SweetSmileKiller

Paris, city and capital of France, located along the Seine River, in the north-central part  of the country. This city is deemed as the City of Love, famous for it’s rich culture, and  its famous structures like the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre and the Notre Dame. A very beautiful city with perfect settings for any kind of romantic getaway, with charming  cafes, romantic views, wonderful historic monuments and of course it’s exceptional 

cuisine, just a complete package for couples, and even just those looking for a relaxing  vacation. 

Although Paris is popular as a romantic city, I am more fixated in the Catacombs of  Paris, the darkness that lies beneath the city of lights. These are underground vaults in  Paris which holds the remains of more than six million people in a small part of a tunnel  network built to strengthen Paris’ ancient stone quarries. Ever since watching the movie  “As Above, So Below”, this place has really piqued my interest. I want to be able to go  down the catacombs myself and try to see what was actually in there, although most of  the tunnel is actually not open to the public. 

Keukenhof Tulip Garden 

Keukenhof Tulip Garden, also known as the Garden of Europe, situated in the town of  Lisse, in the Netherlands, is one of the world’s largest flower gardens. This park covers  an area of 32 hectares and approximately 7 million flower bulbs are planted and grown  annually. Now, incase you haven’t noticed in the introduction, I love flowers, and, my  favorite flowers are tulips! Which the Keukenhof garden is widely known for, but it also  features other flowers such as lilies, roses, daffodils, carnations, irises and hyacinths. But of course, this park isn’t always open all year round for the public. Keukenhof is only  open to the public for a limited amount of time. According to the official website, the tulip  gardens are open from March 20 till May 9, 2021 and only a limited number of people are admitted to the park due to the corona pandemic. 

Japan

Japan, an island country in East Asia located in the northwest Pacific Ocean. Japan, for  me, is a paradise. It has such a rich culture, huge variety of delicious food and not to  mention the beautiful places in the country. One of the places I’d want to visit in Japan  is Akihabara. 

Akihabara in central Tokyo is famous for its stores ideal for anime and game lovers,  which is referring to me, a very enthusiastic anime lover. I want to visit the stores that  sells anime costumes, so I can try cosplaying while walking around Japan, and I want to  buy official mangas that is sold there, and I really want to meet cosplayers and maybe  even mangakas (author/manga creators) in Japan. It’s really a paradise for people like  me who loves gaming and anime, and even those who aren’t that interested in such  things, can also have fun with the different themed cafes in the area. It’s really an  experience that I promise I’d be willing to get out of my comfort zone for, and try to get  over my being asocial, just to interact with the people in there. 

Another part of Japan’s culture I want to try is their food. For Japanese people, food  isn’t just something that fills you up, food is basically an art for them. If you’ve seen  documentaries or even anime’s that talks about Japanese food, you can see how they  carefully and beautifully prepares them, and each towns and cities in Japan has their  own specialty dish. And just like most countries in Asia, rice is a must in every meal. 

But one of the things that fascinates me the most are the traditional houses and temples  in Japan. There are many places in Japan that has kept their traditional design of  houses, which are characterized by tatami mat flooring, sliding doors and wooden  engawa verandas. These are very simple yet beautiful designs that makes the houses  look historical yet comfy. Japanese temples are also a sight to behold, with columns  and lintels supporting a large and gently curled roof that impressively often makes up  half the size of the temple itself, and the sculptures of Buddha, or the deities and spirits  that stands in the shrines and temples are amazing. Japan has always been a dream  travel of mine, I’ve always dreamed of traveling there to see the cherry blossoms  blooming, see the different tourist spots, try out different foods, and just all in all  experience the culture and hospitality of the country and its people.

When I was a kid, I’ve always loved going into adventures, although I didn’t really go  anywhere far, I just always loved walking around our wide yard, going into the pig pens,  walking around and talking with the pigs, hesitantly visiting the chicken coop, carefully  walking around the chickens to talk to the little chicks while their mother glares at me to  the side, waiting for right moment to attack, and even just going around the garden my  grandmother tended to, just silently crouching, sitting on the ground to look at the  flowers, smelling the sweet scents of the roses, hanging on the branches of the trees,  sometimes, even falling off and hurting myself, though not too badly.  

