“Nothing in this world can or should be decided by one person, so why should your bully decide everything that you are?”

“Ew, get away from me, you vermin,” scoffed a woman with a stunning, long gown that flowed gracefully to the floor and had a gold ring in her right index finger with a sparkly diamond on it, whipping out a bottle of perfume and unleashing a cloud of if right in front of the little girl’s face.

“I-I’m sorry,” the little girl stammered, wrinkling her nose and coughing from the overwhelming scent.

“Why are you still here? Disappear from my presence, now!” the woman snapped, flicking her arm dismissively, spraying droplets of her saliva into the air in the process.

With her back hunched, she yelled out, “I’m sorry, my lady, I just got distracted by your breathtaking beauty; you just look so much like a princess. I’ll be taking my leave now.” The girl hastily made her exit.

“Hmm, quite insolent and complete pestilence, yet I must admit, she has very good eyes; I’ll give her that,” the woman commented to the man besides her.

“Indeed, my lady,” replied an elderly gentleman, donning a sleek black suit and a monocle perched on his right eye.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, the girl they just shooed away had been stealthily listening in on their conversation; her once expression of nervousness had been transformed into one of cockiness.

Grinning mischievously, the little girl said in a whisper to the two shadowy figures standing beside her, “Let’s go”

The boys nodded in unison. “Yes,” they replied, also in a whisper. As one, the trio turned around and strutted down the hallway, each step carefully calculated, with precision and grace, and as silent as a wisp of smoke—dangerous but silent.

As they walked back towards their home, their surrounding were truly marvelous. The houses were grand, boasting a plethora of flowers in every hue imaginable in cascading orderliness, while others were embellished with colossal statues. Each house seemingly humongous as a castle, with spacious gardens, extravagant cars, their own private pools, and of course, nothing would spell exuberant without the giant, imposing iron gates.

As they kept on walking the street, they stumbled upon a sign that read with boldly letters “Scum” being proudly displayed, clinging to the top part of a cave entrance. Venturing deeper, they came upon a descending hill that guided them towards a thicket of towering shrubs, surpassing even the height of an average human. With remarkable ease and delicacy, they spread apart the shrubs, revealing the concealed pathway known exclusively to them; as natives, only they knew how to network their own land. At last, they arrived at the heart of the Wasiyku village.

The houses, while weathered by time, stood strong, as the houses were made with sturdy adobe after all; nonetheless, they did wear the same color. The sun had just peeked over the horizon, and everyone was already so busy. So, bustling with life, children joyfully ran around chasing each other while adults were already working. Yet, upon their arrival, it was as if they seemed to blend with the surroundings, as if to everybody they were invisible, and while no one disturbed them, no one greeted them either.

No surprise there; after all, they had the reputation of being the troublemakers of the village. They didn’t mind them, as they had grown quite accustomed to it. They simply continued on their original path, their home.

“See, I told you guys that it would be easy!” Mancai declared, pointing her index finger towards her brothers with a mischievous grin.

“You just got lucky, that’s all!” retorted Kuyay, the oldest brother.

“Oh, please,” Mancai began, with a twinkle in her eye. “It’s all about knowing what they want to hear, and then you’ll have them wrapped,” and in a swift move, she clasped together both hands. “Around your little finger,” Mancai proudly proclaimed, finishing her move and revealing her ‘newly’ gleaming gold ring adorning her index finger.

“Besides,” Mancai’s eyes were dull, half open. “She had so many rings that I’m guessing she won’t mind me keeping one.” She quipped, flicking her arm.

With a heavy exhale, Kuyay erupted, “I just— don’t really get why you insist on acting this way?, they call us vermin, trash, scum, why do you like going to the upper level that much!?”

Stomping her feet with clenched fists on each side, Mancai responded with her voice breaking, “I really don’t get why you are so mad about!” With resoluteness, she continued, “This gold on the ring was ours to begin with after all; I’m just bringing it back where it belonged in the first place!

Kuyay angrily shouted, “Gold isn’t worth putting your life on the line for!”

Kuyay hadn’t intended for his words to come out so harshly, especially towards his younger sister, who had already given him the answer. Besides, deep down, he already knew the reason behind her rebellious behavior. She was just a child, still naive and unaware of the cruelty that this world possessed or what the world would do to her if they found out she was stealing from the upper level. And while in true, he worried for her safety. He shouldn’t have yelled at her and instilled pain in her.

Mancai’s eyes were teary. “Then why do you insist on coming with me then? Mancai shot back, pain seeping through her voice.

