Dearest Cecilia

Cecilia "Good afternoon, Ma'am Cecilia. I am Duval and I will be your personal chauffeur starting today." I just nodded at the old man and he proceeded to drive. Ngayon lang ako makakauwi after 6 years, sa isang all girls dormitory school ako from Grade 7, I was accelerated from Grade 5 kasi so they wanted to enroll me to a prestigious school. I just finished Grade 12 at pwede na akong umuwi because I won't be studying here anymore. I see my parents a few times in a month, they can always visit us so I am kind of close to them. Not with my siblings though, we were never close ever since. Or maybe it's because I was the only girl in the family. I have three brothers, medyo malayo lang ang ages namin because Mom told me I was a miracle baby. Ang pinaka-malapit sa akin sa age is si Kuya Julio which is 22. My oldest brother is Kuya Klaud, he's 30. Next to him is Kuya Yulo, he's 29. I am turning 16 in a few weeks and my parents wants to throw a party but I don't really know if I want it, I don't even have friends to invite. "We're here, Ma'am." napalingon ako kay Kuya Driver when he spoke, I just nodded at him before opening the car door. I looked at our giant house, and I sighed. Finally, I'm back home after a while. "I'll carry your luggages, Ma'am. They're already waiting for you in the garden." I nodded at the maid who took my bags and I walked to the pathway papunta sa garden. I missed our house so much, I missed living in a place with no ghosts. "Oh my! Our baby is here!" I immediately smiled when I saw Mom screaming that I was already here. I ran to her and I hugged her tightly. "I'm home!" I happily said to her. "Cecilia, my baby." tawag sa akin ni Dad kaya I immediately hugged him too. "Are you hungry? Your Kuyas are all inside already." tumango naman ako, I already smell the barbecue in the air. Our garden has this mini function room na gawa sa glass and pinalibutan lang ng cloth and walls lalo na if summer. It kinda changed from the last time that I saw it. "Pinaluto ko lahat ng favorite mo, just tell me if you want something else okay?" I smiled and nodded at Mom before entering the function room. I immediately saw my brothers sitting at the couch while on their phones. I don't know how to react, when I was still living here we barely see each other, lalo na they are busy with college stuff and I was always left alone with my yaya. "Oh, hey Ci. We missed you." unang tumayo si Kuya Yulo and he hugged me. He's really tall so I had to tip toe. I smiled at him after that, "Hey Kuya, you changed a lot ha." he just laughed and he sat again. "Hey, princess." I smiled at Kuya Klaud and I hugged him too, "Missed you, Kuya." I said to him after he released me. "I missed you too, hey Julio. Get your ass up and greet our sister. Asshole." binulong lang ni Kuya ang huli niyang sinabi but I heard it. Parang wala kasing balak si Kuya Julio na mag-hi or pansinin man lang ang existence ko. We we're never really close, super rare ng interaction namin before unlike my two Kuyas na medyo may bonding moments ako when I was still here. I saw Kuya Julio rolling his eyes before walking papunta sa akin, "Hey, great that you're back." sabi niya before hugging me, "And you changed, drastically." habol pa niya after releasing me. Ngumiti na lang ako and we sat down on the dining table. My mouth immediately started to salivate when I saw the food on the table, seafood and barbecue! May side pa ng pasta and steak. Also my favorite salad. "Eat a lot ha?" palala pa sa akin ulit ni Mom habang kumakain kami, talagang kakain ako ng marami, Mom. Nagsawa ako sa paulit-ulit na food sa school. Homecooked food is really the best for me. "So, what's your plan for college?" tanong ni Kuya Yulo, napaisip naman ako, ano nga ba ang plan ko? "Err--I don't know yet, Kuya. I'm still thinking about pursuing a pre-med course but I don't know if I can study for that long." kumunot naman ang noo niya sa sagot ko, "Of course you can, hindi ka naman ga-graduate with the highest honors if you can't." sabi pa niya sabay ngiti, ngumiti na lang din ako. Kuya Yulo has always been like this, when I say I can't, he says the other thing. His way of motivating, I guess. "Anak, you can go pala with your Kuya Klaud at the company if you want. Para naman you can see