In a chance encounter on a bustling college campus, Gwyneth and Felix's worlds collide during a sudden downpour and an unexpected connection sparks. As raindrops fall with its gentle embrace, love blooms, twist of fate unfolds, and lives are forever...
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Say Hello | Jolieanne #SHChapter01
Being loved isn't the same as being understood.
I've always wondered who invented the word 'love'. Was it someone who truly knew what it meant or someone who only had a fleeting experience of it? Although love is often described as a simple feeling, I've always had a hard time grasping what it truly is.
My earliest memories of love are intertwined with confusion. As a child, lumaki akong napapaligiran ng mga taong nagsasabi na mahal nila ako. They always claimed that they loved me yet their actions spoke a very different language. Ilan sa mga taong 'yon ay ang mga magulang ko. For sure, they loved me in their own ways, but I've always felt that they never truly saw me.
If I were to describe how their love felt, I'd say it was protective but at the same time, it was suffocating. It gave me a hard time, it left me yearning for something more genuine. Something that truly manifested love.
I remember the first time I felt a glimmer of being understood. Cliche as it sounds, it was in a moment of silence shared with a friend who really listened, who did not try to fix or judge. It was Corrine, she's the only daughter of the Arevallo's.
Their house was just directly across from ours, and every afternoon, we would meet in the yard or by the playground to spend time together, playing with other kids. May mga pagkakataon din na bibisita lamang ako sa bahay nila at doon ako matutulog. My parents allowed it dahil matagal na rin naman nilang kilala si Mr. and Mrs. Arevallo.
Paminsan, si Corrine naman ang pupunta sa'min at matutulog. We shared the same bed, our laughter and conversations echoed through the halls of our houses into the early hours. Marami na kaming pinagsamahan ni Corrine, sabay na kaming lumaki, tinuturing ko na siyang tunay na kapatid.
Sometimes, we'll get together with our other friends, Eloise and Clara. Sa aming apat, kami lang ni Corrine ang mag-kapitbahay but all four of us went to the same primary school.
I always brought a book to school, I read during most of my free time. I read inside the classroom when most of them were playing outside. You can say that I was a bit of a loner, a kid in her own bubble, and books as my only companion. One of the reasons why I probably found it hard to communicate and interact with others was because I was an only child. I was accustomed to my own company, I didn't need other people besides my parents.
But they were different. Nananahimik lamang ako sa isang sulok noon at nagbabasa ng libro, regalo 'yon sa akin ni Dad at napag-desisyunan kong dalhin sa school upang may mabasa ako. I remember one of our classmates, I think his name was Earl, grabbed my book and tore one of its pages. At that age, wala akong ibang alam gawin kung hindi at umiyak dahil takot akong lumaban at isa pa, I didn't know how to confront Earl. He was a bully.
All I heard that moment was the laughter of my other classmates, their whispers, and how they talked about me and my weird obsession with books. But then, Corrine stood up for me. Hindi ko maiwasan ang matawa kapag naaalala ko kung paano sinuntok ni Corrine si Earl sa mukha.