Kuyay, in a much lower tone, fearfully responded, “We do it to protect you.”

“You are our precious sister after all,” interjected Kunan, the second sibling.

“Even if you don’t feel the same way for us,” asserted Kuyay, his eyes darting somewhere else.

“But I—” Mancai halted her words, and then, with determination, shouted, “Why, you ask? It’s simple, really. Because we are trash after all; look at how we live!” spreading out her arms, gesturing the entire house. The house had decaying walls and creaking floors, and while the house was orderly, nothing could hide the deteriorating state it was in. “I’m tired of living this way; why must we hide ourselves when they’re the ones who took our lands and our riches!? This land that we have, and the upper level, is all ours.” Mancai was exhaling; nonetheless, she continued as she placed her hand over her heart. “And besides, why should I change?, If someone needs to change, it should be them! So what if they call me vermin, suffocating, because that’s exactly who I am. And I will make them fear me!” Catching her breath as she finished, there were a mixture of emotions flooding through her, but amidst it all, she couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride.

“Okay, got it! If that’s what you want, then we’ll be right there with you” Kuyay decisively said as he smiled motion his thumbs up towards her.

In a warm smile, Kunan nodded, as he completely agreed with his brother.

Kuyay, with his arms spread out by his sides and his hands resting flat against the air, said, “After all, we are already feared.” Kuyay couldn’t help but stifle a chuckle as his hands shifted to form the number one, “But there’s just one problem with your plan, my dear sister of mine.”

“…Which is?” Mancai pondered, tilting her head to the side.

Playfully tilting his head to the side with his hand resting on his chin, “How do you plan for them to fear you with that cute face you have?” As he finished, he couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

“AHHHH! NOOOO! I DON’T WANT TO LOOK CUTE!” Mancai screamed, contorting her facial expressions to one that resembled a very famous painting.

“Tss” Escaped from Kunan’s lips, as he also couldn’t help but laugh. After all, his sister’s expression was truly… a memorable one, for sure.

Mancai couldn’t resist joining in the laughter, her brothers were such goofballs, but they were her goofballs nonetheless and… they loved her.

As Kuyay wiped away a tear of laughter from his eyes, “Great! I made you laugh! he exclaimed, brimming with delight. But then, a tinge of regret seeped into his tone as he added, “I’m sorry for making you angry; I shouldn’t have reacted that way. You don’t have to forgive me, but I promise I’ll do better.

Smiling brightly, Mancai responded, “It’s okay, I forgive you.”

Kuyay’s heart swelled with overwhelming joy as he pulled Kunan and Mancai into a group hug, squeezing them tightly. “Ahhhh, how lucky I am; I’ve got the best siblings ever!” His tears of laughter had transformed into ones of gracefulness.

“Hey, that’s too tight,” Mancai groaned. “I cannot breath.”

“Haha, sorry, sorry.” Kuyay replied, half-heartedly loosening his grip. “I am just that strong, I guess.”.

“Uhm, no,” Mancai said, not missing a beat.

“Now you’re hurting my feelings,” Kuyay replied, feigning hurt.

Although Mancai and Kunan felt a hint of bashfulness, deep down, their hearts were bursting with joy. While articulating their feelings may always pose a challenge, they truly appreciated the embrace.

“Hey kids, could you guys help carry in the groceries?” A voice cheerfully chimed in, interrupting the warm embrace.

“MAMA! TAYTA!” The kids joyfully exclaimed in unison.

********

Mancai let out a groan as she started to ponder over what had just happened. Was it a dream, a nightmare, or perhaps a vision? She pondered, as she couldn’t recall writing any of that.

‘So, it must be a dream’ She thought.

Shrugging it off, she then exclaimed, “Oh, well. I’ll just go back to sleep then.” She pulled her sheets tighter around her and settled back into her comfortable position.

However, her plans were interrupted by a stern voice that exclaimed, “No, you won’t!”

Startled, Mancai’s eyes sprung open. “Huh? What was that? Who said that?” Mancai’s curious gaze darted across the room until it landed on the source of where it came from.

“Oh, that’s right. I’m not alone.” Mancai muttered, she sigh with exhaustion.

“Yay, me.” Mancai’s muttered under her breath with a tone that revealed her annoyance, her sleep-laden eyes reluctantly remaining open.

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Wasiyku means “our home” in Quechua.

Kuyay means “love, to love” in Quechua.

Kunan means “today” in Quechua.

Tayta means “dad” in Quechua.

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