I got up from bed and tugged my hair. I couldn’t sleep well. Their smiles and insults haunted me even in my sleep. I turned on the lamp on my bedside table and I was welcomed by hundreds of certificates hanging on the wall, my certificates. I looked at them one by one reminiscing the bitter-sweet memories of every certificate. The sweet part is having them and the bitter part is mom. They said all mothers in the world are beautiful and I agree with that. My mother is beautiful but just on the outside. She always bragged my achievements to all her amegas but never told me she was proud of me. She just wanted to take all the credit for herself. She never really appreciated me and she doesn’t have to because according to her I owe my life to her because without her I won’t exist in this world as if I asked for it. She is my mom but was never a mother to me. I would rather die than have him as my mom. All my life I’ve always dreamed of telling her I don’t owe her anything since I didn’
I pulled out the knife and took quick steps backward. My eyes followed the gushing blood from his chest down to his waist. He was losing too much blood but he was just standing there looking at me coldly. Trembling hands, chattering teeth, pounding heart, and breathing roughly. All signs of fear. I felt them all. The fear he caused me was greater than my fear of dying. I understood his lethal silence. I dropped the knife and left him running. I wiped my hands covered by his blood using my handkerchief. I head to my office. My heart ran wild when Hilario showed up in front of me. “I just can’t let you die, Jann.” She blocked my way. I ignored her and continued walking my way. Latching on you would bring my death earlier, Hilario. I felt her run after me and blocked my way again. I ruffled my hair in annoyance. “Until when are you going to do this?” “I won’t stop until I convince you.” She raised her chin. She’s being stubborn. I like the old Hilario. She was once silent on her ow
SERRAI ran and ran as fast as I could. My vision was getting blurry and I couldn’t clearly see a thing. I bumped into someone. I didn’t bother to apologize and just ran. I reached our usual spot and I saw him sitting on the lonely bench.“Grip!” I cried out running.He averted his head in my direction and he smiled the moment he saw me. I stopped in front of him and my heart sank seeing the situation he was in.“Grip...” I reached his face with my trembling hands. His skin was a bit cold.His chest was constantly bleeding. His plain white shirt was dyed deep red because of his blood.“What should I do? What should I do?” My voice cracked and I barely formed the words due to frequent stuttering.I could no longer hold the heartbreak. I clutched on the bench to prevent myself from collapsing. The pain I felt seeing him suffer poured out in a flood of uncontrollable tears.“I-I’ll take you to the hospital.” I brought out my phone to call the emergency hotline but he stopped my hand.“I’l
Grip broke the kiss when my stomach growled. He chuckled and pinched my nose. “Let’s go get something to eat.” He lend his hand to me and I took it. He helped me get up from bed and never let my hand go. He pulled me a chair to sit on and made me watch him. I wanted to help but he said that I need to save my strength. “Grip, how long did I sleep?” I put my head on the table. I feel like sleeping again. “Four days,” he said without glancing at me. He was busy cooking. No wonder why I feel hungry this bad. I looked at his back and familiarized every detail of him. My brows furrowed seeing him in a cream-colored soldier uniform. I blinked my eyes and saw him wearing a black shirt, grey shorts, and a pair of beach walk slippers. I’ve been seeing him in that antique clothing lately. I just realized now that it was a soldier’s uniform. “Here you go.” He placed a plate in front of me with a stack of pancakes. He also made me some coffee. “Aren’t you going to eat?” He shook his head a
“Are you sure you’re not gonna come?” Amanda asked for the nth time. The group decided to go shopping and I don’t feel like going. I wanted to be alone. She sighed when she hadn’t heard a word from me. I heard the door closed. I closed my eyes and covered myself with a thick blanket. I don’t feel like doing anything. I just want to lay in my bed all day. I rolled over the edge of my bed and stayed idle for a minute. My head was heavy and my eyes were burning. My breath was hotter than usual. “Gugu, is there something you want to tell me?” I gave her my begging eyes. “I invoke my right against self-incrimination. I refuse to answer.” She brought her hand near her mouth and moved it along as if she was zipping her lips. I grabbed my towel and stopped in front of the bathroom door. I looked at my waist and hugged the towel I was holding. “Serra, are you alright?” Gugu floated in my direction. “Yes, I’m fine.” I closed the door before she could even reach me. I leaned against the
“We’re here,” Xyrus declared. The car stopped in front of a white two storey mansion. I lowered the car’s window. I saw a man standing in the garden facing the house while watering the bushes. On the second floor, a little girl and a boy were running at the terrace, and a woman peeking at the window. On the front porch, sat an old man on a racking chair. “I’ve never thought you have such a big family.” My lips stretched a smile. He’s lucky to have a beautiful family. To beget something I don’t have. “Serra...” he called in a disturbing tone and diverted my eyes to him. “Grandma lives only with a maid,” he clarified. I gulped and slowly shoot back my eyes to the house. The man in the garden has a hole on his forehead. His blood trickled down his face. The little girl and boy were standing side by side looking in our direction. I couldn’t identify them because of their burnt faces. The woman in the window wasn’t there anymore. The head of the old man on the racking chair was missin
SERRA “Grip!” A girl was running in our direction. She immediately linked her arm with his and leaned her head on his side. Seeing them together crumpled my heart and squeezed it into bits. The girl looked at me and smirked cockily. She got paper-white skin and reddish and delicate lips. She looked like a bright and lively sunflower on her yellow dress. They looked good together. “Let’s go!” She tugged the guy named Grip and turned around. My lips contorted. An axe was dug deep in her back. Her blood trickled down her dress turning the sunflower into a crimson red rose. She turned around and widened a smile at me showing her perfect white teeth. Blood oozed down her chin. Her eyes turned charcoal black and her teeth elongated into razor-sharp fangs. A demon like her was powerful enough to suppress the darkness within her. She even fooled a reaper. Her claws stretched around his neck without him knowing. “Grip!” I promptly threw a yin-yang coin and it hit her claws. The glowing yin
“Why isn’t he healing?” I looked at Grip while his wound is being sutured. My wound was sutured first before his. We were in a place for reapers specifically the infirmary. I could feel that I’ve been here before I just don’t remember when. “He’ll heal if you will,” she answered without leaving his eyes on Grip. Her name was Sham. She got wavy long hair, an oval face, fair skin, sparkling round eyes, turned-up nose, and heart-shaped lips. Her cloak was embroidered with silver. I discovered that the rank of the reapers was determined by the color of their cloak’s embroidery and it indicates the years of them being a reaper. Grip got the highest rank and he was the first-ever reaper and he was followed by Sham. I furrowed my brows at her. “What do you mean?” “The marking was complete. It’s a secret every reaper should keep. Marking someone makes a reaper vulnerable. We heal faster if directly hit but if our salvation was hit we will suffer twice the pain. We will be wounded just lik