More Than What Meets the Eye

PROLOG Up on the hill lies a townhouse built like a fortress. Vines crawled on the iron wrought walls from the top to the soiled ground surrounding the lot. The steep slope made it impossible to travel by car nor was it friendly to walk with the road uncemented. Thus, no person wanders by accident or goes sightseeing.  Most people called the place haunted because of rumors spread by campers. They said that while spending the night in the forest, they heard faint music coming from the nearby hill. Out of curiosity, they ventured in the midst of darkness and were astounded to see the lights on the townhouse but when they pressed the doorbell, no one answered. Then, suddenly, the beautiful melody was replaced by eerie silence so when the lights went out from the place, they were already running away.  Little did they know, insi

  A hand pulled Care out of the dancefloor while her mind wandered elsewhere.  "Who was it?" she mumbled.  "It's me, Ivy! I came to fetch you on behalf of my sister!" a lady in chiffon lacy dress replied in obvious foul mood, "Stupid camaraderie dance! What a lame excuse for those bird-brained men to select prospects! All of them seem so eager to dance with you that they won’t mind ripping your arm off. Be grateful I saved your ass." Unable to keep track of her blabbers, Care beamed at Ivy. Her stern looking expression warded off bachelors from approaching. Better to have a rival’s company than those nuisances, Care thought.  "Actually, I expected Marigold to show up instead of you. I assumed you were on the dancefloor with your charming suitor, too."  "Not another word!"  Ivy squinted her eyes, threat mode. She raised her hands in surrender and nodded. It would be unwise to conti

 "May we call on Lady Caress to join us with the bestowing ceremony." The emcee announced followed by an applause from the several attendees. Care found herself rising from her seat. "Shi! What is this, déjà vu?" Care inwardly panicked. Like how it goes, Aster reached and gave her hand a light squeeze. Her heart began thumping crazily when she said the exact statement:"Come straight to the table after, hmm? I feel uneasy tonight." Chills ran through her spine as though somebody threw a bucket full of ice on her. She wanted to shout for help yet she cannot lift even a muscle in her mouth no matter how hard she tried. Further and further, she spirals down into a dilem

  "Eliseo, I didn't teach you to be rude towards a lady!" Mrs. Manaloto reprimanded before diverting her attention to Care, still frozen, "Come in, milady! How thoughtful of you to bring lovely flowers!"   The bouquet of baby's breaths seemed strangled by the way her fingers tightened around the poor flowers. She was even more flustered realizing she appears to be the boy doing courtship.  How shameful!  Her father was to blame. The patriarch insisted on offering a little something because that appeals best to the Manaloto family. According to him, lavish gifts would discomfort them. Although she hated to admit, his point was valid.  "I... I apologize for my unmindful words earlier. Ma'am, Sir, I'm truly asha

The news about the attempted murder on Caress Aragon at Gala's peak moment spread like wildfire across the metropolis and neighboring places. It was the number one talk of the town. The local media right away released special exposés of the assailant identified and arrested the same night all thanks to the hailed hero, Eliseo Manaloto. The culprit, Ramses Cooper, was actually found out as an alleged childhood friend of the esteemed lady.  Upon unwarranted digging, reporters soon discovered that Ram’s father was a former gardener in the Aragon household. Details why he resigned from the job remained a mystery as well as what happened to their friendship since then. From that point, many made speculations on their own. One source speculates they might be childhood sweethearts driven apart by their families while another claim