Chapter Eight [Lead to build]

Chapter Eight [ Lead to build]

Ericka Mendel surprisingly rose early on that day, and after repairing her parents' farm's entire house, she decided to merely go around the greenfield.

"It's time for a vacation!”

She beams joyfully, raising her two arms high, bending her body upward, sideways, and jumping, when all of a sudden, a clear image of a holiday party flashes through her mind, prompting her to say,

"If you act now and assemble a group of young men and women to perform a solicitation for the party, it helps the community to make the holiday celebration very unforgettable. Come immediately!”

as she considered, her eyes were wide open in excitement.

“Those who made fun of you at the youth dance will realize that you can live happily without them.”

As she waits for the holiday season, she notices some thoughts entering her head.

She is currently in that predicament, remaining in the yard, unsure of how to replace her emptiness with anything fun, beneficial, and beneficial for everyone.

She discovered that after being disappointed because she had falsely believed that she was the most significant young figure in the neighborhood.

There is other young, pretty lass same age with her who is the talk of the town.

She is not intellectual or educated, despite the fact that she was born to illiterate parents, is landless, and has only recently built a little native cottage far from her parents' farm.

Ericka can see where they are if she climbs to the top of the mountain and turns around a little bit closer to the west side. From there, she can view the rice fields that look like a wonderful garden below the mountain, which is thought to be plain.

However, as soon as she fixes her glittering eyes on the hilltop, she can see her distant cousin from childhood, who is well-known for her beauty, sweeping the area during a time when there is no harvest or sowing season but rather a period of rest for all farm employees.

They only made a living as agricultural laborers, occasionally traveling to a far-off town to work as paid housemaids, which allowed Paula to develop a nice, responsible, and dependable personality.

She might choose Cleta, a simple but uneducated young woman, to be one of her members. Cleta frequently visits her when holidays arrive.

As Ericka feels excited while gathering well-known younger people around, she thinks, "She is also very good at singing and she can sing well. She knows Christmas carols." Ericka continues,

"My two brothers who are in the same age group and have a basketball team are also available. He has a member who plays the guitar well, and the other members can sing Christmas carols well.

That would be plenty to assemble a squad in time for the upcoming holiday season.”

In order to combat boredom and idleness while on vacation, Ericka is content with her recollections as she counts the points with her fingers pointing in all directions.

"I have to start now to persuade my two brothers to invite their friends to go with me for Christmas caroling around the area. It will be three weeks until Christmas and two weeks before the Church goers attending the midnight holy Eucharistic liturgy in our community Chapel.”

Ericka is muttering. She is unaware that her parents are watching her and finding it surprising that she doesn't go outside to talk to her classmates at the community center.

"Why is she so quiet all the time and seems to be struggling with something in her head?”

Father begs the mother, who has been angry due to her lack of initiative to assist them with cooking and housework.

“Anyway, we don't have farm work yet. Let her go about and unwind. Christmas is coming. You get the ingredients ready so she can see you working even though there aren't any farm tasks.”

Mom was proposed by the father.

The family unintentionally notices that weekend that the birds and flocks of the fields appear to be in the mood for marriage, and the weather is perfect for a happy day. The howling winds made all the nearby tree branches sway and wave, serving as a seasonal invitation to enjoy life while the going is good.

However, Ericka is already bored with life at her young age, which is no longer a mystery to her parents and other people.

She just started puberty as a teenager and thinks everything is absurd! “Where did she get that notion? “ They reply with a shook.

Every late afternoon, the elderly people met together and spoke while sipping coconut wine made from coconuts her father had cultivated throughout the plantation.

Ericka's older sisters and brothers arrive the week before Christmas to spend the holiday with them at the farm.

Ericka kept to herself as her two brothers gradually began to play guitar with some of his friends.

Hey Randy, let's go tonight as the moon is already shining stronger. Let's go Christmas caroling with Cleta and Paula!”

Faced with her brother's team of five young boys who don't care about her, Ericka beams adorably.

“Paula is not accessible since she receives overnight visits from potential suitors, I see.”

Kuya Randy expressed his disgust.

"Stop worrying, Paula. Cleta is available because her parents are very adaptable and young at heart, so they can comprehend the trends that young people are following nowadays. We can protect Cleta throughout our house-to-house carol-singing tour and raise funds for a Christmas dance party.

As her kuya Randy's buddies awaken, their eyes widen in shock as they exclaim,

“If they are your motivations, why not?” Brother Lino exclaimed, "Let's go tonight. List your songs to sing, and we'll practice them with the guitar," and Ericka found it enjoyable to mingle with her brother's friends ever since.

After a week, Ericka, Cleta, and brother Lino joined the other children in gathering every night to sing Christmas carols. The group persuaded other boys to join them. But on the last week, an unidentified boy seduced Ericka before they stopped singing.

Cleta also refuses to accompany them, citing her painful monthly bloody period as an excuse. However, Ericka has already amassed funds, and some of the senior members no longer care because they still like singing Christmas carols while they are out and about.

