VIELLTRONZO

Chapter Two- Special

The aroma of delicious hot coffee and freshly made bread reached Julien's nose as he walked down the stairs. Despite having to sleep at such a late time, his body didn't fail to wake him up at the usual early time. He scratched the nape of his neck as a yawn escaped his lips. Upon arriving down, he was greeted by his little brother's usual bright smile that always seemed to complete Julien's day.

"Good morning!"

Julien smiled back as his brother ushered him to sit down with their parents on the dining table to have breakfast. He has always loved it when they ate together like there was nothing that could go wrong outside the doors of their home. Despite how tired everybody was, the smiles, jokes and laughs had always been genuine and it was one of the things that kept Julien going. It pushed him to keep working to be able to provide everything his family needed. His family was his strength, his foundation and his future.

Right?

"What time did you arrive last night Julien? Your brother said he has a surprise for us so he waited until you came back. Right Romeo?"

At the mention of it, Romeo widened his eyes and immediately ran upstairs. Ironic enough, their parents have always loved the novel 'Romeo and Juliet' and decided it would be good enough to name that to their children. In no more than ten seconds, he ran down the stairs with an envelope in hand and almost tripped out of excitement. He smiled and sat down beside Julien, handing him the large envelope. Julien glanced at everyone before finally opening it and reading the content out loud.

"Mr. Romeo Jax Dela Cruz, we are please to inform you that you have been accepted at San Juan National Med School. Other-... Wait, what?"

Julien widened his eyes as his mouth hung open from the sudden surprise. He glanced to his side and saw his mother crying in pure joy as she hugged their father. Julien stood up and wrapped his arms around Romeo as he felt his eyes get clouded with tears.

"I-I'm so proud of you."

Julien's voice trembled as he let his tears fall. Was this real? Was Romeo finally going to college and study to be a doctor? With their mother being a farmer and father earning only about three hundred in one day as a carpenter, life hadn't been easy for them back then, especially when both Julien and Romeo were still at school. Julien had to stop school at the age of sixteen and work different jobs from selling newspaper to driving a truck of goods.

There were times when the four of them had to share a single fried egg or not even eat at all. The memory of their mother crying when she only gained a few coins after selling rice in the market flashed before Julien's eyes. People may think Julien's crazy that out of all the jobs available, he still chose the one that's heavily against the law. The reason for Julien's choices will be another story to tell.

"See Julien? I'm a few steps away from our dream! I'll study hard and climb that stage with you! That's a promise! "

Romeo spread his arms with tear-stained cheeks as they all got in a warm group hug. Their neighbors had always envied them for being a family full of such an everlasting love and Julien was proud to be in this family even if tmtheir riches weren't much. You could say they were fortunate and unfortunate at the same time.

It was only a few moments when Julieta, their mother, called out from the living room after turning on the small television. Everyone sat at the sofa except for Julien who held a glass of water and leaned against the wall just behind the sofa. The television showed a news reporter who looked distressed and almost traumatised as he spoke in front of the camera.

"... It seemed like the killer aimed to expose mister Alan Bersik's doings to the citizens. According to police records and investigation, a few citizens and even his own niece had been Alan's victims of rape and sexual assualt. Even at such a heavy case, mister Bersik had always managed to get bailed out of prison because of his connections to the chief police of the province. It was also confirmed that Alan was under the influence of illegal drugs, alcohol and cigarettes.