Apple's Point of View
"Found you" I said when I was looking at my gallery on my phone. I'm thrilled while thinking about that day where we took this picture, it was yesterday and we thought we are going home so he insisted on taking pictures.
"Grandpa!" I called him and went outside but I was shocked by what I just saw. It was my grandfather lying on the floor, blood scattered around and all I saw was no one. I felt so helpless and I couldn't even cry.
There my grandmother and Aunt ran as fast as they could to get on the scene. My Aunt closed my eyes and forced me to get back to the room so I did. I have a lot of questions running around my head.
"What's happening outside, Sister?" Paul asks. I just stared at him dumbfounded. I just bonded with my grandfather and then he was caught up and killed by an unknown person. But I feel like I know who that person is.
"Nothing, don't go outside and let the adults handle it" I said slowly. I couldn't feel myself anymore. I feel like I want to cry but no tears would fly out of my eyes. I wish that it was just a dream. That I was just dreaming upon a nightmare.
I'm really going to be glad if it's just a nightmare and my grandfather is living just as fine. Not the one that I saw earlier but I know that it was real, it happens and it was a real thing. I couldn't wake up to this reality.
"Wednesday would be our research defence, huh. You guys need to practise what you're going to say" Our leader in research makes us meet online to tell us those things. I don't even know how I open my phone and join the meeting.
"Aren't we going to have two people in each chapter, we are ten? What do you think, leader?" I heard Ayen stating that.
We are the only group who's going to defend our research. The other group fails to do their chapter four and five so they cannot have research defence.
"I would tell you what chapter you would explain to our teacher. Dismissed" The leader said and dismissed our meeting. I sighed and what happened just sank upon me. My grandfather was gone and he would never be here anymore with us.
Wednesday came, I wasn't prepared. I was still mourning but I really need to have this research defence because I couldn't get an excuse here. If I didn't go, they would remove my name without mercy.
I didn't sleep, busy reading what I needed to explain. I'm very anxious about my explanation and because it would be the first time that I would experience defending our research, I have a lot of explanation to come.
"Are you really going to your school? Are you okay now, Apple?" Aunt worriedly asks. There's no choice at all but to go.
"I'm fine, Aunt. Even if I'm not, I still have no choice. I hope that when I come back I'm going to see my parents safely arriving to our home and the culprit was now caught up" I explain my emotions.
Uncle was the one who drove me to school. I even fight Renz on the phone because there's something that he could help me about but he didn't do it and because I was having bad days, I get angry on little things.
I go to school in a really bad mood. I won't see him but I did see his groupmates studying their research. I just somehow knew that they were kicked out of the group and they cannot be in research defence anymore.
"We've done a lot but they kept changing it because they want to do it in their own ways" One of the kicked groupmates of their team goes to the school to complain to the teacher. I was listening to them, feeling guilty.
I somehow think that I became harsher to him because I just think about myself and not what he really feels. I thought that they wouldn't defend their research and no one have told me they have been kicked out.
Feeling bad won't help me out so I shook the thought and got ready for my script. I would feel bad after this once it was done but now that I know there's a grade that I need to get in order for my mom and dad to be proud.
We somehow aced our research defence and went home feeling proud. But right after I finished school I was here fighting for the reality that I have. I have a lot of problems that's been forgotten because I have my goals.
I was staring at our conversation, having second thoughts on what I should do. I'm thinking whether I should apologise to him or not. I want to apologise for him but would he think of it as a big deal just like me?
At the end, I chose not to. I would just end up being pathetic. I'm feeling pathetic right now and it was no good.
My Aunt buys me my favourite drink. I loosen up a bit when I drink the milk tea then she also starts drinking hers. I just stared at her and missed my mom, I couldn't think of no one when I'm home other than my mom and dad who's still nowhere to be found.
"Aunt, what can you say about first loves? Are they hard to find? Do you need to feel any emotional scenes before getting them? Or do you need to get confused first?" I asked her a lot. She may be a big help to what I feel right now.
"Hmm, first loves are a bit hard because you don't know but one thing for sure it was the best feeling out there that you can feel. First love can be confusing too because you don't know whether it's just admiral or it is love. Love is always confusing like that but it was peaceful" She explains.
How I wish I was now done in that phase. It was somehow a one-sided relationship, I knew it deep inside me but the actions he did would make any girl assume or I'm just good at making assumptions.
"What can you advise on love?" I asked. She smiles teasingly like she just knew that I'm already having confusion about love.
"Love isn't crazy. It was peaceful. I won't say that be crazy when you're in love, I would say that be peaceful being in love" Her advice hits me and my anxiousness about what I feel.
"Who are you loving right now?" She asks me. I got so caught up that I was so shocked while glancing at her. She smirked but I looked down, feeling guilty.
I shouldn't feel this. I shouldn't love someone while my parents are out there risking their lives for my peace. They could've been harmed and we're here having fun instead of finding them.
"I shouldn't love right now, Aunt. Thinking of my parents makes me feel bad and guilty that they're daughter didn't care for them and instead enjoying her life while they are nowhere to be seen and abducted" I said. She patted me after that.
She stops interviewing me after that and just drink her coffee alongside me also drinking the milk tea that she brought to me.
"I should sleep now, Aunt. I'm so tired" I say as I feel tired as I'm done drinking milk tea. She nodded and guided me to my bedroom.
After that, I woke up feeling really dizzy. I got nervous as soon as I didn't see my brother but when I went outside he was there laughing with my cousin and playing tag with him. I smiled and play with them as a waste of time.
They don't really know what's going on. But my brother was asking me about the whereabouts of my parents. He just asked me when I was going to sleep. I make excuse and lie to him so he wouldn't worry.
I was becoming more and more of an adult, I think like an adult and I can now understand what they do to protect people not to get harm. I just wish that my parents was here so I can say to them that I was finally learning.
"I see my grandfather and a man, he says that he's my Uncle and he's going to harm me. Is that true, Sister?" Paul innocently asks. I feel terrible, they've met with each other and I knew that it was bad.
"Don't talk to him and tell me if he'd treat you again like that. Please tell your eldest sister so that she can protect you" I said and hugged him tightly. I can do everything once he would be harmed by somebody. I can kill everyone who's behind things like this if my brother would get a traumatic experience at a young age. And that's a promise.