Attention

FLASHBACKS

...

Weeks passed...

There was no regular communication between Irene and Fiona, and the same was true for Greggy. Fiona's life was undeniably marked by a sense of longing.

From the incident at the airport to Irene's departure, Fiona's life had indeed become peaceful, but there was a realization that she was profoundly missing someone, something she was used to having around.

"Den, pakitawag ng mga SBO officers, may pinapagawa ang principal sa 'tin." Fiona informed her. Denise nodded and left her.

She sighed as she picked up her pen. "I missed you...." she mumbled as she scribbled a moon with a pen.

••• Flashback •••

Fiona, a seven-year-old, exclaimed, "Mom, look at this!" as she showed Irene what she had drawn.

Irene had kissed her on the cheeks, pleasantly surprised. "Is that a moon?" Irene had asked. Fiona had laughed and nodded.

Irene had whispered, "Oh, such a cute moon. You're really good at art, aren't you?" She had sat down next to Fiona and picked up a colored pencil.

Fiona had squealed, "That's Luna, and that's you, mommy!" Irene's lips had curved into a smile. She had pressed her cheeks against Fiona's and hugged her tightly.

"I love you, Stellina..." Irene had whispered, playfully nibbling Fiona's left ear.

Fiona had asked, "Stellina?" Irene had given a small nod and drawn a large star next to the moon.

"A star?" Fiona had asked, her gaze fixed on the star drawn by her mother.

"Luna would be lonely without Stellina. So, there you go. To make it perfect, I'll put you here... because you are my star and I love to be with you, and Luna cannot live without you, my stellina," Irene had responded before kissing Fiona on the nose.

•••

Just then, Fiona snapped back to reality. Tears welled up in her eyes. She missed her mom so much.

She had been hard on herself since she returned from New York. Her life revolved only around school. She barely left her room. She only ate when Imelda told her to.

"Nang!" Denise snapped her fingers in front of Fiona's face. "O-oh... Start na yung meeting." Fiona came back to her sense.

Denise whispered to her, "Kanina pa kami nandito beh. Tulala ka diyan, ang lalim siguro ng iniisip mo." Fiona began the meeting with a weak smile.

"This is just a short meeting. Buong campus ay magagalaw natin dahil dadating ang mga principals ng every school dito sa MLKU starting tomorrow. The principal wanted us to inform every classroom to have their general cleaning para maging madali ang trabaho. Tayo na ang bahala sa iba." Fiona informed them. The other officers frowned.

Jeremy, the auditor, asked, "Nakakatamad naman ng pinapagawa niya. Wala bang yung may thrill?" Fiona laughed. She shook her head.

"'Yan lang meeting. Ngayon palang ay mag room-to-room na tayo," Fiona said as they all walked out of the office.

Fiona took the lead. They followed her into every classroom in the school, sharing the day's announcement.

By 3pm, they had finished their task. Fiona sighed as she organized her things, wanting to head home early.