"HAPPY birthday, Caren!”
The whole room was filled with everyone's voices the moment Caren entered the classroom.
I witnessed how Caren blinked her eyes in surprise as the confetti from the ceiling fell on her. Her whole face was in shock.
I looked around. There's a buffet table at the back of the room. Behind it, there was a banner posted on the wall with Caren's picture and birthday greeting to her.
I saw Lenos standing near the buffet table. Beside him was Leah who was holding a small cake. Her long hair was in a braid and she was wearing this cute pink dress that made her look even prettier. The little girl started walking towards Caren who was still in shock about everything.
"Happy birthday
"LENOS…” I whispered as I continued to look at him. “Remember that day? The day we last talked before you left me…”“Cresia..."I sighed. “I never got the chance to explain everything to you.""I'm sorry…""It's okay," I said to him in a small voice. "It's all in the past now but I just wanted to tell everything that really happened that night…ten years ago.""I know it was already way too late but please, tell me everything and this time, I'll listen with all my heart," Lenos said, his eyes begging me.I gave him a small smile before nodding at him. This is the last chance I've got to clear everything between u
"SIR Lenos was absent from class earlier."Caren said to me as soon as she came back from school.I didn't go with her to class. I can’t see Lenos. After what happened yesterday, I just couldn't see him."How are you?" I asked Caren. She went straight to the bed where I was sitting. She sat beside me.She shrugged her shoulders. "Our physics teacher gave us tons of seat work." She grunted. "But you know what?" Her mood suddenly changed. "I got a perfect score on a quiz earlier." She grinned at me."That's good." I smiled at her.Ever since Jake was gone out of her life, I saw a dramatic change in Caren.
“MISS, two tickets,” Lenos said to the ticket seller in front of us.Lenos asked me to watch a movie with him. So we ended up here at the movie house.“Why are you going to buy two tickets?" I asked him. "You can just buy one, Lenos."“But we are two,” he whispered, glancing at me.I pouted. “But you know, you're the only one who can see me.”He chuckled which made the teller look at him.Thank heavens he was wearing an earplug on his ear, so everyone who could hear him would think he was just talking to someone on the phone."We're two so I'm buying two."
"CAREN and I went here the other day," I told Lenos. After we watched the movie, we went to the mall seaside.I turned to Leo's Lenos who was sitting beside me. I missed him so much. And I can't believe we're together right now.If only I could go back to the past, I would definitely go back to the time when everything was still rainbows and butterflies between us."I noticed she was already trying to pay attention to her studies." Lenos said to me. Lenos looked at me, a smile on his face."Caren's a good kid. She just lacks guidance. She's been deprived of love." I turned to the sunset and sighed. "Caren was only young when her parents separated. Her mother abandoned the family. And her father, he went abroad for work, leaving Caren alone with only an
"HEY," Caren greeted me when I went home that night. I found her in her room sitting on the carpet. She was in a lotus position while doing something on her laptop. Beside her was a platter of nachos."You're eating a lot these days, aren't you?"She ignored my comment and just smiled at me. "So, how's your date with Sir Lenos?""We went to a cinema house and watched a movie together," I answered. I sat beside her."Really?" She raised her eyebrows in curiosity. "Where else did you go?" She glanced at her watch. "I mean, you've been gone for hours!""I met my father," I said in a small voice.She stopped what she's doing and stared at me.
“I'M sure Marcus would drop his jaw when he sees you,” I grinned at Caren as I gave her a look.She was wearing a blue ball gown with a sweetheart neckline paired with silver stilettos. She looked amazing with that gown I chose for her.Tonight was their JS promenade and Marcus would be fetching her any minute now.She made a face. “Stop it. Marcus doesn't like me in that way.”My gaze went down to the necklace she was wearing. It was a silver necklace with a flower pendant. That piece of jewelry came from Marcus. It was his birthday gift for her."If he doesn't like you, then why did he give you a necklace?" I asked her with a smirk.
"CRESIA'S favorite color is black," Lenos told my father when the latter noticed the black roses displayed in my hospital room. "She likes everything that is color black," Lenos continued with a smile. "Black flowers, black flowers, black dress…"I was also here at the hospital with them. I was standing at the one corner of the room while watching and listening to everything they were talking about.I looked at my father. One of the nurses informed Lenos that my father visits me here every day. Just yesterday, when Lenos and I went to the hospital, we saw him here together with his son—I mean, my brother. Well, until now, I still couldn't believe the fact that I have a brother."She reminds me of Catherine, her mother," my father said, a smile on his face. "I remembered I once gave her a sun
"WOW, you're a hoarder, Cresia!" Caren said to me as she looked at all the items displayed in the tent.Lenos managed to put up a garage sale inside St. Claire. All of the things inside my walk-in closet could be found there: shoes, bags, clothes and even my set of jewelry."Cresia, are you sure you want to do these?" Lenos asked me while getting all my hangered clothes from my wardrobe."I couldn't bring them to the afterlife so might as well let other people have them, right?" I smiled at him. "It's better to do that than to just let them rot here."While looking at everything in front of me, I just proved to myself how materialistic I've become in the last ten years. I just realized how I relied my happiness on these material things
"CRESIA." It was Lenos who welcomed me the moment I opened my eyes. He was sitting beside me while holding my hand."Lenos…" I felt hot tears streamed down my face. "I'm alive, right?" I look at his face. "You remembered me, right?"He nodded. "Of course," he said. I felt his hand on mine. "You just made me worried.""What happened?" I asked him, confused. I looked at his face. His eyes were red from crying. Why did he cry?"You passed out in the middle of the street," he answered. He brought my hand to his lips and kissed it while looking at me."Thank God nothing happened because I won't forgive myself…""I saw you with Kyla…" I said in a s
"CRESIA?"I was walking on the school grounds of St. Claire when I heard someone call my name. I looked around and then I saw Caren. She was standing a few meters away from me. I smiled at her and her eyes widened as she walked to me."Hi, Caren," I greeted her."It's really you," she said, her face still amazed. "What are you doing here?""I'm bringing lunch to my boyfriend." I replied with a smile. "He works here."I wondered if she'd be shocked if he learned that Lenos was the boyfriend I was talking about."How about you?" I asked her."This is where I study," she answered.
