Covered By My Own Umbrella

Abode of Future Memories

When I get home, I happen to notice the wall next to our front door. It is filled with pictures of our family and our accomplishments.

My parents have always liked to hang our medals, certificates, and graduation pictures on that particular wall since we were children.

Among the three of us, my elder sister is my Mom's favorite child.

I could argue that I can't compete with her intellect because she is far more intelligent than me, which is why she is everyone's favorite. She's incredibly talented and, of course, stunning.

While Gabby is my youngest sibling, he is also my Mom's favorite because he is the only male child in the family.

While me? I am no one's favorite, not even my dad. I recall him telling me that he didn't have any favorites because he loved us all with all of his heart.

But I didn't believe him because I knew he had as well, and it wasn't me.

(Our phone abruptly rings)

I walked towards the phone, wiping away the tears that were falling down my cheeks.

“Hello, who is this?” I started things off.

“Hello there, Eliah! This is Grandma. Is your Mom there?” Grandma responded.

“Grandma, oh, grandma! Mom has not arrived yet,” I told her.

“Is that your grandmother, Eliah?” As Mom suddenly appeared from the door, she abruptly uttered.

“Yes, Mom. Just hand me the phone. I'll speak to her,” Mom went on to say.

Gabby has arrived while grandma and my Mom are talking, but instead of telling me that he has come, he startles me while putting our clothes in a suitcase.

“WAHHHHH!” Gabby shouted, loudly.

“Gabby, you scare me to death. Why do you have to startle me all the time? I will have a heart attack because of you," I grumbled to Gabby as he walked past me on his way to the kitchen.

“Sorry, little dreamer, sister Eliah. Is there any cooked food, sis? I'm now feeling hungry,” Gabby said.

“Gabby, take the slip of paper on the ref and order food delivery. I won't be able to cook right now because we're going to your grandmother's place,” mom barged in.

“Huh? Why are we going to Grandmother's house? And what are you doing with my clothes, sister?” Gabby inquired, perplexed.

“Just tell Gabby what is going on, Eliah,” Mom went on to say.

“Gabby, uncle Richard called Mom to tell her that he and his family will be visiting the Philippines in one month, and he also asked Mom if she could leave work for one week to help them prepare for their return,” I directly narrated to him.

“Ohhh,” Gabby said, feeling shocked.

“We will also be the ones to pick them up from the airport, along with grandma and our other relatives,” I explained.

“Ahhh, okay. I'll now help you in fixing our clothes. I think it will be our first time meeting our cousin to uncle Richard's second family since he never had a chance to have a child before divorcing his first wife,” Gabby said, insisting and recounting.

“That is good to hear. Thanks Gab!” I uttered.

“No problem, sis. You know, he also has a stepson, child of his current wife to his ex-husband. And when I stalked uncle Richard's stepson on Facegram, I noticed that he is the same age as you. "Yieeee, sister Eliah!” Gabby responded, adding some chitchats.

“Gabby, stop murmuring and just keep fixing all your clothes,” I told Gabby as I stood up to carry Mom's suitcase to our car's trunk.

“Oh, have you finished fixing up all your things? Don't forget to bring your stuff since you will be staying there for a week,” Mom told us.

“Noted, mom,” Gabby replied.

After putting on Mom's suitcase and Gabby's suitcases, Mom locked the door and walked straight to the car with Gabby.

Mom started the car and is ready to leave.

While traveling, I listen to music with Gabby beside me, playing cobile legends on his iPad.

(The radio is on)

“Has your sister Dane already called you, Eliah?” Mom inquired, her gaze fixed squarely on the road.

“Not yet, mom,” I replied with a low voice.

“All right, I think you should tell your sister not to go home because we're not there. Tell her to go to your grandmother's house right away, and do not worry about us,” My Mom added.

When we arrive at Grandma's house, we are surprised by a slew of decorations displayed along the staircase's handle.

Mom immediately opened the trunk of the car to fetch all of our things.

Grandma noticed the sound of our vehicle, so when we were ready to ring the bell attached to the gate, she immediately went down and called our cousins and relatives.

“Don't forget to bless your grandma and respect your uncles and aunties,” mom told us.

“Yes, mom,” Gabby responded while getting his other stuff in the car.

While Mom and Gabby are still talking, I take my suitcase and rush up to grandma to hug her.

“I miss you so much, Grandma!” I murmured this while warmly hugging her.

