“GOOD MORNING, Mary!” masiglang bati ni Maeve kay Mary, isang regular na customer ng shop na ‘yon. “You’re early today.”“Maeve, I have to. The deadline is close to hitting, and I’m only halfway through,” wika ni Mary na bakas ang pagod sa mukha nito.“Being a writer is not really that easy, isn’t it?”“Definitely not,” tugon ni Mary habang napapailing. “And these sweet treats are my only lifeline. The only thing that gives me energy to keep working on my stories is this.” Dagdag nito.Natawa nang mahina si Maeve at inabot ang laging binibili ni Mary sa shop na ‘yon—éclair at lemon whipped cream pie na paborito nito.“Here they are. Hope that they will make you feel more motivated and energized,” nakangiting saad ni Maeve.“Thank you, Maeve.”“And here’s your s’mores latte, too.” Dagdag ni Maeve.“Thank you, thank you. You’re really my savior, Maeve,” saad ni Mary na labis na nagpapasalamat.“No biggie, Mary. I’m glad I could help,” tugon ni Maeve na may ngiti.“Thank you again, Mave!

“WHY? What is the reason for you, Olivia, to do this as well?” nasisiphayong tanong ni Hudson sa kanyang anak na napasapo sa kanyang noo.Hindi umimik si Olivia at nanatiling nakayuko.Ibinaling ni Hudson ang tingin sa kanyang anak. “What in the world is entering into your mind? You and your sister seem to be causing me a lot of trouble lately. I don’t understand why are you doing this to me?” tanong nito na halos hindi mawari kung bakit ginagawa ito ng kanyang mga anak. “I do not understand why you must bring shame to our family as well? After what your sister did, don’t you feel sorry for us? Why, Olivia? Why?”Mananatili sanang tahimik si Olivia ngunit hindi niya matanggap ang mga sinasabi ng kanyang daddy sa kanya ate. Kaya niyang tanggapin ang mga sasabihin nito sa kanya, tatanggapin niya ang galit nito sa pagkakamaling ginawa niya ngunit hindi niya maintindihan kung bakit lagi na lang nito pinagbubuntungan ng galit ang kanyang ate.“You can be certain that I did not do such a thi

“WHAT the hell are you talking about?” bulalas na tanong ni Maeve sa kanyang kapatid na binibigyan siya ng kakaibang tingin. “He’s just my friend!”“Friend?” pag-uulit ni Olivia na mas lalong binigyan siya nang nakakapagdudang mga tingin. “Is he just a friend of yours, because what I see doesn’t seem like him to me, so am I mistaken?”“Via, will you stop? There you go again, acting like you’re some kind of psychic!” pag-aawat na saad ni Maeve na mabilis na naglakad patungo sa kusina para kumuha ng maiinom.Sinundan ni Olivia ang kanyang ate at sumandal sa pader sabay halukipkip habang patuloy na pinagmamasdan ang mga kilos ng kapatid.“So, what is the reason for your strange behavior, Ate?”Humarap si Maeve na may hindi interesadong mga tingin.“Strange? There is nothing strange about me, Via. There is only one thing stranger here, and that is you. Why are you here?”Tumawa si Olivia. “Ate, please do not take me as a diversion from the subject at hand. Considering we are talking about

ISANG malalim na paghinga ang ginawa ni Nicholas habang naglalakad.“This life sucks,” wika nito na puno nang pagkasiphayo.Bagamat nailabas niya kay Rui ang bigat sa kanyang dibdib ay hindi pa rin nito naalis ang isipin sa kanyang isipan dahilan para mas lalo siya makaramdam ng stress.“It is unbelievable to me that I have to go through this kind of thing.”Nagpatuloy siya sa paglalakad hanggang sa hindi niya namalayan na dinala siya ng kanyang mga paa sa bake shop na pinagtatrabahuhan ni Rui.“This where Rui is working,” mahina niyang sambit habang pinagmamasdan ang labas ng bake shop.Ngunit habang pinagmamasdan niya ito ay nanariwa sa kanyang alaala ang mga ngiting suot ni Rui nang sandaling umuwi ito, dahilan para magkaroon ng ideya na possibleng naroon ang dahilan kung bakit may hindi ito maipaliwanag na saya ng umuwi.“Maybe it’s his co-worker,” mahina niyang sambit. “I would like to point out how beautiful she is, and how that made Rui smile when every time he saw her.”At nang

MATAPOS ang mahabang pangungumbinsi at pagpapaliwanag kay Olivia ay nagawa rin ni Maeve na mapapayag na umuwi sa Pilipinas.“Do I have to really go, ate?” tanong ni Olivia na nagdadalawang isip nang sandaling iyon.“Via, we already done talking about this.”Napaungol naman sa labis na pagkasiphayo si Olivia at napairap ng kanyang mga mata.“Fine! I am not doing this because of dad, I am doing it because I want to and you asked me to do so,” pagbibigay diin ni Olivia. “I will finish my studies as soon as possible—” saka hinawakan ang dalawang kamay ng kanyang kapatid— “and I will return here when that time comes or whenever I get the chance. Whatever happens, I will come back. I won’t let anything get in the way.”Ngumiti naman si Maeve. “Thank you, Via. This does not mean you must push yourself too hard in order to achieve that. I can—”Hindi nagawang matapos ni Maeve ang kanyang sasabihin nang putulin ni Olivia ang pagsasalita nito.“Ate, I insist. You can count on me as your sister t