The best thing about having a daughter is having two of them.

Yanyan's gaze is trained on the screen, eyes wide and unblinking. Diesel holds off a smile, trying not to ruin the mood the horror film has set. God, she's adorable.

Yanyan was standing in between his legs, her back buried in his chest, and his arms wrapped around her. Her hands were holding his fingers tight as the suspense music grew louder, almost echoing in their empty living room.

Addie is helping Nadia with her homework on the front porch. Yanyan wanted to watch a movie, and Nadia was easily distracted, kaya nandoon sila ni Addie sa labas. Silang dalawa lang ni Yanyan ang naiwan sa loob ng bahay.

When the musical scoring comes to a halt, Diesel blows a gust of air on Yanyan's ears, making her shoulders jump in shock. She didn't scream, though, unlike her sister Nadia, who would have probably already cried and yelled that she hates her papa.

Diesel receives multiple punches to the arm from Yanyan. "I'on't like that," she tells him, looking him in the eye with her eyebrows furrowed.

Diesel removes the crease on her forehead with a swipe of his fingers. He pulls her closer and kisses her on the cheek before murmuring an apology. "Okay. Hindi na uulitin."

Yanyan nods before sinking back into Diesel's chest.

Unlike her sister, Yanyan's not the type to cry and whine easily. Madapa man ito sa daan, tatayo lang at sasabihing nasaktan siya, pero hindi iiyak. Parang mauuna pa ngang maiyak si Diesel tuwing madadapa siya.

But, of course, she's still a child. Kapag nasobrahan lang ng sakit, doon na ito iiyak pero hindi iyong tipong kagaya ng kay Nadia na nakabibingi at mahirap patahanin. Yanyan will shed some tears until the pain subsides. Then, a few minutes later, it's all forgotten.

Between Nadia and Yanyan, the latter is the quiet one. At first, Addie and Diesel were both worried that Yanyan would have a hard time getting along with other kids because she prefers being by herself.

But one Sunday at Butterbites, a boy her age—one of the regular customers' sons—walked up to her while she was playing with the toy cars parked in front of a handed-down dollhouse from Nadia. To both Addie and Diesel's relief, she seemed to not mind having a playmate who isn't her sister. She didn't shut the new kid off. By the end of the day, she told Addie his name.

The next weekend, she went to Butterbites. She occupied the same table and laid out the same toys on the table. The boy from the previous week didn't come, but two different kids stopped by her table and played with her for a while.

On the ride home, Yanyan told Addie their names and what they talked about. Yanyan didn't seem as excited as Nadia when she made new friends. Unlike Nadia, Yanyan isn't a ball of energy bouncing off the walls, but considering that she stays quiet most of the time, big deal na iyong may kinukuwento siya kay Addie habang nasa biyahe pauwi.

That's just the way she is—seemingly aloof, calm, quiet. Quite the opposite of her older sister, but they're still the same in a number of ways. Like how they both like sneaking candies in the bedroom and wasting shampoo every bathtime, how they both refuse to allow their papa to kiss them when his stubbles are starting to grow, and how they both run to Addie whenever they're about to cry and to Diesel when they're scared.

Yanyan covers her eyes with both of her palms, shoulders shooting to her ears when the built-up suspense is finally released. Diesel swallows his chuckles and hugs her closer to his chest until that scene is over. "Ayan, 'wag kang pupunta kung saan-saan. 'Wag kang sasasama sa strangers. Kita mo 'yun? Scary."

Yanyan moves her hands to her ears, probably to quiet down the suspenseful violin instrumental from the movie. She steps on Diesel's lap as she pushes herself closer to his chest. Then she shakes her head, eyes still glued to the screen. "No. You fight monster."

The corners of Diesel's lips curve up. "Monster is big," aniya sabay turo sa screen.

"Papa big, too."

"Monster is bigger." Yanyan cranes her neck and looks at Diesel, eyes wide. Diesel purses his lips together, trying to hide his grin, before scooping her up and placing her feet back down on his thigh. God, she's growing heavy. Her little feet feel like punches. "Okay, joke lang. Papa's bigger."

"Hmmkay. You fight," Yanyan murmurs before shifting her gaze back to the screen. They continue to watch the movie quietly.

A few minutes later, Yanyan asks to lie down. He pauses the movie (upon Yanyan's request, she doesn't want the movie to play while her papa's away) before dashing to the kitchen to make her a bottle of milk. Diesel comes back to the living room, grabs a throw pillow from the couch, and sets it beside his thigh. He pats Yanyan's leg as she drinks her milk, and they continue to watch the movie.

It doesn't take long for Yanyan to fall asleep. Diesel lowers the volume of the TV, since he doesn't want Yanyan to wake up startled because of a sudden musical drop. He checks his emails on his phone with his left hand while his right continues gently patting Yanyan's leg.

