Orphic Love

Chapter 35

Chapter 35
Picture

Sitting in front of the vanity, I stared blankly at my own reflection habang abala ang ilang stylists sa pag-aayos sa akin para sa isang photoshoot for a famous fashion magazine.

I am wearing a champagne strapless corset top with an exploded skirt in layers for the said photoshoot. My two-toned hair was curled with a few strands in the front braided. A few silver necklaces are hanging on my neck, and five diamond stud earrings on my left ear.

Napasulyap ako sa may pintuan nang marinig ang ingay mula sa labas, mukhang may dinadagdag pa sila sa set. When I turned back at the mirror, nagtama ang paningin namin ng isa sa mga stylist. Ngumiti siya.

"Ang ganda mo talaga, Miss Falcutila," puri niya na agad namang sinangayunan ng iba pang nag-aayos sa akin.

"Oo nga po! 'Tsaka bagay na bagay sa'yo ang kulay ng buhok mo! Every time you change your hair color, ang daming nagpapakulay din ng gaya ng iyo!"

"Grabe po talaga ang epekto mo sa mga tao! Naaalala ko noong may in-endorse ka na perfume, halos isang araw lang sold out na!" dagdag pa ng isa.

I smiled. "Thank you,"

They continued to shower me with praises and compliments. Normally, I would interact with them more. Pero dahil sa bumabagabag sa isip, tanging pagtango at pasasalamat lang ang naisusukli ko sa kanila.

Hindi maalis sa isipan ko ang huling naging pag-uusap namin ni Mama. And the more I think about it, the more I feel guilty for how I treated her that night.

I know I shouldn't get mad at her. Kung totoo man na nagawa niya ang mga inaakusa sa kaniya ni Lolo, hindi ko pa rin alam kung ano ang dahilan kung bakit niya iyon nagawa. I just know she wouldn't do all that for nothing. There must be a reason why she did it!

It's just that, all this time, I believed that they were the kindest in our family. I believed that they were the ones who always try to understand even if Lolo, sometimes, even our other relatives mistreats them dahil lang sa galing sa mahirap na pamilya si Mama.

Bumuntong hininga ako. The next few minutes I tried to push all those thoughts off my mind so I could focus on my work. Hindi na rin nagtagal at natapos na ako sa pag-aayos at nagsimula na ang photoshoot.

Halos isang oras at kalahati din ang tinagal ng photoshoot. I tried to focus even if my mind was still occupied by a lot of things. After it was a short interview that is also going to be featured in the same magazine. The questions were all about my journey as a model, my growing business here in the Philippines and the likes.

Alas nuebe pasado na nang makauwi ako. Naupo ako sa sofa at sandaling natulala habang binabalikan ang linggong nagdaan. I've been busy this whole week. Sunod-sunod ang mga projects, dagdag pa ang pag ma-manage ko sa aking business.

I'm not complaining. To be honest, I'm actually very thankful for how warm people accepted me here. Knowing how different the industry of modeling here compared sa ibang bansa. It's more conservative here and I don't think I fit in with the standards. Marami man akong naririnig na paninira sa akin at madalas man gawan ng issue to ruin my name, or just to make people hate me, I'm still happy and thankful na mas marami pa rin ang tanggap ako.

I took a shower before going to bed. I was so hungry this morning because I didn't eat anything last night to prepare for the photoshoot. Pero ngayon, wala na akong ibang gustong gawin kundi ang mahiga at makapagpahinga matapos ang mahaba at nakakapagod na araw sa trabaho.

Aedion has been very busy this week too. Seems like Nicole is really letting him handle all the work for their hotel in Manila. Gabing-gabi na siya umuwi nitong mga nakaraang araw kaya hindi na kami nagkakasabay maghapunan. Maaga naman akong tumutulak sa trabaho kaya halos 'di na rin kami nagkikita.