I would also go outside with my cousins and brother, we’d sneak out to go to the woods,  climbing trees we weren’t supposed to be climbing, and picking fruits from the branches,  or sometimes just laying in the thick branches of the trees, feeling the cold afternoon  breeze, and just thinking quietly, some in their own thoughts, while the others have  some light conversations, just making sure nobody dozes off and falls off the tree. Until  we’d realize that it’s getting dark and start heading home. These places were a part of  my childhood, there’d always be a place I’d go to depending on my mood, and thinking  about it, this is where I’ve developed my dream of visiting other places, because despite  becoming a house person in my current years, I’d always remember my childhood  where I loved going to new places and asking about the different stories that are  popular in the area, sometimes hearing scary tales or magical tales about the place.  And now, as I turn older, the dream still lingers, I still want to travel to find new place so  I can see the beautiful sceneries, learn about the culture, history and hear different  folklores or tales about that certain area. That’s why I made a compilation of different  locations all around the world that maybe someday, I’ll be able to travel to. 

Palawan Philippines 

One of the most beautiful island in the Philippines, Palawan Island is located off the  northern coast of the Philippines along the South China Sea. Palawan has been a  favorite tourist spot especially when The Underground River at Puerto Princesa has been given the honor to become one of the 7 Wonders of the World in 2012. But it isn’t  just a favorite by foreigners, I can tell you that this place is always included in a Filipinos  travels list, with it’s stunningly clear and blue water, this island is also known to be a  habitat of amazing wildlife, with a fauna and flora that is closely related to that of  Borneo. Some example of these wildlife are the Palawan peacock pheasant, Philippine  mousedeer, and the Palawan bearded pig. Other than the astonishing wildlife in this 

island, there are also breathtaking beaches that will captivate your heart. From El Nido’s  most beautiful beach, Nacpan, to the very famous jumpoff point beach, Sabang Beach,  there are a lot of islands you can visit by boats in this place. Imagine floating in crystal  clear water while gazing at the sky, seeing the contrast between the dark gray limestone  islands and the lush green vegetation that sits atop. That would be an experience that  will take your breath away. 

Antelope Canyon 

Oscar Seriña Moreno is a Filipino Politician and a lawyer, he is the current Mayor of Cagayan de Oro City, Northern Mindanao, Philippines, the provincial capital of Misamis Oriental. He was born on February 28, 1951, in Balingasag, Misamis Oriental to Dr. Emeterio A. Moreno Sr. and Milagros Roa Serina, a retired public school teacher and music instructor. He is married to Arlene Pasion Moreno, from Ilocos Norte, and was blessed with three children; Sean Oliver P. Moreno, Imee Rose Moreno-Lapuz, and Oscar P. Moreno Jr.

 He graduated at the Balingasag Central School and finished secondary education at Xavier University- Ateneo De Cagayan. He took up Bachelor of Arts at the University of Manila and finished his Bachelor of Laws degree in San Beda College. Finally, he took and passed the bar exams in 1975.

Oscar Moreno, before getting into public service, is a lawyer in profession and is a former banker. He started as a trial attorney at the Philippine National Railways and later became the corporate legal counsel of many major financial institutions in the country.  He joined public service in 1998 and was elected as the Representative of the First District of Misamis Oriental, where he was even a member of the Prosecution Panel during the impeachment trial of President Joseph Estrada. In 2004, he was elected Governor of the Province of Misamis Oriental and won the next elections in 2007 and 2010.

