NOW that you know my status background, I will tell what happened that change everything in me, oh, I forget to mention, I go to expensive exclusive Catholic School.

That day, I could not forget the commotion and shouting in the bedroom of my parents. I rushed to look what happen and I saw my parents struggling with each other, my mother trying to pick a gun from the hand of my father who was trying to kill himself.

“No, give it to me! Give it to me!” the mother of Evelyn was screaming and crying.

“Go away! Let me kill myself!” the father of Evelyn.

“I beg you, Carlos, please!”

Evelyn was annoyed from what she saw, came near to her parents, and sharply said to her father. “Why you want to kill yourself?”

I take from him his gun that he handed to me, surprisingly.

“You like to die?” Evelyn pointed to his father the gun.” Say yes and I will shot you!”

“Evelyn, are you crazy? Take away that gun and put it in the drawer!” Teresa said to Evelyn. Evelyn listened to her mother and put the gun to the drawer while murmuring loud.

“Crazy people! Why you want to kill yourself?” Evelyn shouted to her father. Her father was taken aback and just looked at Evelyn. Evelyn comes near to her father and ask him again, “Why you want to kill yourself?”

My father for a moment just looked at me and then like a child he wept. My mother hugged him, comforted him.

“Carlos, we can solve our problem. Please, think us, what will I do if you are gone? What will happen to Evelyn? I need you; our daughter needs you.” Teresa has tears.

“I see no way to solve our problem. We only have three months left to stay in this house.”

“We still have three months.”

“Teresa, you do not understand. There is nothing left, we have nothing. We are poor, poor as a rat. The land, the hacienda we own, together with this house over three months is no more. What a shame!” Carlos was desperate.

I could not believe it. My father said that we are already poor, poor as a rat. I looked both my parents with horror. What will happen to me? Where will we live if we do not have a house anymore? What my friends will think? Few months more I will be a debutante, how could I have a party, a party that will exceed the parties my friends had? I hate my parents. I hate my father, how could he let these all happened? For days I stayed in my room, I talked to nobody.

“Evelyn, please open the door.” Teresa the mother of Evelyn knocks the door of her daughter.

“Go away, I hate you! I hate you all!” Evelyn shouted to her mother.

“You must eat, please, open the door,”

“Let me die!”

“Please, I am begging you.” Teresa was begging to her daughter and waited at the door and when there is no reply from Evelyn, Teresa cried as she slumped to the floor and hysterically cried.

It takes a while before Evelyn opened the door of her room. She looked at her mother that was sitting on the floor and weeping.

“What happen to you? Why are you crying?” Evelyn was irritated to her mother’s crying.

“I do not know what to do anymore. As family, we must sit together and talk about our problem and find a solution. Your father was like a zombie, and you will not talk to me.” Teresa answered Evelyn.

“If Papa and you could do nothing, what can I do? I know nothing?” Evelyn answered her mother.

“I know, but we cannot just do nothing. Please, Evelyn, I beg of you. Help me to save your father. If you continue to do what you are doing now, the more he will be desperate and I cannot stop him anymore in killing himself. Help me, please.”

Evelyn heaved a sigh. Her mother is asking help, but what help she can give to solve the problems?

“I do not know how I can help. Mama, please stand up. If the servants could see you what they will think?” Evelyn helped her mother to stand up.

“We have no more servants!” Teresa wipes the tears in her eyes and told her daughter that they do not have servants anymore.

“No?”

“We could not pay them anymore. I let them go.”

 Imagine, I grew with lot of people working around the house. I had my own Nanny, there is a laundry woman, a gardener, a housekeeper, a cook, two drivers and a security guard. Can someone imagine what it would be without them? I cannot. I could be a spoiled brat but like others, I also had an instinct to survive. If what happening is a challenge, I must take it. Ms. Deloria, my teacher in English always quotes, ‘in every problem there is a seed of solution’ so I thought the problem of our family have a solution. Yes, I said to myself, together with my parents, I will help them find the solution. First, I have then to learn how to work, to do household chores.

“What is this?” Carlos looked at the food on his plate. He could not recognize what he was going to eat.

“Escabeche,” Evelyn answered her father.

“I see no fish?”

“I tried to fry the fish, but it sticks on the pan, so I throw it away and the rest I just boiled it.” Evelyn explained to her father how she her menu prepared.

“A boiled fish escabeche?”

“Yes, why not? I take the bones so that it is easy to eat.”

Carlos said no more words. He just begins to eat his meal. So, Teresa too, who secretly just smile. If the food was delicious or not, they just kept their opinion in themselves. They were already happy that their daughter tried.

What I did inside the huis, cleaning and cooking was not satisfying as it should, but I tried. One way or another I begin to learn and understand how hard life is to lot of people. I did not see it before because I can have anything I like, in just a click of my fingers.

My father realized that killing himself would not solve his problem. I saw him going out every day, driving the car himself that one month more will disappear together with our house and the hacienda. If he is at home, he stayed near the telephone calling everyone who could help or waiting a call, an answer of no or yes from what he asked.

Miracle of all miracles! There is a solution to our family’s problem. My mother was very eager to know and so I am when one day my father came home overly excited and happy. He said there is a chance we could not lost the house, the hacienda, that our way of life as we knew it will stay as it was.

“Really, Papa, we will not lost everything?” Evelyn was excited.

“Yes, but I need your help and of your mother.” Carlos answered his daughter with a smile but at the same time a worried can be seen in his face.

“Of course, we will help you.” Teresa said to her husband.

“How can I help, Papa?” Evelyn asked.

“I am hungry, can I eat first? Is there something to eat?” Carlos asked for food.

“Yes, Papa, I cooked noodles.”

“Good, I assume you both have your meal already.”

“We’d eaten already but if you like we sit with you by the table.” Teresa answered Carlos.

Teresa and Evelyn watched Carlos as he eats. Carlos was hungry as he continuously slurped his noodles meal.

“You both know Nelson Romano?” Carlos asked both Teresa and Evelyn.

“I know him, why?” Teresa’s reply to her husband.

“The Filipino-American, the balikbayan?” Evelyn askingly answered her father.

“Yes. He is the one who could help us.” Carlos said.

“It is good, we do not have to worry then.” Teresa said.

“We will have back our hacienda, our house, everything!”

“How can he help us?” Evelyn asked her father.

“He will give me twenty-five million pesos. With the money I can pay back the Bank and I will still have enough capital to start again.” Carlos was excited as he tells Teresa and Evelyn the possibility that Nelson Romano will give him the amount of twenty-five million pesos.

“Nobody will give someone such amount just like that?” Evelyn askingly said to her father.

“In change of what, Carlos? Is that a loan?” Teresa asked her husband.

Carlos pauses for a while, look at his wife and then his daughter.

“Teresa, I hope you would understand what I am going to say.” Carlos said and looked at his wife. Teresa looked at him, waiting what he is going to say.

“Evelyn, please understand also, that if you say yes, this offer of Nelson Romano could save all of us in this nasty situation of ours.” Carlos said to Evelyn.

“Tell us, Papa. Do not let us wait! Why will Nelson Romano give you twenty-five million pesos?” Evelyn became impatient.

“He will give it to me as a dowry!”

Dowry? Teresa looked at Carlos. She understood already what her man meant but for Evelyn it was not yet precepted. ****to be continued ****Remedios Dorio.