They spent another hour and a half before preparing to leave. Ligaya had gone to the bathroom while Nulla headed for the counter. She pulled out a sleek cardholder and pulled out a black card, handing it to the cashier. The nonchalant cashier was fiddling with something on the counter when she reached out to receive Nulla's card. Only when she received it did a visible change of her face occur that she spits fire like how one spite water out of their mouth due to shock.
Wind surrounding Nulla immediately neutralized the fire as Nulla took a step back, planting her foot back firm on the ground.
"I'm so sorry! I-I didn't mean to!" The cashier panicked, stumbling and fumbling on the cabinets as she took out a blue cloth and shakily offered to Nulla, "Forgive me, dear customer, I-I was just surprised!"
The commotion started to attract unwanted attention from the crowd. To avoid dragging this any further, Nulla raised her hand and motioned for her card that fell on the countertop.
"Ahh! Of course! Right away!" The cashier tossed the cloth somewhere on the counter and carefully picked up the card to process the Nulla's payment.
Nulla pulled out her phone as she waited, glancing at the bathroom door once in a while for her sister. Looking at her phone, she dialed her 2nd-speed dial and placed it on her ear.
[Good morning Director Manalo, is there anything I can help you with?]
"I need you to look for someone for me."
After leaving the café, with Ligaya still holding on to her sister's arm, they walked around the park once more, enjoying the scenery. The siblings passed through the green scenery, trees, shrubs, and flowers filling Ligaya's eyes before she spots a group of performers doing a show on a wider clearing ahead. She smiled as she observed with awe, fire, and water taking different forms of animals while dancing in the air.
"Ate Nulla~" She called out as she lightly tugged on her sister's sleeves, "Look! Performers! The animals are so cute!" Pointing at the gathered crowd ahead, surrounding a group creating various magic stunts.
Nulla's eyes followed the said direction with a smile before looking around once more, spotting a bench erected on a relatively shaded area as well as a booth selling refreshing drinks.
|There's a bench on the side there. Go sit and watch while I get you something to drink|
Ligaya cheerfully nodded and headed for the bench her sister referred to. Nulla then headed for the booth as she took out her smaller bills from her inner coat pocket she had prepared beforehand.
Halfway through her destination, before she could go any further, she heard her sister's scream. As if the world had stopped, Nulla released a burst of wind around her, blowing the booth and the people around her away as she rushed back to her sister who was now on the ground.
With her teeth clenched and lips pursed together, she helped her sister up, dusting her off. "Ate. . ." She heard her sister's voice, filled with concern. She ignored her sister as she fully inspected her body, ensuring that she was fine. After finally making sure her sister wasn't in any form of danger, she sighed a breath of relief before looking at the cause of her sister's distress with a death glare.
"Ate. . . I'm fine. Please. . . Don't do this. . . " Ligaya pleaded with a soft voice. What Nulla didn't know was that their immediate surroundings are now empty. People were blown at roughly 10 meters away from where Ligaya was, "It. . It was my fault anyway. . I didn't. . . Notice him while I was heading to the bench. . . " She continued meekly as she looked down, noticing that her headphones had fallen on the ground.
While Ligaya was absorbed with their surroundings, Nulla on the other hand eyed the man who had stopped moving. He was also blown away and landed on the shaded area near the trees. Her thoughts of 'teaching' the man his lesson was interrupted when Ligaya pushed herself slightly away from her sister's hug and bent down, picking up her headphones which were blaring rock music, and wore it once more.
Nulla held her sister once again, bending a little to match Ligaya's height, and looks at her in the eyes.
|Are you sure you're alright?|
Ligaya timidly nodded, pressing her hands on her headphones against her ears, ". . . Let's just go home. . . I'm tired. . . "
Seeing her sister's pitiful state angered her, but taking care of her sister's needs comes first above everything else. Her shoulder loosened as she held Ligaya's hands, slowly removing them from her headphones and guided them to hold on to Nulla's arm like usual. With Ligaya now safely in her arms, she started leading her towards the exit of the park and eventually their car.
The drive back to their house was uneventful. Nulla had encouraged her sister to rest on the passenger's seat which Ligaya accepted. After parking the car, Nulla nudged her sister gently, waking her up.
