Kung Saan Ako Payapa

(Luha at Liham Series #1)

People have different preferences---like with seasons. Some prefer spring, when flowers bloom, when everything feels light and easy as we watch petals glisten under sunlight while walking down streets lined with gardens. Some prefer autumn, when fallen leaves blanket the ground still damp from the rain. Some prefer summer, where the scent of sea salt feels nostalgic, where sunsets remind us of those late afternoons spent on the nearest beach, watching how the sun kisses the water and the clouds shift their colors. And some prefer winter, where snowflakes drift from the sky, where people bundle up in thick clothes before stepping out into the cold breeze.

For Annika, she couldn't choose which season she liked best. Galing na siya doon, paulit-ulit na. Mabigat na ang buhat niya sa likod na mga alaala mula sa nagdaang pagbago ng mga panahon at ihip ng hangin... Kaya siguro hindi na siya makapili. But if there was one thing she was certain of---it was that her soul was buried in nostalgia. Her heart was showered with both flowers and snowflakes, and her mind wandered through all the memories... back to where it all began. Back when she started to notice Julian, that everything turned upside down. What began as annoyance turned into a crush, then blossomed into love. And that love somehow grew---deeper, fiercer, until it became too much, slowly tearing them apart like a crumbling tower.

Para sa pusong naguguluhan, para sa mga lubid na bumubuhol sa kanyang isipan---gumugulo at sadyang nakalilito, ay ang mga tanong. Saan siya pupunta, kung ang minsang kapayapaan na hatid ng pag-ibig na alam niya ay unti-unti nang nawawala? Hindi na tahimik, maingay na. Nananakit na, humahapdi, naninira. Saan siya tatakbo? Kung kahit saan siya lumingon---sa kanan man o kaliwa, hindi na payapa.