I glared at my phone when morning came and I didn’t receive any more messages from him yet. Fine. Sige, ipagpatuloy mo yan, Alexander. Akala mo naman mami-miss kita palagi. Malilimutan rin kita pagkatapos ng taon na to! I will try my best to at least not think of you almost everyday. Ugh! I ruffled my hair in annoyance. Alexander, the orangutan is so annoying!Nang biglang tumunog ang aking cellphone. Mabilis ko itong kinuha mula sa aking bedside table at sinagot ang tumawag.“Hello?”“Hi, Kiera!”I rolled my eyes when I heard Dmitri’s voice. Bakit, Hera? Sino ba ang inaasahan mong tumawag maliban sa tatlo mong kaibigan? Huh? I sighed in defeat.“Hi, Dmitri. What’s up?” sagot ko habang nagbibihis. Ni-loudspeaker ko ang aking cellphone.“Trixie and I are going to fetch you and Rico.” masaya nitong sabi. Okay. Anong meron ngayon? It’s not my birthday at walang may birthday sa kanilang tatlo. It’s just a regular Saturday.“We’re going on a beach, Kiera. Finals are done so we deserve th
I enjoyed the beach so much. We took a lot of group pictures together. It seems everyone had fun.Sofia stayed in the cottage for a while then took a walk on the seashore afterwards. She even offered to take my beach pictures. I posed a lot until she was satisfied. Balak niya pa yata akong gawin na modelo. Alas tres ng mapagpasyahan naming umuwi na. Pinaghatian naming apat ang bayarin kanina. Dmitri wants to pay for all the expenses but Trixie insists that she's the one who will pay for it. Kaya sinabi kong paghahatian na lang naming apat dahil hindi rin pumayag si Rico na sila lang ang umako sa bayarin.“Thank you, guys! Ingat!”Paalam ko sa kanila pagkatapos naming bumaba nina Rico at Sofia sa sasakyan ni Dmitri.“Bye!” Paalam ni Trixie. Dmitri wave his hand at umalis na sila. Rico started to walk to their house after niya ring magpaalam sa akin. I smiled at him and waved my hand. Sofia waited for me at sabay na kaming pumasok sa mansion.“Thank you, Helena! I enjoyed it.” Nakangit
“Finally!” Tiling sigaw ni Trixie pagkatapos naming mag-file ng application for graduation. “Congratulations to us!” I smiled at her as we jumped in joy outside the registrar's office. We both achieved Latin honor with her Business Management course and me in my BS Accountancy.Naglalakad kami papunta sa school's cafeteria kung saan naghihintay ang dalawang unggoy. I saw Dmitri and Rico sitting on a four seater table. “Hi Helena!” Bati sa akin ng ibang estudyante. When I got the crown last year for the Miss Intramurals, I became popular on the whole campus. There's this one scout agent who tried to talk to me and offered me to be the talent of his agency. He gave me a calling card and showed me his company card. Trixie and I tried to search if it's legit or a fraud and we found that it's legit. But I declined it politely, dahil hindi naman ako interesado sa ganoong industriya at ayaw kung tumigil sa pag-aaral. He said that the offer won't expire as long as I decide to accept it, th
Maaga akong nagising dahil ngayon ang island hopping namin nina Trixie. It is still six in the morning and I am ready to go. I am waiting for Trixie and Dmitri to fetch me and Rico here in the mansion. Nasabihan ko na si Tita Alexandria tungkol sa lakad ko ngayon. Gusto sanang sumama ni Sofia pero masyado daw maaga ang call time. Ayaw niyang gumising ng ganito kaaga kaya hindi na siya sumama.Nakita ko si Rico na naglalakad palapit sa portico ng mansion kung saan ako nakaupo habang naghihintay. May dala siyang duffel bag.“Good morning, Helena.” bati niya. “Good morning, Rico.” nakangiti kong bati sa kanya.Umupo siya sa ika-dalawang hagdan ng portico at hinintay namin ang pagdating ng dalawa. I close my eyes and feel the cool breeze of the air. This is how I like it in the morning. I looked at the mountains in front of the mansion. I am enjoying the changes in the color of the sky in front of me as the sun starts to rise. I took my phone and captured its mesmerizing beauty.Right a
I looked at my phone in my hand, still processing the conversation I had with Alexander even if it was just brief. Tinanong niya na lang kung nasaan ako at kung sino ang kasama ko. Pagkatapos ko siyang sagutin ay kaagad siyang nagpaalam. For some, it may be a nonsense conversation but for me, it’s a lot. It means a lot to me. Because of that call, I can say that he still cares for me. And just like that, my worries for him that he might have forgotten about me vanished in thin air. Sa simpleng tawag niya ay naging panatag ang aking kalooban.Bumalik ako sa aming mesa na may kakaibang sigla. Trixie looked at me weirdly. I only smiled at her and put brocolli on her mouth.“Hey!” angal niya. I laughed at her. Napilitan siyang kainin ang gulay na nilagay ko sa kanyang bibig. Rico and Dmitri laughed at her reaction. She doesn’t like vegetables in general.Kinagabihan ay nagpasya kaming sumali sa mga nagka-campfire sa dalampasigan. Halos mga ka-edad lang din naman ang kadalasan sa mga ito.