He mostly focused his conduct on agenda’s that are people-centered and to strengthen the continuing economic growth of the region. He had focused in; improving the quality of life of the poor, building necessary infrastructures to support economic growth, improving the quality of education, making programs that would protect the environment, providing an efficient and responsive health care program and much more. Misamis Oriental has been bestowed with the Galing Pook Award, twice, under his administration and the Provincial Government was awarded with the Gawad ng Pamana ng Lahi and The Seal of Good Housekeeping by The Department of Interior and Local Government. And, with his passion for sports, he is now the chairman of the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas and the vice chairman of the Amateur Boxing Association Philippines.

an impassive expression that hides one's true feelings

Ten months have passed

In the year we thought would be the best

Never knew we’d ask to go back

 The sweet sensation of hugs and embrace

Were all gone without a trace

And we began to question what will happen to the human race

 Little child, close your eyes

Your mother bids you goodnight

Never expected that was the last time you’ll see her smile.

 When the fireworks went out

Who knew what this year was about

Never thought fire would spread out.

Or please engulf me up in flames

I just wanna get away

“Well? Stop staring at it and put it on or cover yourself up with it, you look cold so it’ll help you warm up” He said still looking straight ahead as he drives on the road, I signed thank you to him and put it on, I felt the warm seep through my  body and smelt his cologne still lingering in the jacket, I secretly took a sniff since it smelt familiar but I guess I wasn’t secretive enough ‘cause he laughed a little but covered it a cough, I looked away in with my face flushed but I swear that is was just because of the cold and not because I was flustered or anything, I remembered I didn’t give him my address so I started to take out my notebook and pen,

“You’re gonna write down your address?” He asked me, I looked up from my bag and nodded my head, he chuckled

“So you really don’t remember me huh..” I tilted my head in confusion and signed to him

‘what do you mean?’

“Are you signing to me? Sorry but I can’t look, I’m driving” I realized what I just did and covered my face in embarrassment, I can’t believe I just did that…

“But if you’re wondering what I meant then, do you remember little erick? The kid who you used to play with in elementary?” I racked my brain trying to figure out who he was talking about but I couldn’t find anything so I just shook my head no and frowned,

“Hey, don’t look so down, it was years ago so you probably wouldn’t remember…though I wish you did” He whispered the last part so I couldn’t get what he said but before I could ask him he stopped and I just noticed that we were already in front of our house, he looked at me and smiled

“Do you have your keys with you?” I nodded and took off my seatbelt

“It look likes no one home, you won’t get scared right? do you want me to stay with you?” He asked my teasingly and I rolled my eyes at him

‘As if I’d let a stranger in my house’ He gasped playfully and clutched his chest

“Me? A stranger? My how could you think like that?” His actions were playful and his lips were formed into a smile but his looked like they were hiding something underneath them….sadness maybe?  I shook my head on the thought and cracked a little smile at his silly actions,

“There we go, she finally smiled” He smiled genuinely at me and I felt my heart skip a beat, but before anything crazy can be felt again, I covered his face with my hand trying to fight the blush that was coming up to my face, he laughed and told me to go inside and make sure I lock the door, I couldn’t stop the smile the formed in my face as I waved to him goodbye and walked inside the house.

 After that day, the few days that came after was surprisingly happy, Erick would sit beside me in every class we had, eat lunch with me at lunch time and then drive me home after class, everything was going really good, for the first time in years I was actually having fun and was smiling a lot, noticed by my dad, speaking of dad, he apologized to me the night Erick first brought me home, he said that he wouldn’t push me and will still give me time to think about it, I just answered with a nod and he hugged me goodnight, now Thursday, I stretched my body after an hour of sitting in the chair doing my homework, I closed my books and kept my things in the drawer, I stood up and plopped on the bed, I sighed and Erick’s question popped up

“Do you remember little erick? The kid who you used to play with in elementary?”

I wonder what he was talking about, but instead of thinking more about it, I just shrugged and turned of the lights, I went inside the covers and closed my eyes, falling asleep almost instantly.

“Rise little warrior, don’t let yourself down…with power and greatness…you’ll seize the crown..”

