Tired of crying until her eyes were swollen, Eve decided she had to be strong and get out of there before Uncle and Aunty did anything terrible to them.

She must not cry or be weak.

Everything happened so suddenly that their lives changed, and Eve had to be stronger and less whiny, at least in front of her sister. She was the only family she had at the moment.

Eve continued to convince her heart, "I guess I'll have to find a job! I didn't even have a chance to pick up my cards earlier! We have to survive! Yeah, right!" Eve kept saying to herself until she heard her little sister complaining.

"Eve! How long are we going to keep going? Look! My legs are all sore and starting to blister!" she complained and showed her legs starting to turn red and the back of her legs that were slightly injured.

"Does it hurt that much? You wait a minute!" Eve ran to a convenience store that came into view after they walked about 800 meters from our house.

"Sit down, change your shoes with these slippers to make it more comfortable," Eve said as she handed Adeline a pair of slippers after returning from the convenience store.

Adeline slowly took off her shoes, and Eve tried to apply a plaster to cover the wound.

"Let's sit on the pavement for a while to rest. Is that okay?"

Adeline just nodded in agreement.

"Eat up! This bread is good enough to fill your stomach. And here's a drink. You don't want to get sick from an empty stomach." Eve offered Adeline a slice of the meat sandwich she bought at the supermarket.

Eve was grateful that the security guard at her house was still kind enough to give them tens of dollars so they could eat that day.

Adeline ate quietly. But she seemed hungry because they hadn't eaten anything since morning, and now it was late afternoon.

Eve smiled and gave her the uneaten portion. "Eat up, I'm still full."

"But, Eve..."

Eve smiled again, "No problem, Al! I'm really still full. I ate a lot last night, so...I'm still full. And I should cut back a bit, right? If I don't want to get fat!"

Eve laughed a little so that Adelin wouldn't always look sad. Eve had forced her to accept her share of Adeline's hand.

Finally, she took Eve's bread hesitantly and ate while occasionally stealing glances at Eve.

Suddenly, the sky darkened; Eve looked up and stood. "We should get out of here, and it looks like it's going to rain!" Eve said worriedly. Worried about Adeline, she couldn't get sick from the rain.

They walked a little faster, with Eve pushing and lifting two suitcases with difficulty.

"Hurry...Adeline!" said Eve as she started to feel the raindrops hitting her head.

The rain began to fall heavily; Eve and Adeline were soaked. Eve took off the black-coloured cloak she had worn for the funeral earlier and gave it to her sister to cover her head. Finally, they took shelter in a big tree.

"Come closer, put this on!" Eve opened the jacket worn that day under her robe and put it on for her sister; although it looked a little oversized, it was better; at least she wasn't cold.

Eve held both her palms, and they gave each other warmth. Eve rubbed her hands with her sister's hands.

"Is it still cold?" Eve said, looking at her; Adeline shook her head.

"Not really, Eve! What about you? You must be cold; put your jacket back on. Adeline was about to take off her jacket that Eve had just given her.

"No need, Al. I'm fine! I hope the rain stops soon, okay?" Eve said as she looked at the dark sky sending down the rain.

Eve remembered something, "Why don't I ask Robert for help? He would have helped me!" she thought.

Eve took her mobile phone and called her boyfriend, Robert. But time and time again, there was no connection. Eve had also contacted some of her closest friends because she didn't have many friends. But it still didn't work.

"Why, Sis?" Adeline asked, seeing Eve confused.

"I tried to contact my friend and Robert, but there seems to be a problem with the network, maybe because of the weather! Let's wait a little longer, shall we? Hopefully, the rain will stop!" Eve lied to her; it seemed like they blocked Eve's phone, and Eve didn't know why. Tomorrow, she would find out after finding a job. Her thoughts came back.

Adeline just looked down while staring at her sandals.

"Why is our life like this, Eve? Why did Mum and Dad leave us? And why are Uncle and Aunty so mean to us? What did we do wrong, Eve?" said Adeline again, crying and sobbing while looking down.

Eve went over to her, and they hugged each other while shedding more tears and sobbing among the raindrops that drenched the earth.

"I didn't know, Al. I don't know! But believe me, you'll always have me, we'll be together forever! No matter what happens! We'll get through it together! Now you're my only family." They sobbed again.

