How She Became Her.

My Mother

"Good morning passengers. It is currently 7:30 PM in Toronto, Canada and 6:30 AM in Manila, Philippines. The weather outside is a little cloudy and chillier than normal, but the tropical weather should settle in by lunch hour."

Miabella stirred in her seat and woke up from the sound of the P.A system. Throwing the plush feather duvet off her arms and giving them a good stretch, she leaned over the window and took a peak.

In Toronto, six in the morning was way too early for any Sun during that time of the year, yet in the Philippines, the dark black sky had already started to take on hazy shades of purple and orange.

"Ms. Hathaway," Miabella rubbed her eyes and yawned as she turned her head to look who had called for her. It was a stewardess, and she was carrying a white plate of hot towels, makeup remover, and a small bottle of Chanel perfume.

"We will be landing in Manila, Philippines in forty minutes." She stated, and Miabella's heart thumped hard against her ribcage.

Oh My God, she thought to herself,
"Would you like to freshen up?" The flight stewardess smiled at her and held out the white plate.

Miabella contemplated on whether she should put in effort to look presentable, or get forty more minutes of sleep. Surely, her aunt would understand if she looked like she had been raised by wolves, but she was afraid that word would reach her mother and her vacation could be cut short.

So, as grateful-looking as Miabella could afford, she got up from her seat and followed the stewardess to a powder room and handed her the white plate. Miabella went inside and looked at herself in the mirror.

"Oh~ my goodness." Miabella stared at her reflection and frowned.

Her hair had flattened out on one side of her head, and her eyelashes on her left eyes had perked upwards from all of her sleeping.

Is this really how I look like at school? Miabella grimaced as she put her hair in a neat ponytail, and grabbed a hot towel to wipe her face with. The towel smelled like lavender, and the aroma therapy immediately woke her up and relaxed her tense muscles. Feeling refreshed, she took off her sweater and wiped down her entire body.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.

"Ms. Hathaway?" A sweet feminine voice called her name, and Miabella answered promptly.

"Yes?"

"I thought you would like to change into some fresh clothes. I brought your carry-on luggage over." The stewardess knocked on the door once again." Please open the door."

Pleasantly surprised, Miabella opened the door, and took her duffle bag from the stewardess, not forgetting to say thank you.

Once Miabella was left alone again, she opened her duffle bag to see what had been packed inside.

At first, Miabella had not wanted to pack anything heavier than five pounds in her carry-on because of the niusance of dragging it wherever you go, but Rin had told her that looking pretty when you come off an airplane was super important.

"Especially for people like you, who don't wake up so... gracefully." Rin had added.

Zipping open her bag, she saw her iPad, a fresh new pair of black leather Converse sneakers, ripped high-waisted jeans, and a plain, crisp-white t-shirt. She had also packed a pair of wayferers, a pair of clean calvin undies, and a makeup bag, which Miabella had snorted at in disbelief.

Quickly, Miabella undressed and stuffed her dirty clothes into a laundry bag that had been provided by the stewardess and changed into the new clothes.