“This room is amazing and breathtaking. Fill with vast archives of documents and artifacts neatly stacked in museum collection storage. What is that smallest thing on the small bottle?” Prince Mharl exclaimed silently that almost coming out loudly from his mouth that moved a bit while the king and queen were talking to the excellency of the Philippines, President Reynam Devam. Of course, he knew them all. Is not art one of his favorite subjects now at Tranegårdskolen school in Denmark? The Presidential Security Group (PSG), uniformed men, and maids were everywhere. Suddenly, he turned his head as if a compass trying to form a circle. He found everyone was preoccupied. He got up from his chair slowly, stretched his legs as he took some tiny steps, and stood confidently while mimicking other visitors curiously looking at things deeply at first sight. That was partly true, but the real reason was that boredom took him in a few hours already as he sat alone on a mahogany pastel couch in a

Marie was in deep thought as she tried to find her things. She was in her melancholic mood. More than a decade already after she left Iloilo for good. “If only I can go back to Iloilo now. I, perhaps still enjoy seeing the greenery, playing games, and talking with my friends and relatives. But my parents are here. They love their work. We are four in the family now. Hard to be the eldest. I need to finish my assignments, so I can watch my siblings outside.” Marie thought while looking for her notebooks. She reached them together with her books at the upper part of the shelf, and an envelope appeared which was full of papers. She decided to arrange them. Then, she smiled when she saw a few pictures on the folded paper. She vividly remembered everything. In San Miguel, Barotac Viejo, Iloilo, the place where she spent her childhood years, she and Lou had memories she treasured now and then. “I have enough. Want to add? Look at the other branches,” Marie urged Lou, her bestfriend, who a

While doing the laundry, Marie’s thoughts were back on the conversation made by Mrs. Grace Reyes. With the bible in hand, Grace asked her, “Are you familiar with John 3:16?” “Yeah!” “But do you understand what that verse is all about?” “It says that God loved the world that He gave Jesus Christ, His only son and we will not be in condemnation but have eternal life.” “That’s true. You know what God is the creator of heaven and earth. He made us and all the things in the world. But one day, Adam and Eve, our first parents, sinned. God drove them away from the garden of Eden. He warned Adam and Eve not to touch or eat the fruit in the middle of the garden as it is written in the book of Genesis. But the couple was tempted by the serpent which is the devil. Because of that, their eyes were opened, and they understood what they did. We inherited those sins from them and like them we were bound to hell when we die. The good news, however, is in this verse that God gave His only Son, Jes

“Why on earth am I thinking about that girl in the Philippines? She was quiet when we had our first meeting, and when we had our second one. And why she lied that she did not remember me. "In Singapore, she was still aloof and timid." The prince sighed in his deep thoughts as he stared at the trees he created on the canvas hanging in his dad's entryway. "Prince Mharl, let's have a talk." The king motioned to the prince to sit in the chair near the queen, who wore her favorite emerald dress, watched them both, and later focused on her only son. She missed how innocent he used to be. With the remote control in his hand, the king opened the TV screen in the center, which had been used as a mini stage for meetings in his office. The king's office looked like a curtain when not opened, but now it was a sight to behold. With doubts on his mind, he analyzed why his parents called him. “Yes, my highnesses.” "Focus on your journey and see it clearly. Look at your mom’s belly when you were s

Marie graduated with flying colors. She was not at the top of the class but made a place on the list of awardees. She was then offered by her former school Ramon Magsaysay High School a position as they needed one English teacher. Their one old English teacher retired two months after her board examination and since the result of the examination was not yet released, she was advised to be a volunteer teacher in that school. One month after, she went home late. “Good evening, Mar!” the guard greeted her in the shadow of the flickering light near the gate. ‘Good evening, too!” Soon she reached their room but wondered why no lights were turned on even on the path outside of the palace’s garden. Everything was dark, so she got her phone and used the flashlight there. She called everyone but no one answered. “Did I forget to know our schedules today? For the past two weeks, we are busy in school. Then, next week. Thanks, God it’s Friday. Tomorrow, I have my piano tutorial again." Marie