They continued to cry until, even then, Adeline's body felt like it was about to fall!

"Adeline!"

The rain was still falling into the night when Adeline began to faint.

In the darkness of the night, Eve saw that there was a tunnel-like passage at the end of the street. Eve tried to carry her sister on her tiny back and began to lift her unconscious sister. "I might be able to ask for help in the tunnel. There are usually many vehicles passing by, and someone might be kind enough to help us." Eve thought.

"Hang in there Al, we're getting to that tunnel in a bit!"

But when Eve was almost there, a car drove past at speed, and as a result, the slightly stagnant water splashed on her body and face.

"Hey! Be careful driving!" Eve shouted in annoyance.

Eve carried Adeline back in their wet and dirty clothes. Eve laid her down and returned with their suitcases to the end of the road she had just taken.

While Eve was busy dragging Adeline in wet clothes, the speeding car stopped at the end of the road.

"Why did it stop?" asked a well-dressed and very handsome man, looking at the driver.

"Sorry Mr Watson! But, it looks like we got the girl behind us all wet and dirty, sir! And it looks like...they need some help! Shouldn't we go down and help her, sir?" asked the frightened driver.

"What do you mean, help her? Are you crazy, huh? I've already got a headache from my problems with my grandfather! Don't add to it! Besides, what good woman would be wandering around in the middle of the night like this, if not a bad woman? If she does something bad to us, like rob us, will you take responsibility? Huh?" snapped a young man of about 28 years old in annoyance.

"Sorry, sir! I didn't know..." The driver felt bad and just looked down. His intentions were good, just wanting to help, but apparently his master thought differently, maybe because of the problem he just received from his grandfather earlier.

"Already! Run again, the car! I'm tired! I want to get to my apartment quickly!" he snapped back while closing his eyes.

"Yes, sir," said the frightened driver.

The car traveled slowly, in the darkness of the night and under the rain.

Eve didn't notice that the car that had made her wet earlier had stopped. Eve was busy with her suitcase.

Eve took their clothes as a mat and blanket, finding nothing but clothes in their suitcase.

Next to her sister, Eve bent her legs, looked down with both hands, and cried.

"What did we do wrong, Oh, Lord? Why do you have to go through this? I miss my home, I miss my cozy bed..."

Eve continued to cry about their lives until she was tired.

They slept on the cold, hard streets like hobos!

The sun appeared to publish its light; Eve began to wake up. Eve stretched the muscles of her body that felt sore and stiff all over.

Eve tried to wake up her sister, Adeline. "Al, wake up! Al, we have to go now!"

They walked to the city centre, then to a park, where they found a toilet to freshen up and change clothes.

Before looking for work, Eve asked Adeline to wait in a park near a row of office centres and shops.

Eve bought her breakfast and a drink of water and gave her a few dollars to keep watch. Eve asked her to wait until she came after getting a job.

Only then would Eve figure out how to find a place to live. She should sell her favourite watch this time; it was the only precious thing she had left.

It was noon, but Eve hadn't found a job yet and was feeling lost. She was sweating from looking for a job all morning, and her legs started hurting from exhaustion.

Finally, on the corner, Eve saw a cafe. She walked there to buy a piece of bread and hot chocolate to feed her hungry stomach.

"Hey! You!" someone shouted. A man around 25-26 years old; Eve didn't know him. He was pointing at Eve.

Eve began to frown. "Me?" she asked, pointing at herself.

"Yes, you! Who else? Why are you coming so late? Look at the people waiting! Lunchtime is always crowded, but thank goodness you came! Put this on and go backwards!" said the handsome man.

Eve paused, "But I'm...not..." Holding the apron, he gave her a look of confusion.

"You need a job, don't you? Hurry back, I don't have time to explain it to you! If you can handle it, then you're hired, OK? Your working hours are 9 am to 5 pm and you'll get 50 dollars a day, no weekends off. You can take off on weekdays. How about it?"

"Yes, but..." Eve was still hesitant because she hadn't applied here, but perhaps the person had mistaken her for someone else.

"There's no buts! Don't you want to?" he shouted with quite a high intonation.

Eve finally shouted, "I want to! I want!"

