Rainbow Connections [feat. RaMen]

P R O L O G U E

The room was vibrating with an energy Lui can't seem to assign a name to. Her friends, family and colleagues fluttered around her while the massive televisions mounted to the walls at the living room of her parents' mansion bring up the latest news and updates. Lui just watched everything from her own bubble. She felt as if time went down slower as headlines scrolled across the bottom of the screen, although not much of it really registered to her brain. Paper, files, and electronic devices were exchanged right under her nose but she remained as a silent observer. Instead, she focused on calming and getting her breath steady as she savored the moment, committing what she can carry to memory. Her life, all her hard work, and the future of the nation was all resting on the outcome of the evening.

When she really took time to evaluate her life up until this point, she was not entirely sure how she got this far. Of course, to an extent, she does. She has always kept her nose to the grindstone and dreamed of the seemingly unattainable; maintaining her focus was never an issue. She was never ruthless in her pursuits, just determined, and it all led to now. She kept her head in the game from the very start, and gave every task her full heart. She served the City of Makati fair and well for quite some time after the Sandovals ousted the Binays from position. And tonight, was no different.

This particular venture in her life stands out simply to the sheer magnitude of what she has chosen to tackle. Many, and she meant MANY along the way, since the beginning of her political career have said that she was crazy, and scoffed about how she'd make it to this goal of hers, that it was a one in a million chance, but she still took chance and fought with every breath she took to prove them wrong. She saw the way humanity was slowly fading into shambles around her and made up her mind to help in any way she possibly could. She was already a philanthropist even before she was a politician. She refused to stand on the sidelines as she saw how people across the country struggled to just even exist in the world. That's not who she was. She has already been supporting a lot of causes prior to running for office, where in fact, her father just requested for her to do so. She might not even be the perfect picture of who you'd typically see on a historic night such as this, but we live in a vastly different universe these days.

For years, she has witnessed people suffer. Whether it was financially, emotionally, mentally or physically. That was why when she first held office as Makati Vice Mayor, she made sure that she had projects that were specific to the needs of her population and it was evident as Makati thrived even more as it already have under the Binays. But of course, the online, even personal bashing and false accusations still occurred, as they say, you couldn't really please everyone. Everywhere you looked, and every headline you came across had a level of destruction – either to the mass population or even just with a specific person. From where she stood, it seemed as if the country was on the verge of dystopia, even worse, a total collapse. Not that the outgoing president abused his powers but the people who were running the administration with him did. She knew in her gut that it was time to push back, and she encouraged everyone around her to join the fight.

The sudden eruption of cheers ringing throughout the room snapped her out of her mental rewind. She saw her headshot flash prominently on the screen while the broadcast continued its current announcement. She saw what was happening, but her mind hasn't quite processed what just occurred in a split second. She was swept off of the sofa where she had gotten comfortable only to be embraced by her parents, Marcus (Christopher De Leon) and Clarisse (Vilma Santos), and her older brother, Marco Luis (Gary Valenciano). Congratulations continued to ripple through the room as the champagne begun to flow. She did it, really and truly. Everything she has been killing herself for the past months has finally came to life. She was astounded, but immensely proud of how hard every single person on her team has worked in order to make tonight a raging success.

"To Lui, and the next six years!" Luis, shouted as he held his wine flute. The rest of the room joined the toast while her mother passed her, her own wine flute, tears of happiness and pride shone in her eyes. She thanked her mother as she took a sip of the bubbly and smiled to herself in utter satisfaction, her heart nearly to the point of bursting with joy.

She is Margaux Cassidy Louise "Lui" Sandoval, the 20th president-elect and third lady president of the Republic of the Philippines.