Chapter 4

I woke up feeling cold. My room is still dark. I slightly rub my eyes to brush away the blurriness from the aftermath of sleeping. I slowly moved down from my bed, the cold wind hugged me the moment I opened my windows. A gust of nostalgia washed over me as I remembered the day I once left this place, that same day when I thought everything would turn out to be better. I wish I could change that decision maybe my life would not have taken a bad turn, a really bad one.

13th of June 2002.

It was a cold day. The wind is blowing softly yet the freezing temperature will be felt seeping through your clothes before it touches your skin. Gray clouds are looming above, moving, unsteady. Several leaves are falling from the branches when the wind swept through it. Soon, tiny droplets of water hit the windowpane, and down it went and seeped on the wood where the pane was settled in between. The droplets are racing down, I traced its track as it ran down the glass window. I stared outside, brushing out everything in my mind.

The night before my parents’ arrival is one of those ordinary nights in the farm — peaceful.

My parents are downstairs, discussing something with my grandparents. They told me to stay in my room while they talk. I don't understand what is happening but I sensed that something is not right either. My parents arrived earlier at dawn. I have not woken up yet when they came. My grandma was the one who woke me up to tell me that my parents are waiting for me downstairs.

“Mom and Dad are here?”

I quickly ran downstairs to see my parents. It’s been ages since I last saw them.

“Mom! Dad!” I beamed at both of them when they turned their direction to me. I saw my Mom flash a weak smile before crouching down. She ruffled my hair and kissed my forehead, she never said anything.

“Let’s leave after this rain passes by,” my dad said calmly. I shifted my gaze to my Dad and back to my Mom.

“Where are we going, Mom? Am I coming with you?” I asked my Mom innocently. I was happy because finally, I'm coming with my Mom and Dad. I know something feels off but I just brushed it off knowing that I will be with them, I've been staying on this farm since I was seven.

“Sweetie, have you packed your clothes?” my Mom asked softly.

“I already placed them in a bag earlier.” My grandma looked at me with sad eyes. I want to stay here so grandma won’t be lonely but I want to go with my parents, too. I was torn between both decisions, whether to stay with grandma or go with my parents. Grandma must have sensed my dilemma, ”Honey, don’t worry about us, we'll be fine.” She gave me a reassuring smile when my father declared that it was time to leave. I haven't had any chance to change my sleeping dress into something suitable for traveling.

“Daddy, wait,” I ran outside. The rain has just passed away, the soil is damp and slightly slippery. I went to the place where we usually play and I am not mistaken when I found the four of them. They turned their attention to me when they noticed I was heading to them.

“Hey, Grace, come on. Let’s play,” Lily called out to me, inviting me to come and play with them. I turned to Damien and he fell quiet.

“I’m afraid I can’t. I’m coming with my parents,”

“So we won’t be able to play anymore?” Paula asked.

“That’s sad....” Lily said softly, her head hung low.

Nobody said anything anymore.

“I’ll come back here, I promise.”

My dad finally called me, it’s time for us to leave. It feels so sad leaving them behind but I miss my Mom and Dad more.

I turned to leave when somebody halts me by his voice, “Grace, you’ll come back, right? I will wait.” I smiled at Damien before replying, “Of course, I will and that’s a promise.”

They waved goodbye at me. I was slowly walking away from them and walked towards my Dad's car. I couldn’t take my eyes off them. The engine roared to life and it’s slowly moving away from that place. From a distance, I saw my friends, my grandma is heading to their direction. After a few minutes, gone was the vivid image of the people who became a cure to my loneliness when my Mom and Dad are not around. Gone were the images of the people that became my family.

We traveled for a few hours and I must say it's boring not to have my friends around. ‘I should get used to not being with them for a while,’ I said to myself. When we were approaching the city, the road became busy. I finally experienced traffic and so much smoke. It’s hot in the city and I wasn't happy with it. I tried cheering myself up by thinking about the bright side of being in the city, finally, I will get to be with my Mom most of the time.

Well, at least that's what I thought.

When the car came to a halt, Mom and Dad hopped out. Mom opened the car door for me and I was greeted with a long row of houses that are pretty much the same. She took out the keys and took me by the hand while Dad parked the car in the driveway. I didn't notice that Mom had already gone inside and I was too preoccupied with my surroundings. I saw a lot of things that can’t be found on the farm. It's overwhelming, so much to take in, honestly. This is definitely something new.

“Grace, come on in already,” Mom called out to me. It felt a little different. One thing I noticed when they came to the farm and up until we reached here is that they were distant from each other. I wonder what’s wrong, I was curious but I didn’t ask.

Hours had passed and night came by, Mom called me out for dinner. I quickly scrambled to my feet upon hearing Mom, my stomach is already growling from hunger. When I entered the dining room, a four-sitter table along with four chairs greeted me. They were already seated, everyone was quiet and I think that’s odd.

“M-mom,” she turned her attention to me.

“You aren't talking to Daddy since earlier, what’s wrong?” I saw how she throw a glance in Dad's direction while Dad was halted for a moment. They both locked eyes with each other like there was some sort of telepathy going on that only the two of them understood.

“Honey, I think we should eat first,” she said in almost a whisper. I didn't say anything anymore, I just ate whatever was on my plate. Minutes went by and nobody was talking, still. My mother stood up from her seat and took her plate to the sink. Later, my Dad did the same thing. I stared at my plate, it was almost empty but I already lost the appetite to finish it so I gathered it and put it in the sink.

I headed to the living room to watch some television when I heard them whispering to each other with so much emphasis that it somehow looks like as if they were arguing about something. I just watched until they both headed towards me.