A family doesn't necessarily mean that it should be blood-related. A family is all about acceptance, love and trust.

For Amber, she met a new family - Chance and her friends. However, the urge to see her real family is becoming more unbearable as time passed. How does it feels like to meet her mom, her dad, and brothers? It doesn't matter to her if she can't remember them... maybe their faces will let her memories flow back to her again.

Amber exhaled nervously. After a long wait, they are now finally standing in front of Palawan Airport. She's been anticipating for this moment, but why is she nervous now?

Chance squeezed her shoulders. She looked up to him - and he gave an encouraging smile.

"You've been waiting for this for a long time, right?"

She nodded. Amber tried to speak, but had gone dry... she's extremely nervous now.

"It's ok, you don't need to say anything Amy. Let's go?" Chance offered. He carried their large and bulky bags and led the way outside the airport. Amber felt calmed as the pre-summer breeze swept over her. She breathed deeply and smiled... The air smells of grass and sea. Perfect.
"My Mom, my dad, Kuya Luhan and our youngest brother, Yuhan. Did I get it right?" she asked, her voice rasp.
"Yes. Good job." he winked at her and smiled amusedly. They crossed the street and waited for jeepney.
"Do you still remember our house?" Amber asked.
"Yes, it's quite far though."

Chance waved his hand and the passing jeepney stopped in front of them. He let Amber in first before he took his seat beside her. Amber chewed her lips nervously.

"Maybe I should've stopped by on a salon first, don't you think? They might think I'm not presentable." she said nervously.

Chance laughed and pinched her cheeks.

"Why? You're beautiful just the way you are Amy."

Amber nodded and stared at her toes. After a few minutes, they reached the main town, and they went towards the dirty market. Chance can still remember vividly how all eight of them, together with Taec and their friends, entered this market two years ago. He smiled to himself with that memory.

"Why are you smiling?" Amber's voice interrupted his trance. Chance snapped out of his thoughts and smiled at her.
"What do you want to eat? We can buy them lobsters or oysters." he suggested.
"Anything would be fine. But let's not forget to buy vegetables ok? You said that my kuya has a weak heart. He needs vegies for his health."

Chance nodded and he led the way inside the narrow alleyway. The market was so jam-packed that they had a hard time sticking together with each other.

"...hold my hand Amber, I don't want to lose you." Chance said. Then he smiled. He actually meant two things from that statement.
"Chance.."

The large number of commoners parted their hands together. Amber tiptoed and caught Chance's back over the dozens of heads around her.

"Chance!" she called, attempting to squeeze in between the people.
"Mommy!!!" a boy wailed from afar. Amber turned around and saw a young boy at age 6 crying at the middle of the pathway. Without hesitation, she strode over the young boy and hold his hands.
"Hey, are you ok? Where's your Mom?" she asked concernedly. The boy stopped crying and looked up. His eyes bulged as wide as a saucer plate and looked at Amber like he saw a ghost.
"A... " the words won't escape on his mouth.
"Move!" a carton boy pushed a wheelbarrow full of garbage in between them. Amber and the kid got separated. There was a loud 'Yuhan!' behind the kid and at the same time, someone grabbed Amber's hand. She quickly turned around and saw a flustered-looking Chance in front of her.
"There you are." he said fully relieved. "Don't let go of my hand again. You understand that?"
"Wait Chance, there's a kid -"
"Where?" Chance looked over Amber's shoulder and found no one. 

Amber looked around too and searched the whole place. The kid was nowhere to be found. 
"But he seems lost. We must help him..." she said.
"Ok. Where did you find him?" 
"There." she pointed on the spot where he saw the kid. They approached the nearest vendor and asked,
"Excuse me, have you seen a little kid, just this tall here a while ago?" Amber said, leveling her hand on the assumed height of the boy.
"Oh, yes. He's with his mom now." the vendor answered.

Both Chance and Amber sighed in relief.

"Can we go now?" Chance asked. 

She nodded in agreement and they went to another game of tug-of-war with the buyers on the market. Finally, they reached outside the market and was able to breathe fresh air. 

"Well that's an exercise." Amber commented. She hold Chance's hand and squeezed it. "I think I'm really ready now Chance. I'm excited to see my family."

Together they walked toward the line of tricycles behind the fish stall. Amber saw the same kid on the front tricycle with her Mom's back turned from him. The mother looked so busy from both calling someone over the phone and managing to hold her groceries steady.

