Through the eyes of Ng

Chapter 5

Back to the present…

Precious pov

Mum has been talking about this for quite some time and i have to admit it is intriguing

my question remains.

Why did she have to wait all this time before telling us?

She probably wouldn’t have said anything if my sisters and I weren’t just arguing about the existence of mermaids .

I don’t know what i find the most scarcely credible right now to be honest . I’m hearing a true life story from my mother about my great grandfather

Hit 1:he was not a Christian but my grandfather was a devout Christian, how did that happen?

Hit 2:he meet a living mermaid ! And the thing could talk??

Hit 3: she (my mother) is actually talking about mermaids???

I thought they said something about mermaids being demons and not creatures of God

I also heard (and this one I’m sure of) that although we know that demons exists, we don’t give him the honor of talking about him or his doings. The logic is simple, its like a person who hates you having to live under the same roof as you. He keeps saying spiteful things and throwing petty stunts but you just keep acting like they don’t exist no matter what they do.yh.

Trust me it’s going to hurt the person real bad and I don’t get why, it just does.

The person becomes angry and irritated.

Eventually he might leave you alone, sometimes temporarily or permanently.

If you don’t know how to handle someone who is after your blood in subtle or upfront trials, try ignoring them and acting like nothing they say or do hurts/ affects you in any way and watch how they get desperate to pull you down.

You have to be strong though because this isn’t easy,still it is very much achievable and WAY much safer than getting into a fight.

Nowadays people aren’t strong physically as before.many are born with diseases while others catch them along the way but the point is… you never know what a person is dealing with on the inside.Soo if you pick up a fight with someone who is sick without anyones knowledge and the person dies simply because you punched them too hard well… even if the person had been making your life a living nightmare,no one would care. You killed someone and that is that.You would be seen as a monster.You would be seen as dangerous when all you did was slap someone who deserved it.no one wants to know if the person was already a living corpse roaming around looking for trouble.Hence fighting is not your answer.

Sometimes laugh at them when they confront you even if there is nothing funny.The effect is similar to how it makes us feel when Watching a film and the villain in the movie is laughing hysterically even though he’s lost,it pisses off both we who are watching and the superhero in the movie

If you attend a school where they pretend to be upright but bullying takes place and the teachers turn a blind eye to it, why don’t you go live on social media with a spicy hashtag or caption while one of such dealings happens to be going on so that if they catch you recording there wouldn’t be a way to get rid of the evidence.Trust Gen-z to save or screen record interesting topics. Plus if you get hurt or your phone gets broken there would be someone who can help you out.turns of people have good hearts in this world after all.

Right now I don’t get why mom is talking about this in such detail but my brain is doing a good job filling in the scenario and placing the conversations so well, I’m practically watching a movie in my mind as she speaks.Is mom trying to make us believe that mermaids exists (that’s probably not what she’s trying to do though)she might just want to state facts .

She seems so comfortable talking about it and not the slightest trace of worry on her aging face.

I saw a clip from a submarine on discovery family and it proves that mermaids do exist

But I can’t seem to believe that they can speak

I mean …you need lungs to speak right?And they have gills. (That reminds me , i need to know how speech is possible,how talking works)Oooorrrr perhaps they function like electric eels.

I saw something on Tv,it was vague but i was able to learn that they can breathe on land and in the water(I don’t know how true it is) but it did inspire my drawing of how to better a submarine .

I start making faces at my sisters who didn’t believe that mermaids exist and opposed the notion when Frena and i told them

Frena had once told me that she had seen one with her two n***d eyes (don’t ask me why people use that phrase, they just do)

I don’t know how much i still believed it till i saw that clip on tv to be honest.

It’s still bright outside although it’s evening already but we beg mom to continue the story

One thing is for sure, we all wanted to know as much as we could.

So what happened next…

“They went to Idia” my mom continued

In the past…

Benson Pov

All my life,I have never been this anxious. my palms are sweaty, I can hear my heartbeat, I'm feeling dizzy and it is all too much.

my mom and dad speak our native language all the time, when we are alone at home and especially when they want to tell us stuff but don't want the visitors to hear/understand but still, we are really going back to our hometown? somewhere I've never been.or at least not lived in for too long because i think we have visited when i was younger, how else ddid i see grandma and grand pa .Everywhere will be full of people who speak our language each and every time... wait do they even understand English at all? would I look and sound like a newbie? and I mean in a bad way , oh God no.

