Early in the morning, Mimi came out of her room to look for her aunt, but Amaya was nowhere to be found in the house. "Yaya?" she called out, her soft voice echoing through the empty rooms. She wandered around for a while but couldn't find her at all. Eventually, she gave up and sat down at the small table in the yard, propping her small face in her hands with a pout of frustration.
An hour later, the front gate creaked open. "Mimi, you're already up?" Amaya walked inside carrying a basket in her hand. Her eyes quickly found Mimi sitting outside, idly drawing circles in the dirt with a stick, her expression one of sheer boredom.
"Yaya, where were you? I've been calling you, but you didn't answer!" Mimi stood up, throwing the stick to the ground as she hurried toward her aunt, her tone full of little grievances.
"I had some work to do. Did you have your breakfast yet?" Amaya placed the basket on the table, her calm tone contrasting Mimi's mild tantrum.
"No, I was waiting for you," Mimi replied, walking inside with her small arms crossed, looking mildly upset. Amaya gave her a hard look, her brows slightly furrowed.
"Didn't I tell you to eat without waiting for me? Go wash your hands and come eat," Amaya instructed before heading into the kitchen to prepare the breakfast she had made earlier.
She brought out a plate of steaming potato starch noodles, freshly baked meat buns, and a pot of hot peppermint tea. Placing everything on the table, the two of them sat down to eat together. Amaya started serving Mimi, filling her bowl generously.
"Eat more," Amaya encouraged, watching as Mimi slurped her noodles with delight.
"So, what did you bring? Hmm? Tell me!" Mimi asked, her eyes darting curiously toward the basket sitting on the table. Her mischievous smile hinted at the million guesses running through her mind.
Amaya was about to answer when, suddenly, Mimi squirmed uncomfortably in her seat. "Ahh… Yaya, something's itching!" she exclaimed, fidgeting as though something had crawled inside her clothes.
"What happened?" Amaya asked, standing up quickly, concerned by Mimi's unusual behavior.
"Yaya, my back—it's itching so bad!" Mimi tried to reach around to scratch it but couldn't. She turned to Amaya, her eyes wide with distress.
"Let me see," Amaya said, helping her remove her outer robe. Her gaze landed on the butterfly mark on Mimi's back, glowing faintly. Amaya's expression froze, her eyes darkening as she realized what was happening.
"Yaya, please scratch my back—it's itching so much!" Mimi wriggled like a worm, completely unaware of the gravity of the situation.
Breaking out of her trance, Amaya scolded her lightly. "This is what happens when you don't listen to me and keep running around foolishly. You've got an allergy now! Wait here—I'll get some medicine."
Amaya hurried to her room. Opening her wardrobe, she took out a small, intricately carved wooden box. Sitting down on the bed, she stared at the box with a complicated expression, her thoughts turbulent. Taking a deep breath, she opened it to reveal a tiny glass bottle, no larger than her finger, filled with a milky-white liquid. After a moment of hesitation, she took the bottle and returned to Mimi.
Standing behind her niece, Amaya carefully applied a few drops of the liquid onto the glowing mark. She began rubbing it in gently, her hand moving with practiced precision. The butterfly wings within the mark seemed to calm down under her touch.
Amaya's mind, however, was elsewhere. They're starting to rebel against the seal, wanting to break free. Last night's incident must have triggered this reaction, she thought, her brow furrowed in worry.
"Thank you, Yaya. It was really itching bad! I promise I won't go out and play anymore," Mimi said earnestly, her small voice breaking Amaya's thoughts.
Mimi kept chatting, but Amaya remained quiet, her thoughts heavy and distant. "Yaya, what's wrong? Why do you look so lost?" Mimi asked, tugging at her sleeve.
"What? What did you say?" Amaya replied, startled, her voice betraying her distraction.
"I asked what you were thinking about," Mimi repeated, her tone curious.
"Nothing important. Put your clothes back on and finish your food," Amaya said firmly before walking back into her room, leaving Mimi puzzled by her aunt's strange behavior.
After putting her clothes back, Mimi dashed out. " Where are you going? Come back!" Amaya called from behind.
But Mimi ignored her words and shouted, " I am going to meet Sana. Aunt Rose said she will teach us how to set a bird trap in her courtyard." Amaya relaxed as she heard her response.
"Come back directly, don't wander around. And be home before lunch." Mimi shouted an agreement and dashed towards a small house, just two houses apart from their home.
Knocking on the main door, she slowly opened it. Peeking inside the yard, her eyes fell on her best friend.
"Hey Mimi, come. I was waiting for you." Sana said as her eyes fell on Mimi, who was looking like a sneaky mouse as she was peeking her head inside.
Walking inside, Mimi looked at the things before Sana. " What are these?"
"These are the things we are going to use to make our trap. Mama said to dig a small hole till she completes her work inside. Come help me." Sana revealed the information and gave a small hoe to Mimi
Both start working diligently for their task.
"Wow! Great job!" A middle-aged woman walked out from the house and stood in front of the hard-working girls.
"Good morning! Aunt Rose" Mimi greeted.
"Good morning sweetheart. Now let me show you how to make this trap work." Rose said and squatted beside them and took a woven basket filled with different things.
She took a thin wooden plank from the basket. "You see, you need to put this wooden slate like this and make sure it is not that sturdy. Otherwise, the birds wouldn't fell into the hole you have dug if it withstands the good weight."
" And to make it work, wrap a small thread around the holes of the wooden piece and keep those threads loosely attached to the stick so it wouldn't fell on its own but will fell when there is slightly more weight on it." She explained the process and then walked back inside as she saw the girls getting engrossed in the project they were making.
After setting the trap and scattering a few rice grains, both of the girls hide behind the wooden barrels used for water storage in the courtyard.