K Diaz: Into the Abyss

The Beginning

For the millionth time Kimberly screamed all her anger into the pillow. Why did I let myself become a captive of his charms when I knew he's trouble? Kim wondered every now and then. Fortunately, it's summer. Her parents are gone for the whole season every year due to some business trips, meetings, bla, bla, bla and bla. The list is endless. And Kim now finds this a blessing in disguise unlike before when she was still a child. Without them, she could scream as loud as she can. Throw pillows all over her room but she promised herself NO CRYING. Ever. Philip is just a crush. And the problem is Philip's got a crush who's certainly not her and she has to find out who. I don't care who the girl is! Kim thought and again, she screams all of her regrets to her pillow.

After regaining the balance and tranquility of her mind she thought of dinner. She stopped by at the mirror and gaze herself with disgust. "Aweeee darling" she says to herself "You look HORRIBLE! No wonder why Philip didn't like you."Oh Kimberly Diaz, she thought, if there's one thing in this world that's never gonna hurt you, it's food. Food. Her stomach rumbled with the word.

As she takes downstairs, her heart leaped with the smell in the air. She paused and sniffs. Ginger, onion, bell pepper.... beef! This got to be, she assumed, SINIGANG NA BAKA!

Upon reaching the sala, she saw her lola sitting on the sofa, her eyes stung on the TV news with her hands on her mouth. What's on the news this time? Kim wondered as a couple of guesses popped in her mind,

"Lola what's wrong?" Kimberly asked.

"Diyos ko por santo en santisima!" Her Grandma Linda exclaimed. "You scared me child!"

Kimberly chuckled at the look of her grandma's face. Her crinkly eyes widened up under her arched up eyebrows. Her mouth dropped open. "I'm sorry lola" Kim finally says "what is that you're watching grandma, anyway?"

"Oh you won't believe this" her grandma manages to say as she pants quite a bit "demonic possessions are all over the news. Look" her grandma changed the channel. Kim watched and sighed in relief.

"Lola Linda they didn't happen in our country at all." Kim said.

"Yes but still who knows? Those demons might want to hurt us." Her lola said, sounding afraid. Kimberly smiled and sat down with her.

"Grandma Linda" she puts a hand on her lap "we have no reason to be afraid of them. God loves the Philippines. They can never step a foot in here. Specially in our city."

Her grandma made a face. "What if they will?"

"Lola you must be forgetting that we are the banana capital of the country" she says "just they dare and I'll make sure they go back to hell dragging a bundle of banana."The two laughed with the last one.

Kimberly was right about the sinigang. It really is beef or in their vernacular, baka. It's a soup added with karlang, cabbage, and string beans. Her favorite Filipino cuisine. She thanked Nang Ising, who serves their family for years, as she kept the plates of hers and Grandma Linda.

With her iPod and earbuds in her pocket, she proceeded upstairs to the veranda. nothing in the world is as relaxing as our veranda, she thought. She sat down on the sofa and looked up in the sky. Having the lights off, the stars twinkled vividly.

"How could you stars be so beautiful and I'm not?" she asks. Then she remembers of Philip again and the mystery girl. She let out a heavy sigh. "I wish it's me."She plugged her earphones and played the kind of music that takes you high. Making you forget of how unfair and cruel the world is. Makes you forget how savage love is. She closed her eyes. Love's not like that to everyone, she thought, only to those who are hideous. "Yeahhh" she breathed out the word "like me."After a few blink, she fell asleep.