The Second Bride on the List

Chapter 1

Sarah paced her bedroom floor.  God... what has she gotten herself this time?

She stopped, and looked at her phone, willing it to ring. Willing it to goddam ring.

"Sa, 'di na ako tumawag. Na-drain phone ko," Alyssa, her cousin, burst into the room that they have shared for more than a decade. She looked at her cousin who seem to have come from volleyball practice, dropping her sweaty training clothes on the dirty hamper. "Magbihis ka," she said, "Yung medyo pormal-pormalan."

Alyssa slowly turned around to look at her, "Akala ko dinner lang 'to? Bakit pormal-pormalan?"

Sarah stood up and paced the floor again. Alyssa was getting worried, "Sa, may problema ka ba?"

"Wala," Sarah responded absentmindedly, "Wala." Then she pasted a smile on her face, "Yung black mo na dress, yung tea length, pwede yun. Yung sinuot mo nung birthday ni mamu."

She looked at the direction of her closet, mentally searching for it, then turned back to Sarah, "Parang ang pormal nga naman..."

Sarah sighed. She does not know how to explain all of this to her. She sat on the edge of Alyssa's bed, and run her fingers on the bed spread, "Ly, medyo special kase ang dinner tonight..."

"Awow...," Alyssa chuckled, "Dinner with the family ka lang ng jowa mo, tapos formal attire agad?" She sat on the dressing chair and looked at Sarah, "Mayaman ba mga 'to?"

Sarah bit her lower lip and nodded her head. "Pooch! As in super mayaman, mga Ayala-Elizalde levels, ganun?" Sarah nodded and averted her gaze. Alyssa stared at her, "O, e ba't parang hindi ka masaya?" Sarah just sighed.

Alyssa stood up and went back to fixing her gym bag and putting them inside her closet, "Alam ko naman na 'di question sa 'yo ang pera, pero... bakit parang hindi ka excited to meet the parents?" She leaned back to see her cousin's reaction. Sarah was just busy drawing circles on her bed.

She sighed.

She could never understand Sarah. Maybe not in a million years.

She was in high school when she was removed from the province to study in the big city. She was scared, of course, but with Sarah around, it felt a little less daunting. But as the days went by, Sarah seems to be living in her own world, sometimes leaving Alyssa to fend for herself.

Yes, she has nothing mean to say about Sarah. She has treated Alyssa like a sister, shared her room with her, never questioned her choice of fashion, or lack of it, and never once complained about her sweaty and messy lifestyle as a volleyball player.

Maybe because Sarah has been living by herself, with her parents working abroad, in the Middle East. She has learned to cope by learning to thrive by herself, without a care about others around her. Like she has built this impenetrable fortress. Yes, she is stuck with an old aunt who would just the same as provide the food on the table, take care of the house, and send her off to school until she got her first car at the age of 16. But that's about it.

Sarah has been living an independent life, except that her parents has been supporting her, and continues to support her financially. She has tried working in a corporate setting, but she would always resign in about a month or so. She'd say she felt suffocated by all the rules they would set, thinking they are being impossible and manipulative.

Her aunt and uncle would then turn to Alyssa, beg her, to put some sense into Sarah. And she'd try. She'd reach out to her cousin, talk some sense into her, but all she would see is Sarah staring back at her with glassy eyes. As if she is on a trance, in a different world.