Saturday.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu9oXvIIyFo
The clothes that I was about to wash were mountainous. Mama told me to finish it in four hours. She couldn't help me that day because they have a praise and worship practice in the church. So yeah, the so-called future mistress of the household would be in action, live from the comfort of our own home.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD6VqZaEDw8
I carried the basket of clothes to the back of our house, prepared the big basin, and filled it with water from the old pump. Mindlessly, I submerged all the clothes in water, took a cleaning bar, and started scrubbing.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt2k03rXRjg
I had already piled half of the laundry in a bucket when the frustrated voice of Joe boomed from behind me.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn2xzAt9ICf
"Goodness, what have you done?" He whined and checked the squeezed clothes in the pail. "God..."431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLT2FDX01ZS
He quickly took another pail and separated all the white clothes from the colored ones. When he was done, he took all the white clothes from the basin I was working on and placed them in another container.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd1EiKRdl4J
"My uniform," he said, his hard face flushed in an attempt to control his frustration.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSNj4DU6jTd
He scrubbed the white shirt as quickly and as hard as he could.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgsBDnwuCiD
"Kuya..." I struggled, my chest pounding at the thought of whatever he might do next. "Kuya, I'm sorry."431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeiXlL9mRP6
But he only released a deep breath and pointed a finger at our house.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsROsqz4o98
"Go get the powder," he ordered, then went back to scrubbing.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTcShxoxGfg
I dashed back to the kitchen to get a sachet of powdered detergent, fearing that Joe might raise his voice at me. When I got back, he was already working on the rest of the colored clothes, while his uniform was soaked in a pail of clean water.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6IXbnKDezm
I handed him the sachet of the detergent and he poured half of its contents on his soaked uniform. The rest, he poured on the laundry he was doing.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoO2qIUyr5u
"I'm really sorry, kuya," I managed to say.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnhNyUf9gKy
Without looking at me, he spoke in his normal voice. "See? This is what happens when you don't like what you do."431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvVuUuX7M3P
He pointed to the mess that I made to our laundry.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtaar9yPtU8
I stooped in shame and said no more. He paused from scrubbing and eyed me with an arched brow.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo1AvuDIyuO
"Why are you still standing there, driftwood? Do the white ones, quick."431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM9fHpl8Yt5
I immediately attended to the white clothes in the other container, pouring a half-sachet of detergent powder and imitating what he was doing.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGoCc7RIm5n
The sun was already scorching when we managed to hang all the clothes. I wasted no time and put away the pails and the basins that we used, while Joe walked back to the house to do his business.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdZplrl4QEM
I released a breath of relief and wiped my hands dry, wondering how my brother could cause someone to feel guilty without raising a voice. When I was about to attend to the stings and scratches from scrubbing, a loud thud caught my attention.
I turned my head and noticed a movement behind the mango tree. Curious, I tiptoed toward it and saw Ben, one of my older brothers, curling like a fetus against the tree's trunk. He buried his face in the palms of his hands and his shoulders shook in an uncontrolled surge of emotions. He tried not to make another sound but I could tell he was in agony.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPwjmh4R9Jl
Ben was the ball of sunshine in our family. His antics would make all of us roll on the floor, laughing. Even Joe, who was usually selective in his words and emotions, could not steel himself when Ben would crack a joke. So it's a new thing seeing our brother in that state.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGCoKkl3qaC
I took my place beside him.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ22ZYyZ8RUo
"Hey," I called. "You okay?"431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYcEn1IpF3s
He only shook his head and continued to sob quietly. I let my hand run through his back, hoping it would ease whatever pain he was feeling.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUiSYPc3ERo
"You don't need to hide when you're with me, you know?" I assured. "I won't judge."431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ74EBdZrky8
He answered, finally. "Right, but what about mama? For the first time, I don't know where to find the guts to face her."431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN2oFZQh4QK
I kept a poker face, even though he wouldn't really see it.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqitoUukMgr
"What happened?" I probed.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfJNgeEhDdD
"I don't know. I don't know what happened..." He shook his head. "One time, I went to my girlfriend's birthday party, got drunk. Then a month after, she told me she's..."431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQzF1Is9z5D
He caught his teary face in his palms.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMnRH6IlmM7
I see. That could be the reason mama called in the entire barrio to look for him last month.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6UeJ4bDIjb
"She means the world to me, man, but I'm not ready. I haven't even got a proper job." He choked. "God, I don't know how to tell mama without her dying of shame.”431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzvbjE4IDhK
For sure.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyfjERDhkAr
Mama had prided herself on being an award-winning academic head and a church leader who had raised her children well. To learn that one of her boys had knocked up a girl out of wedlock would kill her, as it would create an ugly dent on her rather flawless moral record, especially when our home stood within the compound where gossipers lurking around was a norm.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeZWl0yW0ZR
I looped an arm around Ben's shoulder. But when I saw mama coming, I pulled him in a sisterly embrace.431Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCL1ECU5xRH