“You have a beautiful voice” I looked up from my drawing and saw striking blue eyes looking down at me, his curly black hair falling down hear his eyes, I looked down and blushed

“T-thanchu” I covered my mouth and felt the warmth spreading across my face, I heard a cute little laugh and saw the little boy was smiling at me

“That was a cute thank you” He sat down beside me and I moved a little on the side to let him sit

“What are you drawing?” He asked and took a peek at my notebook, I quickly shut it and clutched it to my chest

“No! y-you can’t look at it!” I hid the notebook like my life depended on it and squeezed my eyes shut

“Why?” He looked at me and tilted his head

“B-because there’s no drawing in it…”

“But it’s a drawing notebook right?” He asked, I looked at him and nodded

“Y-yes…but I don’t like drawing so I just write in here…” He said ohh and nodded his head, he stared at me for a second then asked;

“Can I see what’s inside? I’ll let you see what’s inside my treasure box!” I thought about it for a moment the nodded my head, it wouldn’t hurt right?

“Here” I gave him the notebook and we looked at it together,

“A villain is a hero in their own story, Huh??? How??” He asked me but I just shrugged my shoulders

“I don’t know too… but that’s mommy’s favorite quote, and she always tell me that so I wrote it there” A proud look appeared on my face while talking about what my mommy told me, the boy still had a confused look on his face but he decided to let it go and we continued to read the next pages.

“Gael? Sweety! It’s time to go back!” I heard my mommy’s voice for me, I stood up and so did the boy,

“I’m here mommy!” I shouted and I heard her climbing up the small hill, the little was quiet behind me so I looked at him and smiled, he smiled back and then mommy came

“Hey love, oh hi, are you a friend of Gael here?” she asked him and he nodded in answer

“Yes! Mommy he’s my new friend! I showed him my notebook and he said the things I wrote were pretty!” I smiled brightly at my mommy boasting the fact that someone liked what I wrote, she smiled at the both of us and crouched down to our level

“What’s you name little guy?” mommy smiles

“My name is Erickshon Bane” He stated while looking shyly at my mommy

“Oh such a handsome name little erick! Well little erick, Gael and I have to go now ok? Would you like to come down with us? I’m sure your mommy’s looking for you too” Mommy gave her hand out to little Erick and little Erick took it, and we all went down the small hill together, after that little Erick and I became best friends until 3rd grade until they had to move out because of his daddy’s work, when we were saying goodbye even though we we’re crying so much we still promised to call each other everyday or text or even video chat, that day wasn’t I wasn’t happy at all, even when little erickson was already gone, I was still crying, I didn’t want to be apart from my bestfriend afterall, but I finally stopped when my mommy, came into my room and sang me a song,

“Rise little warrior, don’t let yourself down…with power and greatness…you’ll seize the crown..” It was the song that mommy always sang to me everytime I felt sad and even though I was so devastated that little Erick was very far away, mommy’s voice still calmed me down and made me sleep peacefully.

I was happy, even though little Erick wasn’t physically with me anymore, we still called eachother, skyped, texted everyday, everything was perfect…until that one faithfull day…

 “MOMMY LOOK OUT!!” I felt myself being thrown around as the car flies down the road, the shattering of the glass and the ringing in my ears was the only thing I could hear, I felt myself loosing conscious but then I felt a hand wrap in mine, and before slowly succumbing into the darkness, I saw my mommy’s smiling face, drenched with tears and blood, mouthing to me….

I love you

I bolted awake from the vivid dream and felt sweat mixed with tears roll down my face, I breathe heavily feeling myself starting to hyperventilate, my chest tightens up and I clutch my bed trying to catch my breathe, I try to call out to my dad but my voice comes out as a whisper, I leaned to my side feeling a bit muzzy and ended up falling down my bed ‘causing a loud thud to sound across the room, as my consciousness slowly fades away, I saw my dad rushing into my room and then the world turned dark.

 Gael? gael…

I stirred awake and tried to shuffle around the bed but someone stopped my from doing so, I slowly opened my eyes only to close them again as to not be blinded by the bright lights, I opened them again but just squinted until my eyes has gotten used to the bright lights.