Chance tensed when he saw the familiar back of the woman and the boy. He looked sideways at Amber... she was staring at the boy with great interest. He doesn't know how to react at this situation.

The woman's grocery bag suddenly split into two. Numerous apples fell from the plastic bag and rolled over on different directions.

"Oh no Yuhan! Pick up those apples please!" they heard the woman asked her son. The kid quickly squatted and picked the fallen apples. One of them rolled over farther from the kid, and it kept rolling lazily until it reached Amber's toes.

Yuhan followed the apple without looking at Amber. She picked the apple for him and held it in front of his face.

"This is yours right?" she said kindly.

He looked up above and his eyes widened just as he did earlier. His eyes started to water that made Amber confused.

"Hey, you're crying? Why? I didn't do anything wrong right?" she said, panicking.

Amber's mom finally stopped talking over her phone and turned to look at her son. Her eyes landed on Amber, and Amber caught her eyes at the same moment.

It seems like a fictional movie, when two people felt sparks at each other whenever their eyes met. It usually happens at love stories, but this was not the case for Amber.

There was a huge flow of electricity on her body that electrified her whole spirit. Maybe this was what they call, "call of blood." She can't explain this.... she's not even planning it.... but Amber's feet moved involuntarily towards her Mom - even if her mind was not sure if this was her mom.

*But my heart was sure.* she reasoned out.

Mrs. Mallari stood frozen on the ground, her eyes swam with tears of disbelief. Is this true? This woman in front of her... is it really Amber? She clasped her hands over and stopped herself from crying. Her heart burst into million pieces as the girl who looks exactly like her walked nearer and nearer to her.

If it was just a dream then she wished she can wake up soon. She wanted to stop herself from hoping... She wanted to move on. Losing a child once was enough.

But Amber kept on going closer, until she stopped in front of her with a safe distance from her mom. 

"Tell me.. Tell me this is just a dream my Lord." Mrs. Mallari whispered desperately. She took two steps forward and softly touched Amber's cheeks. Amber closed her eyes and Mrs. Mallari touched her daughter's eyes that looked exactly like hers. She brushed her hands on her nose, which she also got from her. Her cheeks came from her father, and she pinched her cheeks affectionately. Everything about this woman says it is her daughter. "Tell me so I can wake up now." she said. She cried uncontrollably and hung her hands limply from Amber's shoulders. Her legs grew weak, and she almost fall on her knees. Amber caught her waist and hugged her.
"M-mom?" she asked quietly.

Amber's voice was enough to break her mother's heart. She cried her heart out and embraced Amber like her whole life depended on it.

"Oooh Amber... my daughter.. you're alive." she cried harder and kissed her cheeks, her forehead, her chin, her nose... she kissed Amber's face randomly and repeatedly then she hugged her daughter tighter. Yuhan hugger Amber's thighs and stiffled a sob too.

"I miss you ate Amber." 

Amber couldn't help herself from crying too. She clung on her mom tightly and kissed her cheeks softly. Then she messed Yuhan's hair and kissed the top of his head. She can't remember anyone of them, but the warmth and love she felt were enough for her to know that this was her family.

"Josephine! Thank God you already found Yuhan - " a deep voice rang behind them. Mr. Mallari stopped in his tracks and stared aghastly at Amber. She looked up to her father and met his eyes. The same feeling swept over her, and she cried harder than before.
"Dad." she croaked.

Mr. Mallari ran towards Amber and hugged his daughter, together with his wife and son. Chance wiped his eyes and smiled. He's glad that for once in his life, he made the right decision. Amber deserves to be with her family, and her family deserves to have her.

After a long time of crying and hugging and kissing... Amber pulled out from their embrace and looked around. There's someone missing...

"Wait... where's Kuya Luhan?" she asked.

Mr. and Mrs. Mallari's face darkened. Their eyes filled with fresh tears and the both of them stared at each other, before they nodded in a silent agreement.

Mrs. Mallari hold Amber's hands shakily. She kissed her hands and said in a rasp whisper...

"Luhan is dead Amber. He died a month ago."

I'm really sad right now because of this chapter. T___T Well anyways, sorry for the long wait! I'm finally done with our weekly articles, so I can update again.

Maybe some of you are confused. What is "Kuya" and "Ate", and why did I changed Amber's surname?

Kuya = older brother in Filipino.
Ate = older sister in Filipino.

And I changed Amber and Taec's surnames just for a change, so I hope I did not really confused you. :)

And the update was short right? So unlike me.

I'll be waiting for your comments! :))