Love in the Line of Fire

At three in the afternoon, under the scorching sun, a young boy was running without stopping, his body showing signs of malnutrition, pallor, and cracked lips. He was pushing through the crowd, ignoring the heat of the pavement.

As he ran, he seemed to be looking around, as if someone was chasing him. He kept running until he reached a small, ramshackle house.

"Kuya," a young girl called out to him, lying on a cardboard mat. He sat down beside her, panting heavily.

"Sorry, I had a hard time getting your medicine," he said. He took out the medicine from his pocket, a small pad. He got some water and gave it to his sister.

"Are you feeling better now?" he asked, and she nodded weakly.

A loud knock on the door startled them, and a chubby man appeared, almost not fitting the small doorway.

"Boss is calling for you," he said, his voice firm. The siblings exchanged a fearful glance.

"stay here I'll be -"

"No, bring your sister too. Boss wants to see her." After saying this, he left quickly.

"Kuya, I'm scared," the young girl said, clinging to her brother's hand.

"I'm here, don't worry," he reassured her, helping her stand up.

They went to an abandoned building, and as they approached, they saw many street children, some people moking, others gambling, and a few using drugs. The atmosphere was chaotic and dirty.

When they arrived inside, many children were there, all around 15 years old or younger. A man sat on a sofa, smoking, his face twisted in anger.

"Why didn't you report, Tan?" he threw his cigarette butt away before stepping on it. "Where's the money you collected?"

A loud bang on the table startled everyone. "Did you think I'm a fool? Are you messing with me?" he glared at Tan-tan.

"I'm not," Tan-tan said weakly, but the man didn't believe him. He approached Tan-tan and forcibly separated him from his sister.

Tan-tan held on tight to his sister, but the man was stronger, and he dragged Tan-tan away. "Kuya!" Tan-tan's sister cried out, scared.

The man slapped Tan-tan. "Where's my money?!" But Tan-tan didn't answer because he didn't have any money. He used the money he earned from begging and stealing to buy his sister's medicine.

"Come here, Tin-Tin" he ordered Tan younger sister.

"Please don't hurt my sister, I'm begging you." Tan-tan spoked up.

"Answer me where my money if you don't want your sister to get involved!"

"Sorry, my brother used the money for my medicine." Tin-tin knelt down crying, Tan-tan shook his head.

A strong whip landed on Tan-tan's thin back, and he fell to the ground.

"Did you see this?" He said to the other children. "This is what happens to children who don't follow me."

After that five consecutive lashes of the belt hit Tan-tan back. Other children being scared and Tin-tin can't stop crying.

"Locked him up." The man ordered his men to lock Tan-tan up.

"Tan-tan!" Shouted by Tin-tin while crying loudly.

"Tin.." Tan replied weakly before losing conciousness from the weakness.

*******

Tan-tan woke up in a dark room, with only a small light coming from the bars. He was hungry, but he didn't care about that. He was worried about his sister.

He thought about how he would find her, but he was just a weak child. He couldn't do anything.

"Boss Herbert, please let me go."

he said weakly, still feeling the pain of the whip on his back.

An hour later, the door was finally open, and he was let out. He approached other children who where there and asked.

"Have you seen Tin-tin?" He asked the three children and none of them knew where his sibling was.

He can endure hunger, but losing his sister, he cannot.

"Are you looking for your sister?" He gently nodded to a girl who just arrived. Her face was very dirty, and she was holding a piece of bread.

"Do you want?" a girl extending her hand and give a piece of bread.

"Thank you." he was hungry but worried and anxious about his sister.

Especially that his sister has asthma and heart disease. His sister is quickly weaken and might not be able to handle it.

"Do you know where my sibling is?" Tan-tan asked the girl.

"No, but I heard earlier that he's going to sold her."

He immediately ran and dropped the bread he was eating. He immediately look for their boss to find out where his sister was.

"Where is my sister?" He caught him smoking illegal drugs.

He was also holding money that he thought was of very high value.

"She's not here anymore, I sold her," he replied disinterested.

"Why did you do that? What right do you have?" the expression on Herbert face change with Tan-tan question.

A strong slap landed on Tan-tan face.

"You are really going against me! I'm the one feeding you here, so you have no right to question me."

"The money you used to buy our food, we worked hard for that too! Tin-tin is just a child, she might get sick. Why did you do that?!"

Another strong slap landed on his other cheek. Tears welled up in his dirty face. His cheek was almost numb from the force of the slap, but it was nothing compared to the pain in his chest that he was feeling.

"You're just a child. You can't even take care of yourself. How can you take care of your sister?" Tan-tan tried to speak, but the man cut him off.

"I did you a favor by selling your sister. She's better off now. Maybe the one who bought her can give her the medical attention she needs. You can't even provide for her here."

He couldn't argue with what was said because it was true - he had no means to provide medical treatment for his sister. He was just a poor child himself, and there was nothing he could do if his sister's illness worsened.

Tan-tan felt a surge of anger, but he was helpless. The man threw a hundred pesos on the table.

"This is your share. And 50 thousand is the price I got for from your sister." Tan-tan clenched his fists in anger.

He wanted to escape, to leave this place behind. He didn't want to be trapped here forever.

Tan-tan left the abandoned building, running through the heavy rain and strong winds. He didn't know where he was going, but he had to keep moving.

"I promise, Tin. I'll find you. When I can." He didn't care about the rocks or anything that hurt his feet as he ran.

A loud horn made him stop, but it was too late. He was hit by a vehicle and fell to the cold pavement, losing consciousness.