Chapter 2

“Nally, dinner is ready.” Lello called his sister after setting the dinner table. He managed to prepare their dinner in such a short span of time.

He is intelligent, good looking, and very skilled with knives. He and his sister are not orphans, they were the children of the Claveria household, a clan of the most famous surgeons and medical practitioners. Their ancestors are mostly doctors or scientist, this maybe the reason why Lello has innate talent when it comes to knives. He is a fourth year student in his medicine proper and preparing to take neurosurgery as his major. However, his decision of being a surgeon or even taking medicine as his course is not related with his being a part of the Claveria clan. He has his own reason and it is not related to the blood running through his veins. As a matter of fact, if he is given a chance to choose another course, he would be happy to take up any course far from medicine.

He sighed and shook his head as memories started to pop into his mind. Thankfully he heard his sister walking to the kitchen.

“Hmmm… It smells good.”, Nally said while walking to the dinner table.

“Yeah, right.” Lello rolled his eyes, not believing his sister.

“Why is that I heard disbelief in your voice? You don’t believe me, do you?”, Nally said laughing a bit. “I am not joking, it really smells good, and I bet that it also looked good and taste great.”, Nally said full of confidence.

“How sure are you?”, Lello ask his sister.

“Big brother, I have been eating your food for seven years, and everything taste good.”, Nally smiled genuinely.

“Fine, if that’s what you say. Come on and sit down already so that we can start eating dinner.” Lello stopped the conversation and helped his sister to settle down on the dinner table.

“What did you cook today?”, Nally asked his brother.

“Soy garlic Korean style fried chicken.”, Lello answered while getting some food for his sister and placed it in front of her.

“Thank you, big brother.” Nally thanked him and started to eat. “Hmmm… Big brother, this taste really great. I feel like I am eating a meal made by a world class chef!”, she said happily, but suddenly she also felt sad. This did not escape the sharp eyes of her brother.

“What’s the matter? Why did you suddenly looked sad?”, Lello asked her while slowly eating his food.

“It is just a waste that you did not get to become a chef, and instead you’re studying to become a surgeon.”

“And why is it a waste?”

“Big brother, we both know that you really don’t want to be doctor. You just chose to take that course because of ---.”

“Enough Nally, stop talking nonsense.”

“But ---.”

“No buts. I choose to study medicine because I like it. I am happy with my decision and I don’t regret it. So stop thinking about anything. Eat your food.”, Lello ended their conversation just like that and did not talked anymore. Nally also chose not to utter another word.

***

'At last, I found a place to stay. I thought I am going to spend the night on the street, Ziah thought to herself.'

She smiled bitterly, knowing that she’s actually rich but is living like a homeless person. She looked at the apartment that she managed to get by paying only three thousand pesos for one month of stay. Luckily the landlady is kind enough to not ask for an advance and deposit payment. The apartment is small but it is perfect for her since she is living alone. It is located at the second floor of a small building near the park. There is a small living room, with one long sofa bed, it is a used sofa bed but still in good condition, she can say that the land lady is good at maintaining the property. There is one small bedroom, with a single bed without cushion. She closed the bedroom door and opened the door next to it. She found the bathroom, it is clean it has no bath tub but it has a shower and it is working, the toilet has flush. It is pretty decent. In a typical Filipino apartment it is unusual to find a shower; usually there is a faucet with a bucket and a dipper under it, use for taking a bath. There is a small kitchen with gas range and a small dining table. There are a lot of things that is still needed to be taken care of, but at least she has a place to stay. She takes her clothes off without inhibition and walked to the bathroom to take a shower. She felt very dirty so she wants to wash off all the dirt in her body. If only a shower can take all the bad memories and experiences, she would be willing to take a shower for one whole day to make sure that everything is rinse off of her body. It only took her fifteen minutes to clean herself and walked out of the bathroom. She got a pair of shorts and a fitted sleeveless top from her small travelling bag and put it on. Then she got her scarp from the bag and went to the sofa. She decided to sleep on the sofa instead of the bed since there is no cushion on the bed yet. She can sleep anywhere even if it is hard, but she really wanted to lie down on something soft and rest her tired body and soul. It only took her a couple minutes before she dozed off.

***

“Nally, I have to go to school now. Take care and don’t go anywhere without leaving a message for me. If you are going to granny, make sure to wait for me there to pick you up. “, Lello said to his sister while getting ready for school.

“Yes sir!”, Nally even saluted to him playfully.

“Will you please take me seriously?”, Lello said seriously.

“Of course brother, don’t worry, I will not repeat what I had done yesterday.”, Nally smiled beautifully to her brother and it made Lello’s heart melt. He really loves his sister, and he is willing to do anything just for her. She is his treasure, his hope, his dream and his life. She’s the only one he got, that is why he is so protective of her.

“Ok, that’s good. I’ll get going. Take care of yourself.”, Lello kissed his sister’s forehead as he bids goodbye.

He is confident that his sister can take care of herself. She lost her sight at the age of eight, at first she struggles a lot and can’t do anything. He doesn’t know why but his sister never lost her smiles despite of the unfortunate things that happened to them. Slowly, she managed to live her daily lives without the need for the help of someone. As long as the place where they live won’t change, she’ll manage to get by. But because of her situation, she chose not to go to school, instead she wished to study at home. She has been home schooling since she was eight, so she is not illiterate. Actually she’s pretty clever. If only she can see, she might have a much better future than him. Nally is very talented at almost everything. She can dance, sing and paint well she can also play different instrument.

“Lello!”, a guy shouted from a distance. Lello stopped walking as he heard the guy. “Good morning bro.” The guy greeted him and puts his arms onto Lello’s shoulder while smiling from ear to ear. He removed it and called out his name.

“Neil.”

“Really, I greeted you enthusiastically and even run so that we can walked together and you replied to me with ‘Neil’.”, the guy said while mimicking his voice. Lello did not answer and just continue walking. Neil De Guzman, he is his only friend at school.

Lello is an aloof and mysterious guy who doesn’t really talked with anyone. Before, many people tried to befriend him because of their own personal reason. He is very popular not just with the girls but also with the guys. He is the cool and the mysterious guy at school who can do almost everything. Good at sport, good at academics, good looking and looks good at everything he wears. Most of the girls tried to seduced him but Lello did not even bother to look at them. It was even rumored that he is gay, but he did not pay attention to it. Neil is the only person who never got tired of talking to him even though he seldom replied, until Lello got used to him hanging around and became friends with him. Neil is also intelligent and good looking, he is also famous and many girls run after him since he is really friendly with almost everybody.

“How’s Nally?”, Neil asked. “I haven’t seen her for a while I got caught up with a lot of things so I haven’t visited her.”, he asked while returning the greetings of the people around them.

“She’s fine, no need to visit her.”, Lello’s look at that time can kill a person.

“What did I do?” Neil asked innocently.

“Leave my sister alone.”, Lello's voice is very cold.

“What are you saying? I just want to know if she’s doing good. I don’t plan on doing anything with her.”, Neil explained. He knows that Lello is over protective of his sister, as a matter of fact, only he, knows that Lello has a sister.

“It is better that you still know that my sister is off limits.”, Lello said with a warning in his voice.

“What are you talking about, Nally is still really young, I only think of her as a little sister.”

“Good.” After that remarks Lello did not speak a single word again until they reach the classroom. Only Neil did the talking and greeting to the people that greets them.

Why is Lello so famous? He is the president of the student council, and their professors look highly of him. He can actually manage a lot of things alone; he is a born leader.