the past and the present

CH 31 Of tears and fears

MERRY CHRISTMAS! HERES A TREAT.

Also, look out! For 12pm midnight Philippines time. Cause a Christmas special will drop! Today is Dec 24 and We do not sleep during Christmas, we wait.

-lunaria

P.S. I cannot be bothered by spelling errors, it's Christmas.

Pap 31 e

"PAP ch 31.

Adrenaline pumped in Perla’s body as she let herself be absorbed by the merry atmosphere of the party. She moved through the crowds swiftly, turning and twirling as she burned the scenery into her brain.

She giggled to herself, thinking about the reaction on her husband's face when he finds out that she had strayed away.

The feeling of a pair of eyes burning into her back made her stop. She stayed still in her spot, evaluating. The stare didn't feel hostile, nor did it feel perverted; she had gotten lots of stares before, so she knows how to differentiate them.

She took a deep breath and let her magic spread across the room. She could feel her family close by, their auras calm and happy, so it seems like they haven't figured out that she’s missing. But the one who's staring at her, however, seemed…longing…they had an aura of sadness and confusion, and it felt so familiar.

She quickly turned around on her heel. Her eyes widened. Oh, so that's why it felt familiar.

She was met face to face with the heterochromia eyes she had adored so much, a bright shade of yellow and a frightening shade of red. When was the last time she saw him?

They stared at each other for a while. Oh how much he had grown. When she last saw him he was 10 but now…he had grown into…

She stared at the pretty blue dress Phil is wearing.

A…man? A woman?...Ah! who cares.

“You look beautiful mama…”

Perla smiled, she stretched out her arms. “come here my little moonlight…”

As soon as those words left her mouth, Phil ran immediately into her arms. He held her tight as if she would disappear if he ever let her go. She held him tight in her arms, giving kisses on his forehead as he cried into her chest.

She snuggled him closer; she smiled, she couldn't bring herself to cry, her heart filled with too much warmth and happiness.

Perla lifted her head and came eye to eye with Reich who is still recording. She remembers this man; she had never talked to him personally but the rumors she heard about him were not good.

Reich tensed under her glare, he stood up straight, military instincts kicking in and he did a little awkward wave and smiled. “I-im n-ot gonna do harm…”

She glared at him as she let her magic search his soul, other than the intense loneliness and thirst for drama, there was no hostility aimed towards anyone.

Well, she isn't one to judge someone based on rumors.

Phil sniffled as he pulled away, wiping his tears. He looked up at Perla with a small smile. “Mama…”

“Yes anak?” Perla hummed. “How’d you get your skin to be that smooth?” Phil asked with a grin. “Skincare routine drop pls.”

Perla couldn't hold back a laugh at that. Oh, this really was her son huh? The switch from sadness to curiosity and to mischief in just a matter of moments really cemented that fact. It seems she did a good job raising Phil to not be as emotional as his brothers.

Phil giggled; his heart filled with warmth and happiness. He might have said that to tease her but genuinely, he does want to know. He hopes that in this hallucination, he can at least finally find the secret to smooth skin.

But is this even a hallucination still? Third had said that it isn't…but everything is just…too good to be true… but as he basks in his mother's warm embrace…a small part of him…wishes for this to be true.

But he can't get emotional right now, hallucination or not, this is the first time in years that he's seen his mother, so what matters is showing her the son she’d be proud of!

Phil let go of the hug and stepped back. “mama! “ he smiled. “How do I look?” he asked while doing a twirl.

Perla clasped her hands together. “Absolutely Beautiful! But…” she reached out and fixed the placement of Phil’s crown. “There, much better.”

Phil felt relief wash over him; he knows that Perla wouldn't judge him for wearing a dress, but still! Asian fears are hardwired in his core. He froze as adrenaline kicked in as he felt an aura of mischief aimed towards him. He looked up slowly and was met by Perla’s sinister grin.

“Tho… I wonder how your PAPA would react…”

Phil’s entire body froze before suddenly kickstarting; he jumped onto Perla, clinging to her dress. “MAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” he whined. Surely if Perla was here then Kati should be here too right?? HE'S DOOMED.

Kati wasn't really that supportive towards the things Phil likes; it was such a big deal to him when Phil discovered that he liked cooking, Kati had given him a full-scale lecture on how a man's place was on the field and not the kitchen.

To Phil, everything he said was total trash and contradicting. How could he lecture him about keeping the culture and traditions when KATI himself bent his own culture and traditions in order to marry Perla, who, keep in mind, does NOT follow either of those things.

“MAMAAAAA!” tears threatened to fall from the side of his eyes. “SAVE MEEEEEE.”

Perla giggled. (Sadism runs in the family it seems.) “okay, okay, I was just teasing,” she booped the area where his nose would be if he had one. “Don't worry about Katipunan; if he has something to say he’ll have to get through…me,” she finished with a sinister grin.

In Phil’s eyes, Perla looked like a savior from the heavens.

He felt someone tap his shoulder; he turned around and saw Third. “Yes?” he asked, tilting his head.

“How do you stop this thing?” Third asked, pointing at the phone.

“Oh, here,” Phil took the phone from him. Perla leaned over his shoulder, wanting to see what he would do to the phone. The scientist back at the lab had been nice to inform them about the latest tech; she also remembers seeing Third sleep in a corner during these sessions so it made sense that he didn't know what it was.

“Oh!” Phil perked as he handed the phone back to Thirdy. “By the way… Mama, this is Thirdy; Thirdy this is my mama Perla.”

“Good to finally meet you Thirdy,” Perla spoke confidently, staring him up and down.

Third gulped, “I-im ho-honored to meet you miss…” gosh this woman is terrifying.

The sound of glass shattering caught their attention. They quickly turned to the noise; there they saw Poland on the ground, eyes wide, breathing shakily.

“Pol?” Phil called out, “are you okay?”

Poland's shaky hand pointed at Reich. He stuttered too much, unable to say a word.

Reich’s eyes widened; he turns to Perla. “Umm..miss?...if you don't mind…will you save me as well? I'm about to be in a whole lot of trouble…”

Perla raised a brow and put her hands on her hips. Oh well, it cant be helped, she cant just ignore someone asking for help, at least he knows how to ask.

“Of course”