Time passed, I spent my days usually practicing how to jump higher. My feet and legs jump around 800-900 times a day, until they are all numb. However, no matter how tired I get, I can't help but be excited at the thought that I'm getting stronger and getting closer to the dream that I want to achieve.
Aside from that, I kinda have settled into life with the Diaz Family.
After living with them for almost three months, I discovered that Miguel Diaz, or Coach Miguel, was actually once a professional volleyball player. I heard that during high school, he was part of the starting line-up for a powerhouse school. His position is as a setter.
He also joined many professional volleyball leagues and traveled all over the world to play. It is just that, at the peak of his career, he had an accident that affected his ankle and wrist, making him unable to play any longer. His highest goal, to join the national team and be the country's representative to compete globally, was not achieved.
Knowing that, I understood his passion for teaching kids the sport he really loved. Enough to teach me without accepting payment. He even told me he once was just like me, passionate and determined. As such, he reassured me that he would guide me all the way up, just like how his mom did for him when he was still an athlete.
When I asked him if he felt any regrets due to his early retirement, he said, with the happiest smile that I've seen from him, "No, because after I retired, I married my wife, Hana. Soon, we had two beautiful children. There's not much really to regret. But to be honest, sometimes, I still miss playing volleyball."
I couldn't help but smile at his answer, Coach Miguel is really a good father and a loving husband.
"Jiji! You are so cool, y'know?" I said teasingly. His eyes squinted before glaring at me. Finally, he gave me a hard forehead flick in return as a punishment for teasing him.
Actually, the same can be said to his wife. Ayami Hana, a doctor and a mother of two, is a pure angel. She is juggling her life as a career woman and a full-time mom and housewife.
She even asked me to call her "Mama."
The reason behind that is because, previously, I always hear sister Ayane call Coach Miguel "jiji" when she gets annoyed with him. When I asked her what's the meaning of that, she said it means "Grandpa, Old Fart, or Old Man"—the meaning changes depending on how you use it. Soon, whenever Coach Miguel deliberately pissed me off, I would retaliate by calling him "jiji" as well.
However, one time, Dr. Hana heard me call her husband "jiji", and she said that it sounded very familiar and close while I only called her "doctor."
In return, the beautiful woman had pushed me to call her "Mama" so as to not let her feel left out.
AND Ayane soon followed and forced me to call her "nee-chan" , an endearment which means older sister in Japan.
Though, I still feel awkward sometimes calling them that.
After flicking my forehead, the old man asked to leave as he still needed to check the harvest on their farm this year. I nodded as a reply.
These past few days have been the calmest and most blissful for me. In the morning, I would wake up and eat breakfast with their family. Dr. Hana– err, I mean Mama, would prepare a protein smoothie for me. She is very particular and cautious with the food she brings in my plate because she said "I'm a sickly girl." As such, it is not surprising that I'm gaining strength much faster than before.
After breakfast, we all went our separate ways. Mama goes to the hospital where she works, Hayami and nee-chan attend school. As for me, I either help out on the farm with Coach Miguel, or I train with him in volleyball.
In the evening, everyone will gather again for dinner. From time to time, nee-chan will drag me to her room to help out with her assignments.
Like today, I'm currently solving a math problem for her while she is currently styling my hair into a double dutch braid.
Apparently, nee-chan never liked studying. She doesn't want to attend school and does not have even the slightest interest in schoolwork and quizzes. However, she has so many hobbies. Some of these include hairstyling, makeup, designing clothes, and playing musical instruments.
She is also a social butterfly and has an incredible number of friends, as I always see her with different people from different schools.
As soon as nee-chan finished braiding my hair, I was also done with her math problem assignment. When I handed her the notebook, her face showed an amazement that almost made me laugh.
"Oh! Riri, you are so cool and smart! I can't believe I'm 2 years older than you, but you can compute my assignment in the blink of an eye." She said this while carelessly waving her notebook.
"Well, I'm not quite sure myself." Then I gave her a chuckle because I don't really know how to explain to her how I ended up being smart at my current age.
"Oh well. Nothing can be done with geniuses. I'm just so happy that you ended up in our household. You may be fated to be my sister, you know. "
Suddenly, she picks up the mirror on the vanity table behind me and places it right in front of my face. I look at her questioningly when she smiles and exclaims, "How do you like the hairstyle that I did on you? Your nee-chan is awesome, right? "
I giggled in reply and gave her two thumbs up.
Then she pushed her cheeks close to mine and engulfed me in a hug. "I’ve always wanted a younger sister. Someone whom I can always bond with at home."
I took a side glance at her face. Her smiling face—with her eyes wrinkled and her lips turned upward.
Then I returned her hug—feeling the warmth of having a sister for the first time.
After the cozy moment between the two sisters, they both went down as they were called to dinner by their mother.
Both Coach Miguel and Dr. Hana ask their children about their day. Dr. Hana immediately noticed the pretty hairstyle on Amary and complimented her. Ayane soon bragged that it was due to her excellent skills. Unintentionally, asking Amary to do her homework had also slipped from her mouth. Upon hearing that, both the adults didn't forget to reprimand her.
"Now that you mentioned school, Riri, what are your plans?" Do you want to continue school next year? You graduated 2 years earlier, right? You should be in fifth grade this coming school year, but since you are advanced, do you want to take middle school now?" Curious about the girl's thoughts, Dr. Hana asks.
"Oh! We'll be in the same grade, Riri. " Ayane said while clapping her hands.
