Chapter 7: Chapter 7

It was a big relief for me when her father arrived before we step-out of the park.

"Come one, ladies. Time to go home. I just finished my work. Where are you heading to?" Mr. Dela Fuente asked.

"We are just wanted to greet Lieutenant Henry Dizon and his friend." Cristel looked in the direction where we saw the two men. Oh, thank goodness! They are gone!

"You can meet them some other time. We really should get going before the sun finally sets."

It was so nice to have a simple life that you just need to walk from work to your house. I'm just wondering right now if I were here, what happened to the time where I truly live?

"I will just lend you some clothes to wear." Cristel suddenly spoke which made me come back to my senses.

"Thank you," I answered.

"No problem." She smiled.

"Do you have siblings, Cristel?" I asked.

"No, I am an only child and that's lonely. I only have my mother to listen to my worries in life. My mother is really a cool mom, I am delighted to introduce you to her, she will truly be happy."

I can sense from her voice that she was really happy to meet me. I am too. In this situation, I’m really glad that there are good people to help me, if I didn't meet Cristel first, I would probably in danger right now.

"Thank you for accommodating me. You are a such nice individuals. I will pay it back whenever I can. Thank you so much," I sincerely said.

She sighed. "As my father said, no need to pay it back. We glad we can help, and you really look nice so, why not?"

Their house looks like a big mansion. If I will compare it to the modern world, they would probably be considered as one of the richest families.

"Mama, we are home! And we have a guest!" Cristel happily shouted inside their home.

A beautiful middle-aged lady shows up. She was smiling widely and looked like she was from the kitchen because of her pink apron.

"Good evening, darling." She kissed her husband then hugged Cristel afterward. She looked at me with amusement, I bow my head lightly then greet her.

"Good evening, ma'am. I am Aliyah." I extended my hand then she gladly accepted it.

"It is nice having you here in our simple house, I am Irene. You arrived just in time, I just finished cooking and I am now arranging the tables," she said.

"I can help you with that," I said.

She shakes her head. "No, you are our visitor. You should sit here and relax. Cristel will help me, don't worry."

"But I really want to help. You helped me a lot from the beginning, I want to help with small things in this house. I would love that." I smiled.

They are so kind. I can see that Cristel was an obedient daughter who loves her parent, and her father and mother are loving parents that fulfill their responsibilities to their child without getting tired. I really adore a family like this, although mine is just fine, we are barely to be with each other. I am always away, and we don't have much time to do family things.

"You are good at this, aren't you?" Irene said.

I was not expecting that I am good at arranging tables for dinner. I tried before, maybe I should try this at home. My mother always doing the chores. I never helped her since I started working in the city. I missed her already.

"The foods are so tasty." They are pretty traditional ones. I never knew that these foods are supposed to taste like these. These foods are being altered for years.

"Thank you, these are my recipes. I am glad you liked it. Cristel's favorite is my own recipe for spaghetti. I am cooking that since she was a toddler and until now, she never gets tired of it," Mrs. Dela Fuente said then looked at her daughter with a warm and big smile.

My mother and I are not that close. I was very young when I decided to go to the city to continue my study. I was 16 then and after that, we are always fighting over the phone. She was a nagging mother; she always makes me do things I never wanted. She was very furious when she found out that I am taking the medical course, she wanted me to be a lawyer.

"Show her room, Cristel, while I am washing the dishes. Darling, do you want me to prepare your tea?"

They are also a sweet couple. I wonder how their story was started. As we walked towards my said room, Cristel keeps on telling me stories.

"Can you stay here a little long? I really need someone to talk to. You know, we can sleepover, curl our hairs, eat sweets at night and many more. Please... I promise to help you with everything you want to do. I will tour you around our village. You want to meet Lieutenant Henry Dizon, right? My family is really close with them, I can introduce you to him. And that Sonia, I can help you find her. We can interview all the girls named Sonia here in our village. Please..." She looked at me with those puppy eyes.

I sighed then smile. Her offer is tempting. I can't even say no. "Alright, I can stay a little longer as long as your father and mother won't mind."

"Yay! Of course, they won't mind. They will be happy seeing me happy. Thank you," she wholeheartedly said.

"You’re welcome, but you need to keep your promises. Promise?" I raised my pinky hand and wait for her to have a pinky swear to me.

"What are you doing?" she asked while creasing her forehead.

"You don't know the 'pinky promise'?"

She shakes her head. I laughed then took her hand.

"Pinky promise is when you want to seal a promise with someone then if you failed to fulfill it, your pinky finger will cut out to your hand as a punishment," I explained.

Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. 'What? Is that even legal?" she exclaimed, and her face was priceless.

"I was just kidding, but that is the history of pinky promise. But we can use it to seal your promise. Pinky promise?" I raised my pinky fingers again.

She nodded. "Pinky promise."

I wished I had sibling like Cristel. She guides me to my room, and I was shocked when I realized that this is my room in our old house. How is that possible? It really resembled my room but this one looks new and freshly varnished.

I looked at Cristel who was fixing my bed. Is she... Is she my grandma? I don't know, I never met grandma. I was young when she died.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

I snapped then awkwardly smile. Who would have thought that in this state I will meet my grandma? Or am I concluding too fast? Maybe this house was sold to my grandma, that's why.

"Do you have a, you know? Someone special?" I asked her.

She immediately blushed. "What are you saying? I don't have friends, so who would like to date me?" She lowered her sight.

"But have you ever been infatuated to someone?" I asked again. Her pink cheeks turned to pitch red.

"I-I have o-one. But you don't have to know that that's a private thing!" she said.

I smirked. "I have all night, you know. You can trust me. Promise, I will never spill a word."

She sighed. "Fine, his name is Alfredo. He is the best friend of Lieutenant Henry. He's a soldier too."

My jaw dropped.

Alfredo is my grandpa's name.