“Not again!” Princess ran to catch the fifth angel figurine to fly literally from the cabinet where it was displayed.
“Enough, Jeanie!” Inis na sigaw niya sa kanyang five-year old half-sister. “Stop that or I will call your brother to get you!”
Pricess belonged to a perfect happy family seventeen years ago. She was ten when her mother left her to buy cotton candy, handed her over to her dad and never came back. And her father never smiled again since then, seldom talked and became alcoholic.
Whatever the reasons were, no one told her. What a ten-year old girl could only understand then was maybe her mother bought tons of cotton candy that it would take her a lot of time to come back.
And when her mother finally came back, she was already twenty-four.
“I don’t care!” The little girl shouted back at her. “These angels are ugly like you! You’re ugly! Ugly!”
“What?!” She reached for her phone and dialed Kaiser’s number. Her English speaking half-sister was already getting on her nerves. She needed to call her brother para sunduin na ito. “Mister, what is taking you so long?! Get your sister here bago kung ano pa magawa ko rito!” She said as soon as her call was picked up.
“The Princess is shouting again,” relaxed na tugon ng nasa kabilang linya. He probably was with his mermaid girlfriend because she could hear her giggles in the background. “Nakalimutan mo na ba? Schedule mo ngayon,” he added. “Besides I’m busy, don’t call me.”
“What schedule? – hey wait -!” He hung up. Lalo siyang nagpuyos sa galit nang makitang isa na namang angel figurine niya ang lumipad at nabasag. “Jeanie!!!!”
The next thing she knew umiiyak na ang bata, she might have not meant it pero natakot na niya ata ito sa pagsigaw niya.
“Mommy! Mommy!”
Princess just watched her. Ano ba ang gagawin niya? Ano ba dapat ang maramdaman niya? Anak ito ng kanyang ina sa pangalawang asawa nito.
Alam niyang wala itong kasalanan, but she couldn’t help it. Galit siya sa kanyang ina. Galit siya dahil lumaki siyang mag-isa. Bagamat naiwan sa tabi niya ang kanyang ama, he was good as dead for many years. At siya na laging nag-aabang sa pagbabalik nito ay nabigo nang sa pagdating nito ay may sarili na itong pamilya.
Kung ano mang pang-iintindi at kahandaang magpatawad ang sinanay niya sa nagdaang mga taon, kagyat iyong napalitan nang matinding galit. Galit na kung matutunan man niyang magpatawad, wala na itong kakayanang marinig pa iyon.
Ang kanyang ina at ang second husband ay parehong namatay sa isang car crash a year ago, after three years of trying to gain her forgiveness.
At si Jeanie ay naiwan sa kanila ng anak naman ng asawa nito sa una din nitong asawa, si Atty Kaiser Choi, whom she personally met only during the burial.
It was a responsibility neither of them was able to be prepared of. Pero kailangan nito ng mag-aalaga kahit habang pinoproseso ang balak nilang pagpapa-ampon dito.
Their setup was she’s in charge Mondays to Thursdays and he would have her Fridays to Sundays. Pero dahil mahilig itong makipagdate sa weekend, lagi nitong iniiwan sa kanya ang bata. Gaya ng araw na iyon.
“I hate you!” Ngitngit niya. Umiiyak pa rin si Jeanie but she didn’t want to come near her and ask her to stop crying.
She got her phone and texted Kaiser. “Your sister is crying for over an hour now, get her please.” Of course it was exaggerated.

***

“She’s impossible!” He just couldn’t believe that Princess could actually just let a kid cry for over an hour and do nothing to make her stop. “Hello, I’m coming! Tell her to stop crying. My goodness Princess,
baka madehydrate ‘yan! Mahirapang huminga or anything bad might happen to her!” He almost shouted at her.
Wala pang isang taon silang magkakilala ni Princess. His father’s second wife’s daughter. And he was only aware of the too much anger in her heart towards her own mother. Aside from that, wala na siyang alam tungkol sa dalaga, and knowing her even more was no longer his interest.
“Yeah I know, I’m driving fast!” he exclaimed, hindi naman sila close ni Jeanie. But the thing was hindi marunong maging ate si Princess!
Given na solo itong anak. But she’s a girl. Hindi ba dapat natural dito ang pagiging maalagain?
How he wished na madali lang nilang mapaampon ang bata. She’s ruining both his and Princess respective lives. Pareho silang hindi handa sa pangyayari and though hindi na siya galit sa kanyang ama, ayaw din niyang akuin ang responsibilidad nito sa naiwan nitong anak.
Pamela, his self declared fiancée doesn’t like Jeanie. Kontra ito sa ideya na alagaan niya ang half-sister niya.
‘Leave it to Princess, she is more capable dahil babae siya.’ Pamela would always tell him.
But due to so much hatred, Princess couldn’t even be the ate Jeanie was in very much need of.
