Mestiza

Chapter 7 - Maria

The weirdest thing about this hotel is the carpet. It's so soft! Carpet is practically nonexistent in the Philippines, because of the constant flooding. But here, it's so soft and comfy. I sit on the floor, leaning on the wall, as the room service is brought in. Thank goodness that they had rice in the menu, because I'm not in the mood for anything except that.
Mom is stretched out along the hard couch, and when Ate Emilia walks in, she chooses the floor next to me instead of perching on the edge of the sofa. She got Nanay's long and skinny genes, while I got my dad's short athletic build. My skin is like Nanay's, pale and pink, but Em's is toffee brown. It's hard to believe that half of our genes came from the same person. "Hey sis." Ate says, pulling a plate of roasted meat and potatoes towards her and spearing her food with a knife. I take a bite of rice and wave hello with my fork, crossing my legs as I do so. Ate sighs and leans against my shoulder. "Tired." she mumbles, her ponytail tickling my neck.
I take another bite of my food as she throws another arm over my shoulder. "Hey, I like your pajamas." Ate says, grinning. I look down, and have to laugh when I realize what I'm dressed in.
"Haha, my friends gave this to me before I left. The sharpie is bound to come out in the washing machine, but I'll wear it while I can."
"What do the words say?"
"Here, my friend Amos wrote 'don't get too tall like all the foreigners while you're gone, also I'll miss you a whole lot' and then this is my other friend Nica who said 'find me a German boyfriend'."
"It seems a bit like Spanish. Tagalog seems a bit like Spanish, I mean. I mean the words they wrote." Ate says, yawning.
I stifle a laugh. "You are tired, aren't you?"
"Exhausted. You're a good pillow. I might just take a nap on your shoulder." Emilia says, taking another bite of her food before she falls against me, snoring softly.
I look up from my rice to realize that my mom has fallen asleep on the couch. Nanay must be tired too, she's traveled all the way from Germany. Our flight is in six hours, and  it wouldn't hurt to take a quick nap...
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"Maria! Emilia!! We will be late for our flight!" I hear through the haze of my dream world. I open my eyes, feeling groggy as I rub the sleep from them. "We slept too late!" Nanay cries, her usually perfect blonde hair messy from sleep. "Come, girls!" she cries, dragging suitcases towards the door. Between the three of us, there's at least fifteen luggages, not to mention backpacks and purses. I pull Ate to her feet, and she wobbles s bit, dizzy from what must have been a deep sleep.
We pull trolleys full of luggage through the quiet halls of the hotel and quickly call a Uber, managing to stuff our things into the car before we take off towards the airport.
I heave a big sigh as I finally sink into my plane seat in between Ate Emilia and Nanay.
"This is your pilot, we will leave for Berlin, Germany, in just a few minutes. The weather is clear and I've had my coffee, so this will be a nice, easy flight. Everyone enjoy your time with Delta Airlines!"