"I'm really sorry about this." I told Eliza again and again. "We'll move out immediately as soon as we find a new place to live in."
"Why are you saying that?" Eliza asked. "We're practically family. You're the only ones I have left. I've been living alone all these years, so I'm really happy to be sharing the house with you. It's a little cramped though. Is that okay?"
"Are you kidding me? You're our savior."
"Your savior? I like that." We giggled, as if all our worries disappeared.
The house was small. It only had one bedroom, a tiny space used as the living room and dining room, a few kitchen cabinets and a sink in the corner, and a bathroom with just the toilet and a bucket under the faucet. It was small to some, but it was more than enough for us. We had a roof over our heads and we didn't have to sleep on the streets. I felt safe inside the four walls of the house. Eliza let my parents sleep in the bed while my brother slept on a mat beside it. Eliza and I slept on a mat in the living/dining room.
"Thank you." I whispered to her in the middle of the night. "What would we do without you?"
"Knowing you, you still could have thought of something." She said. "You never run out of ideas."
"I think you overestimate me." I said. "I'm not that amazing."
"Yes, you are." She said. She was silent for a moment. "Think of this as compensation for the trouble I caused you in Phantasia."
I looked at her. So, she was still feeling guilty about it. "I already told you. It was both our faults. We both lost our minds and made a mistake."
"Yes. But it was a sweet mistake." She said, smiling.
"Sweet? And why?"
"Because you found your destiny." I couldn't figure out whether she really believed it or she was only teasing me.
"For the hundredth time, that butterfly was defective." I said. "And don't tell the others about why we went to Phantasia. Okay?"
She sighed. "Fine. I won't." She said. "It's just too bad we got fired and are forever banned from going there again. It means you might never see him again."
"That's music to my ears."
I spent the next day looking for a new job. Eliza also went looking for a job of her own even though I kept telling her we could go together. She said a friend of hers recommended her to a restaurant owner and they're looking for an employee. She said that the boss was only looking for one person though so she couldn't take me with her. I told her it was fine, and so I went to the upper floors by myself. Around lunch, I found a job as a cashier at a small bakery on the seventeenth floor. The owner was very kind and even gave me a few loaves of bread after closing down for the day. The daily wage was also enough for us to get by. When I got home, my brother was weaving a straw hat. He said a friend of his asked for help and that they would be dividing the profit. My brother was good at finding small jobs like that.
Eliza came home late in the evening, after my family went to bed. She looked so worn out that she barely made it to the house. She wobbled a little and almost fell on her face. I helped her to the old tattered brown couch and got her a glass of water. She gulped it down like a thirsty elephant. She didn't say anything and just stared into space. I got impatient and broke the quiet.
"What happened to you?" I asked curiously. "You look so exhausted."
"Yeah." It was all she said.
"Hey. You're scaring me. Did something happen?" She didn't say anything. I shook her lightly. "Hey!"
As if waking up from a trance, her eyes became more aware. She looked at me and blinked a few times. "I'm sorry." She said. "I guess I'm just really tired."
"You found a job then?" I asked. "What kind of job?"
She didn't answer immediately. I started to get suspicious. "Just a job at a small restaurant on the nineteenth floor. The pay's good, and the job was easy enough."
"Are you sure?" I asked. "Then why do your eyes tell otherwise?"
"I'm just really exhausted." She explained. "There were so many customers and my hands were full the entire day. Stop worrying. Let's go to sleep."
"If you say so." But my heart was beating fast for some reason.
The next days were draining, but it felt like our lives were back to normal. Eliza's small house gave us comfort and my parents felt more assured knowing that I was doing well at my new job. My mother still worked at the shoe factory. They pardoned her tardiness because she had worked there for years, as long as it never happens again. Eliza seemed like she was also doing well at her own job. She always came home later than all of us, but always had a big smile on her face like she wasn't tired or anything. She always came home with bags of new clothes or food for all of us. She said her boss' restaurant was doing great and they were all given a raise. She said she was satisfied of her job and she promised that none of us will go hungry ever again. She smiled a lot, but it never reached her eyes. There was something wrong. I just knew it. But I didn't nag her about it. I could be wrong, I thought.
I thought the 'normal' days would continue, but I was so wrong. I started to notice some changes on my father. He became more irritable and my mother kept complaining about him not turning in his pay anymore. He used to give the money he earned every day to mother. He stopped handing his money to her and didn't even bother explaining where all his money went. It was a good thing I also got a raise. My boss was impressed by my perseverance and determination. I always came thirty minutes early and was never absent. When someone was busy and needed another to take over the shift, I always volunteered because it meant more pay. I wanted to earn a lot. I didn't want to keep depending on Eliza and thought we should move out soon.
