BOOK 1 | ESOTERIC

Chapter 30

| CHAPTER XXX |

"The Calm Weeps"

STELLAN

An hour later, as short as his talk with Eris, Dr. Le Claire visited me here in the library. Dito niya ako naabutan dahil naghahanap din ako ng libro na aking aaralin para mamaya.

"She's...fine?" Napatigil ako habang may dalawang libro sa aking bisig. Dr. Le Claire is leaning against a shelf. Tapos na raw siyang kausapin ang kapatid ko.

"Yes, she was delighted when I asked her about your mother. There is no uneasiness in her eyes and it seems she has accepted reality already." Is that even possible? She is still a kid. She cannot just accept things like that? "It is easy for someone to accept things when they are in a better place and when they set a new goal to achieve after a gruesome event. When they are happier than before. I am not saying that she doesn't feel sad anymore. She is managing. Much better than what kids usually do. And I can say, this place surprisingly helped her a lot."

Wow...I wasn't expecting she means it when she said she loves this place and she finds peace in here. Ni ayaw nga niyang umalis sa lugar na ito. Did this place really help her a lot?

"However," napatingin ako sa kaniya. However? "I do not think it is your mother's case that she is hiding from you."

She is hiding something else from me? Tama nga ang hinala ko? "I think something is going on at her school. I cannot tell what it is yet. But when I asked her how she was at her school, she got shaken."

"Shaken?"

"As if she is not expecting that question. She couldn't answer right away when in fact, it is an easy question. What is her performance in her school? Good? Bad?"

"She is an achiever. She is always at the top of her class. Masipag magaral ang kapatid ko." But how can she have a problem in her school?

"She is probably pressured to do even better. Or perhaps right now, she is having a hard time following her subjects. There are still downs sa mga achievers. There are times when they are not in their best condition and that is just normal. If that is the case, the only thing you can do is lessen the pressure by assuring her that things won't turn bad even if there are slight changes in her performance—may it be good or bad. Words of assurance are always important to kids, especially at Sherry's age. That age is usually the time when they want to prove themselves because they are becoming more and more competitive."

I see...but I do not remember myself acting like this when I was her age. "Isn't it too early to be competitive para magkaganiyan ang kapatid ko?"

"I have to admit that our batch is much more friendly than before. I noticed that as year passes by, mas nagiiba ang mga personality ng mga bata. Perhaps that is the product of having parents who were also an achiever during their high school and college days. There are some parents who want their children to be an achiever earlier than they did. Dahil iniisip nilang posible iyon with their help."

Was it really because of the grades? I wonder. I have seen Sherry studying really hard than she should be kaya hindi rin malabo ang kaniyang sinasabi.

"Eris told me that you study really hard. If not because of peer pressure, it is perhaps because of what she has been seeing in you. You are her older brother after all. She might be thinking she should also do what you are doing disregarding the fact that you two have a big age gap," he continued. "If that is also not the case, it might be perhaps her new goal to achieve after the death of your mother. Studying really hard might be her coping mechanism to be better."