Two Years To Become Erin

Chapter 3 - Imago

20 March 2019, 10:21 PM

I woke up at 8:00 AM today and went to the window on my left. I swung the panels open, and the scent of morning dew came rushing in. The sunlight poked through the leaves and found its way on the surface of my face. For a moment, it was as if all the misfortunes over the past few days had gone away. There was peace and bliss.

Jeany was cooking breakfast from outside. In the front yard, I saw Roland going around the hood of the car. He greeted me with a cheerful good morning and asked if there was anything I needed. Was there something wrong with the car, I asked. Roland said he was just doing a regular maintenance check.

I went back inside the room and grabbed my towel to wash my face. I asked Jeany where the bathroom was, and she pointed toward a small shack a few steps away from the furnace. I was taken by surprise. Never have I seen a toilet detached from the house.

The flowing water that filled the massive clay jar felt so refreshing to the skin. My sleepy eyes were instantly awoken by its cold feel. But what happened after was what totally sent all my senses haywire.

I thought I was staring at a mirror. I saw my own reflection, but with much shorter hair. I closed my eyes back again and rubbed the water dry. But the image before me was still there.

I pulled my ponytail to the front, frantic if I somehow foolishly cut my hair last night. But the strands were still there—long and still frizzy. I wondered if I was going mad.

"Who are you?" I asked the reflection.

"I'm Gab?" the reflection answered back.

I felt my knees were about to collapse. I was looking at an actual person. A person who strikingly resembles me!

I kept staring at him. I couldn't believe how similar we looked alike. Gab's reaction was the same. He was equally flustered as well. "How come we look so alike?" he said.

I could hear Jeany calling us from a distance. My mind was still puzzled, but the two of us somehow agreed to hold the shock for a while and join the adults for breakfast.

Jeany set up the food on a table under the rain tree growing on the left side of the house.

I couldn't help but stare at Gab the whole time. Something about his presence, although quite disturbing, felt oddly familiar and calming. Even Roland couldn't help but look at us at the same time. Finally, the resistance to inquire dissipated, and Roland spoke to Jeany once and for all. I was dying to know as well.

Coincidence. A curious but delightful coincidence.

This was the very reason Jeany was happy to work for the Tanjuangco family. Because to her, I resemble so much of Gab. Being next to me, Jeany felt like she was at home in Maragusan.

Folkloric wisdom tells us that in this life, you would have at least two or three faces that look exactly like you.

I guess that explains it? Or at least that's as much as I can convince myself in trying to rationalize things.

Sometime in the afternoon, I decided to sit outside the house. The breeze felt better than the stuffy fan inside Jeany's room. My irritated throat began to show signs of an incoming cough. The heat must be worsening it.

The grunting and growling must have reached Gab's ears, and so he gave me a glass of water. He was already done sleeping in the morning.

I thanked him for his kind gesture, and he sat beside me.

He looked at me and let out a small laugh. He couldn't believe we looked so much alike. I managed to give a smile as well. Gab looks like he's a kind person; so kind, it didn't take too long for me to get comfortable with him. Before I knew it, we were already learning alot about each other.

When Gab was four years old, his parents died in a vehicular accident. Since then, they have been passed on from one relative to another. That's how they ended up in Maragusan. He's already in his 4th year of high school, like me. But ever since the pandemic occurred, he stopped going to school and decided to work full-time at a local convenience store.

I asked him if Covid-19 didn't happen, would he still come to school. Gab nodded enthusiastically. He wanted to become a teacher. Many kids in their village don't have proper access to education.

I thought it was noble of him. A far cry from the plans my family had for me. It mattered that I graduated with a Business degree so I can take over the family business. It wasn't purposeful, not even passionate, to say the least. My fate was drawn for the security of our assets, for the continuity of our amassed wealth. Sometimes I just feel like a pawn in a game of power and influence. Helplessly trapped and without a voice.

Come to think of it, I haven't seen my mom for quite a while now. Ever since my father died, my mom had to take over the corporate responsibilities and hardly had time to go home. She left last year for a project in Japan. And got stuck there after the pandemic.

I wonder how she's doing in Japan. I don't think she has called yet or even sent me a message. Well, to be fair there aren't enough bars to get a proper signal here. In this village, life goes on a slow pace. So laid-back that people haven't heard of the Covid-19 virus yet. But I'm sure it will make the rounds sooner or later.

Gab offered to take me around town tomorrow since it's his day off. I'm excited to see more of this place. It's nice to see more greenery than the dull-white, unflattering buildings of Davao.

I think I have to rest now. My throat is acting funny again.