"There's no way I would let you go there, Sunny." I drew a deep sigh at my father's disagreement. I turned my head to face him. Tiredness and fatigue are so visible on his face. I walked towards the metal bench. It creaked as I put my weight on it. "Dad," I began and reached his hand to hold it. I look at his brown eyes and it reflects my figure. "Can you please think about this again? You know, we have no one to ask for help but her. She can lend us money that we need for mom's surgery," I asked, hoping that he'll change his mind. His brows furrowed. "No, daughter. That woman is dangerous," he said with a serious tone on his voice. My forehead creased. "H-how could you say that, Dad? Do you know her?" Confusion is evident on my face. I tried to find answers on his expression but he looked away, his eyes landed on the large glass window in front of us. The air between us was filled with silence. I stared at my hands, holding his hands loosely. "I think Miss Miller is a good person, Dad," I continued. "Her lending company is very helpful especially to poor people like us. Even Mariya's family was helped by Miss Miller when her brother needed some money for working abroad—" "If you think that telling me about those things will change my mind..." He slowly turned to face me and shook his head. "I will never change my decision, Sunny. I will never allow you to go in that dangerous place of her and ask for help." "But we don't have any options, Dad! Miss Miller is our only hope—" "Yes, we have! It's impossible that we have no one else to turn to for help?! We just need to think some other ways—" I tried to open my mouth to say something but I can't find some words to say. "—I can ask for the Mayor's help or any of the officials in this town whom can help us. Yeah! That right... We can ask for their help," he said and nod in himself, as if he got the best idea. Heck! If we're going to ask for the local government's help, it would take us eternity before our concern will be entertained. My mom might be dead before their help will arrive! "You go home this afternoon, Sunny. Check on your siblings and cook something for them, okay?" "But Dad—" "I will be the one to keep an eye on your mother this evening. I'll go now to run some errands." I sighed in defeat as he left me on that cold bench outside the white empty hallway. I stared on the large glass window. Looking past through that window, I saw my mother laying unconsciously on the hospital bed. She's surrounded by machines that helps her breathe and monitor her health status. She's been here for a week now due to heart attack. The doctor said that she needs to undergo a surgery as soon as possible but we don't have money. That's why I'm convincing my Dad to Miss Miller's lending company because we will not wait for months before we get the help we needed. Yet, he's so hard-headed! I sighed and walked closer to the glass window. "Hang in there, Mom. We can get through this..." I whispered with hoping that she'd hear. I stayed there for a few hours before I decided to go home. "Ate Sunny!" Cristian, my brother--2nd to the eldest--welcomed me when I reached the house. "Where's everybody?" I asked, roaming my eyes around the our tiny house. "Playing outside as usual," I nodded and put my old-fashioned shoulder bag on the table. "How's Mom, by the way? Is she awake now?" I felt like I was thwack by his question. I'm hesitating if I'm going to tell him the truth but I decided to give him an assurance. "Mom is going to be okay," I smiled genuinely to remove his worries. He just nod in response and let me go to our room in peace. Gosh. I'm so tired. I'm the eldest among the six children: three boys and three girls and being the eldest means, I need to make sure that they're safe and sound. That's why we're all sleeping on the same bed to be safe from bad guys. Though, bad guys are not rampant here in this little town because we most likely know each other. Plus, if ever they tried to robbed something from us, I'd pity them because they'll get nothing from us. When I'm sure that all of my siblings were asleep, I slowly got up from our hard bed to prepare from leaving. It's still 8 pm here but people in this town sleep early. I texted Mariya, my friend, this afternoon and asked her if she can go with me to Miss Miller's place. Luckily, she agreed. I check on my siblings for the last time. They're sleeping peacefully and so, I closed the door. Sorry, dad. I just want to help... I put my scarf over my head and covered half of my face, so that no one would recognize me. It took me a few minutes of walking before I reached the waiting shed where Mariya and I will meet. I saw a woman's figure, wearing a hoodie, leaning in a black old motorcycle. Mariya is such an early bird tonight. "Hey!" She