However, they were shocked to learn that Ericka was making rice cakes and fruit liquids for the dance party. They agree with her concept, so she brings more drinks and roasted meat to the young people's club. More young women are invited to the dance party that Ericka and Cleta are hosting.

There were times during the dance night when Ericka felt frustrated about having to oversee the preparations alone while the others were already taking part in the festivities.

Her older family members laugh as they see her pout and frequently twist her upper lips while her older sisters support and encourage her to find ways to make the dance party more enjoyable for all those watching and taking part.

Paula joined them as a special visitor, and Cleta joined them together with other adorable young women who can dance effectively with partners.

Ericka is unsure about where to find more food and drinks for the visitor.

One acquaintance who regularly calls her an oddity and weirdo sent more breads and roasted pork, making Ericka happy and causing her to grin at everyone.

Paula, who is the most attractive, frequently receives attention wherever she goes as Ericka’s sisters enjoy watching the dance party stating,

"Hey Ericka, you always organize these hilarious parties that everyone enjoys. ”

Ericka finds reasons to grumble, remarking, "It's truly a great party," while Paula's eyes expand wide open with excitement.

"If everyone worked together, that would always be fantastic and joyful. Why not?” As Ericka keeps the kids at that special dance party entertained, both genders are represented.

Following the initial dance party, the speaker makes an announcement that the games have begun and that everyone is welcome to participate.

When Ericka began to dance with a partner, her sisters laughed and felt amused.

They make reference to it in song lyrics by saying, "What an astounding! The little, troublesome, tiny girl is now becoming a lady."

Ericka was the target of everyone's jokes that evening, so she wore a man's outfit rather than a gorgeous lady attire.

Paula continues to be the most appealing since she and the other woman from the East Side look stunning in their colorful lady’s' dresses. Cleta and the other woman from the East Side are next.

Ericka, however, feel secure in the presence of their beauty because she is certain that she is attractive from several perspectives.

Since they teased her, the activities made Ericka feel repulsed. Her male partner was telling her how to dance elegantly, so she purposefully made her dance movement unattractive to deter any guys who might be tempted by her.

Ericka is unhappy with her viewpoint since Paula and Cleta, who welcomed and valued puberty as a natural part of the female growth process that allowed them to welcome guys into their lives and by any means if they were ready to start family life, have quite different perspectives about it.

They don't hesitate to do it because they are no longer in school, so nothing is wasted, and they are already destined to be married and a mother to their future children. They also don't worry that their parents will forbid them.

In contrast, Ericka had other expectations and used them as a reason to reject potential suitors because her parents had already paid for her education and expected her to succeed in the future.

Everyone is happy with what Ericka and her two brothers with friends did for the community's development and unity at the Christmas dance event that was held the day before Christmas.

Paula and Cleta, along with the other children, stay at Ericka's parents' home until Christmas Day.

Visitors and family are thrilled to see Paula and Cleta there since they love to gaze at their alluring beauty. They remark on Paula's beauty, using phrases like

"Paula is an outstanding child because despite not receiving the right education, she is able to firmly integrate with us.

"Paula is an outstanding child because despite not receiving the right education, she is able to firmly integrate with us.”

As Ericka became increasingly fascinated in Paula and began to follow her around, she came to the realization that while beauty on the exterior can be entrancing when the bearer is happy and pleasant with others, beauty on the inside is not worth it. The most essential source of a beautiful person is their heart, not their education, which is also a source of beauty.

Every holiday celebration, not just Christmas, but also feast days like Halloween, Lent, and so on, made Ericka's mother well known to all residents who visited the house since she prepared a lot of delicacies for all guests who were frequently welcome to eat.

In the daytime, Ericka enjoys helping her mother entertain guests who are hired employees for the farmers, neighborhood families, and people with both young and senior family members.

While Ericka's male and female students were making fun of one another about who was the luckiest and best among them that late morning, a female classmate and friend whispered that Noli should step in.

"Would you please ask Ericka if she would give me a kiss as a Christmas gift?”

Anne soon responded, feeling repulsed.

"How do you feel about her?

Ericka is not your girlfriend. From what I've observed, you all frequently make fun of her. She is never treated as a person but rather as a toy.

Please stop it!”

Despite her anger toward Noli, Ann can nonetheless inform Ericka of what he said as Ericka laughs by saying,

“You may kiss me now if you don't feel ashamed following what they said and did behind my back.”

Ericka tilts her head toward him and closes her eyes as she moves closer to give her face for a kiss. As she is doing it, everyone snorts in disgust at Noli, who is slowly vanishing as Ericka opens her eyes.

"Noli where are you?” Ericka asks her other classmates with a smile.

Anne replied with a smile, "Noli is down stairs with the other male students."

Ericka exclaims in surprise,

"Don't leave now, you my darling male students. I was going to give you snack food for Christmas celebration!”

Although Ericka treated the boys kindly, she is pulling a ruse on them to erase their negative perception of her.