Chapter 5: Eye of Storm

Third person's pov

Dara sat next to Eli and the room was filled with silence except for Eli's subbing.

"Shhh," Dara rubs her back, trying to calm her down.

When Eli started to calm down, Dara got the courage to ask.

"Can you tell me what happened?" she asked.

"Mr. Kim came with his men to collect the debt. When I objected, they entered the house by force and ransacked the whole place. They took all the money from Mr. Piggy bank," she explained.

"He's really greedy. It's not due date yet, but he's collecting already. I really shouldn't have trusted him before." Dara was furious as she was saying those words.

"What are we going to do now? What we worked for is gone." Eli asked miserably.

Again, Dara doesn't know what to say. She even felt down and sad about what happened.

They even endure not buying delicious food to save, yet it just disappeared in the blink of an eye. They both feel miserable, but Dara thinks she needs to stay strong and not let Eli get more worried.

She was feeling devastated and slid on the floor leaning over the bedside.

Minutes of silence engulfed the area before Eli spoke. "Should I stop?" Eli said, out of the blue.

Dara gives her a skeptical stare right away. Eli's meaning is clear to her. "What?" She strongly disagreed. "No, you're not."

"But if I stop, I won't be a burden and you won't have to work multiple jobs just to support me," she persistently explained.

Because of their current situation and happening, Dara was unable to stop her emotion from raging.

"But I never said that I was tired, for God's sake!" Dara sat, looking up at her angrily.

Luckily, she soon recognized what she did. Her expression changed rapidly from anger to concern.

She felt shy about her actions and sat leaning to the bed.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to shout. It's just that we already talked about it, right? You won't stop going to school." Dara replied, glaring away to avoid further debate.

Eli has a sense that something is wrong about the idea of her stopping in college.

"But why do you care so much that I should attend school? Just why?" Although Eli doesn't sound upset, you can hear the suspect in her voice. She appeared to be blaming Dara for stopping her to help.

Dara keeps her gaze fixed on the broken figurine in front of her rather than making eye contact. She didn't respond to Eli's question but rather kept herself calm before she spoke.

"Before, my parents wanted me to graduate, have a degree, and spend my life in a quiet province." Dara stated, telling her the reason for the first time.

Eli could feel the amazement in her voice as she stated those words.

Before she continued telling her story, she chuckled quietly because she found it a silly memory. "Kinda funny, but I understand that they simply want what's good for me. It's just sad that I can't fulfill that now."

Eli feels bad after hearing Dara's story.

"Sorry, I didn't know you were going through something like this," Eli accompanied Dara who was sitting on the floor. She signals Dara to lean on her which she did after.

"That's fine. Since I came to the orphanage, I have already accepted that I could not achieve that dream anymore. But you? I know how much you want to study and finish even when we were in the orphanage. I don't want you too, not to achieve your dream," Dara passionately said, looking sadly straight at Eli.

"But I don't want you to suffer because of me," she answered.

"Why do you always think you are a burden for me? You're not a burden, ok? Ever since we left the orphanage to live here in Quezon City. Your dream has become my dream so always remember that," Dara replied and smiled to wipe her worries.

"Thank you, you're so kind. Someday, I will pay you more than you gave." Eli has no vessel for joy. 'I'm really lucky to have you,' she thought as she hugged Dara.

"I'll wait for that to happen," Dara replied.

"Ok," She responded. "But have you thought about finding your family now?" out of curiosity, Eli asked.

Dara hasn't thought about it because she's busy fixing the present.

"It never once occurred in my mind. I'm too busy living my life," Dara dully replied.

"Ow," Eli was surprised to hear her reason. She doesn't know how to respond.

"I already forgot about them, but don't worry, I'm fine. I lived for 14 years without them. I'm sure I can live the rest of my life without them beside me," Dara stated emotionlessly.

Eli felt sad for Dara.

'Dara was just 7 years old when I first met her in the orphanage. I still remember how she used to cry every night because she missed her parents," she thought to herself.

Eli touches Dara's hair feeling sad for her but chooses not to cry again.

"Why?" Dara strangely asks.

"I'm feeling sad for you. If you can't cry anymore, this crybaby (talking about herself) will cry for you instead," she replied.

"Hey! I'm fine, seriously. I don't even remember them now," Dara coldly said, assuring Eli but this is not the case.

Eli knows that Dara forgot them intentionally.

"Enough with this, are you really alright?" Dara asked, avoiding the topic.

"I'm good," Eli didn't ask more, respecting her decision not to talk anymore.

"Hmm, what are we going to do now? We need to pay the tuition this month." Eli uncomfortable asked, opening the topic about her tuition fee.

"Don't worry, they didn't get the tip that was given to me last night. We can use it to pay half of your tuition. As for the other half, don't worry. I'll take care of it," Dara answered.

"Alright, but while we're waiting for that to happen. Could you please promise me one thing?" Eli asks.

Dara moves a bit from Eli's hug. Her face was puzzled as she faced her. "What is it?"

"It's ok to ask for help. So promise me. If you are tired or feeling down, just let me know. I don't know much about how you think, but always remember that I am here for you. Always, ok?" Eli said in a warm-hearted voice.

Dara happily hugged Eli's back because of feeling grateful.

"Promise!" she replied.

"Hey! It's your turn to make a promise," Dara insisted.

"Huh? Promise what?" Eli asked, waiting for Dara to spill it out.

"From now on you are not allowed to think that you are a burden, ok?" Dara said cheerfully.

Eli just smiled before answering. "Yes, Boss."

"There. That's right. Just smile," Data stated when she looked at their room.

"One more thing, we still have a lot to do, oh?" Dara said again with her lips pointing out the mess made by Mr. Kim's men earlier.

"Tss, why ruin the mood?" Eli asked Dara with a disappointed expression.

"Why not?" Dara said while teasing Eli.

Eli just pouted as they stood up and started to clean their house.

~

Author's Note

Hello, sorry about the late upload. I'm just holding chapters and waiting for views/reads. Anyway, that's for reading. Enjoy.

Note:

I change my mind. I will upload all chapters here and in GoodNovel. Enjoy reading, please.

•Grasyang Manunulat.