This would definitely turn my life ...for the better I hope but right now, welllll…

I am hoping mom can comfort me and I know that is selfish because everyone knows how much mom doesn't want to go back and she is the most stressed but at this moment it's the only place we can go and live freely with a roof over our heads which would be ours and food to eat cultivated by us on a soil that is our own that’s why we all understand and decided to go i guess.

speaking of mom, she has been awfully quiet and not the good kind of quiet.

I can feel her worry rolling off in waves and for the first time in my life I do not like my mom's vibe. I have to do something... I have to lighten the mood somehow. Perhaps ask for a bathroom break or.... say something funny? how about food! yeah that always work.

dad? I called out from the back seat.

yes son?

he replied but his attention is on the road ALWAYS, typical dad he says never to take chances ( the express is a death way)

could we have something to eat?

"oh my baby" mom coos

"I'm so sorry, I've been lost in thoughts I didn't realize you most be hungry"

“it's alright mom” I said smiling at her

at least she's not thinking anymore …that went well.

Dad’s voice called me out of my …calculations

"Should we …stop?"

but he sounds like he's taking to mom so I just wait for her reply, silently praying that she would say yes but also ready to convince her otherwise if she doesn't.

"yes IMO, I need a bathroom break and they have been patient enough don't you think? "& # its 3:50”mom said as she lifts her watch for Dad to see

"oh my goodness is it that late?" dad exclaimed before he turned to the nearest stop and slammed the breaks.

He then turned around and said

"I'm so sorry kids,I didn't realize"

"It's okay Dad,you probably wanted to get us home before dark so bad" was all I could say while chuckling...the look on his face when he saw the time really got to me and the way he exclaimed? Ha! it was priceless.

Blake only made a "hmm" sound to acknowledge everything,I guess he's not psynced either

Dad: okay everyone I know we need a break so ...mmmm let's utilize it.

mom: okay IMO we'll make sure to finish our bucket list in 15mins.

Dad: Ha ha, doesn't that sound nice.

I just watch them and laugh softly...mom and dad are always like this (trying to find humor in every difficult situation,they say that way they win...well their words not mine)

To be honest tho I think they are right.

Blake:you happy?

huh?

Blake does this when he's down (just interrupt my thoughts and gets upset that I didn't hear what he said like it's my fault)

Blake:6months ago... after you turned 12 you said you wish we'd travel

Benson:yeah...?

Blake: now we are

“I'm not sure how I feel Blake... just hoping for the best”

Blake: make sure to expect the worse too

“What is that suppose to mean?”

Blake: they may not like us because if you haven't noticed we have become very different

“we just have to be nice”

Blake: (scoffs)

what?

Blake:you think it's that easy

“Well …for you it should be”

Dad : what's not easy

before I could reply Blake gave me a look!?

So I just said “nothing dad, Mmm what did you get?”

Dad hesitates but let’s it slide.

Dad: snacks and all ...you two didn't go out?

“Is our break over already?”

Dad: (stepping out of the car to talk to mum who is approaching) your son's didn't use the break

Mom: it's bearly been five minutes?

Dad:so?

mom:we should have at least 10

Dad:argh!!!

Blake: I'll be at that stall

he said point to a meat BBQ stand

“mind if I tag along?”

Blake:sure.

Was all he said.

We head out and to be honest Barbecue makes everything better.

I’m surprised he didn’t bring up what he was saying again though

And I really want to talk about it but I don’t want to annoy him.

After the mood got relatively lighter we head back to the car. Dad is already getting impatient from what I observe .

Dad: well you took your time?…

Mom: Really?!

Dad: I’m just saying

However,we just walked in without replying.

