C2 The Village Girl

Laura was up early because it was needed. However, her body was well trained to get up earlier than usual, before the sounds of the roosters in their backyard could be heard. It was her daily routine. Waking up early to pick fresh vegetables in their backyard, and roam around the village to sell them. That’s what they do for a living. Laura also does not want to be caught by the blazed if sunlight. She doesn’t want her tan skin tone to be burned and worst get roasted by the heat.

She took a quick bath and went straight to the backyard. After that, she returned from their stacked to prepare various kinds of vegetables. There are her favourite cabbages and eggplants, fresh and moist. She also took the fresh leafy green vegetables from the bucket of water and placed them on a large winnowing basket. It soaked so it doesn’t wither immediately.

Laura's grandmother raised all the vegetables that they had in the backyard.

She was peering at their small bamboo table. Laura chuckled when she saw a cup and a brown paper bag. She knew that it was her favourite Pandesal, a typical Filipino bread for breakfast. She put the basket on her waist and take the cup of coffee, then take a bread piece and put it in her mouth directly.

“Can you at least put that basket down, and have some breakfast properly.”

Laura almost swallows the whole bread because of the shock in her grandmother who's suddenly appeared from nowhere.

“My God! Grandma, why do you appear all of a sudden? You almost give me a heart attack,” she said while holding her chest.

“Stop playing with me kid. You haven’t even had heart disease. How can you have a heart attack?”

“Why are you so serious, Grandma? I was just kidding...”

Her grandmother just smirked at her. She was old to joke around. She finished her breakfast while standing and holding a basket in her waist. Then get ready to leave.

“Laura, come back right away when you run out of stuff. Don’t hang out anywhere.”

Her grandmother was like a typical old woman. Has a say in everything, always moody and hard to understand most of the time? But still, she loved her grandmother because the old lady was the one who raised her when she becomes an orphan. Laura's grandmother was caring and responsible. She was very grateful that her grandmother never gives up on her and raised her well.

“Yes, Grandma! I’m leaving...” she said as she walks her way out of the yard.

Laura walks a long way to the village almost every day. She had a good business relationship with the barrio people. Of course, she had a talent in sales talking, not to mention her irresistible charm.

Laura was walking far out of the village. She was close to the opening of the Hacienda Muratori when a loud sound of stirring wheels showed up.

Laura screams from the top of her lungs. She almost sat down because a fucking careless car passes by. And not just that, the one who rides the car doubles its speed and the engines were at full throttle beyond her causing her to, eat dust from the road.

“Hey, you bastard! What do you think you are doing? Come back here you fucking son of a bitch! Come back here and you’ll see!” Laura was in anger and can’t help herself but to rant.

Laura smiled bitterly when she saw her poor vegetables scattered and had been threw on the road. Her vegetables are all waste. Who else will but it when it was full of dust?

Meanwhile, all the servants at the Hacienda Muratori are busy. The grandson of the owner is not expected to arrive. Everyone is careful too. No one wants to make a mistake. There are gossips about the person who is coming. They say that the man was a ruthless one. Everyone had a bad feeling but, not Auntie Isabel. Auntie Isabel was the oldest caretaker of the Muratori family. And she knew the person that is coming because she was formerly his nanny.

Everyone is working. The cleaning and the preparation process went on. Everyone was busy as the luxury car parked at the mansion entrance.

The man who came down from the matte black car did not escape from servants’ curious eyes. The man was wearing a blue polo shirt paired with a black suit. He was over six feet tall; he has a prominent thin nose and luscious lips. Some of the young servants startled by the appearance of the unexpected guest. It surpasses the model of expensive clothes. He has a well-built body and added to his overflowing appeal was his hazel brown eyes that turn to reddish ones when you look at it under the sunlight.

Auntie Isabel look at the man and smiled, she also noticed the sorrow in his beautiful eyes. She does not know what happens to this kid. She only heard that Rigz suffered from an accident before. Rigz seems fine, except for the sadness that he cannot hide. Whatever the reason it may be, Auntie Isabel was always be there taking care of every member of the Muratori family.