Forget-Me-Not

Chapter V: Serendipity

It was the fourth day of the Abellana family's vacation stay in the Green Valley Village in Baguio City. Phoebe couldn't stop wondering what was happening in her school now, it was February so definitely there were classes, but since the two oafs had forced her on taking a leave, she had no choice but to let her ass freeze in this city. Dorothy and Carl were indeed steadfast, though in an undeniably delusional way and Phoebe wished a miracle would happen so her teachers would be considerate enough to let her cope up with everything she'd missed once she returned.

This had been the disarrayed cycle of her life for the past years and believe it or not, Phoebe had already resorted to her trump card just to force herself to adapt to it. If it was only the nagging and the irritating voices of her old folks, it would be fine for the resiliency she'd cultured all those years would handle it for her, but to top it with the cumbersome loads from school which she would be needing to busy herself with as soon as she returned, that would be considered a public execution. It was college, and it was obviously not a matter of staying idle because that could shape one's future.

Phoebe was inside her room and was currently dressing up for today's scheduled plan. Much to her dismay, it turned out that she couldn't escape the strawberry-picking in the end. She'd been told that they would have to go back to Mrs. Anne's place today to harvest the remaining berries. It was not the money her mom and dad were after, but the satisfaction they got from doing the job which made Phoebe wonder if she was really their biological daughter. Since it would be a long day staying in the cold, Phoebe had to wear the thickest hoodie she had. It was colored black and was partnered with a white jeans and a pair of white Niké Air Force shoes.

The Abellana family left their house at 7 am and headed straightly to Mrs. Anne's place. As soon as they arrived, they found the old woman already busy with the gardening; Cutting overgrown stems, cultivating the soil, trimming leaves, etcetera.

"I'm glad you came today too, and Phoebe is here, will she join us this time?", the old woman asked with a delighted smile on her face.

Dorothy took the moment to tell the truth. "Yes Mrs. Anne. We had to force Phoebe to tag along today, however.", she stated with no sense of confidentiality.

Phoebe truly wanted to start remolding herself after being enlightened by the two brothers, and with "remolding" being said, it meant it included changing her attitude towards her lovable parents. However, she hadn't gone midway through it yet, she was already starting to back out. She still did her best not to retort though. Unfortunately, her mom didn't escape the glare.

"Oh I see. I'm sorry for that dear, don't worry I have special treats for you after this.", the old woman said as if Phoebe was a child whom she could bribe with sweets.

Phoebe still put on the facade and faked her words. "Thanks Mrs. Anne."

The Abellana family was ushered to the backyard of Mrs. Anne's house. They were handed one bucket each for the container of the strawberries. Phoebe took hers reluctantly and fidgeted with it for a while. There was no turning back, she was like a cornered mouse without any escape route. She held onto the handle and prepared herself for the oncoming battle.

Dorothy suddenly raised a question. "Mrs. Anne, who are those two over there?"

The old woman gazed at the distance. "Oh they are here to help with the harvesting too. They are actually brothers, the younger one often goes here to run some errands for me like selling my crops to the shops around the area and buying organic fertilizers. Honestly, today is quite different because it's unusual for him to take his older brother with him.", the old woman explained.

Phoebe was amidst preparation of her mind. Struck by curiosity, she turned her head to see the source of topic for herself. She stared in awe as an unbelievable scene played right before her. How on earth could the two be here? Was it some kind of scripted joke? They were even doing strawberry-picking which she was about to do herself. It was the fourth time she was seeing the two, and that was for four consecutive days. How strange, she thought.