And so she worked that day, but a little longer this time. She was asked to work overtime until 6 pm as more and more customers arrived.

Eve worked so energetically that day that she didn't even notice that her legs were in much pain. She even forgot about her sadness for a moment.

"This is your wage today. You were given an extra 80 dollars today because you worked overtime for 3 hours," said the owner and manager of the Cafe when he called her.

Eve burst into tears, sobbing in her chair. She had only earned 80 dollars, even after working almost all day. It turns out that making money is not easy, and she felt it this time.

"Why are you crying? Is it not enough?"

Eve shook her head. The first time, she received this little money, but it's worth it now with tears still in her eyes.

"What does that mean?" The Boss needed clarification.

"No! I meant to say thank you. I'll come again tomorrow!" Eve said, diverting their conversation.

"Okay. By the way, did you bring your ID? I didn't get a chance to ask for it earlier."

Eve reached into the small bag and handed over her ID.

"Evelyn Adams? Not Selin Pattinson? So who are you, Selin?" the Boss frowned.

Eve shook her head, "I don't know, Sir. Please don't fire me, I need this job." Eve pleaded.

"But..." Suddenly, the mobile phone rang. "Wait a minute, I'll be back."

Not long after, the Boss returned. "Whether it's a coincidence or luck, I just got news that...Miss Selin resigned from applying for this job. So, if you're willing, you can keep working here," with a warm smile.

"So congratulations on working at Cafe Mentari! I'm Damian, the owner of this little Cafe!" he extended his hand.

"I'm Eve, Evelyn. Thank you. I will definitely work very hard." Eve extended her hand back.

"Well, Eve, I believe you and I've seen your work too! Oh, yes, where do you live? Wait, your ID says it's in the Wellington area? Wow! Are you sure your house is there? I don't think you need this job if you live there, do you?" he said as if scrutinizing Eve's appearance.

"I just lost both my parents, Sir. And, we were kicked out of our house by our Uncle, that's why I need this job. I still have a younger sister to look after." Eve looked down sadly as her tears began to flow.

"Oh, sorry Eve. I didn't know. Sorry for the loss of your parents." Damian felt sorry for her.

"Thank you, Sir." Eve said, still choked up.

"OK, if there's anything I can help you with, just tell me. Where do you live now?"

Eve hesitated but said with her head down, "I don't know yet, Sir. We don't have enough money to rent an apartment."

"So, where did you sleep yesterday?" he said, slightly surprised.

Eve looked at her Boss and said quietly, "In the tunnel near Pittsburgh Street, sir!" while keeping her head down.

"What? In the tunnel? No! No! You're young girls; it's dangerous to sleep there. Tell you what, I have a pavilion next to this Cafe. It's a little small but was originally a warehouse for the Cafe's raw materials. How about you and your sister staying there? You can clean it up for a while, but it's better than being on the street, right?

Eve raised her head, her eyes filled with tears again. Eve sobbed, her cries growing louder.

“Why are you crying again? Did I say something wrong?"

Eve shook her head. "No, thank you, sir when you were kicked out by our only family, our uncle! It turns out that God is still kind to us by giving us you as our helper! You, who are an unfortunate person, reached out your hand to help us! Thank you, sir. Thank you so much!" Eve grabbed Damian.

"Never mind! I'm only helping a little as a fellow human! Don't overdo it, like this!" Damian smiled warmly.

"Thank you again, Sir, thank you. I'll clean the room later!" Eve exclaimed while wiping her tears.

"Alright, I'll hand the key to you. You want to pick up your sister? Oh, yes, where is your sister now?" the Boss asked again.

"She's just down the road sir, near the park." Eve said happily.

Mr Damian kindly offered to help her clean up the warehouse later so they could get to bed quickly tonight. And meet Adeline, Eve's sister.

But to her surprise, when she reached the park, there was a crowd of people where she had asked her sister to stay. Her heart started to feel bad now.

"Adeline!!!"

"Eve, we need to get your sister to the hospital! Immediately!" said the Boss, Damian.

"But..." Eve hesitated as she didn't have any funds at the moment.

"Don't think about anything else, I'll take care of the cost! What's important is that your sister gets treated right away! Hurry up, Eve! We don't have much time! Let me carry your sister! My car is over there!" Damian said again.