"Mm. . " Ligaya rolled her head to the side and groggily sat up, rubbing the sleepiness from her eyes, ". . Home. . ?"
Nulla nodded before she went out of the car. The sky was already changing as it started to dim. She headed straight to the door and directed her magic to it, unlocking it. Once inside, she placed down her keys while Ligaya headed straight to the living room, her shoes haphazardly placed by the entryway upon her entrance.
While Ligaya was busy with her phone, lazily sitting on the sofa with her feet on their coffee table, her older sister went to her room and changed her clothes, wearing a baggy sweater as she exited her room. She headed to where her sister was, sitting on the table and leaning forward to meet her sister's level. Noticing Nulla, Ligaya looked up from her phone and placed it aside, waiting for her sister to talk.
|Feeling better?|
"Mm, the nap was refreshing. I was probably just tired," Ligaya looked down, looking like she was thinking about something as she removed her headphones and setting them aside on the sofa, "I'm really sorry about earlier Ate. . I didn't mean to cause you trouble. . ."
Her older sister, being the loving kind as she is, smiled gently as she placed her hand on Ligaya's head, petting it.
|You didn't. It wasn't your fault, don't worry about it. I should probably the one who should apologize for letting you experience something like that. Can you forgive this clumsy Ate?|
"No! It wasn't your fault! You were just protecting me! I know that! But. . . But what if they sue you for public disturbance? Or unjust use of authority? Or worse, attempted homicide? You know- "
Nulla raised her hand and clasped her sister's cheeks with both hands and said, "Y O U A R E N O T A T F A U L T" She explained, exaggerating her words for her sister to understand, before letting her go.
|They won't sue anyone. Your Ate has some friends in higher places, perk of managing the main branch of Successful Security, so don't worry about it. I can just say that 'I viewed the situation as detrimental to my client's safety and was forced to use my abilities' and they won't be able to say anything about it|
Ligaya wanted to argue but Nulla raised her hand, stopping her.
|Another word and you won't have any ice cream. I had Oly buy some of your favorite flavors earlier|
Ligaya paused, weighing if what was more important but eventually gave up on the idea since her sister had already assured her about the earlier incident. She chose her ice cream, "You're lucky Ate Oly picks out the best kind," Ligaya said before standing and headed to her room.
With a chuckle, Nulla changed her seat to the sofa, placing her sister's things on the table, and turned on the 55" TV.
Soon after, Ligaya joined her sister, wearing a long shirt that reached her knees and jersey shorts with ice cream and a spoon at hand. She sat beside her sister, curling up her legs, and leaned on Nulla, resting her head on her sister's toned shoulders.
. . . Next on Philippine Patrol, Victory Corp. CEO Reimund Braga III has finally answered the rumors about their new technology aimed towards the 'Persons with Disability' sector of our country. During the press conference held in Victory Corp's main building, president Braga affirmed the rumors and announced that their latest creation; Hapi Glasses has entered its Beta Testing phase and will begin its first production during Spring of 2538. |
"Hapi Glasses?" Ligaya asked, watching the news that had a window on the corner interpreting what was said using hand signals.
"Yes, we are happy to announce that Hapi Glasses is finally close to production. After almost five years of endless research, trial and error, and experimentation, we have finally created a device that will help our fellow Filipino people, citizen or not, who are suffering from auditory disability interact with their surroundings without feeling awkward. My Chief Technology Officer Loreen Acapulco will explain its specifics." "Thank you, president Braga. Hapi Glasses are designed to be worn like any ordinary spectacles. It works by converting sound into text that appears on the glasses' lens in real-time using attribute magic. The wearer doesn't have to have awakened, of course, it recharges by" |
"Ate! Is this true?! Tito Reimund made something like that?!" Ligaya shot up from her seat, standing on the sofa, slightly bouncing from where she stood, not taking her eyes off the TV as she read the explanation given by the company's tech chief, "Th-then does that mean. . . ?" Her question trailed as she slowly turned to her sister, looking at her with teary eyes.
Nulla's eyes never left her sister. She knew that Reimund was going to announce it soon, but it was a coincidence that Ligaya would find out about it during its announcement. She met Ligaya's eyes with a smile, taking the ice cream off her hands as her sister slowly sat back down.
