crwr213rg-blog

[crwr213rg-blog]

My Neighbour Lucy

“Lucy!! Come out and play with me!!!” I stand screaming on the street where I can see her bedroom window. Lucy lives right across where I live.

It was 10am and I wanted to play with Lucy in my front yard. She hasn’t been replying to my messages and her Facebook Messenger says that she was last online 12 hours ago.

“Lucy’s a sleepyhead,” I tell myself.

I continue shouting Lucy’s name until I see her peeking through the blinds of her window.

“Lucy!” I scream excitedly.

“Eric, why are you screaming so early! I’m trying to sleep,” she says as she rubs her eyes.

Lucy always has black circles around her eyes. Sometimes I notice her skin turn purple and black on her face and arms as well. She doesn’t like talking about it so I am never able to find out what causes those colours.

“No one’s still sleeping at 10am Lucy! It’s time to come out and play with me!” I shout back.

“Alright, alright. I’m coming,” she rolls her tired eyes and moves away from the window.

Excited, I run back to my house and take out a blanket and two ham sandwiches I prepared last night. Lucy loves picnics and she still hasn’t eaten anything. She’ll love this surprise. I spread my green Mickey Mouse blanket on the grass and grab four rocks to place on all the edges. Then I placed the ham sandwiches on the blanket and waited for Lucy to come.

I grin as I see Lucy crossing the street as her brown hair is blown all over her pale face.

“Oh Luuucyy!! Hurry up. I got a surprise for you!” I shout.

Lucy crosses the street to come over to my place. She has this weird walk the past few days. I think she’s learning how to walk like a penguin. She sees me sitting down on my blanket beside the ham sandwiches. I watch her face light up as her mouth opens in shock.

“I love picnics! I’m so glad I got out of bed for this!” Lucy says excitedly. She sits down beside me and hugs me. I giggle as she does this.

“What are you laughing at?” she says as she pinches my nose.

“Nothing,” I say. I look down and bite my lower lip.

I glance at Lucy and watch her purple cheeks show a hint of red. I smile. Grab the sandwich and bring it closer to her mouth.

“Here comes the airplane,” I tease her as I move the sandwich closer to her lips as I mimic the sound of a helicopter. She giggles and bites the sandwich. She takes the sandwich from my hand. I grab my sandwich and start eating as well.

“I wish I had more days like these,” she whispers, almost as if she was talking to herself. I see her eyes looking at the direction of the sun surrounded by the fluffy clouds.

I smile. I stare at Mr. Sun and the fluffy clouds as I grab Lucy’s soft small hand.

That was the last time I saw Lucy. She went missing the next day. I shouted multiple times on the street by her bedroom window. She still wasn’t waking up. I was scared to ring the doorbell.

Her dad frightens me.

Images Borrowed:

1) https://girlsleadership.org/blog/why-we-need-to-stop-using-the-term-mean-girl/

2) https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjvq8uLuavhAhUC7p8KHTpeBscQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.shutterstock.com%2Fvideo%2Fclip-14910235-portrait-sad-little-day-outdoors-time&psig=AOvVaw005rQP2Ke4lTHfX52csGzj&ust=1554089600506642

[crwr213rg-blog]

My Mother’s Sampaguitas

I was tired from walking between cars with my plastic cup. It was a sunny afternoon and lots of cars were stuck in traffic. I looked at the coins I collected in my cup and walked under the bridge.

I sat under this bridge to take a short break from the scorching sun. I felt like I deserved the break. I was able to get a couple of coins in the plastic cup I have been using to collect money in the busy street of Kalayaan street.

“Neneng! Why are you here taking a break while all your six siblings and I are working hard to make money?” Mother shouts at me.

Startled that she would give me a beating, I quickly got to my feet to continue begging for money. I was shaking and moved too quickly. As I stood up, the cup I held was at an angle that caused all the coins I had collected to drop on the concrete pavement. Some of them rolled down the holes of the sewer.

Afraid I looked down and bent my head really low. I knew what was about to come.

“You stupid child!” Mother shrieks at me and grabs me by my ponytail.

“Pick up the remaining coins on the pavement and get back to work! Otherwise, you won’t be eating dinner tonight.”

“Sorry Mother. I’ll get back to work now,” I softly murmur to her as tears roll down my cheek.

Mother gives me ten pieces of sampaguitas she wants me to sell before sunrise. 

I take the bundle and start knocking on the windows of cars in the heavy afternoon traffic.

“Sampaguitas! Buy your Sampaguitas!” I shout as I walk in between cars.

A driver in a BMW rolls down his window and asks how much each Sampaguitas costs.

I look at his brand new BMW, the business clothes he was wearing, and the Rolex watch strapped around his wrist.

“3 Pesos per piece,” I tell him.

He attempts to give me Nine Pesos without trying to touch my greasy hand. He takes the three sampaguitas, careful not touch my hand again, and rolls up his window.

I smile with satisfaction with the amount of money I was able to get.