The rest if the drive was quiet and at one point i fell asleep…don’t blame me, there’s nothing to keep me busy. The phones are just for calls and text messages and sim cards i heard are expensive. Why would such a small chip be of such high monetary value anyways? Dad got mom one about a few months ago, at least now we are upgraded and don’t have to depend on the landlines. This new invention i must say helps a lot but it’s just for communication. I mean it’s a hand size square thing with a screen and buttons. Anyone who’s not taught would be surprised to hear another person’s voice come out of it ,perhaps even call it witchcraft claiming that the person is trapped inside?. Well I’m grateful for my open mind and the fact that i am not … too ignorant . I try not to praise myself too much so I wouldn’t get stuck up with pride,it’s easier gotten than done away with.

Idia seems like every other normal place on earth. After arriving I don’t know why i was so paranoid to begin with. Everyone steps out out of the vehicle like toys with low battery. I can tell dad’s got the worse of it but he still walks with his chin up and mom maintains her good posture. We all grab something from the back which we can carry and her for the house. Dad’s having difficulty opening the padlock and as much as i want to crash inside,I don’t blame him. The rust on the body of that huge piece of metal must have eaten up the insides too

In order to distract myself I take a good look at the house as much as i can .it seems to be of moderate size but the compound is nothing to brag about.I like houses with ample space outside so maybe I’m just being too sentimental with my judgment. The sun doesn’t seem to want to hang out anymore so it’s a bit difficult to fully grasp details around the house accurately. My eyes wonders around until i spot a tree at a good distance with a creature on it. “Must be a monkey” i thought to myself , so why is it so still and is it staring at us? I begin to find it creepy. As i am about to comment on it, dad succeeds in his quest. That’s a good thing right? If I’m inside, I’m protected by the walls and that thing can’t see or get to me.

Blake seems to notice my distraction because i shake myself out of my thoughts only to realize that he was trying to track down whatever got my attention so much while mom gives me a worried glance. I smile and actively follow dad into the house so as not to keep the awkward atmosphere going. The house is not full of dust and cobwebs as one would imagine. The whole concept is nice because we don’t have much cleaning to do for tonight before we rest but it also bothers me when i wonder why the place is this clean for a house that has practically been abandoned for a while.

Dad?

I called out in a hushed tone because it’s already late

“Yes son?”

Why is the house so clean?

Oh! He exclaims while letting out a light chuckle

I gave a friend of mine permission to utilize it while we were away, seems like he himself hasn’t been here in a while.

dad says as he runs his finger along the surface of the dining table.

“Alright everyone, less talking more working” Mom says as she claps lightly taking full charge

Moms, they know how to run their things… am i right??

Imozac pov

My eyelids are heavy and my muscles ache but the change of the winds and my body’s trained alarm system compels me get up.

It’s difficult being disciplined but no man before has ever admitted to that and I can’t be the first. Sometimes i want to sleep all through the morning with pera in my arms… a man can only dream right? ?or we aren’t allowed to?

As i gather my strength to get off the bed I realize… I don’t have a boss so i can stay home

We are in idia now and i can send the kids tk their grandparents house. Why didn’t i think of this before?

This is perfect!

That is if pera agrees with it

I have been the one stopping myself from having my simple wishes

Tell me something, if i die today whose fault would it be that i didn’t decide to do all a what when there is no one stopping me huh?

That’s it! I am going to do all i want … the ones i can anyways… no more procrastinations. I honestly don’t know why I’m getting this pumped but if this is what my well-being wants me to do so bad then i will do it.

The wind picks up outside and it makes whistling sounds. Pera loves this kind of weather. I smile at the thought. I’m about to get out of bed when her arms wrap around me.

“Stay a bit longer”

She says with that calm morning voice of hers

My checks starts to hurt and i shake my head when I realize how i still feel like a teenager with the woman of my dreams even in my 40’s!

Pera wasn’t always my dream woman

I can remember the first time i meet her

“She is a nice girl” is all I thought

Later on I said “she’s a good friend”

Then it turned to “do i like her that much???”

The thought made me chuckle lightly.

Pera is of a good height and i inly saw her as pretty when i first meet her. But then our conversation were effort less and beautiful.i enjoyed her company and looked forward to seeing her.

she was reasonable,understanding,clever, with a good sense of humor although she has no friends and that part worried me but each time in would ask… her mood would go sour so I decided not to push it.

