The Story Behind the Crown

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"One day, I'll be the one bringing home the crown," I always told myself ever since I was a small girl. I certainly dreamed big but I never told anyone this. Especially my mother who didn't know until she found the numerous fashion magazine articles I took from the trash stashed underneath the stacks of rags we poor people call "clothes."

I was returning home after a whole day of selling bottles and recyclable junk to at least get a couple of pesos for food. Everyday, I dreaded to come home but the witch there was my mother and I had nowhere else to go. "*Hoi, bata! Saan mo to nakuha?" I was greeted by her yelling when I entered our small house.

"*Wala po lang yan...," I avoided eye contact with her as I said this. Despite looking away, I felt her gaze pierce through me. The heavy rain hit our makeshift roof and was louder than my voice. Some of the droplets leaked in because of how poorly built it was.

It was always like this in our "home." She treats me more like a slave instead of a daughter. If it wasn't for my. Sometimes, I'd think about running away but this roof was better than nothing.

She rolled one of the magazines and repeatedly hit me with it. It wouldn't have hurt that much but there were still fresh bruises there from last time. On addition to that, she pulled my tatted and messy black hair. "*Wala ha?! Mag-focus ka na nga sa pagtrabaho mo at hindi yung kalokohan na to! Ambisyosong bata!" She pulled my hair tighter as I cried for her to stop. I would've fought back but what can a small, slightly malnourished  10 year ago old girl do against a grown adult?

It was like this for who knows how long in my life. Where was my father you ask? He left us before I was even born. He didn't want to have a child with her so he left my mother like she didn't matter at all. I didn't  know why this was my fault because of how naive I was back then. They could've used a condom or simply have aborted me. Apparently in the eyes of this witch, it was my fault. At one point, I thought so too.

After a few more beatings, she demanded me to give all the money I earned today. Again, not looking at her, I pulled out a crumpled 20 peso bill out of the pocket of my dirty white shorts. I knew that she wasn't satisfied so she sent me to my room without any dinner. Luckily, a man that owned a fishball stand gave me a bit of food earlier in the afternoon so I wasn't as hungry as I usually was.

In my room, I sat on the rug that was my sad excuse of a bed. In any sense, I guess it was better than the bare ground. The rain got heavier and heavier. Some of the droplets got on my ragged clothes but they didn't look any different from the tears streaming down my face. Eventually, the rain lulled me into a dreamless sleep.

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"*Gising na! Tamad ka talaga ha! Bumangon ka na! May pupuntahin tayo." the hag shook me awake. She yelled at me to bathe so I did. We then took a tricycle and with her was a plastic bag filled with my "clothes." She seemed happier that day and it's been years since I saw her like that. But it made me smile despite me not knowing what her true intentions were.

Before I knew it, we stood in front of a tall building with a sign on it. I never received proper education that time but thanks to the nice preschool teacher who was aware of my situation, she taught me how to read. About time she brought me to this place.

"Maria Theresa Adoption Center"

Delight was on her face when the nun took me in and brought me to the other kids who were my age in the playground. Everyone here was abandoned like me. No parents and not wanted by their actual families. I was dragged by a girl who soon became a big part of my life to play on the swing with her. She told me her name was "Cheska." Just like me, no last name.

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**Hey kid!! Where [the hell] did you get this?!
**That's nothing....
**Nothing?! Focus on your work instead!!
**Wake up!! Lazy kid!! Get ready! We're going somewhere today.

I feel like my writing quality went down ever since I unpublished Secret Gifts.

@DoYouLikeFlowers idc if you decided to leave wattpad you're in this shit too