I continue knocking on windows of cars in this scorching heat. It takes half an hour until another window opens up. I knocked on the window of a 1999 Honda Civic and the driver rolls down her window.

“How much per Sampaguitas?” the old lady asks.

“One Peso a piece ma’am,” I tell her.

I watch the old lady take out her purse. “Child, how old are you?” she asks.

“I’m 8 years old,” I kindly tell her.

She gives me Seven Pesos to buy all my remaining Sampaguitas.

“You’re so young and out of school to help your family earn some money,” she looks at me sadly.

“Take care child,” she says as she smiles at me and slowly closes her window.

Satisfied with selling all my sampaguitas, I run to my mother and tell her about the good news.

“Mother! Mother! I sold all the sampaguitas!”

Mother looks at me and tells me I did a good job. She takes the money from my cup and gives me more sampaguitas to sell.

I take the sampaguitas from her and drag my feet back on the streets to sell again for hours.

Images Borrowed:

1) https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwimkJOsw6vhAhVjMnwKHXY_Dn0QjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.smithsonianmag.com%2Fphotocontest%2Fdetail%2Fpeople%2Fa-child-begging-in-the-streets-of-manila-philippines%2F&psig=AOvVaw37kHzunDl61V6OOEWImu9J&ust=1554092316022939

2) https://medium.com/@alvaroaadizon/sampaguita-girl-f8a9277ec0b3

[crwr213rg-blog]

My Baby Sister

I was 6 years old when my mom was pregnant with my little sister. I watched her belly slowly inflate like a balloon over the past few weeks.

Twenty weeks during her pregnancy, she went back to the hospital and the doctor told her she was having a baby girl.

“Emily, you’re having a little sister,” my mom excitedly comes to my room one day.

I stare at her with my jaw wide open. I’ve always wanted a little sister.

“Can I name her mommy! Please!!” I try to convince her as I get out of my bed filled with lavender sheets and pillows.

“Okay, you can name her. I know you’ll choose a beautiful name for her,” my mom says. She sits down on my pink chair which has a flower-shaped cushion.

“Yay, mommy! You’re the very very very best-est mommy in this world!” I come and hug her.

“Do you know what month you get to see your baby sister?” her smile widens and I can see her blue eyes start to light up.

I shake my head.

“You’ll have the best birthday present ever cause you get to see her this November!” my mom exclaims.

“It’s going to be the greatest birthday of my life!” I kiss my mom’s belly.

I grab my Elsa notebook and my purple crayon from my desk and start writing possible names for my baby sister.

“Sunny, Violet, Polly, hmmm” I think out loud as I write these names. I wasn’t sure how to spell some of these names so I had to ask my mom for help.

My mom holds her belly and watches me with a smile.

I think harder, then I quickly write a name down.

“Lily. Lily sounds perfect!” I say out loud and look at my mom.

“I like the name Lily. Emily and Lily. My two adorable daughters,” my mom smiles.

It was the 21st of November when my mom and I went to the hospital. Today was the day she would give birth to Lily. It was 2 days before my birthday. I was excited to have a younger sister!

I waited for my mom in the waiting room. Lola, my mom’s mom, arrived earlier and is waiting beside me.

“You’re going to be a big sister soon,” my grandma says as she holds my hand. We wait hours for my mommy to give birth.

One of the nurses then comes out of the room where my mom was staying and calls us in. We pass by a room filled with babies.

“Ooh grandma, look at all those babies!” I excitedly tell her. I look through the glass window and try to guess which one is Lily.

“That’s a hospital nursery, Emily. It’s where newborn babies are placed after their mothers give birth to them,” grandma smiles as she explains this to me.

We keep walking to the room where my mom was. 

When we entered the room, we see my mom crying. She was crying so hard. Grandma starts to cry too, which made me want to cry as well. 

My mom once told me that giving birth is painful. I hug my mom because I feel better whenever my mom hugs me, like when I tripped on the floor the other day. I hug my mom tighter to make her feel better.

When my mom’s okay again, I’ll ask her if she can take me to the hospital nursery to see Lucy. 

Images Borrowed:

1) https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjdmLTsrqvhAhVHr1QKHdB3BgkQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.verywellfamily.com%2Fthe-right-dilation-to-be-when-you-go-to-the-hospital-2759008&psig=AOvVaw053dOwk3ILcPt576YXmIe7&ust=1554086840505231

2) https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwigz4O6qqvhAhWmslQKHQvIBgEQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.redbookmag.com%2Flife%2Fmom-kids%2Fa45243%2Fmom-pregnant-with-second-child%2F&psig=AOvVaw1Z1vaQXpVdEWj_GNf68WJ5&ust=1554085423609667

3) https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwjkqrv6ravhAhWBEXwKHU39BHwQjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wvlt.tv%2Fcontent%2Fnews%2FLittle-girl-asks-90-year-old-to-be-adopted-grandmother-465940303.html&psig=AOvVaw1VnGiYVTx6R_k-OP6s3EDB&ust=1554086105680620