Looking for Home

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Alice's good-bye was the last thing Niel and Dale heard before they closed their eyes. After opening them again, Niel felt hot and groggy, as if he had had a very uncomfortable sleep. The morning sun was rising from outside, which made Niel squint. He slowly rose and saw that he was back sitting in their car, with Dale by his side and their backpacks on his right. Dale opened his eyes and held tightly held his teddy bear. He scratched his eyes and grimaced, and then suddenly cried. 

"I don't like i' here!" he sobbed. 

"Me too, let's go outside and find mom and that police officer," Niel answered impatiently, holding his brother's arm as they left the car. "Stop crying, Dale! We're going to find mom."

Niel picked up their backpacks and made Dale carry his own, along with his teddy bear. They walked to the mall while they held each other's hands. Dale silently walked beside his brother as he sniffed with a frown in his face. 

Niel wondered if what he had done was real. Was Alice real? Was going back to their house real? Niel wondered if it was just a silly dream, even though he thought that it felt very real. 

He then remembered something, so he reached out to his pockets and found that the car keys were still there. His mother would be proud that he had kept it. On the other pocket, however, he felt something smooth and saw that it was a small red flower.

Is this a santan? he thought. Where did I get this?  

As they got nearer, the sound of many people bustling by were heard again. There were still police cars here and there as well as a fire truck and an ambulance. Niel tried to hide his frown as he forced himself to go deeper into the crowd. 

"There's the mall!" Niel pointed out with his fingers. "Come on, Dale, we'll get to see mom waiting for us!"

With that, they ran to the mall. Nearing the entrance, Niel felt scared and excited, but he didn't know why. He was finally going to see their mother; oh, how he missed her!

"Excuse me, dears, but you're not allowed to enter this building," a police said. Her stern expression suddenly changed as realization dawned on her as she was familiarized with their faces. "Oh, it's you children from yesterday! What are you still doing here?"

I can do this, Niel thought as he tightened his fists.

"We're looking for our mom," he answered as he looked up the face of the woman.

"Oh, so she hasn't returned to you yet?" the officer looked worried. "Hold on, please, don't run away, and I promise I will help you find your mother, okay?"

Niel nodded. He looked at Dale, who was still sniffing. 

"M'kay," Dale replied with a shaky voice.

"Alright then! Hold my hand sweetie, so you won't get lost."

Dale held on to her hand and Niel held on to Dale's other hand as they walked to a police car. Even though it was morning, there were many reporters and people roaming around.  When they reached the car, its doors were open and people were standing around it. 

"Here, go inside and take a seat, and I think you'd like to have some breakfast?" she asked as she dug up something from her bag. "Here, it's not much, but you can have more later." 

She gave the two boys a small paper bag with a few pieces of pandesal bread. She was talking to two other men outside the car with a serious look in her face. Niel caught a few phrases and words from their conversations while he and Dale ate.