Chapter 5 | The Debt
1217 Words
Dante's POV
Mimi was discharged at 10AM.
Fever was 37.8°C. Normal for a kid who fought all night and won.
The doctor said, “Viral. Rest. Fluids. Watch her.”
The bill said, “3,800 pesos.”
I had 200 pesos in my wallet.
Cassie paid the rest.
3,600 pesos. All of it.
She didn’t ask.
She just handed her card to the nurse.
“Charge it,” she said. Like 3,600 was nothing.
It wasn’t nothing.
It was her rent.
It was her shop.
It was her.
We took a taxi home.
Mimi slept between us. My arm around her. Cassie’s shoulder touching mine.
I didn’t move away.
I should’ve.
I didn’t.
The building was quiet when we got back.
Ate Nene saw us. “Ay, anak, okay na si Mimi?”
“Okay na po, Ate,” Cassie answered for both of us. Her voice was steady. Tired.
We went up. 4B.
I put Mimi on her bed. She mumbled, “Ate Cass…” and fell asleep before her head hit the pillow.
I stood there.
Watching her chest rise and fall.
Alive.
Cassie was by the door. Not leaving. Not yet. Like she was waiting for me to tell her to go.
“Thank you,” I said.
The words still felt rusty.
She looked at me. Eyes red. Not from crying. From no sleep.
“Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t make it a debt. I didn’t do it to be paid back.”
I hated that.
Because I didn’t know how to receive things for free.
Lara was gone. My pride was all I had left. And it was all I knew how to give.
“You’re going to get evicted,” I said.
Flat. Because it was true. Because someone had to say it.
Cassie’s face didn’t change.
“Maybe.”
“Then let me pay you.”
“How?”
I looked at the kitchen. At the mess from last night. At the sink I couldn’t fix. At my hands.
“I can cook,” I said.
“For your shop. Every day. Lunch. For you. Until 3,600 is gone.”
She blinked.
“What?”
“You skip meals. I see your trash. Pandesal and coffee. You need real food. You can’t sell flowers if you faint.”
“Dante—”
“I’m not good at words, Cassie,” I cut her off. Because if I stopped, I wouldn’t say it. “But I’m good at cooking. Let me do that. Let me pay you the only way I know how.”
Silence.
Mimi stirred. “Daddy?”
“Here, anak.”
I sat by her bed.
“Sleep.”
She held my hand. Then her small hand reached out. Blind. Searching.
For Cassie.
Cassie took it. Without thinking. Without hesitation.
Mimi smiled in her sleep.
“Family…”
My chest hurt.
Physically hurt.
Cassie pulled her hand back fast. Like she got burned. Like she wasn’t supposed to be part of that word.
“I should go.”
“No.”
The word came out before I could stop it. Before the old Dante could shut the door.
She froze. Hand on the doorknob.
“Stay. Until she wakes up. Please.”
Please.
I don’t say please.
Not to anyone. Not since Lara.
Cassie nodded. Small. Once.
She sat on the floor by Mimi’s bed. Back against the wall. Eyes closed. She looked exhausted.
I went to the kitchen.
I cooked.
Arroz caldo.
Ginger. Garlic. Chicken. Scallions.
The way Lara used to make it for Mimi when she was sick.
I haven’t made it in 3 years.
The smell filled the apartment. It filled the empty spaces.
Cassie opened her eyes.
“What is that?”
“Food,” I said. “You eat first.”
I gave her a bowl. Hot. Steaming. Spoon on the side.
She stared at it.
“You didn’t have to.”
“I know.”
She ate. Slow. Like she was scared it would disappear if she went too fast. Like she wasn’t used to being fed.
Then she stopped. Spoon halfway.
“Dante.”
“What?”
“This tastes like…”
She couldn’t finish. Her throat worked.
“Like home?” I said.
Because it did. For me too.
She nodded.
And didn’t look at me.
We ate in silence.
Mimi woke at noon.
“Arroz caldo?”
“Yes, anak,” I said.
She ate 3 bowls.
By 3PM, she was drawing.
By 5PM, she was laughing at something Cassie said.
Cassie stayed the whole time.
She helped me wash dishes. Her hands next to mine in the sink.
She folded Mimi’s laundry. Small shirts. Small socks.
She didn’t ask if she could.
She just did.
At 6PM, her phone rang.
She looked at it.
Face went white.
“Landlord,” she said.
I took the phone.
“Hello?”
“Who is this?” The landlord snapped. “Where’s Cassie? Rent was due yesterday.”
“This is her neighbor. She can’t talk right now. She’ll pay you on Friday.”
“Friday? Or I change the locks.”
Click.
I hung up.
Cassie was staring at me.
“You didn’t have to lie.”
“It wasn’t a lie,” I said. “I’ll give you the money Friday.”
“How? You’re broke too.”
“I’ll pick up extra shifts. I’ll sell my knives if I have to.”
She stood up. Angry now. Hands shaking.
“I don’t want your knives, Dante. I don’t want charity.”
“It’s not charity,” I said. My voice got low. “It’s payment. For Mimi’s life. For last night. Let me have this.”
The words hung there.
Heavy.
Mimi looked up from her drawing.
“Are you fighting?”
“No, baby,” Cassie said fast. She forced a smile. It was shaky. “Adults are just… loud.”
Mimi frowned. Then held up her paper.
It was a drawing.
Three stick figures.
Big man with a hat.
Little girl with pigtails.
Tall girl with yellow hair.
Under it, in wobbly letters: FAMILY.
Cassie made a sound.
Like she was going to cry.
She didn’t.
She crouched by Mimi.
“That’s beautiful, baby.”
Mimi nodded. Serious.
“Can Ate Cass stay for dinner too?”
I looked at Cassie.
Cassie looked at me.
And for the first time in 3 years, my apartment didn’t feel empty.
It felt full. Too full. Dangerous.
“Yes,” I said.
“Stay for dinner.”
Cassie swallowed.
“Okay.”
So she stayed.
I cooked sinigang. Sour. Hot. Real.
She set the table. Three plates. Three spoons.
Mimi told us about school. About a boy who pulled her hair.
I glared.
Cassie laughed.
At 8PM, Cassie left.
At the door, she paused.
“Friday,” I said.
“I’ll have your money.”
She shook her head.
“Keep it. Buy Mimi vitamins.”
Then she was gone.
I closed the door.
The apartment was quiet again.
But the smell of arroz caldo was still there.
And Mimi’s drawing was on the fridge.
FAMILY.
I didn’t take it down.
I just stared at it.
For a long time.
End of Chapter 5
- Writer