more of the outside world." sabi ni Mom, agad napunta kay Kuya Klaud ang tingin ko at napansin ko na parang hindi niya gusto ang idea na iyon based on his facial expression. I was about to disagree but then he talked. "Sure, you can go with me when you feel like it." malamig na sabi niya, normal Kuya Klaud. Always ice cold. Kabaligtaran siya ni Kuya Yulo. Si Kuya Julio naman parang kinulang lagi sa oxygen ang utak, kung hindi masama ugali, masyadong tahimik naman. After eating ay umakyat ako sa kwarto ko, I missed my room here so much. I badly wanted to lay on a big comfy bed like this for a long time. Sa dorm kasi shared ang room and we only have two beds, both single. I looked around my room and I think I have to decorate it again and move some of my things, ang tagal na ng mga gamit ko rito. Very immature pa ang theme, Camp Rock. I saw my old laptop here and I suddenly remembered that I don't even have a phone. It's prohibited inside the school, I can only contact my parents through the school landline. I sighed, I feel like I missed a lot sa nangyayari sa mundo. I changed my clothes first, nagpalit ako into a spaghetti strapped bodycon dress. It's maikli so it's perfect pangbahay. Bumaba ako ulit and I saw Dad and Kuya Klaud on the couch reading something, probably work. "Daddy." Tawag ko kay Dad but both of them looked at me, ano, Daddy ko rin si Kuya? I saw Kuya Klaud looked intently at me before looking away, "Yes, anak?" tumabi ako sa kanya sa couch at sumandal, "I need a phone, Dad. And a new laptop too. I just realized that I don't have those." I said before pouting a bit. Ginulo naman ni Dad ang buhok ko, "Silly girl, of course you don't. You can't have those at school. Don't worry, I already bought you your needs. It's in our room, on a pink paper bag." ngiting-ngiti naman akong tumayo, "Thank you, Dad!" I said and I kissed his cheek before I run upstairs. I immediately saw it on the top of their bedside table. My mouth formed an O when I saw a lot of things in there. A new apple phone, a laptop, an iPad, airpods? What is this? And I also saw an apple watch. Habang inuusisa ang mga gamit, I realized that the airpod is like an earphone but wireless. I thought it was something else. I made new social media accounts but I didn't have a photo for my profile yet, maybe I'll take a few tomorrow. Dahil wala na akong magawa, inuna ko na ayusing ang walk in closet ko. I have tons of clothes here but of course, none of it fits me anymore. I saw 2 big boxes folded under one of my cabinets so I put all of my old clothes there. I have new clothes, they always bring me tons when they visit me sa school dati. After I finished removing all of it, I replaced them with my new ones. Half din ang na-occupy so I think I need more. I pushed the box outside of the closet and I threw all of the napagiwanan na ng panahon things inside my room. And I think lahat ng gamit ay ganon. I managed to fill up the first box already. I have tons of old bags too, puro pang-kids so I decided to put it sa box. As well as my old shoes and accessories. I sighed after doing everything, wow, my room looks so spacious now. I just hate the paint, freaking bright violet. Why did I even loved that color before? First thing in the morning, I want my room changed into off white and I want to have new cabinets, lampshade, and a new TV as well. I'm just going to send it to Mom later. Dahil gabi na, bumaba na ako, ipapadala ko rin sa baba ang boxes. "Ate, can someone buhat the boxes in my room pababa sa garage? I'm gonna let Kuya Duval drop it off sa orphanage tomorrow. Thank you." I smiled at her when she nodded. Sayang if I throw it away, halos di rin nagamit. "Mom, can I like redecorate my room tomorrow? I don't like some things about it na kasi." tumango naman si Mom, "Of course, just tell me what you need." Saktong pagkaupo ko ay nasa harap ko si Kuya Julio, he made a face like he's mocking me. Nairita naman ako and I rolled my eyes at him. "I'll help you redecorate your room, Ci. I don't need to be in the restaurant tomorrow anyways." I nodded at him and I smiled widely, Kuya Yulo always got my back. Ah yes, he's a chef nga pala. He has his own restaurant already. "Thanks, Kuya. You're the best talaga." pangbobola ko pa sa kanya. ..... Thank you for reading! ??