jumped out of seat in shock. "Finally! After 1 million years..." she exclaimed exaggeratedly. I rolled my eyes and chuckled. "Let's go!" It was a 40 minutes ride before we reached our destination. We parked near a two-story building. So far, this is the only building I've seen in this town that is quite close in our house. There are a lot of men everywhere in this place. Most of them are with tattoos and cigarette on their mouth. "Don't be nervous. She might be intimidating but she's totally the opposite," Mariya said and winked at me. I smiled genuinely even if its not visible because of my scarf. Miss Miller's building is far from what I expected. The place is filled with cigarette smoke and red neon lights. The place is noisy because of the punk music playing on the stereos and shouting men and women. Her place is extensive but kind of messy. Mariya held my hand tightly when a group of men with bulky muscles were walking on the opposite side. We stopped and let them pass first. I swear I felt dizzy with their environment. The place is like a. . . And now it hit me why her business hours begin at 6 in the evening until 4 in dawn! "I'll wait here outside. Get in," Mariya said. I nod and removed my scarf before knocking on the door. Mariya told me that I can enter the room since I knocked on the door, and I did. Unlike outside, her room is quiet as if it was made of sound proof material. I can only hear the ticking of clock but I can still smell the cigarette smoke. Her room is large and decorated with abstract paintings. There's a chandelier above the ceiling that lit up the whole room and the floor is covered with red wool carpet and the walls too. It looks elegant, all in all. "Who are you?" A woman with diamond earrings and necklaces pop out of my sight. She's wearing a white silky dress that suits well on her body but not in this place. "G-good evening, Madam! Are you Miss Miller?" She walked gracefully across the room and took a seat on her swivel chair. Geez, Sunny! Of course, she's Miss Miller! "My name is Sunshine Romero. You can call me Sunny, Miss." She raised her eye brow, examining me from head to toe, before offering a seat opposite to her. "What can I do for you?" she asked straightforward, emotionless. "I-I came here because I heard that you can... help poor people. Actually, my friend referred—" "Cut the crap, lady." I was stunned. I cleared my throat. "I-I need a half million pesos for my mother's hospital bills and... surgery. She needs to undergo an operation as soon as possible." The room was filled with silence. Miss Miller laid her back on the swivel chair and tapped her fingers on the table. I looked down on my sweating palms and clasped it together. I noticed she pull a pen and some paper under her desk. "Is she still alive?" she asked coldly. "Yes, Miss." She smirked. "She must be lucky, huh?" My brain hanged for a second. "H-ha?" She just chuckled. "Anyway, I'm going to send the money tomorrow." My eyes widen in surprise. That fast? "But I'm only giving you six months to pay." My jaw dropped. What?! "S-six months? Isn't it too fast for a large amount of money to pay?" I asked in disbelief. She burst into laugh as if I dropped the funniest joke she ever heard. But her face shifts back to poker face, real quick. How can she do that? "My business is different, darling. I have my own rules..." She leaned forward on the desk that made me shifted on my seat. My gaze went down. "You want my money, ASAP? You have to pay me too, ASAP," she said with no trace of humor in her voice. I felt shiver down my spine. "But, I can't guarantee that I can pay within that span of months. We're just poor!" I exclaimed. She sat back on her chair, arms crossed. "So?" she said, rasing her eyebrow as if her idea is so easy. "I'm only a cashier in a convenience store, Miss" I said quietly, looking straight into her lifeless eyes. Her scarlet red lips formed an O. She still looks beautiful even though her fine lines are visible . "So, you want to have a high-paying salary, huh? I can give you one. . ." "R-really, Miss?!" I exclaimed. I felt like I was give a chance to hope. "Yes." She stood up from her seat and pull a cigar under her desk. "But, you need to left this town and go in the metro city because that's where your job takes place." I was taken aback. I don't know if I'm going to be happy or what. "Metro city? A-as in... the Metropolitan City?!" "Yes darling, the national capital city of the whole country," Miss Miller confirmed my stupid-like question, while I'm gaping in shock. Is this the sign? Can I now fulfill my ultimate dream of living in the big city? Metropolitan City. . . She lit her cigarette near the window. Then she turned her head and faced me. A smirked appeared on her lips.

　　"So, what do you think, darling?"