Chapter 235 - The Islet Mystery 51

aveThe next day, Ryan went back to Isla Uno. All the children on the island had already gathered on the shore the moment his yacht pulled over a few miles away from the shore. Some even rode in their small, wooden boats and met him halfway, their happiness overflowing. Their squeals and waves of laughter echoed through the serene, late afternoon atmosphere. The sun was already closing the horizon, and despite the exhaustion of the day, the children's energy still seemed to be at its peak.

"Hi, kids! Gather around, and we will give you your food and toys," Ryan hollered, and the kids moved as fast as a bolt of lightning, squatting close together on the sand, their face gleaming with excitement.

After placing two boxes on the sand, Ryan came back to the speedboat to gather more. A child sprinted behind him, and when Ryan was about to lift another box, he called out.

"Sir, may I help?" Ryan got startled, his hands suspended on the air. He looked at the child, and his little act of kindness and the sincerity registering in his tiny, innocent face made him smile.

"What's your name, boy?"

"Yanyan," replied the boy, raising a hand to cover his eyes. Ryan's smile made him uneasy.

Ryan paused again from lifting the box and stared at him for a moment. He wondered how it would feel if his parents addressed him this way.

"It's so sweet of your parents to name you that way," Ryan commented then gave a pat on his head.

"Give me the box, sir."

"No, you're still a small boy," Shiela's voice cut him off, and he stared at him, wide-eyed. She stared back at the boy, and her heart sank in seeing his large, torn white-turned-brown shirt, which probably an old shirt of his father. Nevertheless, his handsome features shone out of his ragged clothing and his bronzed hair.

" I can do it, and I'm strong. I can even carry you in my back, ma'am, so that you won't get wet," Yanyan replied, his eyes glued at her warmly in anticipation.

"Thank you, boy, it's so sweet of you," Shiela chuckled then realized that she might have offended the boy's feeling for not accepting his kindness. "Just help us distribute the food and toys later."

Yanyan nodded, and without waiting for them, he swam into the shallow water, and his tiny body moved swiftly and gracefully like a fish.

Shiela and Ryan distributed the food and toys right away to the children with the help of some parents around. The rest of the parents did not come since the invitation was for their children only, except for those who had children below one year old. Being too excited, the children spread their food in the sand and began eating quietly while the adults distributed the toys.

"Yan, you may eat your food," one of the parents commented when he saw him on the side, not touching his food. This brought Ryan and Shiela's attention.

"Don't you like the food, boy?" Ryan asked while Shiela just watched and observed him.

"I'm full, sir," he replied with a sheepish smile then rubbed his abdomen.

"Yan, just share with Toby. He can't consume his share, anyway," the parent offered again as he walked over to Yanyan to let him sit beside Toby, his son.

Shiela's brows pulled up together in a puzzled look, then asked the parent in particular. "What's wrong?"

"Yanyan is just eight years old, but he behaves and thinks like an adult. He won't eat his food, perhaps because he can't chew his food while thinking that his parents have none," the parent whispered while casting stolen glances at Yanyan. 

Shiela glanced at Ryan, and the latter also looked back at her, their eyes implying that they felt the same way.

"Yan, eat your share, and I will give some for your parents. Do you have siblings who are not here now?" Shiela asked.

Yanyan shook his head and looked down, perhaps ashamed of the special attention given to him.

"Thank you, ma'am, sir."

"Were your parents here yesterday?" Ryan asked, moved at the thought of how wonderful they raised their child this way.

"No, sir."

Ryan then felt guilty of his carelessness. He didn't ask yesterday if he missed out on someone or if the list was accurate. 

"His parents no longer work for the Chara plantation, sir," the parent informed them, perhaps, he had read his thoughts through his expression. "But Yanyan does."

"What?"Shiela and Ryan exclaimed almost simultaneously, horrified at the fact that his father engaged in child labor. Children of his age should be in school, and that was the primary reason why he promised to build a school for them.

"How many children like him are working here?" Ryan's voice sharpened in anger at the thought of his father's another sin.

"Our children go with us while at work sometimes, but they are not obliged like Yanyan," the parents answered.

"What do you mean?" Shiela butted in.

"Yanyan is now the sole provider of his family. His parents are already too old to work on the farm."

This fact threw a stabbing pain to Shiela and Ryan's heart. Yanyan was still too young to dip in the water and do the hard labor of planting Chara blooms.

"Yanyan, from now on, you will not work anymore. Just help your parents in the household chores and be in school as soon as it opens. I'll pay you even if you don't have to work."

The boy flushed, and soon drops of tears fell from his eyes. He then picked up his food and ran towards his boat, which he anchored on the shore.

Shiela couldn't help crying with him as she watched his retreating form into his boat. She saw him brushing his tears with his arms and it broke her heart further. Something in his eyes drew him to her, and it reminded her that if only his son lived, he would be as old as he was.