It was my eighteenth birthday. Isang buwan kaming nagprepare para sa eighteenth birthday kong ito. Sa garden namin gaganapin ang party. I invited all my friends and everyone we knew. I just got out of the shower and was sitting in front of the vanity mirror in my robe. My hair stylist was fixing my hair and the makeup artist was busy putting makeup on me.
"You're going to be the most beautiful girl in this party." The makeup artist said.
"She has always been the most beautiful girl for us." Mom smiled as she looked at me in the mirror.
I smiled back at her.
"I can't believe it. Parang noon lang ginagabayan ka pa ng daddy mo sa paglalakad. Ngayon dalangang-dalaga ka na." Mom got a little teary eyed.
"Mom, don't cry." I said because if she cried, I'd get emotional too. "I'm still your little girl."
"No matter how old you get, you'll still be our little Mallory." She said, hugging me from behind. I hugged her arm and gave it a little pat.
"I love you mommy, you and daddy." I said.
"We love you too." Sabi niya bago bumitaw sa pagkakayakap. "I'm just going to check the venue. Titignan ko kung maayos na ang lahat."
I nodded my head and then mom left. It took an hour for them to finish my makeup, my hair and to get me in my debut gown. It was an elegant purple ball gown made out of the finest satin. I thought the fashion designer did a wonderful job. I spun around in front of the mirror. I felt like a princess.
Sumilip ako sa bintana ng kwarto ko. It had a wonderful view of the garden. There were already a lot of people outside. The garden was illuminated by little light they hang around trees and bushes. It looked even more beautiful than before. It looked like the plants grew glowing little berries.
I had to check myself in front of the mirror one last time before I went out. Si Tisoy ang unang nakita ko nang dahan-dahan ako bumaba sa hagdan. He met me halfway on the staircase and offered his hand to me.
My eyes met his as I took his hand. He was so handsome in his tuxedo. His hair was swept back in a dashing sweep. His eyes lowered to the gown I was wearing before his gaze went back up my face.
"You're beautiful." He said, breathlessly. His eyes sparkled, he looked at me as if he really meant what he said.
"T—thank you." I said, feeling a little self concious.
Gumaling na ang mga paso at sugat na natamo niya sa insidenteng nangyari sa party. That happened over six months ago. Danilo and his friends were caught. Nagsampa ako ng kaso sa ginawa nila. They were dropped out of their basketball team at ang alam ko lumipat na si Danilo sa ibang school. Our relationship had been improved since that incident. Hindi ko masasabi na matalik na kaming magkaibigan but there was a change. He was almost killed because of me, because I didn't listen to him. He was the one who saved me.
Siya ang escort ko ngayon gabi. It was actually my parents' idea. Hindi naman ako tumutol doon dahil gusto ko din naman.
I wrapped my arm around his and we walked down the stairs together. Everyone turned their attentions to us as we made our grand entrance.
The party was nothing short of wonderful. I really did feel like a princess on my special day. I enjoyed it a lot. All my friends were there, all the people I love. It was a very enchanting night. Ginawa namin ang mga ginagawa sa debut. We had eighteen candles, eighteen gifts, eighteen roses.
My dad was my first dance, and then my male friends, and the last was Tisoy. I didn't know why but I felt a weird pounding in my heart as his hand wrapped around my waist, as we were looking into each other'e eyes. We danced to the song 'Can't help Falling In Love With You'. As we were dancing it felt like we were the only people there. Everything around us disappeared. He was all I could see. I felt like melting into a puddle as he stared into my eyes. I knew I was falling for him. I was falling for him so hard. No matter how hard I tried I was losing all control of my emotions.