Sayang

Chapter 1: I never told anyone to come to get me

"Miraya Fe!!!" After hearing those words, my heart pounces so hard inside my chest that it hurts to breathe. I instantly duck and hide in the nearby tree in the hopes that they will not notice me there.

"That girl! Where did she go now?!" Manang Olivia yelled at me as she walked by and passed by the tree in which I was hiding at the time. I was still in the tree when I heard her yell. As I began to shake the dust off of the long skirts that I was wearing at the time, a sigh of relief could be heard from my lips after she passed by.

After taking off my sandals in order to run more rapidly, I immediately run into the first wall in order to get out of our land as quickly as possible to avoid being caught. I first took a peek around before lifting my skirts up and sprinting up the enormous old tree near the wall to the top. It is late in the afternoon but the sun was still blazing brightly as it moves across the countryside beneath it.

"Ouch!" When I started to scale the tree, I hissed in frustration because it was so hot; this was a gift from the sun, which shone brightly above us and provided us with a warm welcome. My feet were blistering with heat as soon as I leaped through the narrow space between the tree and the wall, and I could feel the heat burning the soles of my feet.

"Madam!" When I spotted one of our maids looking up at me with concern as she carried a basket full of soiled garments from the horse stable, I immediately turned my head around and looked at her.

"Don't you dare shout my name again!" When I saw her look around her like she was looking for someone, I screamed and looked down at her. I was certain she was looking for Manang Olivia, who was in charge of our housemaids.

"B- But ma'am..." When I locked my gaze on her even more intensely, she immediately pressed her lips together. This was the only day in which my Lola was not there, and it is possible that this will be the only day on which I will be able to roam around without being watched by someone. My Lola, the matriarch of the family, went to the airport to greet several of my cousins who had arrived from Manila and abroad.

"Ma'am!!!" The sound of her exclaiming confirmed that I was, in fact, standing on the scorching concrete road as I leaped from the top of the wall to the ground. Fuck. My pupils dilated as a group of tricycle drivers stared at me with wide eyes and startled expressions after I landed on the ground.

"Hi..." I greeted them nervously, and when I saw one of them was about to go to the main gate of our estate where the security guard was; my feet immediately leaped to the ground and started running away. Shit, If the security guard manages to apprehend me while I'm trying to flee... I'm confident he'll inform my Lola about the situation, and everything will be for naught.

"Madam!" A field of rice plantations with farmers harvesting rice grains greeted me as I turned my gaze in the direction of the road ahead.

"Good afternoon!" I greeted them with a big smile on my face, and they returned the greeting by smiling and waving at me. I continued walking barefoot on the concrete road, getting acclimated to the heat from the pavement.

Farmer after farmer would look at me with great smiles on their faces and offer me either the little food that they had left or a shoe, which I politely refused. Food is crucial for them because they are unable to function on an empty stomach.

"Finally!" The high falls, which were flowing down into a large river beneath them, drew my attention, and I screamed in joy. It took me an hour of walking to get here, but the road was getting colder as the sunset and the unexpected view made me forget about the time I had spent traveling. I was relieved to finally hear.

I instantly removed the long skirts and baby blouses that I had been wearing, leaving me with only a pair of underwear that didn't match the rest of my outfit. I couldn't carry or change into bikinis because I was in a rush to get out of that huge home as soon as possible.