Fix You

47

Kiefer

"I think I want to stay up late today, Manong." Kierra said.

I threw the ball to to her across the room.

I am currently watching basketball on tv, but she wants to play catch. Luckily I am good at multitasking.

She ran around the room to different areas just to make it interesting for her and she is running around so much that her face is all red—meztisa kasi— and she is starting to sweat.

If she keeps on going like she is, I don't think her plan to stay up late would have worked.

"Hmm... we'll see if you could." I said.

"Why do you say that?" She asked and ran to the other side of the living room. She threw the ball back to me. "Kaya ko kayang mag-stay up late."

"You can do anything you want, Kierra, but you like your sleep."

She ran to the other side. "I know, I know, Manong. But you know Olivia says that she always tries to stay up until 9 o'clock!" She said it as if it is the craziest thing she has ever heard and I laughed.

It is true, most kids her age didn't like going to bed at 7:30 but it is not necessarily a bad thing. For me anyway.

"Olivia is a crazy kid, huh?"

She nodded her head. "Uh-huh, I think so. That's so late na kaya!"

"Well, I go to bed later than that." I said and threw the ball back to her.

"I know. But you're big boy na. You're a grownup! And grownups are crazy anyway." She thre the ball back at me and I have to lean over to get the ball and then place it behind my back.

"That's true, bunso." I agreed.

I turned the TV off and decided to give Kierra all my attention and play a little game of try-and-get-the ball-away-from-me even though it is not going to happen.

She will give a good fight though, I'm sure. She got her stubborness from me.

"Are you gonna give me back the ball na, Manong?" She asked, tapping her foot with her hands on her hips.

"Uhm... no. No. I don't think so."

She huffed and stomped her way over to me. She is small though, you could barely even hear her feet hit the ground.

I stood up on the couch when she reached about the halfway point and I started waving the ball in front of her para maasar.

She got up on the couch too, but I just hold the ball over my head and she jumped to try and get it.

"Don't. Be. Mean." She said while hitting my chest with her little fists.

She tried to act mad, but she is also laughing at the same time. I inched away from her and jumped off the couch.

"You have to catch me first muna." I said and started running around the room.

She jumped off the couch and started chasing after me. Her little legs have no competition with mine. About ten pumps of her legs equated to one of my stomps.

She's a sneaky little munchkin though because she attacked my legs and held on to both of them so I couldn't move without falling.

"Haha! I got you, Kuya! I got you!" She said.