CHAPTER-5
1312 Words
* * CONTINUED FLASHBACK * *
"Mama, Papa," Valentine cried as she entered the patient’s room where her sibling was. She found her mother and father sitting on either side of the bed where her sister, Heart, was lying soundly asleep. Valentine quickly placed her small bag and tote bag down and rushed to embrace her parents as they stood up to greet her.
"I missed you all so much," she said through her tears, holding her parents tightly.
"We missed you too, honey," her mother replied, also crying. Meanwhile, her father tried to hold back his tears, attempting to stay strong and show his resilience to his family for their sake.
"How is she?" Valentine asked her parents as she moved closer to her sleeping sister. She immediately held her hand, and her tears began to fall again.
"She's doing a bit better now, honey," her father explained. "The doctor said she just needs to stay a few more days until she fully recovers. She still feels dizzy sometimes and throws up, and now rashes have appeared on her body. But the doctor said she's safe now. They said it's normal for her to get rashes because it's part of the dengue symptoms."
"Did you manage to buy her medicines?" she asked again.
"Yes, honey, but they’ll only last until tomorrow. I could only get a few since I ran out of money. Tonight, I’ll go back home to try and gather more funds for her medicines," her father replied.
"Don't worry, I have some money with me. It will at least help with her medicines. I also asked for an advance on my salary from my employers before I came here," she assured him.
"Thank you, honey, but I still need to prepare more for her hospital bills when she's discharged. We've been here for two days, and I'm sure the bill will be high," her father said.
"I’ll find a way, Papa. Don’t worry, we’ll get through this," Valentine replied with a reassuring smile to lift her parents’ spirits.
"The most important thing is that we're all together in this situation," her mother added, a gentle smile on her face.
"Ate Val," Heart called softly, looking happy when she woke up and saw Valentine by her side. The joy on her sister's face was evident. "Ate" is a Tagalog term used in the Philippines that means "older sister." It's a respectful and affectionate way to address an older sister or even a close older female friend or cousin.
"Heart! How are you? How are you feeling? Do you need anything?" Valentine asked in quick succession, holding her sister's hand and trying to hold back her tears.
Even though Heart had only been sick for a few days, she had noticeably lost weight. Valentine couldn’t stop a few tears from falling, feeling deeply sorry for her sister’s condition.
"I'm okay now, Ate Val. I just feel a bit dizzy sometimes and don’t have much of an appetite," Heart replied.
"Don’t worry, Ate is here now. I’m sure you’ll get your appetite back because I’ll eat with you," Valentine replied with a smile, trying to lift her sister’s spirits.
"Yes, Ate, I'm so happy that you're here," Heart replied, as Valentine gently kissed her hand.
A little later, while they were chatting, they all looked toward the door when Dec entered. He was clearly delighted to see Valentine; he hugged her tightly and greeted her warmly.
"Ate, we missed you," Dec said happily, nearly as tall as Valentine now.
"I missed you all even more. So, get well soon, little sis, so we can all go home together," Valentine said to Heart with a smile.
"Yes, Ate, I promise I'll get stronger and recover quickly," Heart answered, smiling back. Heart was only 15 years old, while Dec was 17, and Valentine was 26.
As they were happily talking as a family, Valentine’s father excused himself, intending to try borrowing money from his employer, where he works as a farmer. Dec decided to go home with their father since only two people were allowed to watch over a patient at the hospital. After her father and Dec left, Valentine excused herself for a moment from her mother and Heart to check on their hospital bill.
She was stunned when the staff handed her the current bill, which had already reached twenty-one thousand pesos and was expected to increase as they still didn’t know how long Heart would need to stay in the hospital. While Valentine was still staring at the bill in shock, she remembered she hadn’t yet messaged her coworkers back at the mansion where she worked. Instead of texting, she decided to call Anne directly.
“Val, it’s a good thing you called! We’ve been waiting to hear from you,” Anne said right away when she picked up. “How’s Heart doing? Is she alright?” she added.
“She’s somewhat better now, Anne, thank you. Sorry I only called now,” Valentine replied quietly as she slowly walked back to her sister’s room.
“Why do you sound like that? Is something wrong?” Anne asked, noticing the tired tone in Valentine’s voice, as if she was carrying a heavy burden.
“The bill’s just too big already... I don’t know where we’re going to find the money,” Valentine replied weakly, followed by a deep sigh.
“I understand, Val. You know I’ve been through the same with my mom’s cancer. If I hadn’t started… well, you know, I don’t know how I would have managed with her hospital bills,” Anne said sympathetically. “How much is your bill now?”
“It’s already at twenty-one thousand,” Valentine answered.
“What? Twenty-one thousand? Oh my gosh, how are you going to come up with that?” Anne exclaimed, shocked by the amount of Valentine’s bill.
“I have no idea, Anne. The money I have on me will barely cover Heart’s medication. My father is trying to borrow money too, but I know he won’t be able to come up with that much,” Valentine said, disheartened.
“I have an idea, Val—one that could even earn you more than you need,” Anne replied, causing Valentine to feel a glimmer of hope.
“Really, Anne? Where? How?” Valentine asked eagerly.
“Come with me to my part-time job,” Anne suggested, which left Valentine stunned.
“What? Your part-time job?” Valentine asked, hardly able to believe what she was hearing.
“Yes, that’s the only way I know where you can make that kind of money quickly,” Anne said.
“Anne, you know I can’t do that. That’s just not me,” Valentine replied.
“Val, you don’t have to do it for long. Once you’ve earned enough, you can stop. What’s important is that you solve your problem. We both know you won’t find that kind of money fast any other way,” Anne explained.
“I’ll find another way, Anne. I just can’t bring myself to do what you’re suggesting. I can’t give up my virginity to someone I don’t love, someone I don’t even know,” Valentine said, still hesitant.
“Alright, it’s your decision. I just wanted to give you an option on where to get that kind of money fast,” Anne replied. “But if you change your mind, I’ll be here. Just come back, and I’ll get you ready for the club. Trust me, they’ll be lining up for you with your beauty, especially since you’re... fresh,” she added with a chuckle.
“Anyway, Anne, I’m going back in now. Please tell Marlita and Rose that I called you,” Valentine said, saying goodbye.
“Sure, sure. Take care, and keep us posted,” Anne replied before Valentine ended the call.
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