A gloomy atmosphere heaved on the car as Ruru placed it on stop and opened the doors. Nobody touched the openings, not wanting to leave this cradle of a car. Kylie held Ruru's hand seeking for the strength she didn't currently have.

"Guys, Kuya's gonna be late if we don't get out of the car," Ruru stated, trying to sound as casual as possible, trying to hide the fact that his heart was breaking.

"Come on, Lovies. The airplane isn't gonna wait for Kuya," Kylie rode along as she got out of the car.

The three offspring of the Madrid family quietly got out of the mini van, far from the rowdy mess of laughs that they usually were. Amir jogged to the trunk to help his father with the luggage.

9:30 am came very soon and the check-in gates were now open. The sun shone bright but nothing could warm the cold feeling in Amir's stomach. Something that felt like butterflies and constipation.

"K-kuya," Silas spoke, his voice cracking.

"Yeah, bro?" he answered, struggling to fight back the hot tears prickling the corner of his eyes.

To everybody's surprise, Silas ran into his brother's arms, "Kuya, please stay."

"Silas, you know I can't, bro," he whispered. Amir ran his hands heavily up and down his brother's back.

"There are schools here that are good too, Kuya. You don't have to. Please, Kuya, please," the boy begged, his voice a muffled whisper. "Kuya, I don't want you to go. Please. Please."

"I know, 'Las, I know. I wanna take you with me, but I can't," he gulped, "But you know what? On Summer break, I'll come back and I can bring you that new Play Station accessory you really want. I can buy all the different colors for you! You can send me your works on Instagram and I can proofread them there. It'll be like nothing ever changed."

Amir knew he was fooling himself.

Silas slowly loosened his grip on his brother and stuffed his hand in his pocket, "I'd give up my gadgets if I had to just to make you stay, but you need to go."

"When did you get so mature, bro?" he laughed. He then turned to his parents to give them the biggest hug he ever had to give to anyone.

"Hey, no getting girls pregnant there, okay?" Kylie half laughed. "You don't wanna be changing diapers at 19, Anak."

"Yes, Ma."

"Kid, stop making your old man feel so old. Be good there, no fighting with the other kids," Ruru joked.

"Yes, Ba," Amir smiled.

His smile faded away the moment he realized he was gonna have to bid his good bye to Noelle.

"Kikay," he called.

"What?" Noelle responded, her voice shaky, her eyes pinned on the ground. She had her bottom lip in between her teeth. "Leave na. That's what you're good at anyways."

"Noelle, don't make it sound like that."

"Like what? Like, you're just gonna leave me like that? Like you'll just fly away to America and leave me here for a damn university?" Noelle dropped every word with such emotion. She knew that this was for the good of her brother and that she should be happy for him, but how do you let a caged bird fly when you have gone attached to it?

"Kikay, you're making this so hard for me," Amir whimpered as he choked out the words. "Do you think I wanna leave you here just because I do? Hell no! I need to study, 'Kay. I need to be a good Kuya and study abroad to get a good job so I can provide good money for you and Silas."

"Kuya," Noelle squeaked and ran into her brother's loving arms, "Don't leave me. I can't do this alone, please. I need my best friend please."

"Noelle, Kuya's always gonna be there, I promise."

"No, you won't. Stop saying that because I know you won't!"

"Kuya is always, always just here. Maybe not physically, but didn't I teach you well?"

She burrowed her face in his tear-stained chest even more, "You did, but the student can never be better than the teacher."

Amir cupped his sister's face, "Well, you're gonna have to change that then. You're a strong, independent young lady that can take on this world with your pen and notebook. You'll be fine without me."

"No-"

"You need to learn to stand on your own legs, Noelle. Kuya has to leave for the same thing to happen to me."
-
Grunts, huffs and puffs were let out by a tough pair of lungs while Amir arranged his luggage and boxes in the corners of his new apartment. He looked around his room and realized just how bare it was. Silent, too silent. He already missed the subtle rumble tumble of their home. He longed for the scent of Mama's perfume during Friday nights. It hasn't even been a day yet, he was already so homesick.

He shrugged it off and emptied out the box of pictures on his bed. A chunk of something came out with all the photographs. Picking it up, Amir looked at it intently like a curious child luring on a new discovery. It was a hard-drive.

Quickly, he plugged it in his laptop and a video entitled "To Our Amir" popped up on the screen. He clicked on it, feeling like he was gonna find out something important.

Surprisingly, Ruru's face greeted him. It was his father, so young and full of cheer. His hair swept back like how he remembered it in early childhood.

"Hi, Baby boy! Hindi ko alam kung matatawag pa kitang baby boy by the time you watch this, Anak, pero gusto kong sabihin sayo na congratulations. This is the moment for you to fly with your own wings, my son, and I hope me and your mother have done everything to condition those wings. By the time you watch this, ang laki mo na siguro at nasundan ka na," the words halted temporarily while Ruru chuckled.

Amir let out a small laugh too, missing his family already.

"Pero lagi mong tatandaan, Anak, na kakayanin mo ang lahat dahil nandito lang kami ni Mama mo hanggang kaya pa namin. My son, I want you to know na I'm trying my best to be a good father to you at kung may magiging pagkukulang man ako, sorry. I'm sorry, Anak, I tried and am still trying. Amir Joaquin, kakayanin mo ang mundo hanggang yun ang pinaniniwalaan mo. Mahal na mahal kita, Anak."

The video transitioned to another video of his mother and Amir had to wipe away a tear at the mere sight of her. She was dressed in a loose white shirt and her hair was in a bun, her face bare. Every single feature was just how he remembered it.

"Hi, mahal ko! At the moment, you are only 12 months old and you just turned one! Big milestone, Baby! To my little prince, I always thought that your father would be the greatest love I could ever have. But then, you came and you proved me wrong. The moment I heard your heart beat, the moment I heard your first cry was the very second that your little being proved that there is love in this world that can make my heart explode with joy," Kylie sniffed and she patted the side of her eyes with some tissue.

"It's okay, Ma," he whispered as if his mother could hear him from years away.

"Amir, I remember the day I found out I was pregnant with you. I remember crying so hard because I was terrified of what may happen, but when I told your father, Baby, he made everything better just like how you do. You came a bit early in my life and that's okay because I get to love you longer. Anak, I am so in love with you. You are the only person in this world to have ever made me lighten up my mood with just your smile. Your laugh brightens my whole day. Baby, never ever forget how much Mama loves you because I love you a lot."

He had to pause the video for a while to wipe his eyes because the tears started to blur his vision.

"My boy, my firstborn, I know that by the time you watch this, you'll probably be far, far away from me and you won't need your swaddle anymore so, I just wanna tell you, my little love, that you have such a big heart. Do what your heart is telling you to do and pursue your dreams, Darling. May it be reaching the stars with your bare fingers. Mama and Baba will always be in your heart and you'll always be in ours. You can do this, my Amir. Use your feet to stand and your wings to fly. Use your heart to dream and hope and love. Up, up and away, dear love. Go chase your dreams."

He slumped himself in his bed, his chest rising up and falling down with every breath. His tears rolled down his face.

"Up and away!"
------
Yes, I know that I'm supposed to be working on your requests, but my heart brought me here.

Speaking of heart, can we talk about how effin' cute Hu Yi Tian is? Majorly crushing on him right now. Not replacing Ruru though, he's my one and only Baba. Yi Tian is just wo xiao gou haha.

Comment, vote and leave a suugestion! Love lots!