looking on the man by the side. She knows the guy named ray as a father who works hard but doesn't work smart. Aside from living on a shabby home, They've known ray deep in debt for the couple of years.

The mother shook her head and held her son by the hand, "Let's go son, next time don't hang around with kids being taught how to be opportunistic."

The kid left with his mother while looking back on his friend and sister, his eyes showing how sorry he was for his mother's atitude.

Gabriel waived his hand while he looked on his friend taken away. For some odd reason, his chest hurts when his friend's mother called his dad as an opportunist.

As he looked on his father who sitting near them, he felt that his father had a different temperment after the accident, before he would be drinking after work and go home drunk. He would then blame all of the things happening to them to his mom but now.. dad changed.

A warm feeling covered gabriel , unknown to him the mana inserted by his dad began to beam and emit a faint glow towards his veins.

****

Ray opened his eyes as he felt the faint mana around him and as he saw his son who was looking at him. He saw how the mana slightly pulsed and covered his son's vein silently.

*****

Night came and no one purchased any bucchis. Ray was not worried that the bucchis might rot and cannot be eaten as a portion of mana was one of the ingredients on making the bucchis.

He wrapped them on a clean paper cloth and put them on the refrigerator as he prepares sweet tomatoes for dinner.

Teresa had a pale face looking at the bucchis unsold. She really not smiling now as the last of their money was spent on bucchis, If she would known that it would not sell she could've stop Ray on making those bucchis, She knows it's delicious but it's just too expensive. who would ever buy those golden drown oh so delicious bucchis.. She spat an angry glare towards her husband as her temper nearing to explode.

Ray felt Teresa's glare and felt how mad his wife is, the kids are in front of them right now so he knows teresa is just holding back. As far as he can remember, It's been no fighting in front of the kids policy since Day 1.

Ray gulped as he swallowed his courage and smiled to the kids to get away from Teresa's glare.

"You know when I was a kid, we used to eat salt, sprinkles of vinegar and rice when we had no money." Ray said while he ate his fill. "Endure, It's been what we're doing and we will continue to do so."

"Daddy.." Evangeline approached and hugged Ray.

Ray warmly received her daughter and hugged back, evangeline was still 3 years old but her sweetness towards her father will not diminish until he claimed glory on his past life.

Seeing that his daughters and son had finished the sweet potatoes he felt pity as he had gone back in time but cannot change his family's poverty.

The simple family finished their poor dinner and Ray carried both his daughters towards their bed while Teresa and their baby stayed at the dinner table. Gabriel was already washing the dishes.

He tucked both his daughters and saw their old television, His family had a tv a long time ago but it suddenly stopped working and he was not able to send it to the repair shop.

Seeing the old equipment, tears welled up on Ray's eyes as this was their first investment on his salary.

"Daddy can you tell us a story?" Gwyneth asked whike she tucked in ready for bed.

"Yeah daddy, please sorry!" Evangeline motioned.

"It's story not sorry.." Ray answered smiling then wiped up the welling tears on his eyes.

"What story do you want.. Cinderella? Goldilocks?"

"No daddy, we want something new." Gwyneth requested.

"I want dagons,fairies!" Evangeline requested.

Ray sat besides the two of them, covered them with their old blanket and proceeded to tell an old story from one of his adventures before.

"Well I have the perfect story for you two.Listen, It's not dagon but dragons all right?"

"Dragons!" The two exclaimed.

"All right so this happened when the great mighty general crossed the milky way into the andromedas, to find and get the fabled fruits of light. the fruits were so special that if anyone could eat them they would gain the power of light and control the dragon of light that guards the entrance! The general served a human royalty who's power is so great that the royalty doesn't need any support or army. One day the General and the king found the fruits and the tree of light near the end of the galaxy.."

Ray proceeded to tell the story and was like lost in time as he tries to recall the past enmity between him and the fabled royal.

When ray was halfway through, Teresa and gabriel had already arrived and listened to his story as well.

"Bad royalty!" Gwyneth stood up and poised with her arms crossed.

"The general lives!" As evangeline stood up as well and began to circle like a flying superhero.

"Crappy story ray, who would believe that kind of story!" Teresa said, no longer angered by the events today as she pinched Ray's side lightly.

Ray chuckled and paired his stories with actions as well.

Gabriel just sat by and listened to his father's story and with knees buckled together listened intently. His eyes brimming with curiosity and fantasy.

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