Blame Game No More

She recalled her accident and expected to wake up in a hospital. When she checked her phone and saw that it was dated ten years back, she just off-handedly thought, 'My phone probably got busted from the accident.'

Looking around, however...

"What am I doing in our old house?!" Yvonne freaked out.

All the stuff in the room were her things during the middle of her final semester in college - her school uniform, thesis drafts and college books, her collections of paperback novels, even their old computer desktop was sitting right on its corner of the room. She was in the rental house they lived in prior to her father's death.

Just then, her door was burst open by Mrs. Pereira, who didn't bother to knock.

"Hey, Yvonne! Aren't you supposed to be getting ready for your internship today?!" Mrs. Pereira had a large scowl on her face.

"Mother?!"

Breaking out of her trance, Yvonne whipped her head towards her mother. Her eyes widened and a loud gasp passed her lips when she saw a younger version of her mother.

Disbelief gradually showed on her face.

Mrs. Carolle Pereira had a fierce pair of eyes, the supposed crow's feet at their corners were not as prominent as before. Her hair, which used to be all gray and disheveled, was now silky black, neatly tied in a bun. What used to be her plump and aged body, was now standing straight and proud.

Mrs. Pereira looked like she's about to go to work. She was wearing her office uniform, with a pair of low-heeled shoes. A scent of lavender was emitting from her.

In Yvonne's past life, her mother used to work in a car company until she retired early when her husband's condition took a turn for the worse.

The situation back then changed not only their lives but also their personalities. In particular was Mrs. Pereira.

At the time, Mrs. Pereira was cold-hearted, fierce and blunt. She also had a peculiar greed for money. That greed and her unreasonable spending had led them to become penniless.

When Mr. Pereira was still alive and kicking[1], she used her husband's salary to show off to their relatives. She used to shower money and other goods to their relatives from Silas family.

When Yvonne was about to enter college, she had been granted full scholarship in a prestigious and internationally recognized university. However, Mrs. Pereira still declined her that opportunity. Instead, she enrolled her daughter in a state college where tuition was free, so that she would have more money to spend showing off.

Mr. Pereira greatly abhorred his wife's ways, but he kept silent on the matter to avoid getting into pointless arguments with his very absurd and headstrong wife.

Once, Yvonne asked her mother, "Why do you keep on supporting these people when you won't even buy a house for our family? What do they have to do to us?"

Her mother's answer was: "So that if there comes a time when we need their help, they'll be more than willing to give a helping hand."

Unfortunately, as news of her father's condition was made known, their friends and relatives turned their backs on them, even avoiding them like a plague.

She remembered her mother's words as she diligently worked hard to earn money and pulled some strings to raise funds and other means of support for her father's expensive treatment and medicines. She began to resent her cousins, uncles and aunts who ignored their calls for help. Even more, she greatly resented her mother.

Then came the death of his father, leaving the rest of Pereira family buried in debt from unpaid hospital bills on top of their house rentals. This forced them to live in a smaller and much cheaper apartment.

"Snap out of it and get moving, would you?! You're going to embarrass our family at the Public Attorney's Office[2] if you arrived late on your first day." Mrs. Pereira poked her daughter's forehead.

"Your father's driving you there before going to his work, so you'd better be ready in half an hour."

Mrs. Pereira shook her head as she turned around and left the unresponsive and stupefied Yvonne.

"Public Attorney's Office... Internship... Dad?!"

Yvonne's eyes widened like saucers while loudly whispering to herself:

"Oh. My. Goodness. My wish really did come true?! I've gone back in time?!"

~×~×~×~×~

Half an hour later, Yvonne was all set and dressed to kill. Well, as far as her school uniform would allow. After all, the university she was attending at required its students to wear their proper uniforms even when undergoing internships.

"Three months, and I will be able to spread my wings across the world."

Yvonne's eyes twinkled as new hope filled her heart.

Looking at herself in the full-length mirror, Yvonne set her mind to face her rebirth with a new full set of determination. She vowed to undo her past mistakes that gave her regrets, her indecisions that failed not only her family, but also herself. Most importantly, she vowed to pursue her dreams.

Whether she could find her "happily ever after." Whether she could find ways to prolong her father's life. Whether she could change her mother's over-the-top preposterous attitude. Whether she could stand her own against her sister's willful manners. In the end, Yvonne vowed that in this another chance at life given to her by the heavens, she would do everything that she can in order to achieve the kind of life she wanted to have. This time, she would do things her way. For her dreams, her life goals, and her heart.

"Blame game no more," she murmured in front of the mirror.

When she walked out of her room, she saw her father waiting for her at the living room.

"Little girl, are you ready to go?" A younger, healthier and handsome middle-aged Elizardo Pereira stood up.

"D-dad..." Yvonne stood frozen at the sight of her father. memories of him from the past resurfaced and the sudden flow of emotions surging out of her made her eyes turn red with unshed tears.

~×~×~×~×~

Flashback

"Yvonne, how come you've just arrived?" Mr. Pereira was sitting on the sofa as she entered their house.

"Hey Dad! Did you miss me?" Yvonne smiled fondly at her father and took a seat right next to him.

Mr. Pereira scowled at her: "Why should I miss you? Who do you think you are?"

Yvonne chuckled and leaned closer to her father. "Oh, dad! You know, you can just admit that you missed me or you won't get a kiss from me, old man."

"Ha! Who are you calling old, young lady?" Her father feigned irritation but then he turned his cheek for his daughter to plant a resounding kiss.

"Mmmwuah!"

When Yvonne pulled back, her father was grinning so wide, one would think he had won the lottery.

Simple exchange of words and passive banters were full of warmth and affections only her father could show.