Eyes Giving Butterflies

Chapter 1

THESE BUTTERFLIES ARE FAMILIAR

             "I know better than to call you mine." I sang softly with the soft acoustic music while striking one last polishing stroke at the canvas. Showcasing the little fairy lights around the venue that looked like hundreds of fireflies on the dark riverside nature park. With the groom and bride staring lovingly at each other in the middle, my last painting was enchanting as to how it really is in front of me.

             "Oh wow! That's so lovely, hija," the mother of the bride said breathlessly staring at the painting of her daughter's enchanting night wedding.

             I smiled humbly, putting away my paintbrush. "That's because the wedding is so lovely, Ma'am," I commend giving the same adoring eyes she gives to my painting.

             "It's perfect, hija," the loving mother said with now teary eyes staring at the live scenario in front of us.

             I, too became teary-eyed at the woman. How I wish every daughter can have such kind of a mother.

             I blinked and gulped, darting my eyes to the newlyweds instead which is like a movie to watch. It is always like this at every event. Every event seems so perfect that I wish it would last through our lifetimes. Events that always make me ask to skip to the perfect part.

             But like in reality, my little reflecting moment got cut off when my phone vibrated. Making the acoustic mellow music become a background song, my lips twitched, unhappy upon seeing that it was my google classroom that has a notification.

             It was a class invitation for our NSTP subject at school that just arrived tonight, October 15, when we are now in our mid-semester.

             "How early," my sarcasm slid out my tongue softly as I accept the class invitation, completely estranging me from the touching event I'm physically at.

             The empty subject classroom then flashed into my screen without any schedule or announcement which made me sigh disappointedly. This subject was supposed to start in August when every subject starts. Now, it still has nothing.

             Sighing and checking my white long dress if it has some paint on it, I scanned through the students list instead and frowned as there are over fifty students in it including me. There is my friend, Rora too, and our other classmates but I'm sure there are more others that I don't know of as our section has only twenty students.

             "Centeno, Condes, Javier, Miguel, Palattao . . ." I read the last names I don't of and stopped upon seeing some familiar names. "Jandre Caelan Mansilla," the name felt familiar on my tongue and my frown went more wrinkled.

             I don't know anyone with this name tho. There's no Jandre Caelan Mansilla from my friends or classmates, even acquaintances or former crushes. I didn't get into a mutual relationship with anyone with this name too. Maybe he's familiar because he's famous?

             My frown never gets away from my forehead because of the familiarity.

             If he's famous . . . maybe he is Mr. Intrams or something?

             I shook my head. The familiarity of his name to me is more than it. It feels like I know him and that we're close. Like at friend crush level that I can't point at certainly.

             Jandre Caelan Mansilla . . .

             "Excuse me, Ms. Asia? Asia Briceño?" a gorgeous woman called me out of my thoughts, making me smile, startled at her.