[Shout out to Adam LV, Albert A, and Scott D!]
A trail of ducks crossed the street and the tricycle started to move.
"Mommy, I want a ducky. Like Donawd Duck."
The innocent girl said. She fell in love at the adorable ducklings following their mother.
"Honey, let's talk about it later."
Penelope knew that Sophia's attention shifted easily. This adoration for the ducklings would be forgotten. If not, Penelope would think about it then.
After all, ducks taste good too...
The rural area was quite far from the highway, and the endless plain of rice fields was beginning to bore the children. Seeing it for the first time might be a novelty to them. But once they got used to seeing the fields, they quickly got tired. Sometimes we would see a clump of trees blocking the sun.
An hour later, we began to see houses. The children got excited again. They saw houses and children playing in the river.
Even Roman turned to Penelope, his eyes shining.
Penelope just giggled. She too had memories of swimming in the river. Fortunately, the river in their village was not polluted. The water was clean and the fish lived freely.
Simeon stopped the tricycle in front of an old house made of wood and bricks. It looked like a house from the Spanish colonization. But the house was big, almost three times the size of our apartment. It even had a second floor.
Penelope had a melancholy expression on her face. However, I could see the happiness in her eyes. She missed her home so much.
She wiped the tears from her eyes. The place where she grew up, where happy memories were made.
I patted her shoulder and kissed her head. She looked at me and smiled.
"Mommy don't cwy... Sophia will cwy too."
The daughter in her arms grew sad.
She giggled and kissed Sophia's forehead.
We approached the house together, quite excited.
"Brother-in-law, do you need help with the bags? They look heavy."
Simeon looked at the bags I was carrying. He had parked his tricycle next to the house and thought I was carrying heavy bags.
"I'm fine. They're not heavy at all."
I shook my head. Because of the Energy Pill, even if the bags are heavy, my arms did not feel weak or tired. At least I'm confident that I can carry more.
Suddenly, the door opened and an old man and woman came out. When they saw Penelope holding a child, the old couple was delighted.
"Mother! I miss you!"
My mother-in-law, Corazon Vidalia, walked faster and almost burst into tears. She looked back and forth between Penelope and Sophia. She was stunned to see the strong resemblance between mother and child.
"I- Is that my granddaughter!? She looks just like you! Oh my God!"
Penelope sniffed, holding back her tears.
"Awww, what a sweet child."
My mother-in-law, Corazon, held out her arms and Penelope let her carry Sophia.
Sophia looked curiously at her grandmother. She had heard her voice on the phone. But this was the first time she had met her.
My mother-in-law has white hair because of her age. But I heard she had pink hair when she was younger. Penelope and Sophia probably inherited their features from her.
She has wrinkles around her eyes, but she didn't look ugly, she looked calm and mature. Even though she works under the sun as a farmer, my mother-in-law has fair skin, not dark at all.
"Do you remember me? I'm your grandmother, we spoke on the phone last time."
"Hm, hello gwandma. You look more beautiful than I expected. Just like the faiwy godmother in Cindewella."
"That... I don't know what Cindewella is. But as expected, my granddaughter is the best!"
My mother-in-law giggled. Sophia touched her inner heart and she immediately fell in love with the child.
I don't know what to say, it seemed that Sophia has a way with people's hearts.
Children don't tell lies, they say.
While Sophia, Penelope, and Corazon were talking. My father-in-law approached me and looked at the bags in my hands.
"Let's put these in the house. How's your trip going here?"
Unlike his wife, my father-in-law, whose name is Alberto, has dark brown skin and white hair. He is tall, almost 6 feet.
Although he is over 60 years old, he looks strong and healthy. Perhaps that is the advantage of being a farmer. They have strong bodies and strong immune systems.
"The trip was smooth. Fortunately, we arrived before evening.
It was good that we left the house early in the morning. We didn't get stuck in traffic. I know Manila enough to understand that traffic is relatively common.
I sighed. Even in an alternate universe, traffic problems are still alive and well in our country's capital. EDSA IS BLOATED AS HELL.
"That's good to hear."
Alberto helped me show the way to our room. It looks like we'll be living in a single room, which is good. We can watch over our children.
As for the 'cuddling' with my wife, let's hold on for a week or two.
"Thank you, father-in-law."
He patted my shoulder and I unconsciously jumped. Maybe my body remembered what happened last time.
I had been punched in the face around two years ago by Alberto. By the time we got back to Manila, I had a black eye.
Well, if I were in his shoes, I'd probably be angry too.
Anyway, we're all fine now. Alberto apologized. We even drank coconut palm liquor (lambanog).
Unfortunately, I promised my wife that I would never touch alcohol again. So once my father-in-law invites me to drink, I have to refuse.
After putting the bags on the bed, I went out of the room and found my family warming up with Corazon.
Sophia was giggling as her grandmother carried her. I was worried at first because my mother-in-law was old.
But when I saw Corazon carrying Sophia with no problem, I knew she would be fine.
"Roman, you are getting taller. You're getting more handsome!"
"Thank you, Grandma."
Roman held it in as Corazon pinched his cheeks.
"Mother, let me help you carry Sophia. You said your back was hurting lately."
"Who said that? No, I'm strong as a cow!"
She said as she rocked Sophia.
[Visit my if you want to read more:]
- 85 chapters of TOFD
- 89 Chapters of MNPOTS(COMPLETED)