“He bought youa book?”
I slap my hand down on the cover ofAWhisper of the Dark,grinning.
“He bought mea book! Who even does that for someone who you’ve only met three times? I’m telling you, Ria, this is the story I’ve always been looking for.”
Ria glances at the novel with narrowed eyes.
“But he bought youA Whisper of the Dark.”
“I know it’s not the best book but still, he bought it forme,” my tone rises into a squeak as I grin, “Then he said he looks forward to seeing me again and isn’t this just the most perfect meet-cute development ever?”
Ria definitely doesn’t agree. Her eyes widen slowly, stricken with a hint of fear. Slowly, she raises her hands and waves it downward.
“Oo-kay so what we are going to do is maybe relax,” she begins, “And come down to Earth with me. Like a lot.”
I lowerA Whisper of the Darkonto my lap, my ballooning euphoria now losing its air.
“Yes it sounds cute, but you still don’t know the dude. He’s just a random stranger to me still, toyou. So before you start using him as your muse for your screenplays or whatever -” I roll my eyes at her assumption, one that was bound to become true - “I need you to breathe and to let me be your anchor. I don’t want to see you get hurt again by another c-grade man.”
Rafayel was the furthest from being a c-grade man. Affectionately, I toss a small kirby plushie at her head which she swiftly dodges. I huff out, not wanting to admit she is right.
“Can you not be the smarter sibling right now,” I groan, and she grins at that, straightening her posture.
“I can’t help it, it’s all naturalè.”
“But you have to admit, doesn’t it all sound perfect?’
Ria sighs, but there’s a hint of a smile on her lips.
“It does sound straight out of a rom-com, I’ll give you that,” she admits, “But in the case that you guys do end up dating… you’re going to have to be careful.”
I wave her away, “Of course, I know all about being careful and not taking things too fast and whatever.”
“I’m not talking about you and this guy specifically. I’m talking about how Mum and the family will react. You do remember Marlon and Christine?”
I’d been so swept up in Rafayel and our potentially budding romance, that I forgot briefly about my crazy family and their own deluded ideas around Marlon and I’s non-existent romantic future. How could I even continue to pursue Rafayel when I was just awaiting my families’ prying eyes and hushed gossiping?
At that moment, Mum calls Ria and I downstairs before I even have a chance to somehow think of a quick solution for that. Sadly, there’s nothing easy about this at all.
Every fortnightly Friday, our family visits my Lola and Lolo on my Dad’s side for dinner. They’re about a half-hour drive away from us, further south, where buildings and industrial activity are more scarce, replaced instead by unending fields.
As we walk up their driveaway, the scent of Lolo Angelus’ cooking wafts through the open kitchen window, filling my nostrils and twisting my stomach torturously.
Dad knocks on the door, and in just a few counts we’re greeted by my Lola Alma.
“Darlings!” my Lola Alma exclaims cheerily.
When we step through, Ria and ImanoLola, before I bend down to plant a tender peck on her cheek.
“Come na, let’s eat!”
Lola leads us through the small hallway and toward the dining table, where a serving of rice already sits. As we settle ourselves, Lolo emerges from the kitchen door, an orange apron wrapped around his body.
“Kamusta na,” he greets, “The chicken asado will be done soon.”
I mentally cheer. In my mental pyramid of Favourite Filipino Foods, chickenasadowould be in the second tier ranking. When he recedes back into the kitchen, Lola turns to us.
“So, ano'ng bago[9]?”
