Chapter 3 HIS UMBRELLA

“Ouch! My head is aching. Ha! Where am I? Whose house is this? Hello, is there anyone there?” said Naneth.

“It’s good that you woke up. From now on you will be here in our house. You will serve as our assistant. You are the cook, the laundry, and the house cleaner. My son will come from Manila just in time. He will be on vacation here with his mother.” The explanation of a man who spoke to him.

“What? I can’t because Auntie will be angry with me if I don’t let her know. And one more thing, I don’t know you. How did I get here?” Naneth asked, confused.

“As long as you ask a lot of questions, from now on you will serve us. You can’t refuse because I paid a lot for the man who sold you. ”

“What? Who sold me? Huhu!” Naneth was afraid to cry.

“I don’t know him. One of my staff just told me that a man named Deme sold you. So you’re right to dramatize. Start cleaning the room of my child and also the room that will be with my wife.” Order of her future boss.

“Huhu! I feel sorry for you. Take me back to my auntie. Please…” Naneth pleaded.

“Don’t act like that, you’ll cry if you clean, maybe you’ll finish your work sooner.”

Naneth followed the man to beg to be returned to her aunt, her tears still flowing. She knelt in front of the man and touched the sleeve of the pants he was wearing.

“Sir, I feel sorry for you. I don’t want Auntie Lora to worry about me. Huhu! ”

The man pushed Naneth, so that she sank to the floor. Then the man left her. Naneth was deeply hurt. Because her uncle Deme sold her, she wanted to shout, but she couldn’t because a man with a dark conscience might come back to her. Many evil plans enter Naneth’s mind. She wants to go back to her uncle Deme to get revenge, but she doesn’t know-how. It was as if she were confined to a house where she did not know the habits of the people there.

She was accompanied by a male staff of their boss to show him the room where he could sleep.

~~~

“Where is that girl? Why didn’t she come home at eleven o’clock in the evening. Deme still hasn’t come.” Lora said to herself.

Lora’s phone rang. She was nervous, so she looked at who had called. It was Lira, her daughter, who was in Manila.

“Mom, how are you and dad there?”

“We were okay and your dad, too! How are you there? When are you going on vacation here in the province? ”

“I don’t know yet mom, I’ll just tell you when I’m sure I’ll go home. Naneth, how was her graduation?” Lira asked.

“It’s okay that graduation went well. That’s also what I’m worried about because the night she hasn’t come home yet because she sold the boiled chicken egg. It didn’t take long on the road because his merchandise was quickly depleted. Your dad isn’t here yet. I’m worried about Naneth. Maybe she’s fine. ”

“Mom, just calm down. Naneth will also go home. Maybe she will join her former classmates, maybe she is just getting along. Naneth is probably sixteen years old, and she probably has a mind.” Lira replied.

“Because I’m not used to her not letting me know. In the past, when they had a project at school or maybe an outing with classmates, she let me know. I’m just worried because, of course, I’m also responsible for her because I don’t know where her parents are now. That child is unfortunate. She grew up without parents as an aunt’s obligation to take care of and protect her.” Lora explained to Lira.

“Okay mom, I understand you. So don’t worry too much, your body will give that. All right, just tell me about Naneth. Daddy, be careful there.” Goodbye Lira.

“All right, girl, thank you. I’ll let you know when Naneth comes home. Be careful there too. Lira, you are about to graduate next month. Let me find a way for Dad and Naneth to come to your graduation. ”

“Ah! By the way, mom, that’s also my intention, so I called you. I called dad last time. I told him we had a school fee for graduation. He said he would find a way. He texted me earlier he said, just take the money from him so you can send it to me.” Said, Lira.

“Ah! Is that so! Where will your dad get the money when he doesn’t have a job for a week because he was fired by his boss because your dad also reprimanded him, he doesn’t work well, he always gets drunk and comes to work late, he leaves home early? Maybe someone else is busy,” Lora replied.

“Is that so mom, where can he get the money? He told me he will give it to you later. Is he home yet?” Lira asked.

“Not even a child. Your father is always like that almost at midnight that when he comes home, it is not normal for an employee to come home at midnight from work. Ah! All right, Lira, your father is coming right now. According to him, he was drunk and staggered on the road. ”

“All right Ma, just let me know tomorrow Ma. Be careful there,” Lira said goodbye.

~~~

“Lora, get ready for dinner and we’ll eat.” Deme said, drunk.

“The food is ready at the table. Did you see Naneth on the road? Why isn’t she here yet? ”

“Do I know where that child is? You are just as loose as that child. You know I’m looking for a job so that I can feed you and your white niece. He can only add to our budget!” said Deme angrily.

“Why are you angry? I’m just asking! Naneth is also your niece, so don’t say she’s just my niece. You know that her parents have left her, so we just have to take care of her.” Lora’s voice rose.

