May I? (WIL Series #1)

How does it feel to live a life guarded by walls you never wanted to build? Knowing that under different circumstances, you could have been free. That if only you didn't carry so much weight from the past, you could have let someone stay.

Napakaraming bakit-iyan ang araw-araw na bitbit ni Shanice Rivera. Bakit siya iniwan ng ina sa mundong kaydilim? Bakit siya kinuha ng amang kailanman ay hindi siya itinuring na kanya? At bakit, sa lahat ng puwedeng huminto at tumingin, si Tobias Liao pa ang pumili na manatili sa tabi niya?

If only she wasn't so scared to let someone in, baka nagawa niyang iabot ang sarili sa mga kamay na hindi natatakot humawak. If only she believed she was worth staying for, baka hindi siya nanginginig sa tuwing makakasalubong ang mga matang kay daling bumasa ng kaluluwa.

But she was terrified.
Terrified of being seen.
Terrified of being loved.

Because Tobias was never just a boy. He was the kind of presence that could make her question every wall she built, every secret she buried, every fear she pretended not to have.

At sa gitna ng lahat ng takot niya, may isang tanong na hindi niya matakasan-isang tanong na pwedeng sumira o bumuo sa kanya.

"May I?"