“Careful there…” I whipped my head to the side and saw Erickson looking at me, frowning worriedly, I rack my brain as to how he got inside my room until I noticed  the white table beside me that was full of some basket fruits and flowers, tulips, my favorite, wait…this isn’t my room

“We’re in the hospital, if you’re wondering” He took the chair from the table and placed it beside the hospital bed I was in I tried to sit up and he helped me by holding my hand and back making it easier for me to sit up, He picked up an orange from the basket and started peeling it, I looked at him and was about the sign but he stopped me from doing so.

“Nope, no signing for now, you might pass out again, don’t waste you energy, If you’re going to ask where your dad is, he just went outside to buy some lunch, and as for how long you’ve been here, just for a few hours, your dad contacted the school saying you’d be absent for today since you were in the hospital, and if your gonna ask how I knew, I asked ma’am Elly” I just looked at him in amazement and slight amusement as he rambled on and on about things I didn’t even know I’d ask, I chuckled slightly and he stopped talking and stared at me, I raised my brow in confusion and he just sighed and put down the orange

“You scared me to death Gael! I thought something happened to you! I thought I was gonna loose you again! And this time I thought I was gonna loose you forever!” He abruptly stood up and hugged me tightly, my eyes widened like saucers, shocked at his actions.

“Please, I can’t bare to loose you” The warmth of his embrace made my eyes flutter shut and I wrapped my arms around him too, I didn’t know how long we stayed like that, but the seconds that passed felt like hours and to be honest, I didn’t want to let go, his embrace made me feel safe, HE made me feel safe, but unfortunately we had to let go when we heard the rustling of the door, we separated from each other quickly and looked at the door, the door opened to see my Dad holding a paper bag which, I could tell from the smell, had some food inside, he noticed me sitting down and before I could blink, I was engulfed in his bear hug, He hugged me tightly and kissed the top of my head, I could feel his tears flowing down and dropping on my hair, I smiled and hugged him back, He pulled away and checked to see if I was ok, to which I just nodded my head to, he noticed Erick at the chair and cleared his throat

“So sweety, this guy here said he was little erickson, is that true?” He raised his brow and gave Erick a intimidating look, puffing his chest out making him look like a bear ready to pounce, I chuckled at him and signed

‘Yes dad, that is little Erickson’ I could tell that that eased his mind a little as he relax for a little bit before nodding and taking the food out of the box while watching Erick silently.

“Wait…you remember now?” I looked at Erick behind me and smiled while nodding, he smiled brightly then noticed that the smile on my face was slowly fading..

“Hey… Are you ok?” He and my dad both went to each of my side and looked at me with their faces full of worry, I shook my head and sighed

‘I just remembered mommy…’ I felt my dad tense up and Erick looking at me with sadness in his eyes…

“I’m sorry about what happened to her, I know it’s been a long time ago but...” I shook my head and smiled slightly

‘No, it’s ok, It’s just me….I feel a bit guilty after avoiding anything about her for so long…I just thought that what if she’s disappointed in me now? Her only daughter, never gone to visit her…not even once…I mean what kind of daughter am I, right?’ I felt my dad come closer to me and he out his arm around my shoulder, I leaned into his touch and tears slowly falls down my eyes and run down to my cheeks, I sniffle a bit and wipe my tears

“She’s not mad you know? She’s probably just sad, but you know your mom, she can never, ever get mad at you, she loves you Gael, WE love you” My dad hugs me lovingly and Erick looks at me with a sad smile, I grabbed his hand and intertwine it with mine, he squeezes my hand in assurance and I smile at him, my dad pulls away and saw our hands but decided to ignore it,

‘Dad, Can I come with you tomorrow?’ He answered with a smiled and a nod.

  The next day, I was out of the hospital, my dad brought me some clothes to change and we went straight to the cemetery, there I saw Erick was standing waiting for us, we all went inside and I couldn’t stop the tears from falling when I saw my mommy’s sepulcher, I apologized for taking too long to come to her and told her about everything that’s been happening, including Erick coming back and being my friend in school, I told her that we were doing fine and told her just about everything, we spent about two hours just talking to her, although sometimes tears would fall down, smiles and laughter weren’t absent in our faces, and in that moment, although she wasn’t physically with us anymore, we knew she was in our hearts, singing the melody of happiness throughout our life, until our last song is sung….