If only his younger brother, Sean, who is a pediatrician, was in the country. He could have helped more in Jeanie’s case. He was a natural kid charmer. He remembered that Jeanie liked him far better than she did towards him and Princess. But he could just hope for that. His brother cannot leave their mother abroad.
Well, their mother didn’t have a hard time moving on since their father left them for Princess’ mother. It was their mutual decision to part ways. And were good friends after their marriage was declared null and void.
Though hindi niya masasabing hindi siya naapektuhan. Bilang panganay na lalaki sa pamilya, nalipat ang obligasyon ng kanyang ama sa kanya. He had to protect his mother and his younger brother. Good thing that they were financially stable. Nakapagtapos siya ng abogasya, while Sean was a doctor.
“Princess!” Malalakas na katok ang ginawa niya sa pintuan ng bahay nito pagkarating niya. Kahit ‘di sila close ni Jeanie, kapatid pa rin niya ang bata. Dadalhin niya sa konsensya niya kapag napahamak ito sa kamay ng sarili din nitong ate, iresponsableng ate.
“Why are you banging the door?!” Iritadong tanong ni Princess ng pagbuksan siya.
“Where is Jeanie?” Hindi niya nakita ang bata sa loob ng bahay nito.
“See that door?” She pointed to her neighbor’s door across the street. “Knock and get your sister,” then she attempted to turn her back pero maagap niya itong napigil sa braso. “Hey, let go, nasasaktan ako!” She was really hurt, he made sure she would get hurt.
“Ano sa tingin mo ang ginawa mo? Ha?” He was angry. “Kilala mo ba ang kapitbahay mo? Bakit mo pinagkatiwala ang kapatid mo ro’n?!”
What if masamang tao ang kapitbahay nito at mapahamak ang kapatid nila? Bilang pinakapanganay sa kanilang tatlo nina Sean at Princess, mas malaki ang responsibilidad na sasagutin niya sa mga magulang ni Jeanie kahit wala na ang mga ito!
“Ano ba?! Let go!” Sinusubukan nitong alisin ang kamay niya sa braso nito. “Of course I know them! They’ve been getting your sister here from day one! Let me go!!!”
“You are unbelievable!” Marahas niya itong hinila papalabas ng bahay nito. “Go get Jeanie!”
“You go. She is your sister!”
“OUR sister, you understand?” He emphasized the word our. “Jeanie is also your sister! She is our sister!” He dragged her across the street bago niya ito binitawan sa harap ng pintuan. “Knock and get Jeanie,” mariing utos niya sa dalaga.
She was twenty-seven. He was thirty-one, and Sean was twenty-nine. All three of them are single but of course he was engaged with Pamela. Kung tutuusin hindi dapat mahirap na may magboluntaryo sa kanila na kupkupin ang kapatid nila dahil parepareho pa silang walang pamilya. But the problem was, walang nakapaghanda na maging nanay at tatay ni Jeanie nang sabay.
Tiningnan muna siya ni Princess nang masama, fixed herself then knocked.
An old woman probably around fifty years old opened the door. Magiliw ang pagkakangiti nito.
“Princess, kukunin mo na si Jeanie?” tanong nito.
“Sana ho, okay lang po ba?” May pag-aalinlangan sa tinig ng dalaga.
“Oo naman. Pasok muna kayo.” Pumasok ito sa isang silid and called Jeanie, lumabas kasunod nito ang isa pang batang babae. “Apo ko, si Annie,” sa kanya ito nakatingin. “Hinihiram ko sa inyo si Jeanie para may kalaro ang apo ko.” Mas nagpapaliwanag ito kaysa nagsasabi lang. Malamang ay dahil nasa mukha pa rin niya ang pagka-irita.
“Kuya siya ni Jeanie,” sa wakas ay pinakilala din siya ni Pricess. Not to mention his name though, she never mentioned his name. It was always hoy, hey, mister, Atty Choi but never his first name.
“Kaiser,” he told the old woman.
“Oo, pasensya ka na, Kaiser. Nahihirapan kasi akong magsaway ng magsaway dito kay Annie, eh tahimik siya kapag may kalaro. Kaya ko hinihiram ang kapatid n’yo,” ngumiti na ito. “Kayong magkakapatid ay talaga namang magaganda at gwapo, ang swerte ng mga magulang n’yo -”
“Hindi po kami magkapatid -” halos panabay na sabi nila ni Princess. Pero ang tono ng dalaga, halatang kulang ang salitang ayaw para sabihing hindi talaga nito gusto na maging kapatid siya! Well then, the feeling is mutual.
“Si Jeanie lang ang kapatid niya,” ani Princess. “Manang, mauna na po kami, salamat po sa pag-asikaso kay Jeanie.”
“Walang anuman. Kahit anong oras, hija.”