“Helena Kiera Sue Montes, Cum laude!”Nagsigawan at nagpalakpakan ang aking mga ka-departamento ng tinawag na ako upang umakyat sa stage at tanggapin ang medal at diploma. This is it!Nagkataon na sabay ang graduation naming tatlo nina Meg at Elle. Tita and Tito attended them together with Sofia who wanted to stay with me to join me in the graduation ceremony. Na-appreciate ko ang gusto niyang mangyari pero sinabihan ko siyang dumalo sa graduation ng kanyang mga kapatid dahil hindi man sabihin ng dalawa ay alam kong gusto nilang kompleto silang pamilya. They were going to celebrate at their mansion in Metro Manila because most of their relatives and friends lived there. Tita told me that we are going to celebrate it with the mansion too when they went home, together with all the ranch workers.“Congratulations!”The deans in different departments congratulated and shook hands with me and also the university president. They were all on stage, lined up to congratulate the graduates.“Th
I slowly turned around my heart pounding like crazy with anticipation. This can’t be him, right? He’s in Canada! Hindi ako makapaniwala na tumitig sa mukha ni Alexander na nasa harapan ko na ngayon. He’s holding a huge bouquet. I pinched my arm and I could feel the sharp pain. He’s real! Without thinking more, I went to him and hugged him as tight as I could. I missed him so much! No words could explain how I am feeling right now. “Congratulations, baby,” he whispered and hugged me using his left hand. His other hand is holding the bouquet.Tumingala ako sa kanya. He cleaned his stubbles and he looked so handsome with his new haircut. I noticed how his broad shoulders have become more defined now. He is wearing a white dress shirt and black pants. He looked amazing. Para siyang bituin na nagniningning sa mata ko ngayon. I may be exaggerating things but this is how I feel right at this moment. He looked at me and smiled. I can’t believe how I miss his gorgeous smile too. Ngumiti ako
Pagkatapos ng dinner namin ay dumiretso kami sa mall. I took off my graduation gown and slid it on the backseat of his car together with the graduation cap. I am wearing a white short dress underneath it. Pumasok kami sa mall habang naka-angkla ako sa kanyang braso. Marami akong nakitang naka-graduation gown pa na gumagala kasama ang kanilang pamilya at mga kaibigan. Napangiti ako. If my parents are still here, I am sure that we will be having an intimate dinner in a fancy restaurant or we will be having it at home. “Hi Helena!” bati sa akin ng mga magkakaibigan. I am not familiar with them but they were wearing a graduation gown.“Hello sa inyo.” ganti kong bati. Huminto kami saglit ni Alexander. Alexander glanced at them in a blank expression. Ang snobbish naman ng kasama ko. I bit my lip to suppress my laugh. “Congratulations sayo.” sabi nila.“Congrats din sa inyong lahat.”Ngumiti sila at sumulyap sa aking katabi. Kumaway na ako sa kanila bilang pamamalam upang ituloy ang pagla