Chapter Three[The early childhood days:The favorites]

 Chapter Three[The early childhood days: The Favorites]

Ericka finds herself in a difficult situation as she recalls a stage of her youth when, on a summer morning spent on a farm, she anxiously searched through her mother's clothing box for what seemed like an emergency while muttering,

"for my double-lined dress, which is the only one I currently own but is now old, worn out, and full of scratches. I have another sort that is brown but has already been used as rags. It has thin, transparent woven fabric linings and is constructed of silky fabric in the color sky blue.”

Little Ericka intently peered down at the family's wooden old box before tilting her weary neck and gazing upward in distaste.

She gradually became weary of gazing at the long mirror that was affixed to their drawers and hurried over to her shrewd cousins.

She is grateful that they got to meet her during her lonely, uninteresting, and pointless childhood.

“The Community Center, which was next to the school's border on the road, was hosting a burial service for the bereaved. At least they were interested enough to invite me. It will be my first time visiting and meeting a lot of folks there.”

While carefully hopping on the three pieces of wooden sticks that block her doorways, Ericka comments as she descends the wooden 10-step staircase.

"I should be careful because I broke my private bits a year ago, which made me horrified in anguish as blood abundantly came out of me. I recall my mother holding the gas lamp and flashlight as I was crying and my father applying red Merthiolate medicine. FilFilthyponders.

She halted as she reached for her old, worn-out rubber slippers, which were too small for her small feet, but she accepted them as long as she could keep her foot clean and stay away from worms and snakes, which at the time she feared.

"Let's go! Come out from under the wooden crates; even though you don't fit me, it wouldn't be uncomfortable for me to be barefoot at that time if you were there.”

She speaks intelligently while heavily perspiring as she kneels beneath the wooden staircase where her small, old slippers have been kept for a very long time.

She moves quickly out of concern that her female relatives may leave her behind. "I should be speedier. Never mind those thorny plants that block my ways. I don't even know how to go there if they left me."

Ericka acknowledged that she is distressed and irritated because spiky weeds are scratching her legs.

 After 30 minutes, she and her group of joyful, clever female relatives were about to cross the river when her just-wed elder brother spotted them.

She ignored him despite her obvious flushing as he attentively examined her outfit,

“Hello, Ericka! At least you now understand how to integrate, but hold on a second. “Ericka blushes as she speaks.

Her Kuya Robin looks at her intently and remarks on her clothing,

"My little, gorgeous, chatty sister, do you think your dress looks nice already? Your mother ought to get you new clothes since the one you now have is worn out! ”

Her brother made fun of her physical appearance while her female cousins in the same age group teased her, “Look at our female cousin, she is pretty with her dress!” He mentions adding,

"You better obtain our mothers' permission beforehand and stay outside first!”

As Ericka became agitated,

“Watch it out, Kuya Robin, I'm going to school soon. What matters is I have opportunities to go with them? Although our mother doesn't have any money yet, she is planning for my schooling to begin in the upcoming school year.”

As everyone laughs because Ericka is no longer ashamed but disgusted, but he questioned if she thought it was the best outfit for the burial.

 Ericka spent a lot of time at the funeral and took advantage of the opportunities to get over her shyness by coming across as knowledgeable, outgoing, and accustomed to coping with her insecurities to get others' attention. However, when those insecurities suddenly surfaced as she eagerly greeted her bright cousins, no one dared to look at her. She finally became bored and repulsed, which caused her to gently glance about and determine how to return to the farmhouse alone.

She encountered red cattle along the way, and she recalled that if she had worn a red dress, the cattle would have pursued her because they believed she was also cattle just like them. Ericka had this in mind, but she never felt threatened because she was wearing a blue dress.

However, suddenly the cattle stopped grabbing grass to eat and quickly turned to her. She was able to quickly run away from the large, crazy cattle that was pursuing her as she made her way home.

Since that time, Ericka has never dared to be left alone, even for the occasional legitimate cause to wander around; instead, she needs to ask her mother first so that she can make something pleasant for her.

She was ignorant of her early childhood at the time.

As soon as she made the decision to stay home and take a nap, she turned on the portable family radio. She suddenly forgot all the terrible blunders she had made during the last funeral grieving and lay flat on the long wooden bench next to the family dining table, concentrating closely on a radio drama.

As soon as they arrived, her two brothers joined her in listening, daydreaming about their preferred action-packed children's radio drama. They all enjoyed debating the beginning and making informed predictions about the finale, based on what they thought it would be.

Because Ericka had to go to school, the drama ended in suspense. Ericka usually gets excited when she imagines the hero riding on a white horse with wings that are flying behind crystal-clear skies.

They were all able to laugh and enjoy their early childhood years in that house because it was made entirely of wood, had a flat, uncemented bottom floor, and a roof made of dry, shaved cogon grass, despite being big and tall enough to fit a large family with 12 growing children.

She recalls that while her younger brother, the brother next to her, displayed a humorous response against the torrential storms that disturbed their peace in the farm life, they made fun of the mothers' fearless but trembling efforts to support the wooden walls from the east side that were violently pushed by stormy wind.

However, the same two brothers were negligent and irresponsible, only knowing how to play and go around the neighborhood for fun, while she was left alone to take care of the household at a young age before starting school.