“Rise little warrior, don’t let yourself down…with power and greatness…you’ll seize the crown..”

I raised my head to look at the vivid sky, so blue and light, I feel the cool air brushing over my face and hear the leaves of the tree sing a song of serenity, the grass felt cool to the touch, a bit damp from the little shower of rain earlier that day, I gaze upon the field of green I was in, so…so…calm…

 “Gael! Wake up! You’re gonna be late for school!” I groggily sat up, woken up from my deep slumber by my dad’s baritone voice and his heavy footsteps rushing up the stairs, not a few seconds later a knock sounded on my door

“Gael? I’m coming in” The door opened to reveal my dad wearing a plain black shirt and some jeans, his red hair still damp with a towel in his hand. He came in my room and walked up to me and put his arms out, I stood up lazily and went to his arms.

“Morning sweetheart” He kissed my head lovingly and we pulled apart

‘Morning Dad’ I signed to him

“Well, you better get ready, school’s starting in an hour, you don’t wanna be late do you?” He asked me while taking my uniform out of my closet and placed it in my bed, I shook my head no and started fixing my duvet, after fixing my bed I went to the connecting bathroom inside my room.

I took in the marble walls of the room and yawned still feeling a bit drowsy, I took off my pajamas and turned on the shower knowing that the cold blast of water will wake me up, I went in and shivered as the cold water splattered all over my body and quickly soaked myself then turned off the shower, I took the shampoo from the caddy and the flowery scent invaded my nostrils, I squeezed a small amount on my palm and quickly rubbed it in my scalp, my body relaxed as I massage my head, feeling the bubbles build up in my hair then fall down my back made me close my eyes in relaxation, with my eyes still shut I feel the wall for the shower knob and turned it on once again, I sigh as the now warm water poured down and relaxed my whole body, I washed off the bubbles from my hair but stayed under the water for a bit more.

MOMMY LOOK OUT!

no…no…stop…

MOMMY!! MOMMY!!!

I said stop….

Gael? GAEL?

My eyes opened and I noticed I was starting to run out of breath, I briskly closed the shower and breathe heavily while propping myself up with the bathroom wall.

Calm down….

I finally managed to calm myself down after a few seconds, and finally finished my bath. After putting on my uniform and taking my bag, I went down the stairs and went straight to the kitchen/dining room, there I saw my dad whipping up some pancakes with bacon, I placed my bag down and took a seat on the chair,

“Oh so you’re finally done, good, I’m just finishing up here, set the table please so we can eat” He told me without turning around, looking very focused on the cooking the last piece of pancake, I just nodded and went to the cabinet and took out two glass plates and two cups, I placed the plates and cups down the table first and then went to the fridge and took out a carton of orange juice, I poured the juice down the cups and placed it back in the fridge. I sat down and Dad placed some pancakes with bacons on my plate and also placed some on his. I nodded my head in thanks and quickly scarfed down the delicious looking food infront of me. He chuckled at me while shaking his head and sat down.

We both ate in silence; this is basically how our breakfast in the mornings go, Dad cooks, I set the table and we both eat our silence, there wasn’t any use for some mindless conversation anyways, since he knows that I’ll have trouble answering him cause I’ll be signing to him and signing while eating is not easy, so we just usually stick with the calm and quite atmosphere in the morning. We finish up quickly and I wash the dishes quickly but being careful as to not dirty my uniform, we both walk out of the house and into the car, and same as the breakfast, the ten minutes drive to my school was silent too, with only the music playing in the background and my dad silently humming to the song.

