"Mommy, whose house are we intruding?" I curiously asked while we're heading to a very large mansion with a lot of people going in and out of the glass entrance. "Is it possible for us to intrude without them noticing us? There's a lot of people."
"Ria, my daughter." Mom let out a loud exhale. "You're so stupid." She said it with a sweet smile on her face as if it is just a normal thing to say.
"Rebecca, first time ni Ria makakita ng mall," ani naman ni tito na siyang may hawak sa akin sa kamay.
Mom's still on her smile. "I'm not referring to that, beloved cousin. It's the idea of intrusion. Why would I intrude a place as crowded as this while taking a six-year-old careless kid? That's a common sense."
"Well, you can't blame her on that. Kahit nga matanda na, kung tinamaan ng kalutangan, wala ka nang magagawa. Having a common sense is actually seasonal."
"Palibhasa kasi, mahina ang sentido komon mo kaya todo bigay ka ng excuse para sa bata. Ganyan nga yata talaga 'pag tinatamaan ka ng balang hindi naman para sa'yo." Inosenteng tumawa si mommy habang inaayos ang eyeglasses na suot. "Besides, I didn't say that it's bad to have no common sense. I called my daughter stupid simply because it's true. Tingin ka sa daan!" Halos napatalon ako sa biglaang pagsigaw ni mommy sa dulo. "See? A car is coming and she's about to cross the road. Really stupid."
Umiiling-iling si tito saka ako hinila palapit sa kanya. "Look at your surroundings, Ria. Outside world is not safe."
Napaingos na lang ako at sumunod. Wala pang isang oras mula nang lumabas kami ng bahay, ang sakit na ng ulo ko. Why is this world so complicated?
"You go first," ani tito at bahagya akong itinulak papasok sa entrance.
An armed man with a baton looked at me and smiled. "Patingin po sa loob ng bag."
I squinted my eyes as I looked back at him. "Why?"
The guy blinked more than once, he looks like he's taken aback or something. Napatingin pa siya sa likod ko, kina tito at mommy, tapos sa akin ulit.
"Baby girl, kuya guard needs to check what's inside your beautiful bag."
I suddenly felt chills all over my body. He is so cringe that I even heard mom's boisterous laughter from behind.
"What the fuck? What baby girl? Why are you talking to me casually? We're not close. Besides, do I look like a brat to you? Aside from that, Sir, is this an invasion of privacy? And why are you approaching me with that rifle of yours?"
Nanlaki ang mga mata ng lalaki at bumilog ang kanyang bibig. He looked at the back again and so did I. Masama ang tingin ni tito sa akin at si mommy naman ay sa ibang direksiyon nakatingin, nagpipigil ng tawa.
Nagkamot ng batok ang lalaking nagpakilalang guard pagkatapos niyang ma-speechless. "Ma'am, I usually don't check on kids, but your bag is quite big and our security has recently became more strict."
"Still, the act of forcing someone to show you their private belongings is---"
"Ria, just freaking unzip it," tito cut me off in an stern voice.
Because it's him who allowed it, I then obliged. The man scratched his nape again as he didn't see a single thing inside my bag. Of course, I took a big one 'cause mom said we're going to buy my school supplies, and it's easier to carry them this way instead of those paper bags.
"Alright, ma'am, you may pass," he politely informed, but I can feel the uneasiness in his reaction.
"Pasensiya na, Sir. That kid grew up in a rather different pace and environment. And, uh, a weird parent," I heard tito said to the guard.

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