With a father working at home as an attorney, there was an abundance of paper in the house. Jimmy always had time in the summer, given that he'd wake up quite early to swim in the river to avoid the muddy hours of the day. And by eight or nine in the morning, depending on the temperature of the day, he'd walk home dripping wet from head to toe. When he reaches home, he would take a basin and change, placing the wet clothes in it to avoid his mother scolding him for mixing the wet laundry with the dry ones. And after a quick bath, the rest of the day was his. Well, what makes today any different was the huge pile of papers lying around the office next to the personal computer. He was sure they were scratch papers, after some incident before of getting scolded for using some "lawyer's copy" documents which made him avoid striking a conversation with his father for a few days. With a little bit of reassurance, he took a few sheets from the pile and went to the dining room table to stare at them.
"AFFIDAVIT OF LOSS" was written at the top. It was a weird word. he couldn't even spell it when he hears it over his fathers conversations in the living room with his clients. He folded the paper diagonally and tore off the extra paper to make a square. But even he hasn't a clue with what to do with the square sheet of paper. So he left it at that and ate a snack at his same place at the table. He drew a stereotypical rice paddy complete with a sun peering behind two mountains. After the inverted V of a nipa hut roof, he stared at the drawing and tried desperately to add a carabao. Why? All the "best drawings" in school had them. The carabao gave a sure spot in the list, with a feature of the drawing in the school paper. But since he wasn't considered much of a pencil genius, the animal was disproportional. He smirked at the sight and his eyes caught a glimpse of the square piece of paper. His mom came out from the kitchen and saw him staring at something. She approached and took the drawing with her, and placed it neatly on the fridge, framing it with refrigerator magnets, which she collected from the family's summer getaways, which they haven't had yet for this particular one due to the need to monitor the sugarcane farm in some far barangay. He's still happy though, he was more of a home person.
The day went on, with the paper square still on the table. And by the next day, after the river routine, he saw a paper frog on the same place where the square used to be. He stared long enough to notice that he hasn't changed his clothes leaving a puddle near the dining table, and he quickly ran to finish up and dry the floor with a rug. He sat down and stared at it. By about a few minutes, he took it and held it in his hands.
"Like what I had done?" and he quickly turned to his right to find his father walking towards the seat opposite him. He nodded, and his dad took the frog and placed it on the table. He pressed at the tail and released his finger, projecting the frog towards Jimmy, whose eyes are wide in amusement by now.
"You know, when frogs die, it rains." And the summer heat has been so immense that season that not a single drop of water came down the whole vacation. Yet deep in his mind, how could one opt to benefit from a kill? But knowing the financial problems of keeping a farm, he took the origami frog and ripped it, much to the shock of his father.
"You could always make one again. It doesn't have a life you know."
And after a few minutes, the sky cried.
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