When we go near the school, my dad slows down stops just a block down, he sighs and looks at me and with the face he has on right now, I have a guess on what he wants to say…

“Gael-“ Before he could even start I quickly took off my seatbelt and grab the car door, but before I could make my escape he grabbed my hand and pulled me making me sit back down

‘I’m gonna be late!’ I signed to him despite knowing that I still have about twenty minutes before class starts,

“No you’re not, you still have about twenty minutes and the schools just a block away” He told me as if reading my mind and looked at me, I crossed my arms and glared at the car window avoiding his gaze.

“Gael, look at me” I shook my head no

“Gael please...listen to me.” My eyes tear up hearing his broken voice and my resolve breaks, I face him but look down still not meeting his eyes.

“Gael, you know what this weekend is, I know you’ve been trying to avoid it since I brought it up last week but you can’t just avoid it forever Gael, it’s been three years! I know you miss her, hell, I miss her too! And I’m sure she’d want to see you this time, so will you come with me?” My tears run down my cheeks and I wipe them off quickly, I hear my dad sniffling meaning he’s gotta be crying too

‘I’ll think about it’ I signed to him and swiftly got out of the car, ignoring him calling out to me, I wipe my cheeks as tears still falls slowly as if my eyes turned into a broken faucet and the water can’t stop running down, I quickly compose myself, reminding myself that I had to go to class today and ran towards the big building.

I walked inside the tall building, ignoring the loud buzzing of the students all around the place, some were greeting old friends, hanging around the grass, the benches and some were all alone, probably new, I walked towards my locker and cracked in the code, I looked at my schedule and placed all the unnecessary books inside while taking the things I needed for the class, which was homeroom, so just a notebook and a pen then, I took what I needed and walked towards the classroom.

Upon entering the room, I noticed some of the seats were already occupied so I went towards the chair near the window, where no one was sitting near on, and sat down. I felt their gazes on me but I just ignored it and opened up my notebook, I quickly indulged myself into writing and completely ignored everything around me.

After a few minutes, the classroom filled up with students and fortunately nobody sat beside me, I closed my notebook when I saw the teacher coming in and the busy classroom, quieted down.

“Good morning class, I am Miss Ellison, your adviser this school year, I would like for all of you to please just call me Miss Elly, and for today, since it’s the first day of school, I would like to get to know all of you-“

The door burst open and a guy with dark brown hair, breathing heavily walked in.

“I- ahhh I’m so sorry for being late ma’am, my car suddenly broke down and-“ He wasn’t able to finish his sentence as Miss Elly cut him off

“And since you are late, why don’t you introduce yourself first mister..?” Miss Elly raised a brow in question and the guy that almost broke down the door, straightened himself up,

“Oh! Uhmm , Erick- Erickson” He stuttered, probably still flustered from running all the way here,

“Erick-Erickson?” the teacher asked in confusion, the guy flushed in embarrassment and scratched his head

“No uhmm” He stood in front of the class and I swear I saw all of the girls swoon as he stood up straight, his tall height being emphasized with him not slouching anymore, and some guys in our class looked at him feeling quite intimidated.

“Hello everyone, so my name is Erickson Bane, Erick for short, I’m 6 feet and 2 inches tall, I play basketball and a major geek in video games” 6’2? My 5’2 height can’t stand a chance, my classmates obviously intrigued by this guy but I just opened up my notebook again as my teacher made him take his seat, I noticed in the side of my eye the empty chair and wished he wouldn’t sit down there, wanting to have the space beside me empty, but alas luck was not on my side as he placed his bag down the floor and sat down on the chair, I sighed and rolled my eyes inside my notebook, not noticing that everybody had their eyes set on me, when I did though, I looked up and saw every pair on eyes in the classroom was looking at me, I raised my brow and placed the notebook down slowly

“That sigh was loud ma’am, would you like to share something in front of the class?” I looked up and saw my teacher looking at me with a soft smile, I shook my head and felt the blush on my ears creeping to my cheeks,

“Well since everybody has their attention to you now… Would you like to introduce yourself?” My eyes widened but it wasn’t like I could just turn her down, so I just nodded and I walked in the front of the room, I took a deep breath and faced my classmates, their curious gaze made me feel a bit nervous but I pushed the feeling down, their confused gaze when I just started waving my hands was a bit funny though…

