Chapter 5.5: Gold Heart

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Zach's POV

I stood up and went to talk to my dad, I came in without knocking and saw him ready to leave. "Let me come with you", I said and he looked at me with 'really' kind of look "Now why would you want to tag-along? Your kuya Jacob is here with you, I thought it's movie marathon day", he asked, I sat down on the bed "Ate wants me to go with you, you can't leave the house alone while injured...". He laughed at me and said "I'm not a kid, Zachary., Besides, I'll be with my friends, your Uncle Benjo kept asking for me to meet with him, needing help for his wife's surprise party". He said with a smile, and I imitated him "Well, what if you need an assistant? Sige na po, please? Take me with you!" with a sigh and a 'haynako bata ka...', I saw him nod and said "Make sure to just help when needed alright? I don't want you wondering of because of your gold heart". He laughed again, took his umbrella and walked out of the room.

I wondered about what he said, 'gold heart?', ha! I just want what's best for my dad, if not that well, ... I'm worried about my sister's situation. There have been times I caught her crying in the night. All I could do was knock softly on the door and try to talk to her, but if that effort didn't work, I just hugged her tight as she cried. I know something for sure, she was traumatized about one being in an accident, knowing she doesn't want her loved ones going through the same thing.

I followed dad to the living room, I see ate Zina, her eyes were closed but still I said "Hey ate Zina... dad and I are going out, okay? Stay safe here with kuya". I gave a nod to kuya Zach and dad also gave his instructions "Lock the doors, keep her safe, don't do anything sketchy... enjoy the movies", kuya Jacob looked at my dad as if he's crazy "Of course nothing sketchy, sheesh old man, leave already so you both can go home early!", he whispered as if he's shouting. Dad had his mouth covered, stifling his laughter and headed out, opened the gate, while I rush out of the house to follow him.

As we walked, dad asked "How was your sister these days?" seeming worried, "Crying at nights, as if she either woke up from a nightmare or had been reminiscing her confused moments on the day of her past experience...". The old man sighed, "I see, she was this protective of me because of that wasn't she?" I laughed and agreed "Even though you're getting old, she's being worried!", he slapped my back "As if I'm getting old! Age comes wisdom, so I'm getting smarter too!" he joked, but really... the laughs faded and he lastly asked "Did she say anything with her dreams these days?", I shook my head, with a firm tone he said "If she says anything, immediately come to me, there are things that I might be better at explaining than you my boy", he patted my head and ruined my hair! All I did was roll my eyes and continue walking along beside him.

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Filipino Terms:

Sige na po : It's a phrase that urges a person to accept your offer. "sige" is like saying yes, but in the context of the story, it's asking to be approved.

haynako bata ka: A phrase that (usually) is said by older people, in the context of the story, Mr. Xanders was defeated into accepting what Zach wanted. Saying this phrase is like when your parent gets stressed because of you.