"Sorry nee-chan. I actually do not plan to go back to school yet. I would prefer to use these 2 years to focus mainly on training for volleyball. So I'd still be at the common age when I attend middle school after the next school year. Is that okay, Dr. Han, err, Mama?"
"Whatever you decide, sweetheart, But, let's do advanced studying from time to time just to make sure you can catch up to school, alright? " Dr. Hana agreed, but she is still worried that the young girl will be left behind instead.
However, Dr. Hana's worries were proved to be unneeded. Unfortunately for her, in the future that she asked Amary to review with her, she realized that the girl's knowledge far surpassed those that were already in high school. She facepalmed towards herself and didn't ask the girl to review again. She knew that the girl probably didn't need any help with her studies.
Instead, she trusted the girl's innate intelligence and felt proud of her.
Amary woke up at the first crow of the rooster. She immediately went to the bathroom and prepared herself to go out. Soon she heard her name being called out.
She wore a tracksuit jacket and pants before going downstairs to get her protein smoothie. Before going out, she prepared a hot cappuccino coffee with a smiley on top.
"Mama, I’ll be jogging with Coach Miguel today. Thank you for the smoothie. I made some coffee for you to drink before you go to work. " After saying that, the girl hurriedly left.
Dr. Hana was just about to remind the girl to take care on her way out, but she disappeared in an instant. The lady doctor, who was busy washing the dishes instead, looked around and found the cup of coffee on the table.
She tasted the coffee and its warmth soothed her whole body. The doctor couldn’t help but marvel at how the coffee tasted so good. She realized that she had been busy and that she hadn’t made herself her morning coffee.
This is also the first time that someone has made one for her.
She went to work much more energetically.
On the road, Coach Miguel and Amary are jogging. However, after noticing the child’s erratic breathing, Coach Miguel finally decided to have a short break.
Soon, one man, who is Coach Miguel’s old acquaintance, approaches them. They looked like they were trying to catch-up with each other’s life events, so Amary decided to leave to give them some privacy.
As she is walking on the road, Amary notices a grandmother who is having a hard time carrying her grocery bags. She remembers her as the nice old lady who was the first one to buy her homemade bottled coffee. Amary decided to help the grandmother with her bags.
“Hi granny, I’d like to help you carry this bag to your destination. Can I?” She offered with a smile. The granny, seeing a young, sweet-looking child offering help, is very grateful.
“What a nice young lady you are. I live in the 4th house on the 3rd street from here. Are you fine with that?” The old lady said, concerned that the child may have parents nearby looking for her.
“That’s okay. I actually know where you live, granny. You used to buy my homemade bottled coffee.” Amary answered.
“Oh yes. Maybe because I’m too old, my memory is no longer good. But I’ve been wondering where you went because you did not come back for a long time to sell me some coffee.”
“I got busy playing around, granny.”
“Well, that can’t be helped. Children should be playing and enjoying their youth, especially someone your age. Though my granddaughter is different, even though she is also your age.”
The two walk together until they reach the house of the old lady. At the front door, the grandmother ushered Amary to come inside to have some snacks. Amary agreed, as she felt shy about declining the kind offer.
When she entered, she saw a young girl eating cookies and cupcakes at the dining table. The girl looks at her briefly before continuing to focus on her eating. She did not look or pay attention to Amary again, even when she was reprimanded by her grandmother for her rude behavior.
The grandmother sat beside Amary before asking her some questions, “Little girl, what’s your name? I haven’t really asked yet.”
“It’s Amary, short for Amaryllis”
“Oh, what a beautiful name. I’m actually a florist, and one of my favorite flowers is Amaryllis. Nice to meet you, Amary. My name is Grandma Suzanne, and this is my granddaughter, Stella.”
“Thank you, granny. It's nice to meet you both as well.
“You see, Amary. My granddaughter actually hates going out, and she doesn't have many friends. Can you take her out and play with her from time to time–”
“I don't want to. I don’t like going out and playing. It’s hot and most children are dumb and sweaty.” The granddaughter, Stella, finally spoke up, albeit with a displeased tone.
“Well, uhm granny sorry. Even though I said I’m playing around, it’s actually not a normal children’s play. I’m playing a sport called volleyball because. It’s my dream to become a professional league player”
“Oh, that sounds awesome! What school do you attend and what grade are you in?” The granny asked while pouring Amary some juice.
“I’m supposed to be in 5th grade this incoming school year but I graduated in elementary school very early because our school principal recommended me for a class acceleration program. I’ll wait for 2 years before attending middle school”
“My, your parents must have raised you right. Not only are you beautiful, but you are also smart and kind.” Hearing that, Amary blushed. However, there's a tinge of bitterness in her heart when she heard the comment about being raised right. She decided to ignore the feeling.
“Thank you, granny. I’m overwhelmed by your praise.” She said, scratching the back of her head. “By the way, these cupcakes are really great. Did you make them yourself, granny?”
“Yes. Do you like them?”
“Yes. It’s not too sweet, and the vanilla flavoring is not overwhelming. The texture is also good. I like it a lot.” Grandmother Suzanne immediately felt pleased to hear a child compliment her baking. She almost hugged the sweet girl in front of her. She smiled and patted the girl's head.
“Since you like it, I’ll pack you some for you to take home. You may share it with your family.” Amary grinned at the old lady, her eyes twinkling.
“Really? Then I won’t be polite and accept it. Thank you so much!”
Grandmother Suzanne feels that this child is definitely lovable. She thought what a nice and mature child she is. Her parents must be proud of her.
