It was a cold morning…the air had the feel of the coming winter to it. It was only 6:00 am but Chae Won and Shinhye were already up and preparing themselves for school.

“Brrrr….heavens it’s so cold in here”, Shinhye shivered before she blew her breath to warm her palms and rubbed them briskly to her arms.

“The heating system might not be functioning well again…tsk…tsk…I guess we need to buy another to replace that”, Chae Won replied while she was pouring hot water to small cups.

“Sister, I’ll mix the coffee for us”, Shinhye volunteered as she went to opened a small cabinet which creaked loudly due to its almost rusting hinges.

“Okay, I’ll just look at the porridge. After you finish making the coffee kindly wake mom so she can eat with us”, Chae Won said with a gentle smile.

Shinhye looked inside the cabinet for sugar, creamer and coffee only to find most of the containers near empty.

“Aish…what the…” Shinhye sighed heavily. It was not the first time seeing this misery within their lives. She was used to seeing their food cabinet empty, their small refrigerator containing only a pitcher of cold water or even their rice supply dwindling but still it brought pain to her heart.

“I know, little sister, it’s almost empty again…don’t worry I’ll try to borrow some money from the owner of the diner this afternoon or tomorrow”, Chae Won said trying to comfort her younger sister. Her eyes misted as she stirred the porridge. She replaced her mother’s position as a waitress at a small diner near a small library. She worked there after her classes at school.

“Don’t worry, Chae Won, its okay…we’ll get by…we always do”, Shinhye replied as she went to give her sister a back hug…her eyes also misting from unshed tears. “I’ll also try to borrow some money from the store owner this afternoon…we can do this together, right?” she continued.

“Yes, Shinhye, we can do this. Go wake mom now…the porridge is almost done”, Chae Won replied smiling at Shinhye who smiled back amidst their unshed tears.

They were sisters, born of the same mother to different fathers. They lived in a ramshackle apartment in the outskirts of Incheon. They never met their fathers…their mother was the only parent they knew. They both learned at a young age that people could be cruel especially to bastards like them; thus, they learned to depend and defend each other.

“Mom, mom, wake up now…let’s eat outside. Chae Won cooked some porridge and I prepared some coffee. Let’s go eat before they get cold”, Shinhye said as she shook her mother gently.

“O-okay…go ahead…I’ll come downstairs shortly….uhuh…uhuh….uhuh”, their mother replied followed by a fit of coughing.

“Mom, are you okay? You’re coughing seems to be getting worse”, Shinhye commented.

“I’m okay….don’t worry about me…go ahead”, their mother said with a sad smile.

Shinhye went out of the room and prepared the table with their mismatched bowls. Chae Won then placed the porridge at the center and started putting them to the bowls prepared by Shinhye.

“Shinhye, I heated some water…wash yourself after eating; then, I’ll follow after I washed the dishes, okay”, Chae Won reminded her sister as they sat and started to eat their porridge.

“Okay”, Shinhye agreed.

“I might as well wash the dishes so that the two of you can already prepare for school”, their mother suggested as she sat on the table and began partaking of the porridge.

“No, mom, just rest…it won’t be good for you to be so tired. Shinhye and I will be fine…right, Shinhye?” Chae Won said.

“Yes, mom, Chae Won’s right just rest and leave everything to us”, Shinhye agreed.

“How’s your work at the diner?” their mother asked Chae Won.

“It’s fine, mom. The owner is a considerate person to me…she doesn’t allow me to work very hard…she’s so understanding”, Chae Won lied. The owner of the diner was far from understanding or considerate…she was a dragon breathing fire and even easy with her fists.

“That’s good…I’m glad that she doesn’t treat you badly the way she’s treated me before. How about your work at the grocery store?” their mother then asked Shinhye.

“It’s also good, mom. The store owner treats me well. He only asks me to arrange cans and sweep and mop the floor. He is a good man who doesn’t know how to raise his voice or speak badly”, Shinhye also lied. The store owner was not a good man…he was one of the meanest who asked her to carry sacks of flour and sugar at the store room of the store. She even nearly broke her back when she fell from the stool where she stood when he asked her to clean the top shelves of the store.

“I’m glad…I’m glad”, their mother said…it was also a lie…she knew that her daughters were lying to her. She knew how battered Chae Won’s hands were from washing so many dishes…how most of the time she spotted a cut or a bruise from accidents with sharp knives or hot pans; she also knew of the back aches and bruises that Shinhye gained from lugging heavy things at the store. She wanted to cry at that moment…she wanted to beat herself for not being a good mother…for being sick…for being a burden to her young daughters.

“Shinhye, it’s almost 7:00 go wash yourself now…I’ll follow you after I’m done here”, Chae Won said as she started to gather the bowls to be washed at the sink.

“Okay, I’ll use this water then heat some for you”, Shinhye said as she grabbed the pot holder and carried the kettle to their small bathroom. She poured the contents on a pail and went out to fill the kettle with water to be heated for Chae Won.

