The one who stay strong

Chapter 2: The First Weight of Responsibility

After that painful morning, the house no longer felt like a home—it felt like a responsibility Lira never asked for but suddenly had to carry. Days passed, but nothing returned to normal. Instead, everything became harder.

Lira woke up earlier than before. Before going to school, she prepared food for her siblings using whatever little ingredients they had left. Sometimes it was just rice with salt or leftover dried fish. Still, she made sure they ate first before her.

At school, she tried to act normal. She sat in class, listened to lessons, and copied notes, but her mind was often elsewhere. She kept thinking about her siblings—if they had eaten, if they were okay, if they were crying at home alone. It made it hard for her to focus, but she couldn’t afford to fail.

After classes, instead of going straight home to rest like other students, Lira started looking for small jobs. She helped in nearby eateries washing dishes, carried small packages for neighbors, and sometimes sold snacks in the street. Every peso she earned mattered. Every coin meant food for her siblings.

Her body grew tired, but she never complained. She simply learned to hide her exhaustion behind a calm face. Inside, however, she felt the pressure growing heavier each day.

One afternoon, Mika noticed her sister coming home late and looking exhausted. “Ate, you look tired,” she said softly.

Lira forced a smile. “I’m okay. Don’t worry about me. Just study hard, okay?”

But deep inside, she knew she was carrying more than she could easily handle. She was no longer just a student—she had become the only support her siblings had.

That night, as she counted the small money she earned, Lira stared at the ceiling again. The silence of the house reminded her of everything that was missing.

And yet, even in exhaustion, she made a silent promise to herself:

No matter how hard it gets, I won’t give up on them.