Chapter 4

Not a cloud in the sky, and the sun was on its highest. The two siblings were at the shallowest part of the pool where only their feet would get soaked. Tina was still getting herself used to the water, sitting crossed legged as her palms face to the floor, looking up to her big brother literally and should be figuratively.

Betoy pointed to the other side to the pool and stared down at his sister. "Lastly, if you're not fully aware by now, this is the shallowest part of the pool, the further we go, the deeper the water."

"Yes, I am completely aware of all of that." Tina replied instantly.

"Then why didn't you say so?!" Betoy scratched his head violently, "I even told you about the history of swimming pools and everything!"

He spent a whole hour discussing useless knowledge to his sister. She was listening, well, at least she looked like she was listening the whole time. She didn't say anything except an occasional question, and the questions weren't even real questions. One of them were "Do I need to have six feet in order to swim at six feet?"

"I just wanted you to enjoy yourself explaining such things to your darling little sister." She teased.

It was the second time he took the bait she casted. It reminded him again of how irritating his sister is, still not adorably irritating like he had wanted her to be, but it was charming nonetheless, and it was a little…

Nostalgic…

The big brother held his sister's hand and forced her to stand up, "The first thing you should do is to practice floating." Betoy's eyes flashed, a devilish smirk formed his face. Tina didn't have the time to react, in a blink of an eye, she was already at the deepest part of the pool.

Fear could be read in her eyes and her mouth gasped for air. Her hands were set free, his grasp on her hand faded away. "You see…" Betoy whispered behind her ear. His voice sent shivers. She could feel his murderous intent. He tried to kill her once, he'll definitely try doing it again. Just when he was starting to feel like an older brother she asked for when she, as a 12-year-old little girl, first saw him… Her life flashed before her eyes… Now that she noticed it, he DID feel like a big brother the whole time. All those quarrels, insults, teases… It's better to have those rather than having no contact at all. All her life she was only watching them from behind the glass… Finally she got to live with them even for only a short time. She felt like she was finally part of the family.

"Tina!"

At the sound of Kanor's wavering voice, Tina's eyes opened as she sees her ama over her with tears in his eyes. Kanor gasped and hugged the small girl tightly, while Betoy was in the sidelines on his knees, coughing, and trying his best not to vomit.

"What happened?" Tina asked weakly. Kanor held her shoulders, "You drowned and Betoy gave you CPR."

Betoy gargled some pool water from the pool and spat on the floor, "I made a mistake and lost my first kiss!"

Kanor covered Tina with a bath towel. "Don't get too close to the water from now on okay?" Then there was an overwhelming smell coming from the grill. Kanor jumped in surprise, "AYIEE, the grilled fish!" He rushed back.

Betoy towered over Tina and gave her a menacing stare, "I told you to keep your calm, but you didn't!"

Everything was happening so fast Tina couldn't comprehend anything. "What happened?" She asked again.

Betoy crossed his arms, "Weren't you listening? You drowned and I gave you CPR to save your life, I lost my first kiss and dad burnt the grilled fish because of you!"

"No, before that." The little girl uttered.

"I dragged you to the deepest part of the pool to float and left you alone, you started panicking and kept splashing. I told you to keep calm, but you wouldn't listen! I told you to go near the ledges, but you still wouldn't listen! You suddenly fainted, and then I dove in to rescue you. I managed to get you off the water, then I noticed that you weren't breathing! I asked dad if he could do anything, and then dad started panicking as well, and then I went straight to your lips and— You're still not listening!"

The girl was gazing at the water. Her hands clenching the fake grass, her eyes watery and her mouth gaped open. She was giggling non-stop. The big brother's menacing gaze turned into a worried one.

She thought she was going to die… Again. She was ready for it for the second time. And then…

She shook her head. "Perhaps I was overthinking." Tina mumbled to herself.

"You okay?" Her big brother asked.

The small girl formed a grin and locked eyes with her big brother and nodded vigorously.

Forgetting that Tina almost died, Kanor's spine tingled seeing his children side by side, talking to one another, treating each other like siblings and didn't want to waste the opportunity so he took a picture of it. It wasn't planned but her near-death made them closer. His icebreaker is still ongoing! Before all the hullaballoo, Kanor had thought of going back to their house to get the karaoke machine that he 'mistakenly' forgot. He knew how Betoy loves the karaoke until he decided to go hikokomiri? Is that how Betoy said it was? Sometimes Kanor could hear him singing something not in the English language, it goes to show how he still loves to sing.

The creepy satisfied reaction on his face was still present as he walked towards his two children. "Tina, Betoy, I'm going back to the house to get something, manage the grill while I'm gone." He immediately ran towards their car and half a second the two siblings could already hear the car roaring, gradually fading away.

Stuffed in coal, burnt fish skin sticking on the cooking grid from the grilled fish earlier, the old grill was left lit up by Kanor. The two siblings, already dressed dry, glanced at it then shifted to the cooler filled with food to cook.

Betoy, while holding Tina's hand, skittered to it and lifted its lid. The cooler was filled with fish.

It was filled with fish. The same kind of fish Tina had on her previous life.

"Tilapia… My favorite…" Betoy glanced to his little sister who was obviously bothered. "Dad you screwed up big time." The big brother mumbled as the girl beside him was having another existential crisis. The big brother pulled the little girl away from the opened cooler and settled her down to a nearby stool.

"Maybe you should sit here and watch from a distance while I cook." Betoy said.

"And tell Ama when he comes back that I didn't help? Props for trying!" Tina rose, determined to not wreck her image as a daughter and an adopted child, and struggled to the cooler. The big brother immediately followed her, he caught up and held her hand.

Betoy turned away clicked his tongue in disappointment. His plan backfired, or at least, that was Tina had thought. Being the big brother Betoy is, he wanted his sister to feel that she already got back at him. He preferred cute little banters over useless long arguments.

The small girl grabbed a slimy Tilapia from the tail with her vacant hand, trying to ignore the fact that she was once of their kind, and went to the grill. One at the time the Tilapias were cooked with each Tilapia differentiating in food quality. The first ones were burnt while the others were cooked to perfection. Fshh, it's not that hard to grill anyway.

The two siblings weren't aware Kanor was watching them and taking pictures half-way through. Once Kanor saw them together, he didn't want to ruin the sibling moment. Tina teaching Betoy how to grill properly. Though Kanor was wondering why it was the other way around.