At around 8:00 am, they were ready to go to school. Chae Won was third year while Shinhye was first year. They were both enrolled at a public high school in the city.

“Shinhye, let’s go home together after work…then we can buy some supplies if we could borrow some money”, Chae Won suggested.

“Sure, Chae Won, I hope we can have some money to buy some roast pork for dinner, right?” Shinhye encouragingly replied.

“Okay, let’s go. Fighting!” Chae Won said trying to raise their spirits.

“Fighting!” Shinhye also agreed smiling cheerfully as they both strapped their back packs.

“Mom, we’ll go ahead”, Chae Won told their mother.

“Okay, take care of yourselves”, their mother replied.

“Bye, mom”, Shinhye said as they both bowed in respect.

They went outside where their bike was parked at the corner. They rode a bike going to school so they could save up in bus fares. They bought the bike from their meager savings and painted it pink and white.

“Hop now, Shinhye, let’s go”, Chae Won called her sister…it was her turn to pedal going to school.

They were about to go when a very angry middle aged woman charged at them.

“Here you are! Where’s your mother? I want to speak with her”, the angry woman demanded.

“Good morning, Mrs. Han, mom’s inside the house resting…she’s not feeling well”, Shinhye replied.

“I don’t care if she’s bloody dying I need to speak with her right now. Ae Sook, Ae Sook, come out here!” the woman shouted in a way fit to wake up an entire neighborhood.

“Mrs. Han, please calm down. There’s no point in shouting like that…my mom sure can hear you”, Chae Won sarcastically commented.

“Shut up! I don’t need to calm down…I need to see your mother right now! Ae Sook, Ae Sook!” the woman continued yelling angrily at the top of her lungs.

“Yes…yes…I’m here what is it, Mrs. Han?” their mother said as she went out of the door clutching her thick shawl around herself.

“I need your payment for the apartment…you’ve been delayed for around two months already. I need your payment now!” the woman demanded.

“I-I’m sorry, Mrs. Han, but can you please extend your time limit a bit more. You see I’ve been sick for the past months and because of the cold weather I’m not able to recover. My daughters are the only ones working and they aren’t earning that much…so please…” their mother wasn’t able to finish their sentence because Mrs. Han interrupted her with an angry tirade.

“I don’t care about your situation in life…what do you think of me? A bloody charitable institution for poor people like you? I need your payment next week…if you still could not pay me I’ll throw you out to freeze in the streets!” Mrs. Han delivered her cruel ultimatum and left without a backward glance.

“Bloody hell! I want to strangle that woman! How dare her! How dare her!” Chae Won angrily said as her hands fisted on her sides.

“I want to grab fists of her hair and yanked them until she’s bald. Bloody arrogant, selfish woman!” Shinhye muttered in anger.

“Mom, why didn’t you tell us that we’re already delayed in paying that harpy?” Chae Won asked her mother. Her face reflected worry and sadness.

“Yeah, mom, why didn’t you tell us, huh?” Shinhye asked looking at her mother with the same worried face.

“I’m sorry, my dear daughters, I didn’t want to worry you anymore. I thought I could reason with her…I’m sorry”, their mother replied weakly.

“Mom!” Chae Won said in dismay she wanted to say more.

“You know there’s no reasoning with such person”, Shinhye voiced out what she thought Chae Won might be thinking but unable to say loudly.

“Don’t worry about it…we’ll think of a solution when you arrive home this evening. Go to school now…you’ll be late for your classes”, their mother said.

“Okay”, the two agreed.

While they were preparing to leave, Shinhye looked back to wave their mother goodbye when she was horrified with what she saw.

“My God, Chae Won, mom collapsed!” Shinhye gasped in worry as she immediately went to their mother’s side.

“Heavens! Mom, mom!” Chae Won left their bike and went to follow Shinhye to their mother’s side.

Shinhye clutched their mother’s hand while Chae Won was trying to revive their mother by gently shaking her and calling on to her.

“Help us, please help us”, Shinhye started to shout for help.

“Please, help us, help us”, Chae Won followed.

“Mom, please wake up”, Shinhye said her voice broke due to fear and tears.

“Shinhye, please knock on some of the apartments’ doors. Ask them to help us bring mom to the hospital”, Chae Won told her sister.

“Okay, I’ll be right back”, Shinhye agreed as she stood and started running towards the other apartments frantically knocking at their gates and shouting for help.

“Mom, please wake up…don’t leave me and Shinhye…I beg you, please don’t leave us”, Chae Won said as tears fell from her eyes.

At the distance, “please, help us…our mother collapsed we need help to bring her to the hospital…please, help us”, Shinhye could be heard shouting for help.

Their mother remained unconscious lying on the floor in front of their ramshackle apartment as the cold winds continue to blow.

Hi everyone! This is the first chapter of my new story. Thank you very much for reading, subscribing and commenting. Love you all so much....