The Sweetest Downfall

Une

01|Five Hundred Twenty Five Thousand Six Hundred Minutes

I have learned that people may stay, leave, cure, and destroy you but by far the most dangerous thing they will ever do is come back.
-Beau Taplin|The Arsenal
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C A S S I E

The humid, almost sticky feel of the warm afternoon air was what welcomed me the moment I stepped off the plane. Nakakahiya mang sabihin, but it was one of the things that I missed about the Philippines after my brief one-year stint in Switzerland as an exchange student. I looked around, trying to take in the familiarity and at the same time wondering about what was new.

Ano na kayang nangyari sa mga panahong wala ako? Traffic pa rin ba sa mga national highways? Bahain pa rin ba the low-elevation areas in the city? Corrupt pa rin ba the politicians? Are our family businesses still doing well? How are my parents, my friends?

Wow, ang dami ng tanong, eh one year lang naman nawala. Mas OA pa sa mga OFWs na halos inaabot ng 10 long years away from their comfort zone.

Naku, Cassie, ang OA mo pa rin. I smiled almost nostalgically off into the distance and adjusted my cap further down to hide my face.

Wala lang, nag-iingat lang. You may as well say it was precaution on my part. I am no celebrity, pero mahirap na at may makakilala pa rin sakin. I don't want my airport fashion spread out blatantly in society pages tomorrow. That is simply not how an heiress rolls.

Yes, when I say heiress, I mean it in every sense of the word. I may not be seen in televisions nor in other media forms as much, but I came from a family whose influence just seems to work its way through the entire country. The family name Torregozza, after all, is linked with numerous state-of-the-art hospitals and medical institutions placed at various strategic sites all over the nation.

Siguro naman sapat na clues na yun para makilala ako, diba?

I am Cassandra Helaena Torregozza, hospital heiress, perfect daughter, exceptional student, thoughtful friend, sweetest beau. My closest friends call me Cassie, my special someone lovingly refers to me as Yeye. To everyone else I am the only daughter of top neurosurgeon Dr. Arabella Hilary Ramirez-Torregozza and business magnate Thomas Christopher Torregozza.

With little difficulty, I managed to stuff my travel bag in the compartment and instructed the cab driver our address. I saw how his eyes widened at the mere mention of the residential community my family lives in. Pigil na pigil rin ang kagustuhan kong tumawa as he took a second scrutinizing look at me na para bang tinitimbang if I was telling the truth or not.

"Tara na po manong, malayo pa Primrose Heights. We might get stuck in traffic."

He finally seemed convinced at my conyo statement and drove off.

Welcome home, Cassie.
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D O M I N I C

"Okay team, training's over for the day! Same time bukas, magdo-double training yung male-late!"

Kakatapos lang ng practice at eto ako ngayon, nakasalampak sa sahig ng basketball court ng university gym. Some guys also did the same, samantalang yung iba ay piniling tumambay sa courtside benches, where our cooler is placed.

Hala sige, magpakalunod kayo sa napakaraming bote ng Gatorade. Idlip muna ako dito sa sahig.

"Here, replenish your fluids."

Napamulat ako sa pamilyar na boses na yun. Iisa lang naman kasi yung kilala kong OA pagdating sa kalusugan ko, at iisang tao lang din talaga ang sumasalubong sakin ng maiinom after an exhausting set of drills.