Saturday.456Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQjfrv9ZOAR
The clothes that I was about to wash were mountainous. Mama told me to finish it in four hours. She couldn't help me that day because they have a praise and worship practice in the church. So yeah, the so-called future mistress of the household would be in action, live from the comfort of our own home.456Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnx8oDwR6xp
I carried the basket of clothes to the back of our house, prepared the big basin, and filled it with water from the old pump. Mindlessly, I submerged all the clothes in water, took a cleaning bar, and started scrubbing.456Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCWviGyuwmt
I had already piled half of the laundry in a bucket when the frustrated voice of Joe boomed from behind me.456Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6JeCFBpOdJ
"Goodness, what have you done?" He whined and checked the squeezed clothes in the pail. "God..."456Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOAmqkrnIyR
He quickly took another pail and separated all the white clothes from the colored ones. When he was done, he took all the white clothes from the basin I was working on and placed them in another container.456Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDEq3fUAAnc
"My uniform," he said, his hard face flushed in an attempt to control his frustration.456Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡam4FpBlTXa
He scrubbed the white shirt as quickly and as hard as he could.456Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqkWmQd6chz
"Kuya..." I struggled, my chest pounding at the thought of whatever he might do next. "Kuya, I'm sorry."456Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZi99792sqM
But he only released a deep breath and pointed a finger at our house.456Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbLocYRdXjg
"Go get the powder," he ordered, then went back to scrubbing.456Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp4OALFM89M
I dashed back to the kitchen to get a sachet of powdered detergent, fearing that Joe might raise his voice at me. When I got back, he was already working on the rest of the colored clothes, while his uniform was soaked in a pail of clean water.456Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9MSMESk9lc
I handed him the sachet of the detergent and he poured half of its contents on his soaked uniform. The rest, he poured on the laundry he was doing.456Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhHCcnKT7Uu
"I'm really sorry, kuya," I managed to say.456Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnv6WXyxWlC
Without looking at me, he spoke in his normal voice. "See? This is what happens when you don't like what you do."456Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6kYVzkh6B2
He pointed to the mess that I made to our laundry.456Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ144g84KoIK
I stooped in shame and said no more. He paused from scrubbing and eyed me with an arched brow.456Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPBv7bePpqH
"Why are you still standing there, driftwood? Do the white ones, quick."456Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsnclWJ14bm
I immediately attended to the white clothes in the other container, pouring a half-sachet of detergent powder and imitating what he was doing.456Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDbWwcQpLBJ
The sun was already scorching when we managed to hang all the clothes. I wasted no time and put away the pails and the basins that we used, while Joe walked back to the house to do his business.456Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxM6tMAR0BO
I released a breath of relief and wiped my hands dry, wondering how my brother could cause someone to feel guilty without raising a voice. When I was about to attend to the stings and scratches from scrubbing, a loud thud caught my attention.
I turned my head and noticed a movement behind the mango tree. Curious, I tiptoed toward it and saw Ben, one of my older brothers, curling like a fetus against the tree's trunk. He buried his face in the palms of his hands and his shoulders shook in an uncontrolled surge of emotions. He tried not to make another sound but I could tell he was in agony.456Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgrI8WyZPuR
Ben was the ball of sunshine in our family. His antics would make all of us roll on the floor, laughing. Even Joe, who was usually selective in his words and emotions, could not steel himself when Ben would crack a joke. So it's a new thing seeing our brother in that state.456Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbcjo549T9S
I took my place beside him.456Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd30xHBoqFL
"Hey," I called. "You okay?"456Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEPVQkPaI8O
He only shook his head and continued to sob quietly. I let my hand run through his back, hoping it would ease whatever pain he was feeling.456Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFIOK2MMesv
"You don't need to hide when you're with me, you know?" I assured. "I won't judge."456Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBVaDwDKihH
He answered, finally. "Right, but what about mama? For the first time, I don't know where to find the guts to face her."456Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzpxfnsXK7w
I kept a poker face, even though he wouldn't really see it.456Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRg5I0FDaY9
"What happened?" I probed.456Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrNOsj4S538
"I don't know. I don't know what happened..." He shook his head. "One time, I went to my girlfriend's birthday party, got drunk. Then a month after, she told me she's..."456Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc0gnISNnVS
He caught his teary face in his palms.456Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqeexppA212
I see. That could be the reason mama called in the entire barrio to look for him last month.456Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGlMnJDgiOW
"She means the world to me, man, but I'm not ready. I haven't even got a proper job." He choked. "God, I don't know how to tell mama without her dying of shame.”456Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiw2IHN6U1H
For sure.456Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt4P8WBGIxk
Mama had prided herself on being an award-winning academic head and a church leader who had raised her children well. To learn that one of her boys had knocked up a girl out of wedlock would kill her, as it would create an ugly dent on her rather flawless moral record, especially when our home stood within the compound where gossipers lurking around was a norm.456Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPghZHg3P0d
I looped an arm around Ben's shoulder. But when I saw mama coming, I pulled him in a sisterly embrace.456Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2VS8Y6e60e
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