Ericka was guilty and outraged when their older sister, who prepares their bedding every morning before breakfast, made fun of them for being bedwetters because they played too much. She was therefore continuously aware that she should keep an eye out for bedwetting.

Despite being regularly teased for being little and whiney when harmed, her mother soon reprimanded her older peers as they all turned to flee and left her alone once more. She was tempted to play with all of them until they hit her small body and wounded her until she cried in pain.

She is frequently left alone for rejection and made fun of by her playmates, who are big, strong, and mostly male with her two brothers.

 Their style of existence made their drained parents, especially the father, interrogate her brothers about the whereabouts and circumstances of the working animals that were handed to them to feed and transport to a spot with richer pastures.

As a result, children who engaged in extracurricular activities like playing on the playground, should assisting in the young banana and coconut plantations that were just beginning to grow and produce fruit, or helping with daily chores in the rice field were subjected to disciplinary measures.

Ericka was made to stay at home and take care of the hogs and poultry, wash dirty dishes, and deliver anything when the elders asked for something. She felt agitated since she was the target of punishment all the time. At night, she has plan to stow away,

” I am scared of what my father,” said "There are huge phyton near the bamboo plants, and it is an enchantment that grabbed little, tiny girls and took them to their fantastical country.

They are notorious and can poison children who eat bananas so you all should be careful because I heard them playing nice harp instruments and like a musical band at night, there were star flies all over the place.

They like girls and turn them into wing-tiny fairy-like a butterflies, an elf is located near them, others are black, and some are white. They enthrall young kids who disobey their parents.”

Father concocted a lie so that Ericka would reconsider and go through suffering in order to the enchantment of the kingdom because she is aware of the fact that she is a young, little girl.

 She further recalls when players and participants in the nearby cockfighting area, her mother usually prepares ingredients for native rice cake delights such as banana cream and hard coffee every Sunday.

Ericka is afraid of elves and little fairies who might fascinate her until she completely vanishes and ceases to exist. However, her mother advised,

“So you stay behind to watch over our house, Ericka, my love? When we return after running errands to earn money, we bring leftovers. You can taste our delicacies, so be a good girl!”

Ericka is happy every time they come home because she always has delicious rice cakes and banana cream leftovers for them to enjoy.

Her adorable sisters, who were also growing up and going to school in the town, felt compelled to lend a helping hand and display their lovable traits in order to money and help their developing siblings who were also going to school there.

Boys selling dried fish and sons of farmers were also present, and she saw both of them secretly ogling her beautiful sister. While her mother was busy smacking the rice flours to produce a nice and edible design for the clients, she became interested in spying on whether her sisters would be lured by their seductive eyes and grinned

She finally understands it, saying, "But I am not yet competent in working as my sister does. I am still too young and small. I would rather stay and help them with home needs."

Her mother sobbed bitterly as she learned that her brother was rebelling and getting angry because of hardship and that he had stowed away, as two of her older brothers had already done so as a result of hardship and their father's punishment.

She is already entering adolescence. During the interview, despite even though prepared to interact with others at such a young age since she hadn't yet acquired decent, respectable clothing and shoes to wear, she became agitated because she wanted to seem good in front of other people.

Her parents initially thought it was a small task for her and they thought she was being careless because she spent more time listening to the radio than caring for the livestock, which was one of their additional sources of income. She struggled and suffered during the time she was assigned to it out of fear of being punished.

As they get older, she is constantly afraid of failing the duty she was given at home because she is constantly getting reprimanded and called a burden on the family and deserves an elf.

At her young age, she is terrified and constantly cries, screams, and talks incoherently like a crazy person. Her sister laughed at her because she is foolish.

But kids of the same age also receive punishment. Her parents threatened to cease sending any of them to school if they didn't finish their assigned duties and jobs at home.

Her dread of authority and her fear of growing up as a result of realizing that she would have bigger duties, heavier labor to complete, and more punishment from her parents, brothers, and sisters as she gets older will have a significant negative effect on her personality.

Playing restores her zest to enjoy the paradises the grumpier she becomes.

However, as she went swimming in the river with her male playmates, several of the young boys with same age touched her private parts, and she screamed and became terrified as one of them inquired,

“How are you treating Ericka, Boy? Why does she scream in that way?”

As she continues to bathe in the flowing water, the lad simply grinned before diving beneath and grabbing her once more.

 She made new playmates, both male and female, but she never felt comfortable with them. When she tries to fit in, her fellow male playmates are humiliated, and she becomes clingy and terrified. She chose not to mix with people as she grew up, preferring to spend all of her time alone playing with dolls, kittens, and newly hatched chicks.

Despite seeming thin, pale, and grumpy, Ericka is developing into a more attractive young girl. This is despite even though their playmates frequently harass and abuse her sexually they didn't go overboard, Ericka dislikes her playmates and avoids them. She quakes when boys approach her and have nightmares in which a huge, ominous figure scares the living daylights out of her. Her sister looks at her and inquires,

"Are you okay? Why do you shout? I've never seen a male nearby. Just imagine that no one is there and turn on the radio when you're alone.” So, Ericka always heeds her sisters' advice up until the point when her parents send her to school.