Luca Goes To The Philippines

Family Conflict

In the morning, the Paruparo family were having tocino for breakfast together. Though they weren't this silent before during breakfast. They always talked during eating time. Mariposa is the quietest one of all this morning, which worried her parents.

"Mariposa, you've been so quiet this morning. What's wrong?" Isabel interrupted the silence.

Mariposa snapped out of it, and sliced her tocino with her fork, but she was still quiet.

"If you have something to say, sweetie, just say it," Andres pleaded for his daughter to speak

Mariposa sighed as she confessed, "Well, I was thinking, do you guys ever dream to go out of the country?"

Her family then stopped eating, and stared at her.

"Why ever would you ask that, anak?" Isabel asked.

"Luca, Alberto, and Giulia told me all about their home town in Italy called Portorosso, and it made me think that we should go out for a bit, see some new good places," the middle child replied while playing with her food with her fork.

"There's nothing new and good places out there, Mariposa," Boyet stated.

"There must be something," Mariposa argued with her brother, "We never go anywhere. Who knows the untold amazing places we're missing out on."

"Anak, we have all the amazing places we need right here in the Philippines, like the Rizal Park, the Mayon Volcano..." Her mother pointed.

"Tatay can go wherever he likes back when he was still a soldier."

"That's because I was assigned to take missions in the different places, Mariposa. It's not my will to go or not," her father corrected.

"When you're older, you can travel to your heart's content. But for now, it's safer for you here in Manila, especially with your condition," Isabel said.

"That's also my second issue right now," Mariposa confessed, making her family stare at her, ready to listen, "I'm just wondering..." She paused for a few seconds before confessing "Look, Luca, Alberto, and Giulia are my good friends now, and they were nice to me. Their family were nice to me too. I wanted... to tell them about my secret."

Her family gasped as her siblings and cousin started to chatter angrily at her for making such an idea.

"Ate Mariposa, you should never!"

"We're not even sure we could trust them."

"Why would you think such a thing?!"

Just then, Andres whistled loudly for all the children to behave as they followed their father, and sat back on their seats quietly. Andres then looked over at his 5th daughter, "Listen, Mariposa, anak, you are a wonderful daughter, and have this amazing gift, I know this, and it's super tempting to tell everybody, but you can't."

"Why, Tatay?" Mariposa asked.

"Because..." Andres said before changing the topic, "Let's get back to eating!"

The veteran thought he could get away with it, but Mariposa shouted, "Tatay!" This made everyone stop continuing to eat their breakfast, "'Because' isn't an answer."

"Uh... that's the answer I always got, and it's been fine for generations of Paruparos."

*Many years ago*

Generations ago, a family of Paruparo, the same as the current one, mined for gold from a tunnel, and broke rocks to find more with their pickaxes.