“Ummm….miss…uhm, would you mind speaking? This is an introduction not a waving parade” Miss Elly said, but despite her words the soft look on her face did not disappear, I tool a marker from her table and their faces scrunched up a lot more, I wrote my name on the board

Gael Anderson

I looked back at them and waved, I pointed to myself then to my mouth and made an X sign, they must have realized what I was saying because they all went “ahh” at the same time. I looked at my teacher and saw her face wasn’t full of confusion anymore,

“Oh, so miss Gael here mute am I right?” She looked at me and I nodded

“So do you sign or write on a notebook when you communicate with others?” She asked me and I signed to her, forgetting the fact that she probably can’t understand sign language

‘I usually sign, because I just usually talk with my dad but with others I just write it down…..Ohh….’ My face went bright red from embarrassment when I realized I kept signing to her when she didn’t even know sign language.

“She said she usually signs but sometimes she writes it down too” I whipped my head to the voice and saw the guy- I mean Erick standing up and explain what I just signed, my eyes widened, shock to learn that he actually understands…

“Oh, well thank you for that mister Erickson and Miss Gael, thank you too for introducing yourself to us and I’m so sorry for the misunderstanding” I just shook my head and smiled at her and went back to my seat, I sat down and still felt a gaze at the side of my face, but just chose to ignore it and just looked straight at the front and stayed silent the whole class…

 The bell rang indicating the end of the lesson for the whole day, nothing much happened since the first period and nobody tried to talk to me the whole day since they knew I was mute and probably didn’t want to talk to a girl who couldn’t even answer properly, I walked out of the building only to find out that It was raining heavily, I took out my phone and saw my dad’s message;

Dad: Hey kiddo, I’m sorry but I can’t pick you up today, I have to stay late at work, get home safe , ILY

I sighed, just my luck, students were already going out with umbrellas while others ran to their car, I just stood there waiting and hoping that the rain will slow down, after a few minutes when I was ready to just run back home even though I’ll get wet, a black car stopped infront of me, the winder rolled down and guess who was inside? Yep, mister I almost broke the door down because I was late

“Hey! Gael right?” He called out to me, I nodded my head

“It’s raining pretty heavy! Don’t you have a ride?” I shook my head no and signed to him

‘My dad is getting off work late and I forgot my umbrella’

“Well then hop in! I can drop you off, since you might catch a cold if you try to walk in this rain”

In June 4, 1900, Macahambus Cave, marked the Filipino’s first victory against the American during the Philippine-American war. 

Going inside the cave you can feel the cold embracing you as walk further into the darkness, when going inside you need to have a flashlight with you as light cannot seep through inside. When I first went inside the cave, I felt a shiver run down my spine, though it wasn’t because of the cold, it was the  fact that I was inside the place where Kagay-anon soldiers and their families hid into made me shiver.

Inside the cave has three chambers, the hide-out and the exit of Kagay-anon soldiers and their families. The cave is a “thru” cave, which mean it can be entered at one end and exited at the another. Outside this cave provides a great view of the Cagayan De Oro River.

There is also a little hole inside that locals says that it can be entered and inside is a hiding place, the hole was so small that only a petite person can go inside or else you would get stuck. I wanted to go inside but unfortunately the fact that I couldn’t what was on the other side made me cower and not go.

If ever you want to go to a wonderful place that has a great history, this is one of the places that I assure you you’d love, it’s beautiful place of battle and victory.

The sound of the calming breeze Is what I call home “Sorrow”

Till when will this end

The gaping hole in my heart

Feminist 

In the story, the female characters were shown as dependent. Esperanza depended on Alfredo about their wedding, not knowing that Alfredo cheated on Esperanza and played both Esperanza and Julia, as he made them think he was loyal to the both of them. And in real life that really happens, a guy cheats on a girl and everybody thinks that it’s normal, but, when a girl cheats on a guy, everybody makes a big deal about it and sees the girl as an immoral person or as most would say “whore”.

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