Flickering Firelight

Chapter 1: Best Friend

Chapter 1

Best Friend

LILIANA

It's funny how certain moments from childhood can stay with you so vividly.

"What are you doing? Is that..."

I was surprised—maybe even amazed—that my sister was finally talking to me.

"...the volcano experiment?", she finished her question, her gaze fixed on the small mountain of dirt I'd carefully shaped on a wooden board. Unti-unti kong binabawasan ang tuktok na parte nito para magmukhang bulkan.

I couldn't help but smile, the excitement bubbling up inside me. "Yup!"

Napatingin siya bigla sa akin at mukhang naalala na dapat hindi niya ako kinakausap—an unspoken rule between us.

And I understood why. After all, who would want to talk to someone they viewed as the unwanted child, the one who shattered their family's peace? If it were me, I might have kept my distance too.

I understood why my sister was treating me like a stranger.

Umiwas siya ng tingin at tumayo. "Gumawa na kami n'yan last year. And my Daddy helped me with it." Her voice was cold, detached, before she strutted back to the house.

I sighed, my shoulders drooping slightly. Ate Tali was clearly not going to bond with me anytime soon. Ni ayaw niya ngang tawagin ko siyang Ate.

Kinuha ko ang maliit na kutsarang plastic at sinubukang gamitin iyon para makagawa ng crater. Pero hindi nakakatulong, kaya binitiwan ko rin agad.

"Ako, hindi ko pa yan nagawa."

His voice was soft yet curious.

That's how he first got my attention.

Standing outside our fence was a boy with unruly brown hair that fell in waves around his face. His eyes, an unusual shade of green, locked onto mine before darting down to my half-formed volcano and back up again. I stared back, captivated by those eyes.

But then, remembering that he was a stranger, I tore my gaze away and returned to my task, trying to ignore his presence.

"I'm Augustus."

His voice was clear and confident. His name lingered in the air, a sound that I didn't yet realize would become a part of me—woven into my very being in ways I couldn't have imagined.

"Uh, hi... but...," napangiwi ako, " I didn't ask?"

My response was innocent, driven by the bluntness a child could have. And thankfully, he didn't seem to mind. After all, I was just six, and he was eight.

He laughed. "Yeah. I answered before you could ask," then smiled.

It was my favorite smile. The one that reaches his eyes—the kind that makes you feel safe and understood.

Tumayo ako, dahan-dahang pinapagpag ang mga kamay na puno ng lupa, at tinanguan siya. "I'm Liliana," I said quietly, feeling a bit shy now that I'd given him my name.