“Deme, don’t be like that. What if that happened to your daughter Naneth’s situation today? You can handle it. You don’t have a heart. ”

“Shut up, you make my head hotter. This dish, get another dish.” Deme threw the plate at Lora to get her a dish.

“There’s no more dish, there’s only a little left there, it’s just for Naneth,” Lora replied.

“Oh, bastard! Don’t live with your worthless niece anymore. ”

“I don’t want to if you want to buy your dish again.”

Lora left, she went outside with them. Wondering if Naneth is coming soon.

“Where is my niece? I’m nervous. Maybe something bad has happened to her. I will ask our neighbor.” Lora said to herself.

Lora kept asking their neighbor if they had seen Naneth. But no one could tell the exact details of her whereabouts, so she just cried in a chair outside their house.

~~~

Lira was on her way home from school, but it was raining hard and she didn’t have an umbrella.

“It’s so annoying that it’s still raining that I couldn’t bring an umbrella,” Lira whispered to herself.

“Excuse me, Miss, are you going home yet? You can come with me and I have an umbrella.” Said the caring man.

“It’s not okay, I’ll just wait to stop the rain, and then I’ll walk to the bus station,” Lira replied.

“All right, I don’t have any bad intentions. I just want to help you. Because if you wait for the rain to stop, you will spend more time on the road. ”

Lira has no choice but to go with a man she doesn’t know. They are indeed both the same way by bus. There was no other seat in front but the one that was empty in the back.

“By the way miss, I’m Robin Uy nice to meet you. May I know your name?” Introduce the man to her.

“I’m Lira Reyes. Nice to meet you too. Thank you for offering me an umbrella.” Lira said, smiling.

“Ah! That’s okay. Are you also a graduating student? Why can’t I see you at school?” Robin asked.

“Ah! Are you also studying there? Why don’t I notice you? I’m in section 4A. Are you? ”

“Ah, that’s why I’m in section 4B. Why did we just meet when we spent so much time at school just now we met? Haha!” laughed Robin.

“Maybe our course is different, so we don’t see each other.” Lira replied.

“Ah! Maybe it’s a pity we just met. All right, I’ll be ahead of you because our house is closed. Be careful!” Robin smiled goodbye.

Lira felt happy, for the first time seeing a handsome and rich-looking man. She dreamed they would meet again so that they could talk properly.

~~~

While Naneth was washing her boss’s clothes, an elderly woman approached.

“Dear, why are you working here when you are so young?” the old woman asked.

“I don’t know why I came here. While I was selling boiled chicken egg I was about to go home but someone covered my nose and then I fainted and when I woke up I was here in this big house.” Naneth’s sad story.

“Is that so? You are miserable. What is your name? I have been here for a long time since my employer gave birth to a girl. ”

“Ah, is that so! By the way, I am Naneth Reyes, isn’t our male boss kind. Why is he so mean? I begged him to let me come home with us but he did not agree.” Naneth said sadly.

“Sir Gilbert has a habit that we don’t understand sometimes. It’s too secretive as if he’s hiding something but rarely, there’s a chance that he’s okay as long as he doesn’t shoot.” Said, Mary.

“Really? What is your name? ”

“Yes, I forgot, I’m Maria. You can call me sis Maria.” Smiling, she said to Naneth.

“All right, sis Maria. Thank you,”

“Maria, is the food ready?” call their boss.

“All right, Naneth, finish your laundry first. I will just prepare food for our boss.” Mary has left.

~~~

Days passed. Lora was still waiting for Naneth to return. She had already blotter at the police station about Naneth’s disappearance. The police are looking for Naneth, but they still have no news about her.

A car stopped again. The man came down; he looked around as if looking for someone.

“Good evening sir, are you looking for something?” asked the man selling candy and water.

“I’m looking for that girl who sells boiled chicken egg here. I haven’t seen her for a few nights because every time I pass by here I would have bought her boiled chicken egg.” Said Roel.

“Ah! Naneth, we are also surprised because we have not been seeing her for a few nights. That girl is always sitting here and we can talk. That girl is happy,” the man replied.

“Ah! Is that so! What could have happened to her? Let me know when you know where she is now and why she is no longer selling.” Roel replied.

“All right, when I have news. I will ask her aunt, ”

“All right, thank you.”

~~~

“Mom, where is dad?”

“I don’t know Abigail, you can message or call him,” her mother replied.

“Hi Madam Natasha, you have a visitor. She is your friend,” said their assistant.

“Ah! That Aurora, let me in and tell her I’m coming down. Ah! baby, be patient. We’ll just talk when your aunt is downstairs. You just called your dad.” Said, Natasha.

“Okay, fine, that’s how you are! When you have a visitor, you put her visitor first. You don’t have time for me anymore.” Contributing says, Abigail.

Who is Natasha? What was Abigail’s role in Naneth’s life?