Contrary

Lil's Point of View The sun is going down on the horizon. I can hear my own footsteps while walking down the street. I just came from our school. The very old and wrinkled structures are aligned on both sides of the streets. Some people are just sitting calmly on the chairs outside their huge houses. After a few minutes of walking, I arrived at the front of our house. Our house is just simple, and we are just as simple too. My mother is just a vendor in the market and my father is a peasant. They have both not completed their schooling. My mother had only finished her elementary days, while my father was in high school. Because their families are very poor, they were forced to stop schooling. But though we are poor, my parents are rich in love. They always provide my necessities, such as shelter, food, clothing, learning, and love. Sometimes I dream of becoming rich. I am envious of my classmates whose parents are giving them everything they want. I am envious of the other people who are living in these huge houses and doing nothing but sitting on their chairs and playing Mahjong with the other wealthy people. The door thuds, and I notice my mother wearing a plain, green T-shirt with a stain in the center; when I was younger, I mistook the stain on her T-shirt for an eye, and I was afraid to look at it.My mother is wearing old leggings and sneakers too. I know she's hard to buy her own things, she's just always wearing her old clothes. My mother and father work every day, though sometimes they can't eat their meals just to get to work early. My father is a farmer who owns a small piece of land for cultivation, and my mother is the one who's selling the harvests from our farm. For me, my mother is the most beautiful woman in the world. Her brown eyes seem to tell me how much she cares; her pointed nose, brown skin, and pink lips that never become dry. Though she's always working, she still has time for herself, for me, and for my father. For me, she is the perfect mother. My mother looked at my forehead and curiously asked, "Lil, what happened to your forehead?" I touched my forehead and felt a bit of pain. The thing seemed wet. As I looked at my finger, I saw a dark, red liquid with an inexplicable smell. I know that it was made by the boys who can do nothing in their lives but watch for their victims in the streets. But even though there are many bullies that are watching me in the streets, I never tell my mother and especially my father, because he will surely find a way to punish them. "Nothing, I just bumped myself on the pole," I lied. "Come in and we will heal that," she replied. Though I made too many mistakes, my mother never became angry. She's always telling me that we can't go back in the past and change what we have done wrong. Let's just live in the present time and get our lessons from the past so that we can't do it again. "Aw!" I exclaimed. "Mother, please make it easy. It hurts." "Sorry, but it's just a small wound, so stop emoting," she replied. "Hey, what happened to that child?" My father asked while going inside the house. He hung his pointed hat on the peg and sat down on the wooden chair beside us. I know that he came from the farm, because he looked exhausted and the moisture in his face and arms had diffused. For me, my father was the most handsome man in the world, though sometimes he was unkind. He has a high nose, brown eyes, clean face, and brown skin. He is also tall, but I know that I can become taller than him. My mother replied, "He said that he bumped himself into the pole." "Birdbrained, and you also believe in your child? He maybe fights with the other children out there, because a mark that came from the pole is not the same with that wound that maybe came from a sharp object?" he asked dubiously. My father is a very strict man. He doesn't want me to fool around. I know that even though he's so hard, he still cares about me and my mother. I just can't be free from his cage, because he's so inquisitive. He was so brave that he's fighting for our rights, and he's also defending those people whom he believes right. My mother said, "You're not an investigator, Jay. I know that our child won't fool around; he is already big enough to know what is right and wrong." "Am I right, Lil?" "Yeah, I'm not doing anything wrong, I just came from school," I replied. "Good, but if we know that you are doing something wrong, we will not show you any sympathy, instead we will add your wounds," my father remarked. "Jay, can you stop threatening your child? My mother said. "He is already big, and soon he will have a girlfriend and start his own family," she said. You will never do that thing as long as we don't give you permission. You need to finish your schooling first before you can have a girlfriend. You are just sixteen, and the responsibility of being a father is not as easy as you think, "my father said." "Don't worry, I will help my parents first, before making my own family," I replied. "You don't need to do that, Lil, just do the things that you want. As long as you are not hurting others, don't feel sorry for them," my mother said. "Leona, maybe that is the reason why your child is getting stubborn: you are just letting him do anything that he wants to," my father replied. "Jay? Why are you always angry even though there's no reason? " She asked. My father replied, "I'm just telling the truth. I am hoping that you will realize it." "Telling the truth?" "I am hoping that you can realize that whatever you say to Lil, he's still our one and only son," she said. "Please stop this. If you will just fight because of me, maybe it is better if I leave this house, so that you won't fight anymore," I said seriously.