The news about Thadeus and Martha Fernandez fleeing to America to hide from the law had been circulating around various articles and news sites, even their misuse of funds and connection to the black market and other illegal transactions had been slowly resurfacing.
The people's opinions had drifted from lauding the Fernandez administration as the best administration of the century and now spreading malicious comments about them.
"The opposition is really taking this opportunity to slander our family in whatever negative words they could imagine, even false information is now spreading across different media," Uncle Jon gasped.
"Since many people are now engaging in posting malicious comments about us have become a majority, other people will
"Irene, I would trust that you'll take care of the rest… I'll go now," Tatay Digs, who finished another meeting, said as he took his leave."Yes, Sir!" Irene responded in a light tone."I guess you had a really good assistant secretary here, Diggory!" Erwin cheered as he tapped his friend's shoulders, "Well, not to brag but I also have an equally competent assistant here with me," he added, pointing at Matty in the process."Stop the flattering Mayor Fernandez, it doesn't suit you…" Matty remarked as she finished the minutes of the meeting."Really? And here I thought you wanted to be complemented," Erwin dissented.
"Hoy, Irene… you filthy swine, get up I hooked up a gig for you in the bar… waitress," Madeleine, her adoptive mother, threw her a uniform and instructed her to quickly wear it.Irene was able to fix herself, and finally was able to take a shower after three days of being unable to. To finish it up, she threw some light make-up on her face.Showing herself to Madeleine, she grabbed her on both arms and examined Irene, "I didn't notice you've grown up quite beautifully," she remarked looking at her growing bosom and curving hips, "George! Come here, look…"George, who was in the other room, went in and with a dirty grin he said, "You think she's ready for that stuff?"
"Here…" Matty handed her a flashdrive. Much to Irene's confusion, she quickly asked her, "Is this…""I thought you might've wanted this, inside there contains all the information I could gather regarding the Maguindanao Massacre case, enough to get the case running again," Matty replied, "You could hand that evidence yourself, if that is what you wanted…""And, it also includes information regarding the location of your parents' remains, along with your birth certificate… being able to have this conversation with you now, I guess I did the right thing by including it in my evidence files."Irene couldn't stop her emotions upon holding the chance Matty had given her, of course, she didn't expect much, she just wanted to know the truth
Upon hearing the news that the Maguindanao Massacre case is running once again, Mariano had a mischievous grin as he sat on his office chair."Sir, you called me," one of his assistants entered the room."Gather all our files regarding the Maguindanao Massacre," Mariano slouched as he rested his elbows on the table."Sir, there is also some news circulating that Miss Irene Mangundadatu had already resurfaced to the public," his assistant added."I already anticipated that, I'm sure my granddaughter had given her some kind of information for her to bravely speak out," Mariano calmly replied."What will you do
It's been awhile since Jaiden had lost his will to do something. It is very alarming that his cheerful facade had suddenly disappeared just after a couple of months. Like before he was always in his room, only going out in between dinners and school.Just like before his parents noticed that everything went back to the way it was after they left the country, perhaps much worse than before."Jaiden, are you alright!?" Ms. Dorothy asked, since her son had been silent throughout the meal.Meanwhile Mr. De Castro is trying to remain neutral as he knows that his son is going through some things, and sometimes it is better to let them think about their problems themselves than to intervene.
The voice came out a second later, for a fact it is practically my fault that Ms. Dorothy had her misunderstandings. My worried face grew into fear. Ms. Dorothy's ferocious eyes make me somehow unable to utter a word. Of course I believe that I'm not a heartless, inconsiderate woman who will let others take the downfall of my own misadventures but all I could do at that time is shout like a distressed wife, well that is only if you get the analogy.Irene appeared unfazed. She's truly dauntless, that's why I came to admire her. The intensity between them is still there, but things became a little calmer now that Ms. Dorothy decided to put her hand down."Why did you stop, didn't you think at least that I deserve it?" says Irene. To be honest, the way Ms. Dorothy looked at her was really enough to scare the he
"Is everything alright with Ate Mimi?" asked Sheila while looking at Melissa's room door.Natalie grumbled as she couldn't answer such a simple question. Surely this kind of episode never happened with her Ate before. Now she wonders how troubled she was to lock herself in her room for two consecutive days."She doesn't even bother to get up and fetch some food, so I haven't really had a chance to talk to her," Natalie said quite apathetically."Is everything really alright?" Sheila repeats, "I'm quite worried for her, she might've…""Honestly, I'm more worried that no one will buy the food than her deciding not to come out, so that's my main concern," Natalie replies.&nb
The place Irene went into is barren, almost unnerving; the graves are obviously untended, purposely left to gather dead autumn leaves, grow weeds, and remain dusty. It clearly shows how no one cares about the deceased being laid there.She doesn't expect much, honestly knowing how her parents ended up there. But beneath her moist eyes and bittersweet smile, there should've been a better place for them."It had been a long time since I've visited my hometown, and I could feel how much I'd enjoy going for a walk in this humid air if it hadn't been for this opportunity."As she reached the grave, crystal-like tears fell down Irene's face. The dirt crunched under her feet as she knelt down looking at the slab of rock with her parents' names on it.
