C1 - Guardian

"Big sister, you are so beautiful!!! You look like a princess!" Seven-year-old Lara exclaimed with twinkling eyes full of admiration. Her older sister Lena was currently fitting her gown for her upcoming wedding.

"Really, Lara?" Lena bent down and squeezed both of her cheeks. "You really are my number one fan!"

She gave her sister her big smile, showing off her missing front tooth. Lena had just turned eighteen but she was already set to marry her childhood sweetheart, Migo, in a month’s time. It was still too early, but she could see that Lena was happy with her decision.

"Do you want to fit your gown, too?" Lena asked.

Lara nodded excitedly.  She was going to be her sister's flower girl. Of course, she must also have a gown fitting! She will also wear white, like a little bride.

Lena helped her put on her gown. Then, they both looked in the mirror.

"Wow! I also look like a princess! Look at me, big sister!"

"Yes, you are! Wait, let's take a picture together." Lena took her phone and took a mirror shot.

"Let me take it." Both girls turned around to look at the same time. Behind them stood her sister's handsome future groom. Migo was wearing a white tux and looking like a real-life prince. He approached them and kissed his sister's cheek while she got a pat on her head.

Lara watched the two admiringly. As a child, she had always considered her sister, Lena, as her idol in everything, including her choice of a man to marry. Even though she still can not understand romantic love yet, the sparkle that she saw in her sister's eyes was something she wanted to experience when she grew up.

"Alright, one, two, three, say cheese!"

After the gown and tux fitting of the soon-to-be married couple, Migo took them home. 

He briefly talked with their parents before saying goodbye. Lara and her sister share the same room. So when they arrived, they both went upstairs. Lena went straight to her study table while she went to play with her dolls that were almost the same size as her.

They had not been home long enough when some people came. Her sister peeked out of the window, which she always does whenever the men in black vehicles arrive. She could see fear in her sister’s beautiful face. Though Lara continued playing, in her young mind, she was trying to find an answer to her sister's unusual reaction.

After some time, they heard loud banging and yelling downstairs. Lena hurriedly went out of the room, but she also quickly returned. She was shaking as she locked the door and approached her in tears.

"Lara," Lena tried to smile despite her tears. "Let's play hide and seek. Hide under the bed and no matter what happens, do not come out, okay?" She nodded even though she was confused. She hugged one of her dolls tightly as she squeezed herself under the bed, which was only enough for her to fit.

"Don't make any noise, okay?" Lena told her, slightly startled when someone seemed to be opening their door. "Promise me that you will keep quiet."

"I promise," she promised in a weak, confused voice. "Are you going to find me?"

"I will. Hide well, Lara. I love you..." Lena pushed her further until her entire small body was hidden under the bed.

"I love you too, sister..." Tears came out of her eyes. She couldn’t understand why, but she was afraid.

"Shhhhhh…" No sooner than Lena was done fixing the bed sheet to hide her better, the door was forcibly opened.

"Ah, so it's where you're hiding, huh?!" A man's voice said.

"What do you need from me?" Her sister's voice was just trying to be strong.

"Your parents can't pay us, so you will be the payment." The other person laughed devilishly.

"You have already killed my parents. Isn't that enough?!" Lena lost it. She cried and shouted.

Lara couldn't believe what she had just heard. Are their parents dead? She wanted to go out, but she promised that she would not come out until her sister looked for her. Then it dawned on her, why would she look for her if she already knew where she was hiding?

They weren't playing hide and seek, Lena only wanted her to hide.

The events that followed were witnessed by Lara in the small opening between the bed and the floor. Her sister was raped and murdered before her very eyes. Lena was lying on the cold floor, looking lifelessly in her direction before she breathed her last...

Her sister's dead face and the face of her murderer would be forever engraved in her young mind.

_____

The police found the dazed Lara under the bed. Her dull eyes alarmed the authorities.

A whole day had passed before the authorities discovered her family’s tragic fate. Lara was rushed to the hospital and ensured her safety as the only survivor and eye witness in the case. But she wasn't responding to anyone who tried to talk to her.

Days passed and it was already her family's funeral. Lara remained dazed. She always hugged her doll and refused to talk, except when Miguel Villareal knelt in front of her. His hands rested on both of her shoulders while looking straight at her, with his eyes full of sadness and thirsty for justice.

"I will be your guardian from now on, Lara… I will keep you safe and no one will ever have the chance to lay a finger on you… That's a promise."

Lara blinked, her lifeless eyes lit up to life for the first time as tears started pouring like waterfalls on her cheeks.

He might mean it or not, but his words were inculcated in her young mind like a promise written on a rock.

Migo then held one of her hands and the two of them watched as her family was finally laid to rest...