Chapter 1- The Fortune Has Come

In a mountainous place a couple had several children. Most of them were females. Among their daughters a son was also given to them by God. These husband and wife were still young. Much as they had their self-control, their sex appeal for each other was still irresistible. So the result was another unavoided pregnancy.

"Honey, I hope our baby in your womb is a son," Richard said as she was petting her wife's belly.

"What if this is another daughter? Would you hate

her to death?" Clariss irritantly replied as she forcefully removed her husband's hand.

"Wifey, you are so boorish with me, now that you got what you want from me again," Richard jokingly stood up from their bed and went out of their bedroom.

"You are really a shameless husband! Got what I want your ass." Clariss said in a little bit louder voice in her scowling mood.

"I heard that! You might want another child even if you have not yet given birth as my punishment for you!" Richard yelled froma the kitchen.2

Afraid that she would be punished, she kept quiet and recited her evening prayer silently as she was yawning in succession.

As Clariss was about to be in her deep slumber, Richard got inside their bedroom with a lukewarm cup of milk.

"Darling, here is your milk. You are always forgetting to drink before sleeping. Come'n, it will only take drinking for a while and you can sleep back again," As he was talking he was already seated at the right edge of the bed lifting up the head of Clariss.

Although Clariss was really very drowsy, still she did not resist refusing, thinking of the infant in her womb. So, with the help of her husband, she drank the milk all the way down. Richard got a glass of water on the night stand and fed it to her once again.

The

"Good night my love. Sleep tight and always dream of our honeymoon." he said while kissing her on her forehead.

Before she was lulled into her deep sleep, she pinched her husband's chest and murmured... "Sweet dream."

That night was still very young for Richard to sleep so he went down at the kiosk in front of their abode to weave his craft to augment the family income for their daily needs.

Finally, his body was rested on the bed beside his wife whom he cuddled after some minutes of stretching on that bed. It was three hours of his deep sleep when he was awakened by his wife.

Shaking his shoulder to wake him up, Clariss spoke in a quick voice, seemingly in a pain that she was trying to hold. "Richard, please wake up. Please call a midwife for me, now."

Richard who was sleeping only in his undergarment quickly stood up and went out of their bedroom. He was about to open their front door to dash out to fetch the midwife when his wife stopped him and reminded him to clad himself first. His wife was at their bedroom door writhing in pain as she had a successive womb contraction.

The midwife attended to Clariss with care attentively while instructing Richard to boil a water. After an hour, a very loud cry of a newly born baby was heard and stirred the couple's older children.

Richard's wish for another son failed. The youngest child was a very cute girl. But... he accepted her warmly and lovingly.

"Alright.. Since everybody is awake, introduce yourselves to your youngest sibling. Kissing on the face is not allowed." the ever caring responsible father said.

A month after, a merriment with coconut wine, broiled whole pig, pansit and many more were in that banquet. The youngest girl was baptised and was named Richclar - the combined name of Richard and Clariss.

Not long after the infant became a baby girl, the baby girl became a toddler who was ready to be in her formative years in formal studies. She was enrolled in pre-school where she was observed to stand out among her classmate.

Having been the youngest, everybody pampered her. She was always beautifully and properly groomed. Everybody served as her tutor for not one among them could resist her irresistible curiosity. She would ask them many questions that sometimes made each of them speechless and dumbfounded.

" First brother where did I come from? How come I was alive?" These were Richclar's two inquisitive questions among her many seemingly interrogation.

Sometimes her mother would be called in school by the teacher-in-charge, as the mothers of her classmates complained.

" Mother," the teacher said the and continued... "Your daughter seemed to be offensive as most of her female classmates are complaining against her. She let them cried."

"Honey, is it true that you let them cried?" Clariss asked her daughter in a gentle manner.

"I saw them crying. I heard their voices crying. But I don't know why they were crying. I never bad mouthed against them nor hurt them." The girl explained as though she was an adulthood.

"Then... Why do you think they cried?" Clariss and the teacher asked in duet.

"Was it my fault to refuse playing with them? I prefer playing volleyball with my male classmates than them. I hate playing jackstone, hopscotch and even that stop dance. Ewwww, it sucks!" she informed them exaspiratedly.

So, from that confrontation on, until she was a full grown woman, their neighbourhood fully understood her preference of games and playmates.

If needed, she has to be outspoken, if not, she is quiet. In the town where her birthplace belongs, a day's flea market was done, as the natives requested from the municipality leaders. During the flea market done every Saturday, the talkativeness of Richclar would be of use. She would even sing sweetly in a tune she would have created on her own.

"Come one, Come all buyers!"

"Buy some brooms as reseller."

"Surely you won't be ashamed."

"For they're durable, unbrittledly framed!"

While singing her own composition, she would also dance gracefully catching many flea marketers to huddle and purchase not only one soft broom or two but half dozen was the smallest quantity. Their selling in a flea market was not only confined in their municipality but they would also go to the different municipalities of their province

Alas! Those children of Richclar's parents who were still not studying away from home were also obliged to help in weaving qualitative and quantitative soft brooms to serve the regular orders of their customers.

The youngest daughter was indeed a blessing from God who brought them their family's luck in devoting not only in rice field farming but also in home craft industry.

Speaking of rice field farming of Richard, it manifested Richclar's athletic ability and character traits that are seldom possessed by many youth. During lunch time, from school, before eating her lunch, she would bring her Father's meal running speedily on the narrow rice paddies without falling even once. Before leaving her father, she would serve him first.

:

"Papa, please come to eat your lunch while it is still warm. Somehow, it would lessen your tiresome."

"Thanks a lot, my child. Extend it to your mama for sending me the most delicious lunch ever."

"Whhhhoooo, Papa.. If I know.. You are just wheedling mama so she would not send you out of the mosquito net as you went dancing last night to our neighbouring place." she jokingly teased her father.

In school, unlike other pupils during recess time, she would call her classmates' attention.

" Classmates, while eating our snacks who would like to memorize with me the multiplication facts from 1 to 12? Anyone?" Only those who are lazy would not agree. But... Mind you... The lazy ones were her target of her helping traits. Therefore, not one could escape from her insistince in exchange of her bulky 'baon' to be shared with those lazy classmates of her.

She never had an idle time. All her time were spent productively. That was why Richard and Clariss were so fortunate with her... She.. Who was procreated unintentionally.

As she grew older she's becoming more and more productive, smarter, but would still play chess with the boys, play basketball with the boys and began to dress up like a boy, secretly snatching his brother's pants and shirts as he was her idol for being a boy... her only brother among them.

However, her parents would never tolerate her to report to her school in male uniform. She has to wear what female students were using. The severity of her beauty was shown by it. She was so graceful while walking in that female uniform, a real pretty feminine without a tinged of being boyish. A growing young lady in her adolescent stage who conquered the world of those who were competitive not only in her physical appearance but also in talent, wit and skill.

Being the youngest at their home who was just a mere domestic follower to her older siblings and to her parents believing in heirarchy, who would had believed that she became the best high school leader? With her leadership in sports, oftentimes7 their group became a champion repeatedly not only in the district where she belonged but also in national level competition.

Who would have believed that she would also conquer the world of journalistic ability in writing? Her talent in composing feature articles evolved to the highest national level of competition.

Who would have believed that she would be the queen during a provincial beauty and wit competition?

Not you, not me, nor everybody unless you knew her personally and was able to follow her life story.

When God sprinkled some blessings on earth, Richclar was able to receive them all... The beauty, inside and out, the wit, the talent and the skill. Thus, what could she ask for more from God?

Nothing for she has almost everything.