"HERE is a glass of margarita."I said as I placed a glass of cocktail drink in front of Lenos."Wow," he said, looking at the alcohol in front of him and then to me. "You're good at this, baby."I chuckled. "Come on, bottom's up."He grabbed the glass and drank it in one gulp.We were in Polaris tonight. It was still an hour before the opening so I decided to show Lenos how to mix drinks."When did you learn how to mix alcohol?" he asked after he placed the empty glass on the counter."Hmm, I was fifteen, I think."His lips parted and I bit my lips to stop myself fr
"GOOD morning, Dad." I greeted my Dad when I saw him on the breakfast table. He was already having breakfast."Good morning, hija," my father looked at me. "What time did you go home last night?"I pulled up a chair, sat on it and poured orange juice on my glass. "Almost two, I think." I glanced at the breakfast in front of me. I put some pancakes on my plate."I noticed your car isn't in the garage."I pursed my lips. "Lenos took me home last night."His eyebrows rose. "Are you two together already?"I casually nodded while sipping on my orange juice. "Uhuh…""Ma'am Cresia."One of our helpers entered the kitchen with a bouquet of flowers in her hand. She handed it to me. "There's delivery for you."I immediately smiled when I saw it was black roses. I opened the card and saw Lenos' handwritten note for me.Good morning. I'll pick you up before dinner tonight.
"WHAT are you doing here, sis?" Alfred asked me when he saw me standing outside of my door. I smiled. "I'm just trying to sink into myself that one of my dreams finally came true." Alfred smiled at me. "You did it, Cresia." He said, then gently tapped my head. "Thank you," I sincerely said, tearing up. "This wouldn't be possible without you and Dad's help." I told him. Today was the opening night of Polaris. Alfred and my father came with me earlier this morning at the ribbon cutting. They even surprised me with a cake. And now, Alfred was here with some of his friends. Dad just went home earlier because he needed to rest early. "Nah. It was your idea and effort and money. We just supported you on the sideline," Alfred said. "We're proud of you." I chuckled to blink away my tears. "Don't make me cry. Just go back inside with your friends." I jokingly pushed him away. "Melissa was looking for you." I said, talkin
"WELCOME to my room, Aunt Cresia," Leah said as we entered her room. My eyes roamed around the room. She had a very princessy room. It suited her. I smiled when I noticed a portrait painting of her displayed on the wall. "How old are you in this portrait?" I looked at her. She smiled at me. "Oh, I was five there." Leah said as she sat on the edge of her bed. She hugged a unicorn stuffed toy we got on when we went to the theme park. "Thank you for the dinner, Aunt Cresia," she said, yawning. "I feel so sleepy already." She said in a small voice while scrunching her eyes. It was already eight in the evening. After pushing Lenos back to his room earlier this afternoon, Leah and I played board games in the garden. Then I cooked fried chicken for dinner. When I checked Lenos in his room, I still found him sleeping. It was a good thing he was having a long rest. I sat beside Leah. "You should sleep now." I gentl
"THERE'S still a space up here for another couch," Melissa told me while she was showing me around the second floor of the bar. "No," I said as I shook my head. "It's already perfect. I don't want it to be crowded." I wanted the interior of my bar to be chic and yet laid back. I looked around the area. We're almost ninety percent done with the interior of the place. Last week, I already made a deal with all the suppliers. I was also done with hiring people that's going to be my employees. I planned to start their training right after we finished with the interior. I smiled at Melissa. She's done a wonderful job in transforming this old place in just two weeks. My brother Alfred didn't lie when he said she was one heck of an interior designer.
"I HAD so much fun today, Aunt Cresia." Leah said. "I enjoyed the rides, especially the anchor's away."We were already on our way home. It was already nine in the evening. It was almost six when we left the theme park."Yeah. You're full of energy earlier, Leah." I chuckled as I looked at her from the rear view mirror. Leah was a ball of sunshine."And you got so hungry you finished two orders of fried chicken," Lenos said, he also looked at Leah from the mirror."Dad, I just missed eating at Jollibee," Leah answered, her lips in purse. "But now, I feel so full and sleepy." Leah yawned and leaned on the headrest.I looked outside. "Don't worry, my home's only five minutes away." We were already inside
CAN you ask your Dad what time should I leave the house?I typed on my phone before I pressed send. I pursed my lips as I put down the phone on my dresser.Today was the weekend I asked Lenos for a date. I was already dressed. Leah asked me to wear something peach because she said she's gonna do the same. So now, I decided to wear a peach midi dress and white sandals.My hair was tied up in a French bun. We were going to a theme park so I know my hair will get messy.Leah and I…we've been texting each other since the day of her birthday. Not a minute later, I got a reply from her.Daddy said we're going to fetch you.Reall