My sister? I was abandoned and orphaned… I have a sister? With a puzzling curiosity and furrowed confusion, Cer looks back at Miyas’ aura to scan and try to detect any semblance of deception or lie.
“QUINN! Your sister Quinn!” exclaims Miyas, receptive to the confused look on Cer’s face.
Hearing that familiar name, Cer draws inward and drowns in the recollection of their childhood as Miyas’ voice fades away and Cer senses fill with familiar but distant memory.
Looking around cautiously, a young 10 year old Cer peers above the tall brush of the woods to scan for danger. The smells of wet moss and rock fills Cer’s nose as he traverses an unseen path, careful not to disturb the dew drops on the tall dry grass patches appearing on the floor of the woods. The air is filled with chirping birds, restlessly chirping as they look for food. Ahh yes. Listen for the birds. If they go silent or flap away, we are in real trouble. I remember- always listen to the birds.
“Kuya! (means elder brother) Kuya! Wait for me!!” shouts a small heaving voice from a six year old child dressed in dirty quilt-patched up shorts under a dress tunic, long socks under muddied rain boots, and a light workshop apron.
“I’m not going anywhere. I’m right here. Try to keep up, em, (means younger sibling) Quinn!” responds the young Cer.
“Why do we have to move again?!” heaves Quinn as she catches up to the young, energetic, and determined Cer.
“Those men are gonna catch us and sell us. They will just hurt us. Nobody really wants us around!. C’mon, we need to find the others and we need to all get out of here. These people are like the people in the last town we were in...” responds Cer, waiting for Quinn to catch up between the brush. “Keep your head down and low, so nobody sees us. And keep your eyes hidden. Your purple eyes scare people. ”
“Kuya, you move too fast! This is heavy! I can’t do it!” whines Quinn as she attempts to catch up to Cer, clenching onto a large knapsack over her shoulder with both hands. “Is it my fault they are after us? What if I keep my eyes closed and they never see my eyes?”
We have to find another way to get food. I can’t keep stealing food or somebody is gonna get us one of these days. Grabbing the large knapsack from Quinn as she finally catches up to Cer, Cer pats Quinn on the head. “Em, it is not your fault. Miserable people that don’t like people that look different from them. Your eyes just showed their true selves. Think of it this way, you protected the others. If those people are afraid of your purple eyes, imagine them seeing the others. You helped me protect them by showing their true selves. That is your power.. We have to protect the others.” Looking back and peering over some brush to look for danger or anyone following them,Cer places a hand on Quinn’s back and gently nudges her onward. “C’mon, we aren’t too far. I’ll carry the food the rest of the way.”
Smiling at the thought of taking care of her siblings, Quinn marches forward. “Kuya… we can protect the others. My eyes will always show people’s true selves. I find the liars and you beat them up. We are special aren’t we?”
With a look of sorrow drawing on Cer’s face, Cer looks ahead at Quinn who is walking on, while keeping aware in case Quinn looks back at him, ready to change his expression should she accidentally see his sorrow. I’ve been looking for a long time, Quinn, Nobody has wanted me yet. So we aren’t that special. Nobody will want us. I’m glad we found each other and the others. I won’t leave you and the others like how all our parents left us. “We sure are, em. Everyone is special to someone. We just haven’t found anyone that we are special to. But they are out there. There aren’t many kids left in the world. So somebody who wants kids will want us. We’ll find that home! I know it. Then we’ll be safe.”
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“Kuya, you are someone right?” asks Quinn, as she turns back to look at Cer, almost catching a glimpse of Cer’s sorrow as he forces a smile.
“Yes I am, em. I am someone, not special, but everyone is someone.” responds Cer, emphasizing his smile to hide his doubt even more.
“Well you are special to me, and I know I’m special to you. So I’m happy. I don’t need anyone else. I have you and you have me and we have our brothers and sisters. We can build a house of our own and then nobody can find us and hurt us.” Grins Quinn with an ear to ear smile.
Smiling from the comfort of feeling wanted and belonging without feeling judged, Cer props up with a bit of joy and pride as he continues to nudge Quinn onward. “Yes, you are right, Quinn! You are smarter than you look, little smart twerp! We are special to each other. C’mon, now let’s hurry back. The others must be hungry…”You are gonna grow up to be smarter and stronger than anyone I ever met. Maybe you can change the world for the rest of us, Quinn. I will be here to always protect you…
Shaking off the recollection, Cer looks at Miyas with curiosity and a bit of accusation. “Wait… Quinn is alive? How do you know it’s Quinn? How long have you known she’s been alive?”
Sensing Cer’s growing anger from the look on Cer’s face, Miyas placates Cer with admission. “Whoaah!!! Calm down, dog. I just found out from Eve. I was just as surprised as you are now. You aren’t the only one that cared for your sister when she was with us.”
“WHAT!!! DADDY HAS A SISTER?!?!” squeals Punkin!
“SHHH!!! Not so loud!” responds Cer and Miyas in synchronicity while shushing Punkin.
Furrowing her eyebrows, Punkin growls back with a slow agitated chest pur “DON’T SHUSH ME!”
Giggling in amusement, Miyas picks up Punkin and places her in Miyas’ lap, “Shh. She is looking for us. We are hiding, she is seeking, and she is not gonna be too happy when she finds us. So we can’t get excited or yell.”
Crossing her arms, Punking harumphs and whispers back. “Fine! Why is aunty mad?”
Raising her eyebrows, Miyas nods her head towards Cer and responds. “Because your dad left us behind, and we thought she died, so we didn’t look for her.”
Whispering with an exasperated sense of surpise, Punkin’s jaw drops “Dad left her?”
Looking off into the distance, Cer’s response trails off into mumbles as Cer’s gaze draws inwards again and fades into another eternal moment of nostalgic recollection. “I didn’t leave…. I never left…. I was sent away and was lost… I was always trying to find my way back home…”
“Hey Quinn, did you pass out the bread and jerky?” asks a ten year old Cer as he stands sentinel, taking guard and watching for any danger as other children eat.
“Yes Kuya. Can I have more bread if everyone already ate?” ask Quinn, running up to hand Cer a piece of bread and a small bit of jerky.
“You still hungry?” chuckles Cer inquisitively while reaching back to receive the bread without turning to look at Quinn.
“She is always hungry.” responds a young girl no more than nine years old. “She will starve the rest of us. We should leave her behind.”
Whispering with timid fear, Quinn pouts. “No. Don’t leave me behind!! I won't eat anymore, Lark.”
Turning back to hand the bread back to Quinn, Cer forces a smile to comfort Quinn. “It’s okay. I won’t ever leave you. Even if you don’t know where I am, I won’t ever leave you. I am just really good at hiding- we all are. We will never break our bond. You can eat all you need to. Here, have my bread. I am not hungry anyway. But leave me some jerky. Lark, quick being so negative.”
“I am positive she will starve us with her appetite.” snarks Lark.
Shooting a sharp glance past Quinn towards Lark, Cer lets out an exasperated breath. Someone is gonna hear us...“Lark…you are gonna get them riled up and then someone will find us….” Wait… where did the birds go? They stopped chirping.
Catching the group of children off guard, a warm adult female voice breaks the group’s tension and focus, causing Cer to begin to turn his attention back to his purported lookout position. “Someone will find you indeed. But not every person that finds you is bad right? Afterall, you found each other…do you have enough food for one more…?...”