House of Cards

The First Card - Three of Cloves - Past, Present, Future

The First Card - ♣️Three of Cloves♣️ - Past, Present, Future

    What once used to be a sacred tradition was now brushed off and simply forgotten. Just like civilizations, traditions are born and are left to be forgotten but reminisced when one were to suddenly irk interest in it. Though nowadays most high school students don't even try to bother asking their history teacher about the early civilizations of the human race, rather they'd simply sleep through class, clearly bored and uninterested of a past—and now dead culture.

    During the holidays, my family had a yearly tradition wherein days before New Year's, we'd go to the beach - specifically "The Cove" - a resort my family had gone to even before I was born. We practically knew everyone there, the staff, the chefs, lifeguards and if you'd believe it, even the security dogs; they were one of the things I loved most there.

And don't let me get started on their sinigang, it was heavenly, as well as the other food there.

    Throughout the albums I had skimmed through and found myself in, I found pictures of my brother and other relatives playing by the water while I was just sitting on the shore - in a very colorful and kiddie swimsuit, might I add. I used to be afraid of swimming but I loved the feeling of the water when it'd come to touch the shore and the water would reach my feet. My mother used to tell me that I wasn't really interested in playing with my brother and cousins, I'd usually just play by myself by the shore, running away from the water as it climbed it's way to the sand, making sure it didn't touch me.

    When I was already capable of remembering stuff - faces, names and such - I began to fall for my older brother's mischevious plans to pick up girls and went straight up to them, saying hi to them and telling them about how "hot" my brother was. I was like 5 or 6 by then and let me tell you now; I may not had shame back then but just remembering the whole thing makes me so embarrassed to the point I tell myself "just kill me now,".

    And I know I'm not the only one who feels that way. My brother, Zack and cousin Andrew - who also took part - do as well.

    Leaving my embarrassing memories aside, I do remember that at that point in time, everyone was happy. They weren't fighting, they weren't arguing - leaving the "who will pay" debates - and they certainly weren't broke.

    Unlike how we are now.

    Maybe things were great back then since I was kid and you know, kids were oblivious to things like these but I was also a kid when I found about my dad cheating on my mom; and it didn't start when I answered the phone and his mistress called, nope; I knew way back.

    Because I saw them.

    To those adults reading this, you may underestimate your kid or other kids but don't forget that children are also human beings and as we all know, humans are also afraid of things of which they don't understand. They may see it but they don't want to believe in it; it's like another form of reverse psychology, children for example believe in huge alligators living in sewers even when they haven't actually seen them; while a child visits the zoo and sees an alligator in its original habitat, they completely disregard it and continue to believe that they live in the sewer and they were just there in the zoo because the zookeepers just brought them there.

    Children see what they believe in and not because they can see it.

    And that's what scared me the most. Did I really see my father with another woman or was it all just in my head?