Not long after, Addie and Nadia enter the living room. His older daughter shows him her homework, quietly gushing over her job well done, careful not to wake her sister up. After that, Diesel follows Nadia and Addie upstairs, carrying a sleeping Yanyan with him to their bedroom.

Addie asks Diesel to pick something up at Butterbites. He nods while carefully laying Yanyan down in the middle of their bed before building a pillow fortress around her.

"Mama, bike," Nadia says quietly. "Papa, bike."

"Okay," tumatangong sabi ni Diesel. Kumuha siya ng relos sa tokador at inabot 'yon kay Addie para isuot sa kaniya.

"Saglit ka lang, ha? Mainit na sa labas," Addie tells Nadia. Nadia nods eagerly, already holding the door open.

Diesel leaves, holding Nadia's hand as they go downstairs. He picks up Nadia's bike from the garage and brings it to the backyard. Nadia kisses him goodbye on the cheek before he gets in the car.

* * *

Addie is drying her hair in the bathroom when she hears loud cries from the other side of the wall. Fueled by the surge of panic, she immediately goes out of the bathroom and flicks the light switch on.

Nakaupo na ang umiiyak na si Yanyan sa kama at mukhang takot na takot. Addie hurries to her side and carries Yanyan to her chest.

Yanyan rarely cries this hard. Addie knew she should have not allowed her to watch the children's horror movie earlier with her papa.

Addie pats Yanyan's back in a slow, comforting manner. Kapapalit lang niya ng damit pero dahil hindi niya abot ang cabinet kung nasaan ang mga bimpo ni Yanyan, at ayaw siyang hayaan ng anak na tumayo, ang T-shirt na suot na lang niya ang ginamit niyang pantuyo sa pisngi nito. Yanyan keeps her head on Addie's chest, still bawling her eyes out like there's no tomorrow.

A little while after, Addie carries Yanyan near the bedroom windows, drawing the curtains with her free hand. It takes a few more minutes for Yanyan to finally calm down. Yanyan chews on her bottle nipple after downing half a bottle of milk, watching her Ate Nadia bike back and forth in the backyard.

Yanyan leans her head on Addie's arm. Addie plants a kiss on her temple. She sighs. That quite scared her. First time niyang marinig na umiyak si Yanyan nang ganoon kalakas at katagal. And it happened all of a sudden, too. Naalimpungatan siguro.

"Water?" Addie asks when she heard Yanyan's hiccups.

Yanyan nods, still chewing on her bottle.

Addie carries her to the kitchen downstairs to get her some water. While she's rinsing a baby bottle in the sink, still carrying her daughter on one arm, Yanyan asks, "Where si Papa?"

"Umalis," Addie says, not knowing that that answer will make Yanyan cry. She quickly turns the faucet off and runs a wet hand on Yanyan's cheeks to wipe her tears away. "Why? Tahan, tahan. . . ."

"Iwan niya Yanyan," Yanyan replies in between sobs.

"Nooo." Addie shakes her head. "Babalik 'yun. May kinuha lang. Tulog ang Yanyan kanina," paliwanag niya.

Yanyan says something, pero hindi agad iyon naintindihan ni Addie dahil bali-baliktad ang arrangement ng salita dahil sa pagmamadali. She makes Yanyan drink some more water before they both head upstairs again. Pagkatapos magpalit ng sariling T-shirt, pinalitan na rin ni Addie ang damit ni Yanyan dahil nagpawis na ito sa kaiiyak. She waits a bit more for Yanyan to completely calm down before asking her to explain again.

"Nagininip Yanyan," Yanyan says.

"Nanaginip," Addie corrects gently.

Yanyan nods. "B-Bigay ako Papa sa monster sa nagininip ko."

* * *

An hour later, a clueless Diesel comes home.

Sinalubong siya ng kaliligo lang na si Nadia. She greets him with a kiss on the cheek. He gets the box of polvoron out of the paper bag he's holding, leaving it with a few cake slices from Butterbites, before handing it to Nadia. Nadia hugs the paper bag to her chest before walking to the kitchen.

Diesel walks to the living room couch where Addie is. Yanyan is curled up in a ball on her lap, eyes on the cartoon playing on the television screen.

Diesel's all smiles, not knowing that his younger daughter is mad at him. Because apparently, he gave her and left her with a monster in her nightmare.

Diesel frowns when Yanyan doesn't seem to acknowledge his presence. He crouches in front of Yanyan and waits for her to look at him, but it seems like she's deliberately ignoring him.

Diesel looks up at Addie questioningly. Addie mouths, "Mamaya."

Diesel sighs then shows Yanyan her favorite polvoron. She continues to ignore him.

* * *

Addie and Diesel managed to get to bed early last night. Kaya naman, alas-kuwatro pa lang ng umaga kinabukasan ay gising na silang pareho, samantalang ang dalawang bata ay tulog na tulog pa sa trunk bed.

Addie adjusts her head against Diesel's chest. Their legs are entangled beneath the sheets, while their hands are busy with mindless thumb wrestling. "Galit si Yanyan sa 'yo," Addie says quietly.

