Your Light (Tu Luz) [Joel Pimentel]

Chapter 11

"...Joel?" I asked, literally confused seeing Joel looking so different, so let loose.

He smiled that genuine smile of his, that always gets to me in a way I don't understand.

"Hey, Dee. Oh, hey Mariana." He said, putting his guitar aside.

"Hey." Me and Mariana said in unison.

"What are you guys doing here?" He asked.

"We could ask you the same thing..." Mariana started, "..you look different."

He chuckled, "I hope you meant the good kind of different."

Suddenly, Mariana elbowed my stomach and I glared at her. Joel who witnessed what happened only grin.

"Well, we need to go right now. I'll see you soon, aye?" Mariana said again, totally annoyed by my silence.

Joel bid our farewell with a hug and a kiss on my forehead, just like what Chris would do and I just smiled at him while saying a simple bye.

When we arrived at my car, and got inside, Mariana stared at me like there is no tomorrow.

"What?" I asked, putting the key in the ignition.

She narrowed her eyes before saying, "You're awfully quiet back there, D. What's wrong?"

I laughed, trying to conceal whatever I'm feeling. "I didn't know he could sing, let's just say I'm overwhelmed by his singing."

Mariana looked at me in disbelief, "..Or you're overwhelmed by the feeling you're feeling for him. Admit it, Dhianna. You're hooked."

I thought about it for a second. Am I having feelings for Joel, like how Mariana and Chris said? Pft, no, I don't. They're just being delusional.

"Stop tryna have conversations with yourself, Dhianna. It's alright to feel, it's alright to love someone." She said as my eyes are focused on the road.

Little did she know, I'm not planning in losing anyone I love anymore that's why I don't care about these ridiculous feelings.

20 minutes later, we arrived at The Rodriguez and when I got out of the car, I was attacked by hugs from Mariana's brothers.

"Dhianaaaaa, we missed you so much." Alejandro said and I smiled. He just turned 14 two months ago but he's still a kid at heart, like Mari.

Next is Luis and Emmanuel Jr. Both of them hugged me so tight I thought my bones are breaking soon.

Luis is 15 while Emmanuel Jr, being the first children in the family, is 23. The irony is that Emmanuel looked just like his late father and the feeling of longing suddenly hit me after a few months.

"Come inside, mum is waiting." Luis said and we all walked inside.

"Mi hija! ¿cómo estás?" Alejandra said as soon as she saw me walking through the door.

"¡Estoy bien! ¿Y tú?"

"Bien, gracias. Come, come. Sit here. I made a lot of food so make sure you eat up." She said, ushering me to the seat next to Luis.

After a minute, Alejandra finally placed my plate in front of me and I ate in silence after saying our prayers.
Suddenly, it hit me hard at how much I miss having dinner with my family, chatting around, the world being oblivious to us. It was like one moment I was living my life happily and the next second everything was taken from me and I was left all alone.
"Dhianna, qué pasa?" Suddenly, Alejandra's voice boomed through ny subsconcious and when I was back in reality, I saw her looking at me with such concerns.

"De nada, I'm fine." was the only thing I said. And after about an hour, we all finished eating and I offered to help her cleaning up the dish but she literally chase me out of the kitchen to the living room.

"Hey, little unicorn, come here. We misses you a lot." Emmanuel called after me and when I looked at him, he was chuckling.

"Em.." I started, while approaching him, "...I told you not to call me that."

He burst into an erupt of laughter, "You're still a baby no matter what, Dhianna."

He patted my hair and suddenly messing it. I slapped his hand. "Rude."

He gave me a toothy grin. "Wanna stay over? We could watch movie, besides your holiday starts tomorrow, right?"

I thought about it for a second, "I think I'll pass. I'm thinking of just staying home and worry about my college applications."

He frowned, "You're no fun, unicorn. You have 1 month worth of holiday, it's only a night."

I smiled, "I'll think about it but not tonight, okay?"

His face lit up, "Great."

We all sit in a circle along with even Alejandra, and played some games like we used to. It was like the last time and I'm living for this moment.

Once the clock strikes 1 am, everyone decided to go sleep and I, on the other hand, decided to go home. So, after hugging Alejandra and Mariana, I sped home.

The drive home was spooky and scary, with only the lamp from the streets, leading my way through. As soon as I arrived at my driveway, I saw a figure, silhouetted by the pale moonlight. I couldn't see the face but I know he's a guy. Even that, he still looked like an angel in disguise.

I parked my car and walked towards the tall figure only to find the man standing on my porch, smiling at me widely.

That smile.

"Joel?"