Sounds Of The Night (TWTH Series #1)

CHAPTER 1

[Chapter 1] Prologue

Jenica
(her pov)

Philippines. . . . back at last. When I thought to myself, Switzerland was the one for me—the country I'll live in for good. In the end, I'll always crave for that Filipino heart of mine. Then those blue skies equivalent to the unbelievable rise of heat, those rice desserts, and those ridiculous superstitions we heard from our grandmothers when we were young—all that made me miss living in the Philippines.

I might not be happy with what I'm pursuing right now anymore. With the work I'm dealing with right now, it's no longer keeping me alive. I feel like I've been only draining myself in floods of work all this time. And then. . . I've come to the realization that this is not what I want; this is not the career meant for me.

I'm also dealing with some unexpected desire crises in my life right now. Career is not the only thing I've begun to neglect, but also my heart, my manner, and my relationships. It was as if I'm burdened with thoughts stacking heavy up above my back, and I thought breaking free and being reckless was the answer to that. Little did I know it was the key to completely turning my life into a disaster. All I truly needed to do was ponder. Contemplate. Think. So I thought about it as carefully as possible, not minding how much time I've been spending and sacrificing everything I have right now to truly find the pursuit my heart searches for through fate.

Then I finally got it. I finally knew what my heart really wanted to pursue. To go back to my birth country. That said, qualities that made me miss my country—there I knew I'd already wasted a ton of time; I must hurry now.

I bought tickets back to the Philippines and immediately flew there as soon as possible. I came back to my family's compound. Just reaching the takeoff, where a lot of Filipinos gather to wait for their turn, instantly brought me the liberty of being one of them. I tried my best to spot any relatives waiting for me, but I saw none of them.

"Jenica!" I heard my name approached by a mysterious voice. I looked around and saw a commotion trail on my way when a number of people fell to the ground; unfortunately, it caught the attention of many, including mine. Among the people, a middle-aged woman stood up and raised a cardboard poster that somehow had texts written, 'JENICA ACAB! WELCOME BACK TO THE PHILIPPINES! MABUHAY KA SANA NG MATAGAL SA PILING NAMIN' I understood what the text meant; I actually thought the additional message sounded like some funeral message. When I looked closer, I realized it was my best friend, Rhoanne!

I was so happy to see her after so long. She was with her boyfriend Chester and her big brother Denver, who had a crush on me when we were in elementary school. It's all different now because he's a married man with three children. I'm just 25, and he's 29. Seeing him as a family man made me feel old. Like, am I really that old? Or am I just exaggerating myself?

Rhoanne tapped my shoulders in excitement and greeted me in a tight embrace. Chester was going to do the same, but Rhoanne stopped her. Poor Chester; he looked disappointed now. Rhoanne was such a jealous girl.

"Kamusta ka na, Jenica?!! Grabe, namiss kaya kita! Akala ko hindi na kita makikita pang muli!" Rhoanne exclaimed. Her happiness was evident in her tone and excitement.

"Paano naman eh masyado na siyang nababad sa career nya sa Switzerland. Ano? Hulaan ko, hindi ka na sanay sa kainitan sa Pilipinas noh?" enthused Denver, who still couldn't move on with the idea of me pursuing my career in Switzerland.

"Ano ka ba naman, kuya! Kakabalik lang ni Jenica iyan nanaman ang iniisip mo. Hindi ba pwedeng magsaya na lang tayo now na nandito na si Jenica? Oh ano tara tara maghanap na tayo ng makakainan!" Rhoanne enthused us with the idea of going straight to a restaurant to eat. She loved eating; her weight was not a hindrance to her appetite. That's why everyone thought of her as an adorable angel because of her enthusiastic kindness.