“I miss you as well, my dear! How have you been? You look so thin that I might think that you are not eating properly, ha,” Grandma said, looking at me happily.

“No, grandma. I'm not thin. I think you are not accustomed to seeing me looking like this coz' I am now so sexy,” I proudly said.

“No, you haven't changed. Eliah, you're still the joker,” grandma responded by giggling.

“Oh, by the way, where are your mom and Gabby?” grandma inquired.

“I am with them, grandma. They are still in the car,” I said, pointing my index finger at them.

“Oh, Gabby, my dearest, you are so tall and handsome!” grandma yelled as she approached Gabby to hug him.

“It's been five years since I've seen you, grandma. I almost forgot about your lovely face,” Gabby remarked while hugging grandma once more.

“Oh, come inside. Your uncles and aunts are waiting for both of you,” grandma invited us as we walked inside the house.

“Ma, I saw you earlier. You hurriedly walked down the staircase without thinking that you'd easily get tired,” My Mom advised grandma as she lovingly hugged her.

While they are still talking downstairs, my cousins, uncles, and aunts are busy preparing for the homecoming of uncle Richard.

Then suddenly, aunt Jocelyn and uncle Criz approached me.

“Oh, Eliah, you've grown so beautifully. How old are you now?” Aunt Jocelyn asked.

“Thank you, Aunt Joce. Oh, I'm already 19 and will be turning 20 next month,” I responded.

“Oh, really? So great! I think we should spend your birthday here next month since your uncle Richard will be here with his family,” Aunt Joce suggested.

“I will ask mom about it, aunt Joce,” I said, smirking.

“There's no need to ask your mom; I'll be the one to tell her,” Aunt Joce insisted.

“Okay, aunt,” I replied.

When aunt Joce noticed that I still had my luggage in my hands, she told me to put it in Mom's old room, where Gabby had already placed his, and started playing with our cousins.

As I walked through the door, memories began to flashback.

This house is where I grew up; this room is where I made memories with my siblings when we were little, and a place where I had some happy memories with my Mom when we were still close.

But, time really flies so fast, many things have happened that cause us to leave this place.

Someone I didn't know knocks on the door.

As I opened the door, I saw my childhood best friend standing in front of the room while having a smile on his face.

He is Abed, and he has been my best friend since we were young. He is the son of a friend of my father's, Uncle James.

Since kindergarten, we've been classmates, and the time we got separated was when my Mom decided to move us to Taguig.

What else can I say about him? Oh, he enjoys playing musical instruments, mainly the guitar, and he also writes songs.

If you ask me if he's attractive, let me describe his physical features to you. He is tall and has brown skin that complements him perfectly.

His eyes are a deep black color, and his nose is straight. He scarcely has pimples, and I think he's handsome too because many girls like him at school.

But, for me, he is just a best friend whom I consider a brother as well.

“Oh, Abed!” I hug him while my feet are off the ground; it has been five years since I have seen him. I miss him a lot!

“You didn't even message me that you were coming home; I just accidentally heard it from the telephone conversation of your mom and my dad,” Abed said as he hugged me back.

I went down to respond to him.

“Oh, I'm sorry, I just got the news late from mommy that we are going to come here because of uncle Richard's homecoming. Sorry if I didn't bother to text or call you,” I answered while having a sad face.

“It's okay now. At least you and Gab have finally decided to come along with your mom,” Abed said.

“Yup,” I just added.

“So, have you finished unpacking your stuff?” Abed asked, while we were both standing at the room's door.

“Actually, I haven't started anything yet. Lol. Thank God, you are here, so you're going to help me to unpack all of my stuff from that suitcase and clean this room,” I exclaimed, giggling.

“That is exactly what I expected! So, let's get started!” Abed uttered while showing his actions that he is unwilling to do it.

While we were unpacking my stuff and tidying the room, Abed randomly asked me:

“Eliah, are you doing well at your school? I heard that you are always on top of the class, ah? And that is one thing I am not surprised about because you're brilliant whatever your school is. So, tell me about your life there.”

“Oh yes. I am always on top of the class. Another unsurprising thing is even if I'm the smartest in our class, I think my Mom still views me as someone that is contradictory to that,” I uttered seriously.

“Eliah, don’t say that,” Abed said, sincerely.

“Abed, I don't want to focus on that thing since I have an important matter I need to investigate about. Now that I'm here, I need to figure out who is the person behind the initials Z.D on this handkerchief,” I explained boldly.

“Eliah! Eliah!” Someone with a familiar voice shouted.