Diesel brings their entangled hands to his lips to kiss her fingers after he takes down her thumb for the sixteenth time this morning. "Bakit naman?"

Addie chuckles lightly. "Bakit kasi horror ang pinanood ninyo?"

"She picked that," Diesel hisses. For the first time this morning, Addie wins the thumb war.

"Kaya nga. . . ." Addie unlinks her hand from his. She lowers it to his chest and pokes at it repeatedly. "Iniwan at ibinigay mo raw siya sa monster. Nagising nang umiiyak."

Diesel sighs in frustration. "Galit siya dahil sa ginawa ko sa kaniya sa panaginip niya?" he asks incredulously.

Addie chuckles. Diesel clicks his tongue and busies his hand by running it through her hair. "Hirap ba ng dalawang anak na babae?"

Diesel nods. "They're both dramatic." But he loves the two of them, still. Wholly. Including their antics.

Addie hums, nodding against his chest. "Mana sa 'yo." Diesel groans in disagreement. That makes Addie titter. "What? Ayaw mo na ng babae?"

Diesel pouts. He doesn't really care if they have another daughter. By that time, he probably would have already gotten used to dealing with a baby girl. Pero hindi rin naman masama kung iba naman. "Okay lang. Pero lalaki na ang bunso natin."

"Paano ka sure?" Addie asks.

Diesel snickers. "Ako pa?"

Addie lightly smacks his chest. He silences his chuckles by burying his head against her hair.

* * *

Addie is going with Nadia to a school event, which means that Diesel has to take the grumpy Yanyan with him to work. Yanyan kept a straight face even as he dressed her up, and the kiss she gave him afterward was clearly half-hearted.

Diesel makes sure to bring the untouched box of polvoron with him. It's something he can use later to woo his younger daughter.

Unlike Nadia, Yanyan doesn't like his swivel chair, and he finds his office table way too big for her. It's the reason why she has a smaller, bright red plastic table in the corner—the only pop of color in his otherwise brown and black office.

Diesel pulled one of the chairs beside her desk when lunchtime came. Yanyan mutters a thank you to his secretary after he drops off their lunch at the office.

While Yanyan's chewing on her food, still adamant about not speaking to Diesel despite the fact that he's feeding her, he stands up and grabs the box of polvoron from his office table. He sees Yanyan throw it a glance after he sets it down on her table.

Finally, Yanyan reaches for the box. She rests her hand on top of it while quietly chewing on her food.

Diesel's sure that she'll have no choice but to talk to him because she won't be able to open the packaging herself. There's no one else she can ask for help.

After having their lunch, Diesel catches Yanyan opening the box and taking a piece of polvoron. He doesn't say anything, nor offer to tear the plastic packaging for her. He refills her glass and his mug with water before sitting beside her again, pretending to be busy with his phone.

Diesel holds his tongue when Yanyan tries to tear the plastic with her teeth. After multiple failed attempts, Yanyan stares at the polvoron she's holding, as if in deep thought. Diesel averts his gaze swiftly when she looks up at him.

Yanyan tugs on one of his fingers resting on her table. Diesel looks at her, hoping that the poker face he's pulling off is effective in hiding the excitement he's feeling inside. Finally.

"Tawag Kuya Abet."

Diesel feels his heart drop. His secretary's name is Albert, but his kids call him Kuya Abet. Wow. Kanino ba nakamana ng taas ng pride ang batang ito?

Diesel sighs, sets his phone down on the table, and squishes Yanyan's cheeks gently with one hand. "But Papa's here."

Yanyan's forehead creases. "No." She frowns and then looks down at her hands. "Iwan mo Yanyan sa monster sa gininip."

Diesel sighs again, this time fighting the urge to laugh. Baka mainis si Yanyan sa kaniya kapag tinawanan niya. She's so cute! "I'm sorry I left you sa monster. Di naman totoo 'yun e."

Yanyan pouts. After being silent for a long time, she hands the polvoron bar to Diesel. "Open. Kasi iwan ni Papa si Yanyan sa monster."

Diesel tries to hide his smile, but miserably fails. Hanggang kailan kaya gagamitin ni Yanyan ang kasalanan ng papa niya sa panaginip niya?

Diesel rips the plastic with his fingers and hands it back to Yanyan. "Sorry, okay? Fake 'yung Papa sa panaginip mo. Aawayin ko 'yun."

Yanyan scrunches her nose before biting into the polvoron. Diesel leans against his chair and watches her eat.

"You want?" Yanyan asks, though her fingers are tight on the polvoron and her other hand is already reaching for the box—obviously not wanting to share.

Diesel shakes his head and laughs, before leaning over to kiss the top of her head. "No. You can have it."

"Good," Yanyan says, nodding, before shoving the remaining polvoron in her mouth. "Water, please."

Diesel holds the glass for her as she drinks.