"Brother, how are you feeling?" Nicole asked her brother, Nicholas, who just smiled at her and ruffled her hair.
"I'm fine, Nicole. So don't worry about me," Nicholas replied, making Nicole smile big and hug her brother.
"Brother, do you know that Mamang saw a lot of money in your bag? Where did you get it?" Nicholas was surprised by Nicole's sudden question. She looked at him innocently, waiting for his answer.
Nicholas looked away from his sister. His mother saw the money he stole with Bryan, and he didn’t know how to explain it. "Do you have a job now, brother?" Nicole asked next.
Nicholas swallowed hard and looked back at his sister, staring straight at her. "Mmm, yes, Nicole. I have a job now," he said, forcing a smile to hide his fear.
"Where, brother, and what kind of job is that?" Nicholas was trying to calm himself so he wouldn’t get caught. His sister, Nicole, was smart, so he had to stay relaxed when answering her questions, but this was a different question.
Their family knew that no jobs accept minors. Nicholas was still underage, so he couldn't work.
"I'm helping carry water at Bryan's work... I’m with him there, and we earn good money," Nicole frowned when her brother said this, but then she nodded and smiled.
"Now I find out that you and Bryan are working. Why didn’t you tell Mama and Papa? You know they will get mad if you work," Nicole said, facing the food on the table and starting to eat.
"I know, Nicole, so this should be our secret, okay? You must not tell Mama and Papa or Nash because you know he is... nosy." Nicole laughed at her brother's last words and nodded, trying not to laugh out loud.
"Okay, brother."
...
"It can’t be known by Auntie, dude. If she finds out, we are dead," Bryan worried after eating and talking with Nicholas. Nicholas quickly called Bryan because he had something important to tell him.
They met at their spot by the river, where they played since elementary school and sometimes swam. They did this almost every day... swimming because the air was cool and the water was clear.
Some old people said it was forbidden to make noise by the river and to swim because it might wake the guards and punish those who disturbed them.
The two friends didn’t believe them and laughed it off, not listening to what the townspeople said. They had been swimming there for a long time, but they weren't noisy, and nothing ever happened to them except that at night they would steal, and the next day they could pawn what they took, so they had saved a lot of money.
They wouldn’t use that money to buy drugs or any equipment they couldn’t use. They stole to buy medicine for their sick family members.
Like Bryan’s mother, who was now lying in a hospital bed, not alive and in a coma. Nicholas's father also had kidney problems and needed treatment, or he would get worse.
Nicholas felt he had no choice but to steal with Bryan instead of working, knowing he wouldn’t get a job, and his father wouldn’t agree either.
So even though what he was doing was illegal, he would still do it to help his family. Bryan felt the same way since they thought alike.
Nicholas sighed and leaned against a tree, closing his eyes. "I know, Bryan. That’s why I came to tell you that our pretend job is just to carry water if Mama asks you."
Bryan just nodded, sighed, and exhaled. Nicholas felt the weight in Bryan's heart when he sighed again. He looked at him and saw Bryan's sad face facing the river. Soon, tears started to flow from Bryan's eyes.
Nicholas quickly sat up and went to his friend, holding his shoulder. "Dude, why?" Nicholas could only say when he saw Bryan’s tears falling, and Bryan started to cry.
"My dad... he’s gone." Bryan covered his face while continuing to cry, and Nicholas was shocked, unable to believe what Bryan just said.
Nicholas looked at Bryan in surprise, feeling pity and sadness. He could feel Bryan's pain from his cries and tears.
Bryan’s father was kind, and Nicholas considered him a second father. They would do anything for their families, but a family member couldn’t take it anymore.
Nicholas felt hopeless seeing Bryan cry because of the pain, but he knew that Bryan still had family, which included him and Nicholas's family.
Nicholas treated Bryan like a brother, and any time he could call him over or meet him because that’s how they were every day. They never left each other behind.
He patted Bryan’s shoulder and rubbed his back, saying, "Don’t worry, buddy. We are still here... we won’t leave you." Bryan was an only child, so he had no one but Nicholas and his family.
Nicholas was a good friend, so he would help him and wouldn’t leave, just like he did when they first met.