SIX YEARS LATER

"It's time to wake up; the time is five thirty."

"It's time to wake up; the time is five thirty."

"It's time to wake up; the time is five thirty."

"Hmmmm." I woke up to the consecutive alarms of the digital clock on my bedside table. It's already five thirty in the morning. Groggily, I stood up and stretched.

I'll do my daily routine upon waking up: wash my face, brush my teeth, and exercise. I'll take a shower after breakfast because I need to cook breakfast.

I cooked Java rice in the rice cooker while frying some dishes on the stove. It's good that there are ready-to-cook dishes in the fridge. But these aren't your typical frozen foods; they are our processed food products. Aside from the farm resort and vegetables and fruit production, I also ventured into the food processing business from our farm's harvest, like products made from mushrooms, various pickles, chips, and more.

I wasn't finished cooking when someone knocked on the door, probably my best friend. She always comes over early, although I know she has a duty at their hospital and her shift ends at 7 a.m. Yet, it's not even seven o'clock in the morning, and she's here.

Upon opening the door, I wasn't surprised to see her, probably skipping her duties again.

"Good morning, girl." I greeted my newly arrived friend Fatima. My best friend is always present in the happenings of my life, whether in sadness or happiness, and I'm truly thankful to the Lord. We immediately exchanged cheek kisses.

"Good morning to you too. How was the trip?" I replied as I arranged the dining table.

"Smooth. Just tiring," she replied with a smile. "I thought we were starting early; why are you still in your pajamas?"

"It's still early; you're just too early. Did you leave work early again?"

"Of course, how else would I get here on time?"

"What you mean is, you used your perks again."

"Of course, I might as well use the advantage of being the owner's daughter once in a while," she said, flipping her hair. "I would have been here yesterday, but I couldn't take the day off because there was a bus accident last night and they needed a lot of doctors, so I just left work early today."

"Are you sure you weren't a loss there? I understand if you couldn't make it," I replied. "Perfect," I said after checking the Java rice I cooked.

"I admit, I'm a good doctor," she said, causing me to shake my head, trying to suppress a laugh. She's boastful and a bit of a bully when it's just us, but she's overly kind and lets others walk all over her otherwise.

"But no worries, because the patients brought in weren't severely injured, except for the driver, who was dead on arrival. The others are under observation, but they'll manage," she said, coming closer to check on what I was cooking. "That smells so good. Like butter," she said, looking at me curiously.

"What's that look for?"

"You're still cooking?"

"What's wrong with still cooking? It's just breakfast and I'm almost done preparing. Your godchildren are still asleep.

"Did you tell them?" she asked after a while.

"Those two are always on the go."

Soon after, I heard the soft footsteps from upstairs coming down the stairs towards us. My precious gems are awake.

"Good morning, mommy." We both turned to greet the children when we heard them.

"Babies. Have you washed your faces and brushed your teeth?" I asked them, having taught them what to do before bed and after waking up since they were young.

"Yes, mommy," they answered in unison.

"We also prayed, mommy, thanking God for waking us up and for all the blessings He gives us every day," said Miyanna.

"And we also wished for Him to give us a dad so someone could help you take care of me and Sis and make our family complete," added Dianna.

I was left agape, shocked, and almost unable to move from where I stood at what my children had said. Pat and I exchanged looks. I wasn't prepared for them to start looking for a daddy this early, so I didn't even notice when tears began to fall down my cheeks, which I quickly wiped away with the back of my hand. At their young age, they had already thought about such a thing. I just nodded at them with a forced smile on my lips because if I tried to speak, I would surely start crying, and I didn't want them to see that.

"Wow, Auntie Godmother's girls are really beautiful. I was just about to wake you up. But since you're already awake, let's have breakfast." Pat thankfully was here to catch me in this unexpected situation.

"Yup. Let's have breakfast then; we were going to visit our farm, like the strawberries and grapes we planted."

"Is that for real, mommy?" Dianna exclaimed, their eyes widening in shock and joy. I nodded vigorously in response to her question, laughing at their reactions and not knowing how to handle their immense happiness. They really love going to the farm and tinkering there, and you can expect an endless session of questions and answers. Even though the farm is visible from the house, their joy is incomparable when they participate in activities here. From a young age, they have been truly enamored with farming.

"Did you hear that, Auntie Godmother? Come with us."

"Sure," Pat agreed.

"Yay, I'm so excited," Miyanna exclaimed, jumping up and down and clapping. Their simple joys also made me happy.

"Are we going to ride a horse?" they asked together, which I nodded to.

"Sure, but just for a little while."

"Wow, thank you, Mommy." It feels so good to be hugged tightly by your child even when you didn't ask for it.

"You're always welcome, my babies." I kissed them both on their cheeks.