Manila Minors

It's 5 PM. It's getting dark. Vehicles are moving all over the town. A nine-year-old girl was walking on the roadside. She walked past several houses. She is lost in her thoughts, thinking of something. "I can't wait to see Tristan. The other girls always tease him that he is ugly. He is not! He is nice and cute." The girl blushed while imagining a boy with curly hair and a soft face. "Can't wait for him to taste this strawberry cupcake I made for him. Hehe." The girl is excited. Suddenly someone grabbed and covered her mouth. She giggled and thought that it was Tristan trying to make a prank again. However, It is a huge man in a black t-shirt wearing a black face mask. He dragged her into a white van that was parked nearby. She tried to resist but the man was too strong for the young girl to loosen up on his grip. No one saw and helped her because there were no people around. The man carried her inside the van. Another man inside closed the door. There are a total of four men inside. The white van started and headed northwards away from the place. On the road, the van driver saw a young boy ahead of them running in the opposite direction. The other man on the front seat of the van smirked while looking at the young boy through the van's window. The van passed by the boy. The boy was running towards their house which is two houses away. Upon reaching the front of their house, he quickly opened their gate. The boy went home safe. He entered their house and saw his mother in their living room. "Ma! I was the MVP of our basketball game this afternoon," the boy said to his mother. Her mother is using her laptop for typing documents, his mother is an accountant that is working at home. Her mother glared at him. She is irritated by being disturbed. "Okay. And then what!?" She paused for a few seconds then added, "You are still bad at academics. Your grades in Science, Math, and Literature are average! You are useless. Look at your younger brother. He got the highest score in all of his exams. He has a bright future ahead of him." Her mother said loudly. "Trisha, that's enough!" An older woman shouted at her mother. The kid's grandmother. Trisha held her temper and said, "Just go to your room and study." Trisha calmly said. Tristan stood there then slowly walked away like the scolding was nothing. He entered his room. He closed the door and started shedding tears. He held his tears earlier to look tough. He shook his head and then went to his desk and started reading books. After some time, her grandmother knocked on the door. "Tristan, Your friend is here." Her grandmother said. A cute nine-year-old girl entered his room. "Hello, Tristan. Are you done studying?" the girl said. "Yep. You're right on time." Tristan closed his books and reached for the box of toys under his study desk. "Let's play with my toys!" The girl moved closer to his desk and saw Tristan's drawing of her in one of his notebooks. "Hey, is that me?" The girl asked. Tristan looked at his desk and saw that his notebook was open. He immediately closed it and blushed. "Ahahahaha." He stuttered. "Tristan. Ummmm, I have been meaning to say this to you..." the girl said while blushing. "What is it?" Tristan asked while blushing. "Tristan-" Before the girl can finish what she is saying. A voice is echoing inside Tristan's head. "Tristan, Tristan, Tristan." Tristan can't hear what Anna is saying because of the voice. The voice was from his grandmother who is shaking him while he is sleeping on his desk. "Tristan. Tristan. Wake up, You have fallen asleep on your desk." Her grandmother said. "Huh? Uhh... Where's Anna?" Tristan said with a sleepy voice. "What are you talking about? Anna did not come here today." Her grandmother is confused. "What? But she entered my room?" Tristan thought his grandmother was joking. "You must be dreaming. You like him do you?" His grandma said. She realized that Tristan was dreaming. "Even when you're sleeping, your dream is her. My boy has grown up. Hehehehe." Tristan blushed, "What? No!" "Hmm." Her grandmother smiled at him. "Dinner is ready. Your mom and brother are waiting." Her grandmother left the room. Tristan looked at his drawing of Anna in one of his notebooks. He blushed. He shook his head and then rushed outside his room. The drawing is very realistic and well colored. Tristan is already good at arts at the age of ten. This girl, Anna, drawn in the notebook has a resemblance to the girl that was taken by the men in the white van earlier. 7 Years Later It is 2 AM past midnight. The white walls of Cruz Mansion are still bright because of the light poles surrounding the area. Two middle-aged guards wearing white t-shirts are patrolling the Cruz Mansion's backyard. One guard was looking at his phone when a fast-moving object headed in his direction. He was hit in the head and he fell. He was tranquilized by an electric arrow. The other guard did not notice the other one as he was looking in the opposite direction. Another arrow hit him in his left shoulder and he fell. In the distance, a guy with a black jacket and a robber bonnet mask jumped through the 10 feet stone walls with a grappling hook. He successfully entered the 500-square meter mansion without the CCTV cameras seeing him. It was because the camera was hacked sixteen minutes ago by his lookout, the self-proclaimed hacker wearing a hoodie and is inside a van. The masked guy is running at the speed of a horse. He went past the two knocked-out guards. He pointed the baton he was holding to the doorknob and it instantly opened the backyard door. He had now successfully entered the mansion. One guard is inside, sleeping on a chair with his head covered with a cap. The masked guy quickly made the sleeping guard more unconscious by hitting his head with a baton he was holding. The guard was double knocked out. The masked guy rushed to the stairs of the second floor. There are no guards there. He quietly opened the door of the mansion owner, John Cruz. The door instantly opened because John did not bother locking it. John Cruz, is a guy in his thirties with a skinny body and a pale, rotting appearance that may be caused by smoking or drugs. His eyes are already reddish while staring at his super expensive phone and laying on his king-size bed. John and the masked guy had eye contact. John trembled, panicked, and then reacted by jumping out of his bed and reached for a handgun on the table beside his bed. PS: Follow my artist page to see the digital art depiction of my story characters. The pages contain character appearances, upcoming updates of my series and some sneak peeks. FB page: Phil Cifer Insta: philcifer