Author's Note:
Sorry hindi tapos . I'll finish this one as soon as possible. Actually project ko to last sem pero nawala back up ko for this file at nasa exhibit ng school ung hard copy nito kaya hindi ko magawang kunin. huhuhu. Anyway, all of the characters are only fictinal characters. Don't hate me please! Love! Love! Love!
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Near 6 o’clock in the midst of afternoon and night, sun started to conceal its bright face in the vast orange sky. Soon, moon will set in the murky atmosphere while stars will draw maps in the foggy firmament. The houses were as congested as the sardines placed in a small can and labeled with a cheap brand. Smell of polluted drainage and canals filled the air as it dances to the noses of the citizens. Intense noise enveloped the ambiance as it punches every eardrum of people living in that place. Though it’s getting late, each one seems so very busy gambling, singing out of tune at the karaoke, breast feeding their child, eating dinner with soy sauce or salt, counting the last penny they have and sleeping too early to forget that they are starving.
In this devastating place, there are lots of whores and criminals. It’s like town considered as garbage can full of rubbish people… it’s like a living hell. Though this place is a huge ball of hopelessness and despair, there’s this particular boy in this place whom people see some innocence in his eyestogether with his strong and beautiful older sisters and one jolly brother. Emmett is now a 12 year old autistic boy living in a 30 square meter barung-barong house together with her eldest sister Alice who’s 19 year old girl. Emmett is very quiet and timid most of the time and he only speaks to his siblings. He’s also an intelligent boy and easy to cope up with different things around him. They live in very small house with walls made by thin plywood and sawali, the roof is flattened by plenty of tires above it decorated with lots of holes, the floor is rougher than the road outside and the only source of light is just one bulb connected to the neighbor’s house.
Their life has been miserable. Two years ago, they were living together with their step-mother Aling Esmeralda and their biological father Manong Karlito. Actually, Emmett and Alice have three other siblings. Meanwhile, after the sudden death due to heart attack of their biological mother in that same year, Aling Esmeralda became their step-mother after their useless biological father decided to live-in with her. Aling Esmeralda never fails to complete every single date in the calendar with her forceful punches, vigorous spanks, face erasing slaps, flying kicks, and other forms of brutal deeds. On the other hand, Manong Karlito came everyday too late, drunk and high with cocaine. Both of them were duets in making the children as their punching bags and source of income. They used the children in unlawful ways just to have money… courier of drugs. The cruelty ended when cops raided their house and caught Aling Esmeralda and Manong Karlito. In that case, DSWD took the children to their custody but the children stowaway. They came back to their old house and started to live a new life there. From that day on, Alice decided to keep their youngest sibling, Emmett, inside their house because of the psychological effect he got from the brutal darkness of their past. Alice now indeed their source of strength. It was the start of Emmett’s depression and seeking for real love of parents and attention from people he sees outside their house. Hence, Alice took charge, together with her other four children, of looking for money and foods.
After those two years of success survival of the five children, tragedy came. The second eldest among the five children who was only 16 years old blind, deaf and mute girl named Carmen. It’s a very fine afternoon when she decided to go outside to buy soy sauce in the next street nearby. She used to have a long stick to guide her and a lot of people already know her and sometimes they help her crossing the streets. While she is walking, a pile of running children passed through her and bumped her, her support stick was gone to her hands. It was thrown and kicked by someone somewhere. No one noticed the poor girl. She was crawling while children keep running into her back. It hurts her a lot. When she finally found and got her stick and finally get out from the crowd, the train from her back was the next one that passed through her body. She was hit by the full speeded train. The whole body was torn into three and the spectators were deeply shocked. She was declared dead on arrival. Hearing the news, her other sibling run to the near hospital to claim the body. It was a hard hit to the heart of the other siblings. Alice almost faint while others are crying so hard while Emmett is busy with the new toy he got from the nurse there. Emmett keeps on murmuring on the doll yet doesn’t bothered Alice and other siblings.
A year after witnessing the tragic event that happened to Carmen, the left four children continue their lives together. One June morning, this day is rest day. This Sunday is allotted for enjoying their childhood. Alice and Rose went to their neighbor’s house just to watch outside the window some shows in the television. It was the only house that has a television that’s why a lot of people go there and see if they have a chance to see some updates in telenovelas and movies. The fourth child who was only 12 years old that time named Isaac decided to play with his neighbor playmates while Emmett stays at home while making some weird drawings. When Alice and Rose, third child, went home this evening, they ate rice with sardines and dried small fish which are left overs by their neighbors. They wonder where Isaac is now. It’s getting too late. Alice waits for Isaac till midnight until she feels groggy and fall asleep. The next morning, Isaac is still not at home. Alice and Rose search for their brothers while Emmett stays inside their cabinet. Emmett used to do those weird things. One tricycle driver runs to Alice and says there’s a boy dead body found in the corn fields. Alice and Rose rush to the said place to see if it is Isaac. When they get there, it is big surprise for both of them that their loving Isaac is the one people found dead in the corn fields. The police officers states that the victim has five lacerations made by ice picks and a long slice from chest to groin that reveals his stomach and intestines. A portion of the corn field was painted with blood and decorated with intestines. The police officers says also to the left two siblings that the drug addicts might think Isaac is still a courier of drugs and they might think that he might swallow the drugs they need so they dissected the boy. Alice and Rose weakened by the news they found out and it’s like their hearts are now cutting into thousand of pieces and crushing by a bulldozer. Streams of tears again run into their eyes and face. When Emmett heard the bad news he only gives a sarcastic smile and pointed to his new doll… a beautiful girl doll that he stolen from a girl who’s usually played near the door of their house.
Alice and Rose are still in grief after five months but still wanna act normal and believe that everything has its own purpose and meaning. While Alice was gone to wash the clothes of their neighborhood, Rose do her own job. She picks out sampaguita flowers in their neighborhood and connects each with thread. She left Emmett alone in the house together with his rag doll. Emmett isn’t bothered in saying goodbyes to her sisters. Rose is now 14 years old and people used to call her Rose for the reason of though she’s still young, you can see in her face that she’s a beautiful girl and a future beautiful lady though Miranda is her real name. She has a matured body that doesn’t complement her age. Aside from being a sampaguita vendor, she is known as a kid whore in the town which Alice doesn’t know. There are times she do massages in older men with sidelines like letting them have a sexual intercourse with her with corresponding money amount. One night, Rose was very happy for the 100 pesos that she earned from selling sampaguita flowers and begging in every people that passes through the entrance of the church. She decided to take the short cut rather than the usual road she take in her way home. It was really dark and silent. As she takes every step, she feels some awkwardness and seems like somebody’s following her. She takes again few steps and stops. “Who’s there?!”, Rose shouted to the darkness. No one answered. She takes again few steps but suddenly a cold hand grabs her hands and says, “Give me your money!” Rose refuses to give the money she earned. She struggles and fights for her life but she failed. Her eyes filled with endless darkness. On the next morning, people were awakened by the stinky smell that covers the air. A body of an innocent girl is found dead in the near river. The police officers observe and told that she was killed by hard object that crushed her pretty face then thrown to the river. There is no evidence left. All the moneys were gone and the shorts of the girl found in the grass near the river. When Alice heard the news, she was dropped to her knees and cries like a river. Meanwhile, Emmett looks at her sister with vague eyes and turn to his back.
