SPARKPLUG

Julia Sofia Castillo

“I was a girl in the village doing all right. Then I became a princess overnight

Now I gotta figure out how to do it right;

So much to learn and see!”

Oh, how sweetly she sings along to the early Saturday morning opening theme of her favorite television show. First disappointment. First child. First in everything. She is always first, according to them.

In the sweltering, bustling Divisoria area, she chose to inform her mother to open her arms to the world as her mother was purchasing clothing. Her mother gave birth to a baby girl on May 7, 2007, at 5:08 p.m. in the Quezon Memorial Medical Center. She was happy and nervous about what the future held. Father was initially dissatisfied since he didn't like her; he said, "Is it really a girl, should’ve been a boy."

A young child, had a very challenging upbringing as she didn't meet her father until she was five years old. Her mother has battled to provide for her needs as her mother is solely dependent on her father. A young girl with a devoted mother who is keen to teach her everything.

Time went by, her father returned, supported her and her mother, and enrolled her at Divine Grace School, which was her first school. Yet, from a young age, she was brought up in a world of conflict and saw fights and disputes that a young child couldn't have witnessed.

Everything went well… or she thought. No one anticipated that Thursday afternoon of December 14, 2018, would be the day when she would despise December and realize there would never be a merry Christmas.

Unspoken emotions of loss, hurt, and destruction. How could a child who was just having fun and being innocent experience a horrible moment? They found an angel.

Everything is still vivid, a haze from yesterday with still-open wounds. When she tells that story, she still sheds one tear after another.

A borrowed gift, she thought.