The Step Children

Chu has two children from her previous relationship whom I promptly adopted as my own. They called me Tito or Uncle as Daddy would sound strange to both of them and also to me.
The elder of the two girls, Bimferchu, is 15 years old while the younger girl, Katherina is a year younger. Both of them were staying at the Malazarte residence since young while the elder were also brought up by the paternal grandfather. The responsibility of bringing up the children has fallen on Chu’s shoulders as the couple has separated as a result of the failure of the father to shoulder the family’s burden. This has often resulted in brawls over the guardianship of the children.
While the two girls were caught in parental disputes, they were old enough to recognize that it is to their future that they should look forward to. Chu has talked to them often about studying hard so that they can get a good job when they are older, not unlike the girls of yesteryear who would end up inadvertently as GROs in night clubs.
Bimbim was good at singing and wanted to become a singer. I have advised her that while it is good to excel at singing, making it as a career is out of the way. I told her that Filipinos are very good singers in other countries but most of them can hardly earn a decent living. Similarly Tina is also very good at playing the guitar and would often accompany Bimbim in performing duets in the school concerts.
All Chu wanted for her children was to finish school with exceptional good grades so that I can sponsor them for a career in nursing studying in Singapore. That was the promise I have made to them.
On the next Christmas, the girls bought for their Tito presents which I thought were very kind of them. For my next birthday they each bought me a card and in their own words wrote ‘thank you for everything you have done for us’ notes and personally handed them to me. I felt touched by the words they have wrote and the cards would often remind me of my new fatherly role to guide the girls to become useful and responsible adults so as not to let Chu’s hope down.