One day while we were talk on our way to the steam two girls passed by us and I thought they behaved awkward until i saw how uncomfortable pera got. I knew something was up and perhaps she did have friends once upon a time.scratch that ,the WERE her friends.The reaction of both party tells me that these gurls have history.

Later on she told me everything and although she had some fault in it i felt bad for her .

That incident affected her more than it should and after the death of her parents Idia didn’t feel like home to her anymore

I was the only light in her world

She had always wanted to leave since there was no reason for her to stay but the fear of the unknown was greater than her desire to get out of a place she feels like she doesn’t belong in

I can feel that her hold on me is tighter than all the other times this has happened,i decide to tease her just for the fun of it and see how much she would insist.

“Pera you know i have to check out the sea and see how…”

Shhhhh she says, cutting me off mid way

“Not today, if not for me then rest for yourself “

I just smile,she’s thinking of me even at this point

This mild weather continues up until 8 and the kids woke up about an hour ago

I wonder why they didn’t come to wake us up?

I can tell that pera is fully awake but she still lays down with her head on my chest while i stroke her hair

Pera POV

IMO decided to stay with me today

I can’t remember the last time this happened, perhaps on our wedding night?

Ok I’m exaggerating

I’m sure it has happened on different occasions but not as frequently as I would like it to

Usually benson would be at the door knocking like a girl and squealing “good morning” but he isn’t and i wonder why

I know I’m probably being lazy right now but this feels nice and for the first time since we arrived here I’m not bothered about anything.

“Imo?” I said to which i got a reply by the vibration on his chest

Do we really have to stay here?

“Oh pera, you’re still not over this? While others say home sweet home with arms open wide, you are running away from it”

I say nothing

“Why is that” he asks

It’s just how it is I guess

We spend most of the morning in comfortable silence

The day is now alive and bustling so as much as we want to, we can’t ignore it anymore

We head out to the kitchen and find the boys cooking up a storm

Imo : what is going on here

Benson: well it wouldn’t be fair for mom to cook and we can’t trust you with it either so as the most energetic ones at home we accepted the challenge

I couldn’t help but burst out laughing. The way he spoke to his father might be offensive to others but we know the kid and he has never meant to be disrespectful.

Imo let’s out a few heart felt chuckles

“You think you can cook better that me?” He asks

Oh no I don’t want them taking challenges in my kitchen

“Perhaps “benson replies swiftly

“Alright enough” I interrupt them

“Thank you so much sweetheart, it was thoughtful of you . I can’t believe you managed all on your own”

At this point blake coughs “Ehem ehem” and benson goes “blake helped too but i can do it on my own although it would take me a bit more time”

Blake eyes widens, i bet he’s pissed by benson’s choice of words so this is my queue to diffuse the situation before it becomes a forest fire

Okay!

Leaning down i place a kiss on blake’s temple and whisper “I’m sure you were the better chef” and he blushes pretty hard

Argh my boys act like girls sometimes,i smile and shake my head at the thought

Alright every body seems like we are going to have a calm weather for the rest of the day so we will live for the farm as soon as we are done.after eating the boys practically run to grab my plate but blake beats benson to it so he moves my chair back as i stand sticking his tongue out at blake as a come back .i burst out laughing and look at them not quite able to place my fingers on how they grew up overnight or if this is just a one day thing.

The family goes to the farm later that afternoon which is not usually the custom.Families(especially large ones) arrive at their farm pretty early to take care of things,dividing portions of land to each member for clearing which makes the work faster as everyone wants to finish up with theirs so they can leave before the sun get harsh.Each person is asked to stretch out his arms in a broad hug and then the width of land underneath this out stretched arm is marked, the line drags all the way down to the end of the field .This is not fair on younger ones with long arms ?but hey that’s just the way it is.

I have to say, everything is not as bad as I thought it would. A few hard work here and there and it’s looking sharp

I quickly draft a reasonable plan in my head for us to be able to take care of the arrangements in a week depending on weather conditions and how much we push ourselves

The boys have been working hard all day and now it’s late in the evening

Alright kids,that’s enough for today you can head home now

They quickly rush towards me…benson taking my hoe and blake handing me some water

At this point I’m confused…am I pregnant or something? I ask myself looking down but nope my belly is flat! So why are they treating me like a queen!? Don’t get me wrong they always treat me right but this feels like special treatment that comes when they need something but instead of asking them to tell me that what they are up to I decided to keep quiet and see what’s up when they are ready to speak up.