Eliza, too, seemed to have changed. On the outside, she looked more carefree and blooming. She seemed to be earning a lot and most of her money went to pretty clothes, bags and shoes. Our neighbors praised her so much and told her how beautiful she was becoming every day. I wanted to feel happy for her but something felt so off. To others, she appeared to be full of happiness, but I knew better. Her eyes lost their sparkle. I tried opening a conversation with her a couple times but she always found an excuse to brush me off. The message was clear. She didn't want to talk about it. She didn't want me to ask questions. For the first time, I felt a wall between us. My heart felt like shattering.
The weeks went by and both my father and Eliza became more detached from the rest of us. My father was almost always never around anymore. He didn't stay in the house even on his days off. Eliza always came home late and talked to us less and less. It was alarming. My instincts were telling me something terrible was going on and that I had to do something. So, one fine sunny day, I asked for a day off from the bakery and went to follow my father. I didn't tell anyone else about my plan. I wanted to try and sort it out first before telling my mother. I saw my father leave the house at ten in the morning and headed west. I followed behind him, keeping a safe distance so as not to get noticed. It didn't seem like he noticed me tailing him. He kept his eyes ahead without even glancing everywhere else. He walked briskly, almost half-running, and bumped into a woman carrying a basket of fruits. Some of the fruits fell in the pavement. My father simply apologized and didn't even bother helping the lady pick the fruits up. My father was never that rude. I was appalled.
I followed him as he went three floors down. We arrived at the fourth floor, and I followed him to the entrance of a dark alley. It looked haunting. The houses were shabbier than the ones on our floor and the people had gloomy airs around them. My father was obviously up to no good. I had to save him from the darkness. I saw him enter an old decrepit building. The building's door frame was only covered by a dark dirty curtain. I slowly lifted my hand and reached for the curtain. I grabbed it and shove it sideways. The scene before me made me speechless for a moment. No way. Why would father be here? I asked in my head though I knew the answer. The building was a gambling den. There were a lot of people inside, surrounding big round tables and playing cards. There were coins and bills in the table in front of them. There was no doubt it was a gambling den. I scanned the room for my father and saw him at the far left corner with big brawny guys who looked like brutes. My father had a smoke on one hand and occasionally took sips from his beer bottle. What was worse was the lady in revealing outfit sitting on his lap. How could he do this? My eyes started brimming with tears. I stared at him until he felt my presence and looked to my direction. I saw his eyes widen in fear. He looked like a little boy caught taking goodies from the candy jar. I wanted to go to him and pull him from his chair. But my heart was hurting and I couldn't take another second in that place. I turned and walked away. I hurriedly ran back to the seventh floor without stopping. I didn't want to see my father's face in the time being. I was mad at him. No. I was furious. I wanted to scream at him. We were already suffering. Mother was working in the factory despite her aching back while my brother kept looking for small errands despite his weak lungs all so we'd have food to eat and money to pay for tax and buy necessities. My father knew how hard our situation already was. So how? How could he have the luxury to waste money on gambling?
It was very quiet at dinner. Nobody spoke. Mother and Leon noticed the animosity between me and father. I didn't glance at him. Not even once. I didn't want to see his face. If I had looked at him, I wouldn't be able to control my temper. My mouth felt dry, and the food tasted so bad to me. I lost my appetite.
"I need some fresh air." I said and stood up.
"Stop." Mother said. "You've been quiet this whole time. What is going on? What's wrong with both of you?" The question was directed to me and father. Nobody answered. "I'm going to ask again. What's going on with you two?"
I couldn't lie to her but I wanted father to confessed himself. "Why don't you ask him?" I answered mother, but my eyes were glued to father. He raised his head and met my eyes. He looked like someone in anguish. He was probably trying to read my eyes, but my poker face didn't betray my emotions.
"Well?" Mother turned to father.
Father was about to answer but someone yelled from the outside, calling my father. What now? I smelled another trouble. I was the first to reach the door and got out. There were a couple of large men holding baseball bats outside.
"What do you want? Who are you?" I asked with my voice shaking a little.
"Where's your father?" The biggest guy said. "I need to talk to him." Father got out of the house and took a step back as soon as he saw the uninvited guests. "Well, well. We've been looking for you. You think you can hide by giving us the wrong address?" The man stepped forward. "Now, pay up!"
"I don't have the money yet. Please give me more time."
"I've given you enough time." The man said. "Boys, teach him a lesson." The men moved forward and swung their bats.