And here they were in a big hospital, accompanied by Damian. The Doctor was treating Adeline in the emergency department, and Eve was walking back and forth in front of Adeline's treatment.

After waiting for several hours, a doctor emerged from Adeline's treatment.

"Adeline's family?"

"I'm her sister, Doc! What's wrong with my sister?" Eve was nervous.

"Sorry, we have to tell you. We suspect liver cancer! But we'll do a series of tests to confirm it." said the Doctor.

"WHAT? Liver cancer?”

"Liver Cancer? No way! Tell me it's all a lie, Doc! You might be wrong, Doc! It's definitely not true! My sister is just tired!" Eve shouted as she grabbed the Doctor by the collar.

Exhausted, Eve finally broke down and collapsed on the cold hospital floor as she cried.

Just as she felt a little happy for accepting work today, she thought things would be better after getting a job.

Damian helped Eve finalize everything, including Adeline's payment.

Damian was still with Eve, who was waiting for her sister to wake up. He couldn't bear to leave her.

Eve didn't say much, preferring to stay quiet and lost in her thoughts.

Eve looked at Damian, who seemed tired; she didn't want to impose her will on the Boss to stand by her side.

"Sir, isn't it better for you to go home? I can wait for my sister here. I know you are tired. I thank you for your help. I don't know what would have happened to both of us if you hadn't helped us. I promise to return the money you spent to pay for my sister's treatment." Eve said to Damian.

"Never mind, I'm willing to do it. Well, I seem to be a little tired, maybe I'll come back for a while, to shower and rest. I'll be back, tomorrow morning, OK?" said Damian as he handed over some money to Eve.

"What is this, Sir? Didn't I receive my wages today?" Eve's face was confused as she received money from her new Boss.

"It's okay, it's just in case. Take it!" Damian said with a little force.

"Thank you, Sir. But, it's really not necessary." Eve politely refused her new Boss's gift. She didn't want to get further into debt with Damian.

"Okay. But call me if you need anything, okay? I'm leaving now," Damian said back.

After Damian left, Eve pulled out a chair, sat beside Adeline's bed, and tightly held her sister's fingers.

"Adeline's family?" greeted the Doctor as he entered the room.

"We just wanted to give you the results of this test." said the Doctor.

Eve opened the test results and froze; Eve read them slowly.

"It is with great regret that I have to tell you that your sister has Liver Cancer and it is confirmed to be stage two, at this time." The Doctor explained.

Eve's tears fell again without permission, "What should I do, Doc? Can my sister recover?"

"Hmm...I can only suggest that your sister get intensive care in this hospital. We must do it immediately." said the Doctor thoughtfully.

"What are some of the possibilities, Doc? And how much will it cost, Doc?" asked Eve in confusion, squeezing the test results in her hand.

"We don't know for sure yet, we still need to do a thorough observation. Only the probability is no more than 30% with the possibility of surviving two years only. And the cost is about 100,000 dollars."

"A hundred thousand, Doc?" said Eve in surprise.

"Yes, even that is only temporary and may increase. Please inform us when the funds are ready. We will do the treatment as soon as possible. The sooner, the better; perhaps the longer, we fear the patient cannot survive without treatment. Sorry, that's all we can say." The doctor left Eve.

Eve cried silently again.

Suddenly, she wiped her tears. "Uncle! Well, I'll ask for his help!"

***

Late at night, Evelyn Adam's footsteps to her parents' house, which her Uncle had taken away.

She deliberately left Adeline with the nurse at the hospital when she came here to ask for her Uncle's help.

She banged on the gate that had been her home since childhood.

Knock!

Knock!

"Uncle! Aunty! Claire! Open the door!" she shouted very loudly.

Eve waited for a moment when there was no answer; she was about to bang on the door again when the gate opened.

She hurriedly ran to the house with a large yard. She entered the house, which didn't seem locked, and wandered around, shouting.

"Uncle! Aunty! Claire...Help me!" Eve shouted inside her house.

Until two married couples came down the stairs.

"Ouch! What's wrong with you, huh? It's so noisy! You don't see what time it is, what time is it? Oh my! Why are you so rude to enter people's houses shouting like this, disturbing people's rest?" said his Uncle's wife.

