Chapter 7

Came in the final phase of Kanor's icebreaker. Everything was set up for the fireworks display alone. From the house, to the swimming pool, and now to the Japanese district. The family headed towards the other side of town where the firework displays were held. Tons of cars were rolling towards the same direction; the road was harshly lit by car headlights alongside streetlamps and nearby buildings. It was a lively evening today in the city. Kanor was looking closely at the lit road. His eyes squinted, burnt by the flashing light around him. Unlike the roads, the sky was lit by the gentle stars that were pleasing to the eye. Tina had her cheeks pressed against the car window while looking at the beautiful scenery, waiting for the fireworks to start complementing it.

"Now she acts like a real little sister." Betoy said to himself, "Fireworks could change anything."

But he acted just like that not too long ago. Most teenagers aren't fascinated with fireworks anymore, but not the same could be said to Betoy. He used to go crazy too when fireworks were mentioned. The city got loads of fireworks in here. Ever since he first saw a firework as a child, he wanted to see more. Whenever a firework display comes, counting this one, the Rayuno family would visit around the city in order to see it. There was something about fireworks that were magical to Betoy. The skies become more beautiful when it's sparkled with fireworks. He finds the sounds of cracking and popping from fireworks oddly refreshing. What takes the cake is he's watching it together with his family. With all those reasons, he still couldn't pinpoint the reason why fireworks were magical. However, it was reeeally weird that he himself didn't go crazy over them this time. Maybe once he sees them paint the sky once again, all the magic will come right back.

When was the last time he went crazy over fireworks anyway? He tried to remember. When was the last time he had a positive emotion over something? Getting to know his adopted little sister made him feel a jolt of excitement but if he shouldn't count the events today…

When was the last time Betoy ever felt like he was himself?

"We're here!" Kanor announced delightedly. Betoy was too deep into thought that the whole journey felt like it only lasted a single minute. Or is it because the parking for the fireworks display was too far from the district itself? The Japanese district always have tons of visitors from all around or maybe even outside town this day of the year, cars would've taken a lot of space inside. The district was surrounded by an artificial forest that separated it from the others, which is where the parking for the fireworks display was located. The forest mixed well with the traditional buildings of the Japanese district; whenever Betoy goes inside he would always appreciate how beautiful or somewhat cool the buildings there looked.

"It's like we're in Japan." That were the words that always came out from his mouth. After going out from the car with his family and reaching the inside of the district, the same words came out. What ruined the scenery was the ridiculous amount of people inside.

"I can't see…" Tina leaned in all directions to get a clear view but no avail. There were tall people around her, blocking her vision to an extent that she could only see heads and weird bald spots. She felt hands grabbing her waist as she gets carried. Kanor carried her to give her a piggyback ride. Tina couldn't stop blushing in embarrassment, resulting her to cover her face with her two little hands. "I'm twelve, not six, please put me down right this instant!"

"My bad." Kanor sent out an awkward chuckle while putting her down. He held her hand again and the girl continued to search for a better view that didn't require her to embarrass herself.

Betoy couldn't help but laugh silently. He was twelve when Kanor last did that to him, he was a small boy and then puberty hit him like a truck. "Truck…" He mumbled. His eyes widened and an imaginary lightbulb came out floating above his head. "Our car!" Their car was an SUV not a truck, but still it reminded him of it. Trucks were identical to SUVs because they both go vroom-vroom and they both could whoosh from destination to destination. That's how Betoy's mind worked.

"Tina!" He tapped her shoulder.

"What in God's name do you want?" Tina lashed out. The frustration of being a little person consumed her. Why didn't she reincarnate into a tall seventeen-year old instead just like her big brother? It was hard enough being a fish living in a human society, being small as well didn't quite help her.

"Ask dad if we could sit on top of the car!" Betoy shouted as the crowd became louder and louder each second.

"Good idea!" with her response almost buried from the noise of the crowd, she turned around to Kanor and tried to get his attention by pulling his hand.

"Ama!"

"What?"

"Could we sit on top of the car so we could get a clear view?"

"WHAT?"

"I said, could we—"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

"For God's sake-"Tina jumped, pinched Kanor by the ear and pulled him down, "Let's go back to the car!" She shouted. For a devout catholic, she sure doesn't follow the second commandment.

"It is kinda noisy out here." Kanor responded.

Once they came back, the siblings already settled on top of the car. Betoy kneeled and folded his legs and rested on his heels, imitating the Japanese seiza-style of sitting. It was uncomfortable as he remembered yet he insisted. He couldn't pass the opportunity since he was wearing a dazzling yukata. He pulled Tina and forced her to rest her back against his chest. He brushed her head and wrapped his arms around her. The colors of their yukatas made a great combination, both being orange and white in color with flower patterns.

"Dad, take a picture of us!"

"Taking it!" Then there was a camera shutter. Both father and son had the same satisfied feeling but reacted in different ways. It happened so fast that Tina didn't have time to react nor to object, as if it would matter anyway, she thought. All she could do was smile with tension.

