Hiraeth (on hold)

Birds of Paradise

"I am not getting married to that sorry excuse of a man," she expressed frustratedly, throwing her purse onto a coffee table, and herself on the couch beside it.

"Meng, pinagbigyan ka na namin to choose your own degree in college. At least sacrifice this for the company," Theo Mendoza, her father, replies as he unbuttoned his coat.

"'Tay, this isn't just a decision over a stupid degree. This is a marriage for crying out loud! My, marriage!" she exaggerated as she lied down on the couch.

"Anak, give the guy a chance. Mukhang mabait naman 'yong bata eh," Mary Mendoza, her mother insisted.

"Being 'nice' isn't the only criteria to a marriage, 'Nay. You should know that," she huffs."And besides, why aren't we looking for Kuya? Shouldn't we be worrying about him right now?" she queries as she slightly raises her body, only to plop it down on the couch, once again.

"Maine, we've already heard from him."

"What? Where is he? I'll go ahead and drive us," she offered as she quickly got up and grabbed her purse, heading straight for the door.

"He didn't exactly say kung nasaan siya."

"Wait, what?"

"Maine, he's hiding out right now. From us, from the Faulkersons. He only called to tell us that he's safe."

"Ugh! Lagot siya sa akin when he comes back."

"I don't know about that, Maine. It looks like he has no plans of coming back."

"Well then, I'm off. I'll go search for him na lang."

"NO!" her parents shouted abruptly.

"You are not running off like your Kuya, young lady," Theo demanded. "Your Kuya is a disappointment. And to think that we were so confident in turning the company over to him," he proceeded to add.

"That reminds me, who's taking over the company, now?" she asked as she looked at both of her parents.

However, to this, she got no reply. Instead, they started to look around the room, obviously avoiding her eyes.

"It's me, isn't it?" she said with a straight face.

"Well, anak, we have no other choice. And I mean, you already finished your around the world trip anyways," Mary shrugged.

"'Nay, that wasn't just some trip. I got great knowledge from that 'trip'. I'm going to cook now," she argued.

"And who do you think you're going to cook for?" her father asserted.

Then she found herself unable to answer his question.

"You haven't really thought this through yourself, have you Maine," her mother gently asked as she placed a hand on Maine's shoulder.

Maine looked down on the ground, as she remembers the tears that she shed on her plane back to Manila. She had just finished a month long immersion in India, where she learned about its cuisine. It was the last country that she visited before she headed back home, and to be honest, she really didn't want to come home. Because, she knew that her year long around the world journey hasn't really done her any good with regards to what she wants to do for the rest of her life.