THIS COULD HAVE BEEN A DISASTER, A well thought of disaster in that matter. To be honest, the journey of writing this narrative had put me in a constant strain of what if scenarios. It is like exploring a new entire world without a single idea about the consequences the realm exhibits. And, as much as I hate to admit it, romance is a weakness I would rather omit. It is a reality that my virgin mind failed to navigate freely. To simply say, this story is a fraud— a slice of life drama advertising itself as a young-adult romance. I also do have some reservations in calling it an oversimplified chick-lit story. In the end, I decided to go the most logical route and face my unyielding fear to reconsider my abstinent views towards intimate correspondence.I knew that I needed to rekindle the lost flare of my hopeless romantic heart, and so I did. I made a brave decision a
"To what floor?" I asked, as my index finger hovered over the panel.Just to be clear, a new guy went into the lift a few seconds ago. To be honest, I kinda wished that he didn't make it to the barely closing elevator doors. More importantly, I hope he didn't see me mashing the buttons to make the doors close a little more faster.Anyway, today is the day of the interview. And I believe I've accomplished pretty much everything I needed. I finished saying farewell to my hometown, moving to a new place, and now I'm finally heading for a new job. However, that will all boil down to whether I will get hired or not.The single other occupant in the elevator pushed his glasses up his nose and gave this stern look, "Hi," he said flatly.
"Good Morning, Reverend Jaiden!" a lady in green shouts as Jaiden walks to the side of the street. "To you as well, Grace," he said as he beamed a smile."You're all smiles today, did something good happen?" she asked, trying not to appear desperate for gossip."No, as a matter of fact, I am just as happy as I'm yesterday," he said in the most sincere voice he could manage for the moment. "I see," the lady nodded as to not impede his private life.As Jaiden walks up to the church he can see a line forming to get in. For a moment he thought that this service would be for a full house.Jaiden lets out a deep breath and prepares himself for the 10:00 am sermon. Meanwhile, Pastor Ha
"Uhm, your portfolio is kinda..." he slurred, placing his open palm just millimeters away from my face, "How should I put this…""Eccentric?" I asked. He gave me a dead look and answered, "Not quite….."From there, he started snapping his finger continuously, and with a sharp pause, he pointed at me then let out a word, "Aggressive! right… that's it. Especially this promotional poster…."I moved back involuntarily, and nearly fell backward over my seat, "Aggressive? But it is for an action-fantasy movie!"He reached out to steady me, and I knew he was reaching for my hand, "Darling, we are a production company that produces movies like "Cat In The Box
The solemn ground whispered a comforting tone as the gentle winds passed by dragging the autumn leaves slowly descending on the grassy floor.It was the height of noon and the sun was shining brightly at the blue skies, staring down the tombstone erected below. For a single point, a fair maid stood in silence as she looked down the grave, etched with memories of the deceased."Mom and Dad, have you been well? Sorry I wasn't able to visit for quite a while now," The girl in a daunting uniform said as she stood up on a well-furnished grave.The wind blew gently once more, swaying the wisps of her hair. She placed a bouquet of Hydrangea flowers on the grave and gazed at the distance zooming towards a dignified man approaching her.
As I was thinking of my miserable situation, a knock resounded on my door, "It is me, may I come in?" a gentle voice called me.That time I knew right away that it was Jaiden who was on the other side of the door. I quickly opened it and saw a decently dressed man on my doorstep."What made you visit, aren't you busy with your duties in the ministry, you even had additional counseling sessions on the weekends," I asked, since I'm worried for him."Why does it seem like you don't want to see me?" Jaiden asked. "Besides, I was just ordained recently, so I don't have much work load for now. You can say that I'm still in the process of being a full-pledge Pastor.""Fine, whatever. So why
"Manong Kokoy, just park the trike at the side…." I said as I went out of the vehicle."Naku, Mimi, are you really ok?" Manong Kokoy asked me.I gave him a silent nod and flatly answered him with a question, "Should I be alright?"I never gave it a second thought and went upstairs to see Natalie and Tatay at the doorstep. I fixed my shriveled hair and smiled with my busted lips.Seeing their expectant faces made me crestfallen. "What happened to you, did you get into a fight," Tatay asked, seeing my slightly beaten up face."It's nothing, Tatay," I said to make him less worried. "Anyway, Ate! What happened
The siren of the police moving away from the palace created a Doppler effect, as the sound slowly dissipated along the distance.I stared back at the ambulance bed, and Jaiden looked at me with a gentle smile. For some reason I can sense an uneasy expression in his face, "What's the matter with you two?" I asked Jaiden and Joseph who were suddenly avoiding my gaze."Oh, is it about the spy thing? I already knew… heard everything from Athena," I said casually."Wait… then you must've heard about Athena's father," Jaiden said leaning forward towards me.I smiled at him and nodded, "I also heard about it…"
That time Joseph still didn't know that his Big Bro was already suffering from terminal illness, and had only a few more weeks to live. Mariano then tried his best to dispose of them in any way possible after failing the mission."The Messiah Group suddenly disappeared, some of its members fought back and died miserably, others ran away, while some got arrested. Big Bro died a few days after his illness got the best of him. I and some other members, on the other hand, got caught in a trap Mariano that set-up after trying to sneak into Big Bro's funeral.""Fortunately, I only got six months of imprisonment since they cannot get enough evidence to detain me for much longer, with that I remember what Big Bro told me about a suburban barangay in the north, so I tried to look as his stuff and find out that the place he