"He's doing fine." Kanor mumbled to himself, staring at Betoy who was talking to Tina. The main focus of the icebreaker was to make Betoy to be himself again. It's been months since Betoy wasn't the energetic teenager Kanor knew. He isolated himself from society, and he didn't make contact to any of his friends up to now. Kanor was the only one that could help Betoy until Tina came; and now, Betoy was close to being his old self.

Kanor huffed in satisfactory and leaned against the car while looking at the beautiful picture of his children.

"The view here for the fireworks display is not quite good with all these trees standing about." Betoy said while looking at the stars with his little sister.

"This is way better than big heads blocking my damn view, after all, trees are better than humans by a huge margin." Tina smirked.

"You should've reincarnated as a tree then." Betoy answered playfully.

"It was not my choice anyway, God wanted me human not a tree." The small girl replied as if what she was saying was one hundred percent true. There were no evident signs of her fooling around or the other kind. A smile or her usual smug look was absent.

God wanted her human… Did she get the chance to meet God in person? Did God tell her He wanted her human? More questions flooded Betoy's mind. Throughout the whole day, the questions wouldn't stop coming in. Ever since the small talk with his dad which made him treat Tina differently, he tried to ignore all the questions and instead appreciate the time given to him with her. He tried to clear his head,

but questions still kept on coming.

"Look!" Kanor pointed at the sky. "It's starting!" Tina squealed hugging the arms that were wrapped around her. There was the sound of a single firework setting off, once a single one painted the sky, a bunch of them followed through. The little sister's eyes sparkled at the sight, and a wide gleam formed on her face.

His head cleared as he stare at the reaction of his little sister.

Even without the few cutesy reactions coming from her, Betoy would still accept her as a little sister. Thank God for her. God gave him a little sister. An adorable one. He was lucky that God gave him Tina. If God takes, God gives. The teases, the corny jokes, the religious part of her and others are what made her appealing to him, and he's satisfied that she was his little sister.

But the disturbing feeling was still present.

"Ever wondered why fireworks never go off alone?" Tina said, without taking her eyes from the scenery. "Sure, a single firework could be beautiful on its own, what makes it much more beautiful is when it's together with others."

Even with the noise of the fireworks, Betoy and Kanor could hear Tina clearly, focusing more on the little girl than the beautiful scenery as if the noise from their surroundings were blurred from their ears for her sake.

"Some stand out, some don't, but anyone could tell that they are better in a group, because each one has their own unique personality and color, and each one has their own flaws, but they still complement each other. They mix well together, just like a family."

Tina could feel Betoy's arms letting go. A collapsed breath came out of his mouth and it gave her shivers. Betoy's smile vanished and his eyes staring into nothing. Kanor turned away and grimaced as if in pain.

The fireworks kept on coming, harsh winds entered, but nothing could be heard. Everything was blurred out from Betoy's ears entirely, and soon his vision blurred as well, then it all became pitch black.

A light flickered.

"Have you ever wondered why fireworks never go off alone?"

Slowly, his vision went back, and the sounds of the fireworks became clear. What appeared beside him was a familiar sight. Her long hair flowed with the wind. The floral patterns on her clothing matched with the colorful sky. Her lips parted as she continued speaking but not a sound came out. The sounds of the fireworks were overwhelming Betoy's ears, each pop was more abnormally loud than the last. The lady continued speaking and ended her speech with a grin. Struggling to lift her own weight, she stood. Her gaze went to the sky as her eyes sparkled with the fireworks above them.

Betoy tried to reach out for her, but familiar sight soon vanished, and darkness surrounded him once more.

He became numb, he couldn't feel someone cuddling him anymore. He couldn't feel someone's body pressed against him, but he could feel his eyes burning up. He could feel tears flowing down his cheeks. He could feel his heart aching and pounding rapidly. He could feel his limbs shaking, and his hands tightening as if he was trying to grasp something he doesn't want to let go.

"Kuya?"

He snapped out and the first thing he saw were worried eyes of a little girl.

He stood up in shock, making Tina fall from her seat.

Betoy was taking more deep collapsing breaths. He stared at her as if she was about to do something terrible to him. After few seconds of exchanging stares, Tina still didn't know what was happening.

She sat upright and scoffed. "Is this another one of your lowly schemes?" She rolled her eyes, thinking that her brother was ruining a good moment.

Betoy didn't reply and kept gazing. The sound of his breaths were evident to everyone's ears, even with the fireworks still going on at the background.

Kanor carried Tina from the roof of the car to the ground. "I think we should head home. We all had a long tiring day."

"But the fireworks display isn't over yet!" Tina protested.

"Come now." Kanor opened the car door and gently pushed her to the backseat.

With a glance from Kanor, Betoy jumped off the car as his breaths slowly easing up. He went inside and Kanor closed the door for him.

"I screwed up big time." Kanor went to the driver's seat, rubbing his temples in disappointment towards himself. As he continued to blame himself for what had happened, he glanced at the empty passenger seat beside him.

"We can't do this without you Maya."