Eve ran towards the stairs and prostrated herself at their feet. Sitting on a step.

"Uncle! Aunty! Please do me a favour, lend me five hundred thousand dollars. Adeline is sick! She's in the hospital! And she has liver cancer! Treatment must be done as soon as possible. Help me, Uncle! Aunty! This last time..only! I promise I'll do anything if you give it to me! And I am forever in debt to your family!" Eve said as she clasped her hands on her chest pleadingly while sobbing.

"One hundred thousand dollars? Hey! That's a lot of money! Are you sure you want to do anything?" said Uncle this time.

"Yes, Uncle I promise!" said Eve.

"Okay, I'll give it on one condition!" said her Uncle with a sly smile.

The wife looked at her husband disapprovingly, and the Uncle smiled and whispered in her ear.

"Alright, let's sit in the TV room while my wife gets something. Would you like a drink?!"

"No need, Uncle. Thank you," Eve said nervously.

"Okay..."

Not long after, the wife arrived with a document and gave it to her husband.

"Sign the letter! Then I'll give you as much as you want!" Uncle said, putting a file on the table.

"What is this, Uncle? The transfer of Daddy's company shares? To Uncle? But Uncle, that's more than one hundred thousand I asked for! And this company was started by Daddy from scratch! How can I hand it over to Uncle?" Eve momentarily began to think there was something wrong with this.

"Whatever! But remember your sister! Can she survive? If you can't get the money?" Uncle said as he crossed his legs on the sofa.

"But..." Eve was still hesitant, but she imagined her sister, who was currently in the hospital.

"Sign it or nothing!" Uncle was about to move, but Eve caught his hand.

"Alright Uncle! I'll sign it, for Adeline's sake!" Eve shakily signed the file.

Not long after, his wife handed over $1,000 into Eve's hand while laughing.

"Wait, Aunty! Uncle! What does this mean? It's only a thousand dollars. Not a hundred thousand dollars!" Eve stared in a daze.

"Oh, yeah? Did you ask for a hundred thousand dollars? Well, we forgot about that! Now get lost! That's a fair price for you! Guards drag this kid!"

Eve was shocked and screamed, "You lied to me! You are cruel! No! I'm not leaving! Until I receive the money! Uncle! Aunty! You promised! At least have mercy on Adeline Uncle! She's lying helpless right now!"

Suddenly, in the midst of the commotion, Claire appeared with her eyes rubbed; it seemed she had just woken up because she heard the commotion due to her parents' quarrel with Eve again.

"What's going on, fussing at night?" Claire turned her head and was surprised to see Eve back in her house, precisely the house that her father seized.

"You, again? Why do you keep coming in like a fly, anyway? And what is this? Daddy, why did you give her $1,000?" Claire looked at Eve, who was holding the money.

"It's reimbursement money because she gave her company to us, Claire! Never mind, let it go!" Daddy exclaimed.

"No way! I don't like it! It's my pocket money, Daddy! Why give it to her! I'd rather treat my friends at college tomorrow!" Claire sullenly looked at her Daddy.

"Never mind..what do you want?" Asked the Mummy this time while gently stroking the child's hair.

Claire suddenly walked up to Eve and grabbed the money. "Give me the money! It's my money! You don't want it either, did you say? So...you'll give it to me!" Claire slyly exclaimed and forcibly pulled out the money.

Eve tried to grab it, and there was a tug of war between the two of them until...

Kreeekk...!!!

The money broke into two pieces. Claire covered her mouth and let go of the tug.

"UPS!!! Sorry,! It looks torn!" she laughed sarcastically. "Go and get your torn money out of here!" Claire exclaimed as she walked away happily.

Eve squatted down to pick up the torn money, feeling even sadder. "You're too much, Claire! You're all cruel!"

"Let go! I'm not done talking to my Uncle yet! Uncle! Give me back my money!" Eve struggled when the big man lifted her.

Eve continued to struggle and scream, but she was outmatched by the two bodyguards holding both hands and again dragged her hard, this time to the street.

Eve fell to the ground; her lips kissed the street and began to bleed. Her hip was also injured and bleeding from being thrown hard onto the street.

Eve cried on the pavement in front of her house as she endured the pain.

"How could you! Oh my God! Adeline...."