"I… I thought they were just rumors. . . Tito said that they were still researching about it when I asked him last month. . ." Ligaya was still in shock, looking at her sister smiling at her, not believing what was happening.
|He wanted to surprise you. He's been working on it for a long time and with the help of their family's records, he was finally able to create something like that. He had you in mind when he was researching that you know|
Understanding her sister's words made Ligaya's tears finally fall. The efforts placed on her family for her sake were beyond compare and she couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by the love her family has been showering her since the accident. Sniffling back a snot, she finally spoke, "Ate. . . Thankyou. . . I. . . I. . . "
Nulla extended her hands and brought her crying sister in for a tender hug, stroking her hair down to her neck to soothe her. Ligaya on the other hand has stopped holding back her tears and let her emotions flow, bawling her eyes with nothing but gratitude and affection towards her family.
"Shh. . . Don't cry," Nulla coaxed her sister with her gentle voice, unable to hold back despite knowing her sister wouldn't be able to hear it. She wanted Ligaya to understand that she didn't have to feel insecure about who she is, her family would always be there for her.
After half an hour of crying, Ligaya finally calmed down before Nulla released her from her hug, wiping her tears gently using her thumbs with her palm on her sister's cheeks.
|Feeling better?|
Ligaya nodded, wiping her snot using the collar of her shirt, "Ice cream. . ." She requested softly that Nulla complied willingly and picked up the small tub of ice cream on the table, "No. . . That's melted already. . ." She complained, pushing the eaten ice cream away from her.
Nulla playfully chuckled as she messed her sister's hair with her free hand and left to the kitchen with her sister's unfinished food on the other. Nulla opened their refrigerator as Ligaya continued watching the TV, not paying attention to the commercials and glancing at the interpreter at the edge of the screen. Her trance-like state was broken when she noticed her sister's phone vibrate at the corner of her eye.
She lazily picked up the phone and checked who the caller was and felt a little disappointed, "Ate, Ate Oly is calling." She called out to her approaching sister. Seeing her approaching figure, she exchanged her sister's phone with the untouched tub of ice cream as she gave way on the sofa.
Receiving her phone, she answered the call and sat beside her sister, her free hand petting her red-eyed, sniffling, ice cream-eating sister, "What?"
[Good evening Director Manalo, we have already secured your earlier requests and would like to inquire if you'll be handling these matters personally.]
"The earlier incident?"
[Already taken care of Director, they won't be posing any threat to Miss Ligaya's life.]
"Mm. Be here in 10."
[Understood.]
Nulla hanged up the phone and placed it on the side. When she looked down to check on her sister, Ligaya was already looking at her with a hint of irritation in her eyes, "Work?"
Nulla froze for a moment. This was one of the things Ligaya disliked, the time she spends with her sister being interrupted. Nulla knew it was more of frivolous annoyance rather than actual irritation thus she doesn't take it to heart, but it was still making her uneasy whenever she disappoints her sister regardless if it was superficial.
Nulla nodded with a downcast look and was about to explain with her hand when her sister interrupted her.
"Some big shot client is having problems and your people can't solve it, so they need you to step in and save the day?"
Nulla was surprised at what Ligaya had said. She realized that she's probably been cutting her time off from her sister that Ligaya had memorized the lame excuses she's been coming up with every time she left. With nothing left to say, Nulla weakly nodded once again.
Ligaya sighed, rested her back on the sofa, and continued eating her ice cream with her knees close to her chest.
Nulla looked at her sister with a sigh before standing and went back to her room. She wore the same clothes she had earlier, a grey turtle neck blouse and a long brown overcoat. She went out of her room and headed for the small table by the sofa for her keys when she heard a soft murmur.
". . . Don't stay out too late. . ."
Her sister said as she continued watching and eating her ice cream. Her sister's concern warmed Nulla's heart and strengthened her will to protect Ligaya even more. She placed her keys in her pocket, headed beside Ligaya, and placed a soft kiss on her sister's head, petting it before heading to the door.
Ligaya sunk on her chair as she buried her face between her knees, doing her best to cover her flushed cheeks while her ice cream stretched in front of her between her hands, ". . . Waaaahh. . . "