Mirage

twenty

"Ma! Pa! May sunog! Tulong!"

Mira was running down the stairs with hands cupped on her mouth and nose. Large smokes were blinding her way, she couldn't see anything clearly.

"Ate!" She tried calling for her sister.

All of them were on the living room earlier. Now, they're nowhere to be found. The only thing on Mira's mind was to find them and get out from the burning house.

When she stepped a foot on the living room, a burning tall shelf fell right in front of her.

It was hell. Everything felt so hot. And she was running out of oxygen, she couldn't breathe.

Her clothes started catching fire, her shoes already have a burning hole.

"Ma! Mommy, daddy..." She tried her last breath.

Mira gasped. She sat right up from her bed. Her body was full of sweat and she could feel tears edging in her eyes.

Nightmare. It was still dawn, five in the morning.

Still early for work but she couldn't get back to sleep.

Stepping out of her bed, she gingerly walked to the kitchen to get a glass of water. She absentmindedly drank it like her life depends on it.

When a happy moment is felt, it's like the next moment it would be retracted from her. Like a storm after a rainbow.

Everything was a blur.

She doesn't remember how, but she somehow got to work really early. Mira emptied her mind and dedicated herself to work, even passing out lunch time.

Her phone vibrates but she doesn't look.

It was like her world was going round, in circles.

Any time she could feel her body drop—

"Mira!"

Huh?

"Mira, huy!"

"Okay ka lang?"

Mira turned to the sound; it was Cielo.

"Okay ka lang? Namumutla ka."

She nodded tiredly. "Yes."

"Parang hindi."

"May panaginip lang kagabi..." She muttered not clearly focused on what she's saying.

"Huh, panaginip o bangungot?" Cielo grabbed her shoulder and tried helping Mira to stand.

"Hindi rin ako kumain...nung lunch time."

"Ano? Anong oras na, time out na nga eh."

"Tsaka breakfast..." She mumbled.

"Ay jusq, saglit halika."

Cielo dragged the girl outside the building to a nearby restaurant. She ordered food for them as Mira sat in front of her quietly. She asked for a glass of water for them and gave it to Mira.

The moment the food arrived she let Mira eat first.

"Oh, kumain ka na, nakakatakot ka eh baka bigla ka na lang bumagsak diyan."

Mira grabbed her spoon and started eating.

Both of them were silent while they ate. Cielo was observing the girl, "bat di ka kumain nung lunch?"

"Too much time."

Cielo looked at her, questioningly.

"If I took a break, I'll have too much time in my head."