CLOSER . ᵖᵃʳᵏ ʲⁱʰᵒᵒⁿ

THIRTY FOUR .ೃ࿐

❝  𝚖𝚒𝚍𝚗𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝𝚜  𝚊𝚝  𝚑𝚘𝚖𝚎 ❞

🌙

Gab?
She hated that nickname. She hated it because her mom also have that name, Krizia Gabrielle. Sa tuwing binabanggit ng mommy niya yung 'Gab' para siyang nas-suffocate. Nasasakal. Equivalent kasi nung nickname na 'yon yung palaging pagre-reprimand sa kan'ya ng mommy n'ya.

'Do better than that, Gab."

'Gab you flunk your accounting?'

'What is this Gab? Why are you even so stupid to let that Samantha beat you on the rankings?'

"Hanggang dito ka na lang ba, Gab?"

"I'm so disappointed in you Gab."

She's just tired of hearing the name Gab. She ain't Gab. She's Arielle.

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         Arielle awoke to a thick, black silence. She slipped out of bed and went to the window. Night smothered the village. Rinig pa ni Arielle yung pag ihip ng hangin mula sa window glass n'ya. So, she slide the window open, inhaling the cold breeze air and the so-familiar scent of her home. 'Ang unfair', she thought.



       She thought it was unfair na malamig lang yung simoy ng hangin sa lugar nila tuwing gabi at madaling araw, unlike Batangas and Tagaytay na ramdam mo talaga yung hangin anytime of the day. She suddenly missed those places. The next day kasi noong pagdating ng tatlo n'yang kaibigan ay nagbyahe agad sila pauwi ng Quezon City. Hindi daw pwede magtagal si Jaehyuk sa Batangas dahil baka pagalitan s'ya ng mommy n'ya. Gustuhin man ni Arielle na magtagal sa Batangas ay hindi naman nito pwedeng isawalang bahala yung effort ng mga kaibigan n'ya na sunduin s'ya from QC to Batangas.

       Swerte lang ni Arielle na noong dumating s'ya sa bahay nila ay saktong nasa trabaho yung mommy n'ya. Natulog s'ya agad at naglock ng pinto pagka uwi na pagka uwi n'ya. Hindi pa talaga si Arielle handa na kausapin yung mommy n'ya.

         And now, here she stood in front of her window. She could not believe she woke up at exactly 5 am. Nauna pa si Arielle magising kaysa sa sarili nitong alarm clock.

         While staring at her window, she couldn't help but to think of how she would approach her mom.

          Magpapakita ba s'ya mamaya sa dining room for breakfast? Tapos kunyari wala lang nangyari? Or hingi muna s'ya ng sorry sa mga nasabi n'ya at sa paglalayas n'ya?

            'No, I should go with the flow." Arielle thought to herself. "Okay, that's what i'll do.

         She thought she'd go back to bed and sleep some more, if she could get to sleep again. But then, Arielle heard some noises in the kitchen. Sinong magluluto nang ganito kaaga? Christmas Break na nila at gano'n rin si Junghwan kaya imposible na may maaga magluluto ng breakfast nila ngayon.

        She went downstairs to see who it was. There, she saw her mom sitting at the dining table wearing a striped cotton bathrobe. She had a cup of coffee before her and a laptop on which she was typing. Her hair was in a bun. She looked up at Arielle when Arielle came in.