I drink the water and hand him the bottle whispering a thank you to them both with a broad smile on my face which seems to make their faces glow and their eyes twinkle and that is how i figure out that they are doing it from the bottom of their heart!♥️

I wonder around for a while and then head home.

Over the past week we work on the farm ,on some days we rotate and it’s down to the river.After the mystery that happened in calader I’ve decided never to let Imo go fishing alone.he has to go it one or both kids and if i have nothing else to do,i join them.

I think it’s better this way so the boys learn the skill well and bond with their father.

Did i forget to mention that they all still treat me like a queen?yh they do and as much as i love it,I don’t want to get used to it so when it stops or lessens I wouldn’t feel too disappointed

We’ve meet a lot of people and so many things has changed. Home is not what it used to be before i left.i truly was just being paranoid but I can’t help this dark feeling somewhere inside of me,it makes me worry.I try to push it away and most times I succeed but sometimes it triumphs over me. Of course I try my best not to let my family notice but unfortunately they catch me absent minded sometimes and at other times frozen and staring into the distance.

I usually just smile and say it’s nothing to the boys but I can’t easily dismiss things with Imo, he knows me better than i know myself.

Eventually i open up to him and he understands so anytime I’m lost in thoughts and worry … just staring at God knows what while the image whatever I’m staring at is not even in my brain, he gives my hand a light squeeze to call me back to reality which i am always grateful for.

Things are normal in a way.Eventually i made it a habit going to comfort zones to destress. It makes no sense to use that word in a way because people can easily judge saying “what are you stressing about?”

So the answer to that would be…mental stress

I’m stressing mentally and that might just be the most dangerous one because my whole well-being is my mental health now isn’t it?

There are some people I haven’t seen though and boy am i glad but still worried. I can’t bring myself to and anyone because I don’t want to dig up old wounds but at this point I’m just curious and worried. I don’t have any bad thoughts or ill feelings what so ever

Tomorrow is Saturday, the weekends are when people stay at home and do a lot of cleaning but since we are home when ever we like because we don’t work under anyone, we can clean the house whenever and that weekend cleaning thing is not really a staple in our home as it is for others so instead we would be spending early hours in the field and burning some bushes at noon then we would rotate (let that land be ) and move to another field

When we were done with everything it was already mid afternoon but the sun wasn’t unbearable thankfully

Imo:should we head to the field close to the steam or do we leave it till tomorrow

“We should go there” i said

“The earlier we make an official sweep, the better “

Imo gives me a look

“What?” I ask

Imo:official sweep?…pera have you been going there alone?

“Oops” was all I could say

He instantly attacked me “And you make sure I don’t go alone to set hooks” he replied crossing his hand on his chest while lifting an eyebrow

The whole thing made me shrink because right now i feel like a kid caught in a lie during an Interrogation

Don’t fuss about it imo it’s our land. The matter about the sea is different and you know it

I walk past him after the kids as i say this hoping that he would drop the matter which he does but he might bring it up in the future and i am sure of that.

“Wow , half of the land has been cleared and ridged”benson said with wide eyes

I just chuckle but Imo shifts awkwardly

I bet he doesn’t like that his wife did all that work by herself but hey sometimes I’m in the mood for work so I’m grateful i have a place to pour out that energy.

When we finished up the sun had already done to hide but it wasn’t too dark because he wasn’t doing a good job yet and we could spot him on the horizon

“You coming?” Blake said as he lifts the basket full of simple tools

It was then that i realized i had zoned out again only this time it was for a good reason, i was admiring nature.

We hadn’t broke thorough with the clearing of the land but at least we stand less chances of breeding snakes now and i am so much more comfortable when the risk factors are low.

“You all go on” i say more to Imo than the boys ,I’ll catch up.He nods and soon they are all out of sight.

i wonder around the meadow close to the stream and home doesn’t feel all too bad anymore until!…

Pera!

I hear a voice that calls my name in a way laced with malice .i know all too well who is behind me and i dread it so much .

Jann