The Dinner part 3

I approached our neighbor that went with my mother.

"Auntie, did my father bought that doll? I asked while smiling. "He promised me that he will buy me a doll before he left. But why is he still not returned home?" I added.

She just kissed me and handed me the doll. "If ever you will miss your father just hug this doll." She said then she hugged me and she cried.

My mom cried heavily when she is stating what had happened. The food we prepared became cold because my mother, brother and sister didn't eat. Our neighbor told my mother to be strong for the three of us. My mother just nodded. My brother and sister cried till they fell asleep, and I am hugging the doll that my father bought for me. I saw my mother on the living room looking at my father's photo. "Ralph if you just have listened to me maybe you are still alive now. How would I raise our children on my own." She said to me.

"How can I raise them? What lies ahead of us? How can I wake up in the morning without you by my side? How can I tell them that they can't see you anymore? My God please make my husband alive. Let that buried man not him. I can't take this Ralph." My mother said.

I can't understand what did my mother said after that because she is crying.

And outside our dog keeps on barking.

The next day when I woke up. There are neighbors and my father's workmates that came to our house. They gave donations to my mother for my father's tomb. They gave financial help and condolences. My mother contacted my father's relatives and told them about what happened. After that one of my father's relative told my mother that if she cannot raise us by her own they can let us live with them. But my mother refused and told them, "No! We can live on our own. I will do everything for us to survive."

Then after that my father's relatives all went home. There are no hints on who is my father's murderer.

We waked up early because my brother and sister are gonna go to school. There is a deafening silence while we are eating breakfast. My mother's eyes are sore but she is calm in front of us even though we can see how she is suffering right now. "Have you two studied? I heard that you will be having an examination now?" My mother asked my brother and sister. "If you got a high score I will give you rewards like what your father gave you. Promise me that you will study hard." My mom said while looking down. She cannot face us that time.

"Mother why there are 5 plates in the table? Will father return home?" I asked. But I haven't finished speaking yet my sister pinched me and I cried.

My mother explained to us while she is eating. "Listen ok? We don't need to wait for your father, specially when dinner. He is already gone. He is now in heaven. But your father will keep on looking after us. If you miss your father, you can look at his photos." She said.

"If we look at father's photos we won't miss father anymore? Or will he return home?" I asked.

"Mother, I really missed my father so much. I want him to go home so that he can send me to school." My sister said while crying.

My mother didn't answer and just cried in front of the table.

Few months have passed, our money are slowly used up. We sold some appliances in our house to buy food to eat and allowance for my brother and sister. My brother and sister studied on a private school. My mother mother send them herself because we can't afford the monthly payment on the school bus. She can't cook food to sell because she didn't have money to buy ingredients. And she didn't have enough time to do so because I already started going to school.

She can do it in the past because my father can assist her. My father is the one that take care of us and my father also help on cleaning the house so that my mother can concentrate on cooking. But now my mother do it all by herself.

We are struggling right now. We don't have television or other appliances. Only lightbulbs are left. My mother that time applied as a cook in a canteen of one of the hospital. But it still not enough for our daily needs. Before our neighbors will watch television in our house, but now we are the one's that will go the their house to watch a show. Now we are pitied when our neighbors see us on the streets.

We will stay on the house that has a television and just wait for our mother to deliver us food. In the evening my mother has brought foods. She said it was leftovers from the customers that didn't eat it. We would be happy with that. But we are still struggling that time. We are raised by our mother alone, and it was very hard.

One night while we are waiting for our mother to return from work. My mother returner home with a man that looks like a lot older than our mother. We wondered why did that man is here.

"You will call him uncle." My mother told us.

And from that night, the man will go to our house to visit my mother. And we just know later that my mother would be married again.

We also felt a little relieved because the man had a good life. Everytime that man will visit my mother he would bring a lot of foods.

"Mother are you sure that you want to marry that man?" My sister asked.

"Yes my child." My mother replied.

"Did you forget dad already? I don't want you to remarry." My sister said angrily.

"I haven't forgot about your dad. And it still hurt me. But I don't have any other choice. I can't raise you on my own. Don't worry this is for your own good." My mother replied. Tears burst from my mother's eyes when she said that.

At first my sister didn't want my mother to remarry but later she just accepted what my mother had planned. My mother explained to us that wherever she is we will also go there. Few weeks later my mother is married to that man. The wedding is elegant. They are married on the city, and we just know that we will be brought to the man's place. He said that he lives outside the city. The relatives of my father knows about the wedding and they said that they don't want our house to be sold. They said that it will be for me, my brother and my sister. So after that, some of the relatives of my father lived in that house.

