Family and friends gathered around celebrating a special day for the birthday boy. Julio had turwelve years-old. The party was a blend of ughter, love, and joy with guests arriving with gifts. They sang Julio a birthday song then tinued with the tdown. Julio blew the dles and everyone cheered.

  In the midst of ughter, Julio felt joy but there was something missing. He had thought about it and wondered. Julio hadn’t seen his mother in years, he only saicture of her. Julio didn’t remember much of her, even barely a single memory about her.

  His family were only his father, elder sister and grandmother who lived with them. He always wondered what his mother was like. The thinking was snapped when his father called him to take a picture. Julio wasn’t the type of person that eaking photos but he then obliged.

  After taking the picture, Julio looked at it and all his friends and family were present except his mother.

  “What’s wrong, Julio?” Noelia asked, notig his son’s ged look. “Do you not like it?”

  “Nothing… I just felt something was missing,” Julio replied, still holding the picture. “Somehow, mom’s not here.”

  Noelia’s expression ged, he simply ignored Julio’s statement and told him that something happened and it was already in the past. Julio was left puzzled by his father’s sudden behavioral ge whehe topic was about his mother.

  Julio tio woill night, he couldn’t sleep from a thought about his mother. Were there secrets bei by his father? It remains a mystery in his mind. Julio left his bedroom to watch the stars on the baly. The stars mesmerized him, and then two shooting stars fell, leaving him in awe.

  “What are you doing, Julio?” Rosa asked, tagging along.

  “I’m just looking at the stars.” Julio replied.

  “The stars are beautiful, huh?” said Rosa. Julio simply nodded.

  “I remembered stargazing with yrandfather before,” said Rosa. “You reminded me of him… you somehow look like yrandfather.”

  “How so?” Julio returned. “What was he like?”

  “He was just like you in appearance,” Rosa answered. “He was strong and handsome. He also be fierd short tempered but he still has a gentle side.”

  “Anyways, you should go to sleep,” Rosa tinued. Julio nodded and headed back to his room.

  The day, Julio woke up to the sound of the arm clock. Sofia wasn’t around when he assumed she had woken up early. He readied himself a downstairs for breakfast, he then agaihat missing feeling.

  “What’s with that look?” Sofia asked.

  “Well I felt some-” said Julio.

  “e on, kids. Hurry up! Yoing to be te,” said Noelia, interrupting his son.

  They soon quickly fiheir breakfast aered the car. They were dropped separately as they attended different schools. Julio finally arrived at his school after dropping Sofia at hers.

  He waved to his father aered the hallway.

  During recess, he met up with Nond, he was still Julio’s friend and perhaps only friend. Julio barely knew anyone besides Nond and he rarely talked to them. While the two were walking, Julio saw a girl and was captivated.

  “Hey, earth to Julio!” said Nond, snapping his fingers.

  “Oh?” What’s up?” Julio replied.

  “Looks like someone has a crush,” Nond teased.

  “What are you talking about?” Julio asked fusedly.

  “You were looking at that girl over there,” said Nond, pointing at the girl.

  “I-I’m not looking at her!” Julio replied. “Anyways, there is something that has got me w.”

  “What is it?” Nond asked curiously.

  “I don’t know what my mother was like,” Julio answered. “I only saicture of her. That’s why I want to get to know her but my father wouldn’t tell me about her.”

  “Oh yeah, that expins why I didn’t see your mother at your birthday party,” Nond replied. Their versations were cut as the bell rang and they had to go back to their csses.

  Not long after finishing school, Julio icked up by his father. Noelia drove the car as soon as Julio entered. Out of nowhere, Juliht up the question about his mother. Noelia didn’t give him an answer, Julio began to insist which also made Sofia curious. Noelia simply told him that she was a good person.

  Noelia’s car was then stuck at a traffic jam. Noelia suddenly spotted a standing individual from a distahe individual seemed to be staring at him, giving an unfortable feeling. The sound of car horns bring snapped out Noelia telling him to move.

  They arrived home at the bakery, Julio and Sofia entered first. Julio saw his grandmother i and decided to ask her instead.

  “Abue, do you know anything about my mother?” Julio asked.

  “Only a bit,” Rosa replied. “Try to ask your father, he knows her more than I do.”

  “I did but he seemingly does not want to answer,” said Julio.

  “I see. Well, you kids should go upstairs, I’m currently busy,” said Rosa, putting a tray of bread into the oven.

  Noelia was outside parking his car, he suddenly felt daunted. He could feel someone was watg him. He looked around but none suspicious was seen. However, a shadowy figure appeared from a distan front of him. Noelia rubbed his eyes to make sure if he was seeing things.

  Things couldn’t get worse as Noelia was struck by a nightmare. A strahat looked to be the person he saw earlier broke into his house trying to murder his entire family. Noelia woke up from cold sweat, he was relieved that it was just a bad dream but it somehow felt real.

  He came to the clusion that he might be stalked. Noelia reported it to the police but they weren’t io believe him due to ck of evidence. He exited the police statioy-handed.

  Noelia got some glimpse of the individual’s appearahey looked quite tall with a medium body but bigger than his. He wasn’t sure if it was him, the individual’s face was covered by bck shades and a mask.

  After the multiple enters, Noelia became overprotective and vigint. He suspected that the person might target his family as well. His sudden ge of behavior was noticed by his family, even Rosa was worried.

  “Noelia, why are you ag straely?” Rosa asked.

  “Someone might be stalking us, it could endanger us,” Noelia answered, cheg the windows.

  “Do the kids know?” Rosa asked again.

  “No, but please don’t tell them,” said Noelia. “I don’t want them to get involved.”

  Every siep was being watched, it started to feel that they had no privacy. There were also multiple times Noelia chose to homeschool them for safety measures. Sofia and Julio weren’t fortable with their father’s titude, he seemed to be more of a paranoid person.