Winter's POV



The room feels chilly due to the low temperature set on the air conditioning. The only source of light is the moonlight peeking through partially drawn curtains in the balcony. I can barely hear any noise aside from my own heartbeat and breathing. It's calm. And peaceful.





And....





I can't sleep. Hindi ako makatulog! Tulong!Tabang Ginoo!





I grabbed my phone to check the time and it's already 2am in the morning! Gosh. Salamin salamin sa dingding patulogin niyo na po ang bading huhu!





I'm on a king-sized bed, while Giselle and Ning are on separate beds across mine. Gusto ko sana tumabi kay ning kaso maliit lang yung bed na hinihigaan niya kaya heto ako ngayon tulala.





I'm not sure why I couldn't sleep. I don't recall consuming any caffeine today, or should I say yesterday.





Nakakainis! Sana may bumagsak na anghel at magbilin ng salita na wala kaming schedule bukas o mamaya basta!





Anghel? Speaking of, she indeed looked angelic. Ang amo ng mukha na para bang wala pang kasalanang ginawa.




Naalala ko na naman yung nangyari kanina. Ni hindi man lang siya bumawi ng suntok at hinayaan lang yung lalaki. Bakit ko ba naisip na babawi siya ng suntok? Dahil din siguro dun sa firm muscles ng biceps niya. Hindi naman kalakihan ang katawan ng babae yung mala body builder pero the fact na maganda and composed yung katawan niya is impressive. Naggi-gym kaya siya?





The guy was even struggling to reach her for a punch. She is so tall talaga kasi, mas matangkad pa siya dun sa lalaki. Sanaol po.





Teka nga...





Bakit ko ba siya iniisip? "Baka na love at first sight ka baklaaa" para bang may bumulong sa utak ko at boses pa talaga ni ning naririnig ko! Bwesit lang!





Ang cliché naman kung ganun. Hindi lang talaga ako fan sa mga love at first sight na yan. Kadalasan kasi sa mga napapanood naming romance ni ning ay ganyan ang plot. Si ning kasi yung pumipili ng movies at go nalang ako kung san siya masaya. Ang lakas lakas pa ng tili niyan habang nanonood. Jusme. Tapos kung gusto ko manood ng horror si bakla tulog. Kagigil!




Going back sa love story, eh ayaw ko ng ganon. Gusto kong makilala muna yung tao bago ako magkagusto. Pero HEP! Hindi ko naman sinasabing nagkagusto ako dun sa babae, curious lang ako?




Believe me or not. May part talaga sakin na if a person intrigues me or has pique my interest. I kind of want to know more about them. Mostly sa gantong sitwasyon na naranasan ko, it wasn't even a romantic experience. Kung sa pusa nga, curiousity kills the cat.





I'm someone who isn't afraid to explore into new experiences. If something piques my interest, I won't hesitate to learn more about it, whether it's a person or something else.





There was one time muntik ko na makita si lord, I was around 15 years old when I was sitting in dad's car sa passenger seat. Lumabas kasi siya saglit to buy something sa kanto. My eyes were wandering around the car and eventually landed on the keys na nakabitay sa may steering wheel. Narealize kong the car was still on. Naisip ko what does it feel like to drive a car?





Halong impulsiveness and curiousity got the best of me, I unbuckled my seatbelt and mounted on the driver's seat. I was grabbing on the steering wheel, napansin ko yung P sign ng car, indicating na nasa parking mode yung car kaya I switched it to D which is drive then kicked on the pedal resulting it na mag accelerate yung car. I panicked nung ang bilis ng takbo nito, I was literally in shock at that moment, then I saw a car not far away sa harap ko when I got into my senses, then hit the brake. Ang lagkit nung break tas di ako nagseatbelt kaya nauntog yung ulo ko sa steering wheel. Ang sakit kaya nun! Buti nalang talaga wala masyadong tao sa kalsada. Baka ano pang nangyari.





Mabuti nalang di ako masyado pinagalitan ni dad hehe.





Going back, ayun nga! Pinapatay na ako ng utak ko sa pagkaintriga ko sa babaeng yun.





I turned to the side of my bed, letting out a deep sigh. My gaze drifted into nowhere until it landed on the red Mickey Mouse bag atop the makeup table.

Ah.

That's when I realized na naiwan pala yung bag ni Klare dito. Jusme talaga! Kasalanan ko talaga 'to! Tatanga tanga kasi. Bukas ko nalang ibigay.





Hindi ko mapigilang ma intriga ano ang laman ng bag kaya bumangon ako. As far as I know andito ata yung sketchpad ng bata na she was scribbling with earlier. Hoi! Hindi ako magnanakaw pramis wala akong gagalawin. Peek lang hehe.





I opened the bag at tama nga ako may sketchpad niya at some coloring materials and pencils. I took out her sketchpad and opened it. I saw varieties of sketches and colors sa pad nito. How adorable.




Nagulat ako sa nakita ko but shrugged it off. I just saw my face dito! Hahaha she even colored my long wavy hair with red color. Naalala ko tuloy when she complimented me calling me pretty sa restroom. A small laugh left my mouth. Kanina pa ako ngisi nang ngisi dito.





When I flipped to the next page. There was none. Ako yung last niyang ni sketch. I feel really honored. To be drawn and expressed in a form of art just feels so heavenly. My heart feels so full.





I was about to close it nang may nakita ako sa pinakalikurang banda ng pad kaya I opened it wide. My lips parted sa nakita ko. There is a figure of a woman sa gitna ng mga grass. There's a tree sa left side nito. The sketch wasn't drawn good but it wasn't bad either, enough reason to understand what the drawing is trying to convey.





Tears filled my eyes when I read the text written in the right side beside the woman.





"I miss you mama:( Please come back:("





Hindi ko alam anong mararamdaman ko. For someone empathetic, I sure am crying over a kid's sketch. Yung para bang nafefeel ko kung ano man yung nafeel ng bata when she drew this.





Her mom is gone.





I closed the pad and settled it back sa Mickey Mouse bag. Heading to my bed with tears falling from my eyes. Ako ang nasasaktan para sa bata.





I covered myself with the comforter and not long after, I felt my eyes grew heavier.





.....


Karina's POV




(Time check. 10:30 am)




I woke up a few moments ago and decided to freshen up before we head out to eat. We weren't able to eat breakfast kasi tulog pa ako. We'll just have our brunch (breakfast + lunch = brunch) later. Klare had already been awake for a while when I got up. Despite being young, she already knows how to take care of herself. She even tidied up her side of the bed after waking up. Such a good girl.





When I got out of the bathroom. I noticed Klare has been shuffling things around the room for a while now. It's as if she's looking for something. So i as