God's Rise | WOTG #2

Fifty-Four

H A V I E L L E

d e c a d e s  b e f o r e

"MUMMY, WHAT ARE YOU doing?" I asked my mother while I sat on her lap. Her green eyes were glued to the hologram in front of her, illuminating her face from chin up.

"Just some university work, sweetheart," she answered still staring at the screen as her finger danced and hovered above the keyboard. I looked at her up and willed her to look at me. I wanted Mum's attention.

Dad, sitting on the desk across Mum's, held a book and flipped through it like he was looking for something. I puckered my lips, tilted my head, and squinted my eyes at him, willing him to look at me, too. If I couldn't bother Mum I'd bother him.

But nothing happened. His blue eyes, the same eyes I have, rummaged through the words printed on the thin paper of the book he was holding. I puckered my lips, disappointed, and sighed through my little nose.

Why was that every time Havierre told them what they wanted, they always did what he asked? Attention, books, or even candies. Not that I was envious of him though. He was my brother. What more, we were twins. He always shared the attention, the books, and candies he got from them to me anyways. That was what are brothers for, right? Share everything.

I loved him so much. And I knew he loved me too.

"Hey, L," Dad called me with my nickname. He called Vierre "R" since we almost have the same name except for the two letters before the last E. "Bakit hindi ka muna kaya makipaglaro sa kapatid mo? Let Mummy do her work muna, 'no, baby?" he said all that without even giving me a single glance. His eyes still glued to the book he held.

"Yes, Dad," I answered and stood up from Mum's lap. She ruffled my hair and I gently removed her hand on my head. Before I stepped out from their study, I stole a glance behind me, waiting if they were looking at me walk away. They didn't.

I hummed a nursery rhyme my brother and I always watched from our mother's workpad as I let my feet carry me to our rooms. I opened the door and saw him sitting above his bed, reading something about kings and queens and princes and princesses. He wore a crown atop his dark locks which he made from a piece of cereal cardboard.

Tumingin siya sa akin nang marinig niyang bumukas ang pinto at nginitian ako. Naramdaman ko namang gumaan ang pakiramdam ko at nginitian ko siya pabalik.

Lumapit ako sa kaniya at may nakitang isa pang cardboard crown na nakalapag sa ibabaw ng unan sa tabi niya. Itinupi niya ang page kung saan siya nahintong magbasa at sinarado ang libro. "Here," he said and took the cardboard crown and handed it to me. "Wear it. Gumawa ako para sa 'ting dalawa." He was beaming and I could see the stars twinkling in his lilac eyes.

Mum and Dad had bought green contact lenses for his eyes to hide its true colors. I also asked for a pair but Mum told me I didn't need it. She said Havierre's eye color would attract unwanted attention from the university and they didn't want that. We never understood what they meant and Havierre just obeyed them. Every time we would go for an outing or someone would visit us, she would tell him to wear his lenses.

I couldn't help it but beam at him back and took the crown from his outstretched little arms. I inspected it between my hands and saw there was a large blue gem-the very shade of my eyes-in the middle. I looked at his own and noticed there was a square purple gem on the center of its tallest arch. The way he colored the squares and circles was perfect and controlled I couldn't see the strokes of his little hands.