My mother was 27 years when my father died. She remarried when she was 28 years old and that man is 47 years old. The man had grandchildren and only the last child is not married.

When we arrive, our stepfather prepared a feast to welcome us in their family. Their house is good looking. I saw the daughter of our stepfather carrying a doll. But she was frowning, "Hi sister!" I waved towards here. But she just ignored my greeting.

My older sister hold my hands tightly and said, "Don't greet anyone here specially that someone just ignored you now. We don't know them and we don't know what are they like."

"But my teacher said that I should be friendly." I replied.

"Yes but if you think that they are not in the mood to talk, just keep quiet and ignore them okay?" My sister said.

"Okay I understand." I replied.

The next morning, my mother wake us up early to eat breakfast. We gathered on a one big table and my stepfather talked, "This is my daughter, Angela." He said pointing to the girl. "Angela this is Lexxy, Larny and Lucas. From now on we are one family. You should help do house chores and you should not fight with each other." He added.

We all nodded while his daughter faked her smile.

We thought that we are in a good hands and we have escaped all of the sufferings. But we are wrong. It is just the start of our suffering.

While my step sister is watching television. We are on the balcony. I peeked from the window while she was watching television. When she noticed me she then closed the window so that I cannot see. Because she is watching cartoons I went inside because the door is open and sit on the couch. She then turned off the television the she hide the remote behind her. I wondered why she turned off the television so I asked her, "You don't like the show sister? I asked while smiling.

"I don't like watching it because there is an outsider watching our television. And who told you that you can sit on that couch?" She said angrily.

I cried because I was scared of her angry expression.

I went to my mother and sister on the kitchen while crying, "Mother, Angela is bad, she scolded me." I said.

"Why what happened? What did she do to you?" My mother asked.

"I didn't do anything to her. Why is she a cry baby?" Angela said while staring angrily at me.

"Okay Angela, she is still a baby that's why she would cry easily." My mother said.

Angela didn't apologize to me and my mother didn't mind it. My mother told us that we just don't go near Angela to avoid problems. We nodded. So when we are having lunch, only the four of us left eating and Angela come near to the table and said, "Be careful on washing those plates, you can't afford it if you broke it."

My brother and sister just looked down while I stared at her wondering why did she just got angry on us all of a sudden.

Later, my sister get a jack stone to approach Angela in order to play with here. But Angela said to her, "You want to play with me? Why? Are we friends?" Then Angela walked straight to her room. So we just played with my sister. We were the one's left in the house because my mother and stepfather went outside to buy foods. But as we just got started playing Angela went out of the room and she intentionally stepped on my hands. I screamed and my sister pushed Angela because she did not remove her foot from my hands. Angela might noticed that my mother and stepfather have arrived, she then shouted and laid on the floor. Her father rushed towards her and said, "Who pushed my daughter? If she got hurt you know how to cure it?

"It maybe an accident." My mother replied.

"Go discipline your children. It is not good for them to hurt each other inside my house." He said angrily.

My mother brought us to the room. My sister told my mother what happened.

"I told you that don't go near or talk to Angela, just ignore her. What is wrong with just living here and following my instructions?" My mother said while crying.

My mother saw my sore hands and asked, "Does it still hurt? Wait I'll get some ice to relieve the pain." Then she handed me a lollipop, "Here you can have this lollipop, wait for me I'll take ice cubes.

From that, we didn't go near to Angela. We stayed on the balcony then help our mother doing laundry, cleaning the house. One month have passed, our stepfather told us that we should also help with the work on the farm. My mother also agreed.

One morning, we were brought by our stepfather to the farm because we need to remove weeds there.

"Stepfather, does Angela don't like to remove weeds? Why you only brought the three of us here?" I asked.

"Why would I let Angela work? She is my daughter." He replied.

My sister pinch me to keep me quite. We were scared because our stepfather showed who he really is that time.

"You start here. You keep doing your job. I will return home now." He said.

We looked at the farm, its wide and there are many thorns.

At first we are enjoying what we are doing but we got tired as the time pass by. Unfortunately I wounded my finger. I cried because of the pain so my sister decided that we should go home. I cried on our way home. My mother approached us and she held my wounded finger and she washed my hands immediately because it is covered with dirt. My brother sat on the couch while watching television, my sister is beside me. We heard that my stepfather is talking.

"Why are you here watching television? Didn't I told you to remove weeds on the farm? Why did you return home so early?" He asked.

"Lexxy got wounded. They are not used to it." My mother replied.

"Not used to it?" He asked. "That is why I bring them to the farm so that they will get used to it. Why did you got wounded? You maybe just played there when I returned home.

"We didn't play there. Even if you check our work. We just returned home because my sister got hurt. She couldn't stop crying.

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