Ally walks along in the grassy land. The cool wind waves her hair, and the clothing of her dress. She closed her eyes as she smells the fragrance of the wildflowers in the forest. The early sunlight warms her skin as she raises her both arms sideward feeling free and peacefully. The birds are busy chirping at the trees while they feed on their chicks while the others flying thru and fro. In a little, distance, the sounds of a stream can be heard as it flows along the rocks. Ally is happy looking at her surroundings. The sounds of the natures and all the living creatures create a relaxing melody in her ears while she laid down under a big tree. While she looks up at the blue sky as the clouds passes by, suddenly she heard flashing water in a little distance. She got up and, search for the noise that she had heard. She takes away the branches of the shrubs using her hands to see what creates noise in the water. As she continuously searches and looks around, she notices a man standing
“Look who is here?” said Ally to her brother while brewing her coffee. “What will you cook?” she added. “I will fry eggplant with egg,” Jap replied while washing it. “Please see if the rice is cooked,” he said to his big brother Shim. Ally went to her father’s room bringing a cup of coffee. After knocking on the door, she heard her father answered and told her to come in. She walked slowly as she carried the hot and smoky coffee. When she entered the room, she saw her father looking at the window. She put the coffee on the table and approached him. She sat down next to her father and looked together. Not far from their window, they see some trees and the birds are flying. Her father turned to her and said, “They are good and free. They can do what they want to do. They are free to do things. They only think about their food, where they will land every night. They are free to sing their songs. No one interferes with them and they do wherever they go. No one to
“Does your brother already know what the woman did?” asked Ally while steadily holds her spoon waiting for Tessa's answer. “Yes, he knew that is why he wanted to separate, but he felt sorry for the woman,” Tessa answered. “Until now, is she still with that guy?” Ally further asked. “I do not know, but my brother said she does not answer his calls most of the time,” said Tessa, and she started the first bite of her food. “It is up to your brother to decide on things like that. They must talk about it,” said Ally while watching Tessa eating her food. “Ally!” both of them turn to their right and saw Jim approaches their table. Tessa then looked at Ally. She wanted to transfer to the other seats, but Ally stopped her. Then the two of them stay at their table waiting for Jim to come. He smiled as he headed to their table. Jim did not know Ally's friend yet, so she introduced it to her friend. “Come, let us eat,” Ally invited Jim, “You may n
Tessa accompanied Ally to their house to say goodbye to her father and siblings about their plan on the farm. They said they would go home tomorrow afternoon. Ally then reminds her brothers to take care of their father. She told them to cook their food and do their household chores. She reminded her father of the schedule in taking his medicine. She then placed some clothes and other necessities inside her bag. On their way to the bus terminal, Tessa notices Ally’s sadness on her face, but she told her that it would go well. While waiting for a bus, Tessa contacted her mother and told her that they are approaching. Tessa’s mother was busy preparing for their dinner that night. She explains to her mother the situation of Ally, so she took pity on her. Coincidentally, the weather is good. The moonlight is bright, and the flow of their trip is good while they are on their way. When they arrived at the family of Tessa, they happily greeted them. The mother of Tessa embraced Ally and imm
“Wow! It is so good to be here, so relaxing and comfortable. When did your parents set these things up?” Ally asked while looking around the surroundings. “Since we were young. When I was Six, these were already here. My father inherits this land from his parents. Before their marriage, they used to stay here with their friends. They go swimming in that river. Have you noticed that small house? My father and his friends build that. They go in there eating, playing, and have some fun with their friends. During summer, my parents used to lay on these loungers with Terry on their side. My big brother and I play around in this wide area. On that spot, there is fish grilled. So, I missed those days. It has been a long time since my brother works abroad,” Tessa said while looking at the clear starry sky. “You know it is kind of weird. But I had a dream last night,” Ally said smilingly. “What is it? Tell me,” Tessa asked. “I dreamed trees, river, fish, and s
Ally then spread her both palms a little distance from the fire, feeling some heat from it. She enjoys watching the fire consuming the woods. She then weaved the smoke using her hands to make mosquitoes fly away from them. Tessa makes fun of her watching her weaving the smokes. In their surroundings, the sounds of the chirping crickets and the hooting of the owls add a meaningful night in their conversation. They are amazed at the fireflies gathered around the mangrove trees flashing their lights. It catches their eyes as the lights of the fireflies synchronizing their flashes creating a spectacular display. The stars in the sky are shimmering while the moon is shining brightly enabling them to watch the views that surround them. In a few minutes, Ally turns her eyes to Tessa when she heard her humming. She admires her on how she calmed herself that night. Tessa closed her eyes while humming along with the sounds of nature in their surroundings. Then Ally goes back to the lounger an
“Hey! Sister! It is catching time,” Terry rapidly knocks on the door, “Papa wants you to watch him catching those fish. It is fun! Come on, we are about to go there,” he said hurriedly with them. Tessa and Ally, from their deep sleep, suddenly awake, “Oh no! Papa is in the fish pen. Ally! Come on, get up. Let us watch him catching those fish. It is fun,” Tessa said while wiping her mouth, face, and eyes using her hands. While heading to the door, she fixed her hair and opened it. As she opens, the light of the sun directly hits her face then she covers it with her hand. She then gestured for Ally to follow her outside while standing at the door. Ally slowly get up from her bed, wipes her eyes with her hands, and fixed her hair as well. But the optimists Tessa hurried here to come out from the bamboo house. She then goes down the stairs and waits for Ally to come down. Ally was amazed. When she saw the view of the farm when she comes outside, the guest Ally could not
Ally enjoyed her company with the family of Tessa. She feels happy watching them talking and eating. The family is grateful for what they had. They live a simple life away from the city and are comfortable with their way of living. They considered their farm as their little paradise. She adorned the mother of Tessa on how she cares for them. After a while, she remembers how her mother abandoned them and the pain left in her heart. She began to compare her situation while looking at the couple and Terry laughing with one another. Suddenly, Tessa bumps her side. “Hey! You feel like swimming, aren’t you? Where is your mind going?” Tessa jokingly asked her. “It is okay! You can be like that,” she added as if trying to get Ally’s attention. “Yeah! I am okay. Sorry,” Ally answered and smiled at Tessa. “You want to go swimming?” Tessa convinced her, showing her a thumbs up. “Yeah! But what about Terry’s assignment?” she asked worriedly. “No problem!
When Tessa and Ally about to dock the boat in front of their house at the riverbank, the clear and enticing water got their attention. Tessa droves slowly and stop the engine in the midst. She then embraced Ally holding her tightly by locking her hands in her back and let them fall in the water. Then they dive for a while in deeper. After a while they both appear in the surface of the water. Ally pull Tessa’s hair a little bit and laugh for she was not warned to dive in the water. They both kicking their feet to maintain themselves floating. Then they faced each other happily and swam heading the floating boat. “How dare you! You did not give me a warning,” said Ally jokingly. “Of course, that was my intention to make it exciting and surprising...ha! ha! ha!” Tessa responded and laugh. “My brother and I do like this before. When we go swimming in here, we pull or push each other when one of us don’t notice it.... ha! ha! ha! “Let us climb up in the boat and j