A second acid trip. Then, a third. With each passing experience, Alina's mind began to disconnect. She started buying notebooks and scribbling incoherent notes, mapping math values to Tagalog words. She was determined to find an answer that Kayla could not understand. Kayla would go off to bed, while Alina continued to draw figures and send incomprehensible messages to people.
Her friends started getting worried by her Instagram stories and started messaging Kayla. Alina would babble about Jose Rizal and the Philippines from lack of sleep. She kept taking her meds, as was her duty, but they stopped working. Kayla tried to pry the notebooks away from her, tried to hide her phone so that she would not call anyone with her hysterics.
In the night, Kayla quietly called Alina's parents, careful not to tell them about the drugs. When they were on their way, Alina wanted to fuck.
"No, Alina." Kayla said.
"Come on, we've got nothing else to do!" Alina exclaimed, eyes crazed.
"Treat me like a friend." Kayla said harshly.
There was a knock on the door. It was Alina's father, Boyet.
"Come, anak. I'm taking you home." He said calmly, hiding his tears.
"What the FUCK is this, Kayla?" Alina said, her rage overwhelming her.
"You need to go home. Now." Kayla said through quiet tears. She was a strong woman.
"I LOVED YOU BEST. DON'T FORGET THAT." Alina repeated over and over again, as her father forced her into the car.
No, you didn't. Kayla whispered to herself, as she closed the door.
YOU ARE READING
ELIZA
RomanceThe story follows Alina, a young Filipina woman with a looming mental illness, and the women she loves over the course of her life.
