Before You Became a Memory のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 21 - チャプター 30

TODAY was the day of Aunt Mila's funeral, and Mum, Dad, Janel, and I were all gathered at the church. The caskets of Aunt Mila and Jr's other late relatives were positioned at the front, prompting my eyes to immediately scan the pews to see if Jr had finally emerged. I let my gaze wander across almost every single corner of the sacred space, but I couldn't find a single trace of him.Aunt Mila's wake had lasted for a few days, yet not once did Jr step foot outside of his bedroom. His siblings had all returned home with their respective families to manage their mother's funeral arrangements. I had even attempted to knock and gain entry into his room, but his brother gently stopped me, explaining that Jr didn't want to speak to anyone yet because he desperately needed to mourn in absolute isolation. I hadn't insisted. Since that tragic day at the hospital, I hadn't seen Jr at all.I couldn't help but worry that he was locked away blaming himself for what had happened to his mother. The

I am looking at the flowers that Mum had put in my room. They are like children crying at the same time because they are hungry and thirsty. I also cried for them because I couldn't feed them. I accompanied the crying flower. I think I cried even louder for them.Today is the day of Jr’s leaving the country, so I feel sad. I want to stop him from leaving, but what right do I have to do that? He has already made up his mind, and no one like me can stop him."Sis," Janel called to me at the same time as a soft knock stopped me from crying. I opened the door and saw her standing there."Jr is outside; he wants to say goodbye to you.""Tell him I'm not here; you didn't notice I left.""But Sis—""Please." I held her hand so she wouldn't force me. "Please." She nodded at me in response."Are you okay?""Yes, please just tell him I'm not here."I closed the room again and went to the window. Just a moment and I saw Jr there walking out of the gate. When I saw he stopped, I hid behind the cu

I went straight to Lax's house. I took a jeepney just to save money. When I got off at their alley, I walked calmly, pulled out a cigarette from my pocket, and lit it while walking. I didn't even know when I started smoking. All I remembered was that ever since I saw Dylan smoking, I tried it too. At first, it was just to follow a trend, but later on, I realised it was also a way to calm down.Besides that, it was also nice to smoke while thinking. As I watched the smoke get carried away by the wind, I let my thoughts flow with it.I found Lax at his house, feeding his child. Before going inside, I threw my cigarette outside first before knocking to let him know I was there."Oh, Mia, you're here! Come on in."I smiled at him, went inside, and sat on the sofa. He stood up, went towards the altar, and pulled something out from under the statue of a saint. When he returned, he handed me a wrapped stack of cash."That includes the previous debt and today's. I also gave my payment to Dyla

We were watching a show side-by-side, but honestly, I couldn't understand anything I was watching. I remembered the first time Dylan and I met at church. It was during a time when I was extremely down because of what was happening to my family. Back when blow after blow hit our lives right after Dad's accident.I was crying as I walked out of the church when I saw Dylan there with his friends. My attention was immediately drawn to the small packet he handed to a man. I wasn't stupid not to know what that was. I was scared when he approached me because I thought he was going to do something bad to me, but he just handed me a handkerchief and left right away. Only then did I realise that even though I was outside the church, tears were still streaming down my face continuously.From then on, I kept seeing him there until he introduced himself to me. We became friends, and it wasn't long before he started courting me. To be honest, Dylan knew why I said yes to him back then. Because he w

"I became complacent with life, Mia. Raised spoiled, feeling like my parents' money would never run out," he began, looking up at the ceiling as if recalling the past. He leaned back against his chair, relaxing himself."Both my parents were business owners, and I was an only child. Everything I wanted was granted, and there was nothing I couldn't get. One request, ten granted. That was how my parents raised me. I didn't even finish my studies because my logic was that they were rich and their wealth would never run out. I didn't realise that all of it could disappear one day." He looked at me, giving a bitter smile that clearly showed sadness."Both my parents died at the same time in an accident, and the painful part was that the wealth I thought would never run out was already gone. Their company was already bankrupt, and all our properties were mortgaged. I just woke up one day being passed around by relatives because almost no one wanted to feed me. Until I ended up living on the