61 Emma and The Weather
1344 Words
Emma is a quiet three-year-old girl who had frills on her yellow skirt. Her youngest and only aunt, Mary Martin, had always tied her hair in a pig-tail. Emma never complained about how tight her aunt loops the rubber on her head.
Her jolly Aunt Mary has a fiance named Edward, and they met somewhere when Mary was teaching in Kindergarten. And now that fortune had been placed upon the hands of her dashing Uncle Noah, their entire family decided to live in his Stream Ranch for a while. It was a summer vacation that no one would want to forget. Although he had overheard that his grandparents are planning to stay here for the rest of their lives.
Who knows. She didn’t really put much care about their decisions. Maybe one of them would change their minds.
Roaming her gaze, she declared the scenery of the ranch as a new place. She had never been to any land so vast and green. The groove near the small stream made her curious, but she would never tell.
The following day, her Uncle Noah had introduced two children, quite older than hers and her little brother’s age.
Emma is hesitant to play with other children.
She hadn’t been outside of her home that much. Her mother and father are quite busy with work all the time.
Her mother was a beauty, as they describe her. She was well-liked in every group that she will join. Timid, yet outgoing in her advocacy in life.
Their mother comes home late, but she never forgets to kiss her children goodnight when Emma and her little brother are already asleep.
As for their father, he’s a diamond. You need to dig deep, hammer the walls, scrape the cave in order to see him.
In the end, Emma and Evan are always left at home with their grandparents from their mother's side. There were no children their age around the apartments that her parents rented. At school, children were aloof to her. Maybe it was because they see her as someone who is above their status quo. But Emma couldn't understand. It was playschool, and everyone is supposed to play with each other.
How come no one wants to play tea party with her?
And now that they have decided to have a mini-vacation in America, their parents promised they'd spend more time with them. Thus, they have decided that they will now live in the countryside, far away from the city's busy dazzles for half a year.
Emma wondered though how her father would work here. Her mother had explained that their father works with computers. But upon Emma’s observation, this place doesn’t have anything to do with computers.
“I’m Norman. Nice to meet you, sir,” the blond child introduced by the funny grandpa reached his hand.
Emma kept her gaze on the grass beneath her pink boots.
"Darling," Noah kneeled beside her. His large hands reached for hers and had her shake the little boy’s hand.
Emma thought it to be warm. It was the sun’s heat, and she felt a radiating feeling inside her chest.
She followed the way the grass waves with the direction of the wind. It was so calming. She wondered why, but she’ll never question the peace that it brought her.
His Uncle Noah and the funny grandpa called Taylor talked for the longest time.
Evan reached toward Anna. According to her Uncle Noah, Anna’s the same age as her, but she wondered why Anna chose to be with Evan.
When Evan’s tiny hand reached for Anna, the two of them sat on the floor and began looking at the black ants crawling on Anna’s left side.
“Ah! Ants!” she exclaimed, her eyes widening. It was filled with amazement.
Noah reached out for Emma, his warm hands touching her back, “What’s the matter?” he peeked through Emma’s shoulder.
Little Emma looked up and saw her Uncle Noah’s concerned face.
She didn’t know what to say.
All she felt was this sadness creeping up her chest. And she didn’t know why she felt jealous that Anna chose to play with Evan instead of hers.
They shouldn't have told her that Anna was the same age as hers. After all, she was looking forward to playing with someone who is the same age as hers.
“Don’t you want to play, darling?” the line on her Uncle Noah’s brows deepened.
Emma panicked.
She didn't like it when eyes were starting to look at her. She was beginning to feel the tears that welled up in her eyes. Emma fought hard—really hard than a three-year-old girl would.
Her small hands gripped and twisted her yellow-frilled skirt. Her feet turned on the sand. Her blue eyes landed on Norman, the five-year-old child that looked at her as if—
Emma didn't know why she felt that way. Norman had his eyes gazing her as if he, too, was hopeful for a playmate.
How could she had forgotten that there’s another person who is willing to play with her other than Anna, who is already busy holding hands with Evan. Her little brother seems to not care what they were doing, even though he was already getting his shirt dirty from all the mud he had been wiping on the material.
Acting like the big sister that she is, Emma shrugged off the dirt on Evan’s.
The little boy hugged her arm, and Emma smiled.
She slowly stood up, but accidentally entangled her feet.
Good thing Norman was behind her, and he caught her immediately with his short arms.
“Are you okay?” the boy asked.
Emma put a smile on her face as she nodded.
“Go play, children,” it was the funny grandpa, and he was gesturing his hand toward the vast grass field.
“Over there’s fun. But don’t go too far down the stream,” her Uncle Noah fixed his newsboy hat.
Norman watched her, and Emma did the same.
Then, her heart raced in excitement when Norman reached his pale hand to hers. An uneasy look on his face as he said, “let’s go?”
Emma felt the sun’s heat go down on her head as the two of them raced toward the grooves.
She wanted to play with Anna, but when she realized that Norman doesn’t have someone to play with, she decided she would play with him instead.
They became friends, which went on for more days and months—perhaps even years when their right age had come.
Noah couldn’t believe what his parents are saying.
"I thought you'd like to stay here?" he looked at them disbelievingly.
Noah’s mother scrunched her nose, “Your father liked to stay here.”
He shook his head, “I thought you told me that you would like to stay here in America?” his confused look never faltered. He hadn’t expected that after here for almost half a year that his parents and other family members decided they would go back to Italy.
“There’s the weather—” his mother began.
But his father cut her off, “The weather’s the same, Martha. What are you even trying to say?" he grumbled, buff arms crossing his chest. His father's appearance looked like a brute, but at this moment, Noah saw him as a child that's about to tantrum.
“i***t,” his mother spouted, her lips plump. "The weather is nice, and the summer vacation is almost over."
His father looked like he’s about to beg, “Please. I want to stay here.”
"Shall I leave you behind?" Mrs. Martin looked from left to right to make sure that the children playing outside are not close by. She drifted her gaze back to Noah. "I have made up my mind. I would like to go back to Italy and spend the rest of our days there."
“So, this was all a summer vacation?” his father had his jaw hanging, “you mean to say we sold the mansion and our flower shop just so you could have a trial within Noah’s farm?”
Noah’s mother nodded, “Exactly.”
Shrugging his shoulders, Noah hadn’t expected such a direct answer.
Truth be told, the only thing that cost him was the furnishing of their rooms. His parents had made all the arrangements and paid for it, ready for their arrival here in America. But the disbelief crossed Noah's eyes, and they appeared as shadows in his irises.
He looked down, unsure of what to say next.
- Writer
