DIWATA

1

"Wake up, young lady." Mom nudged me, causing my body to roll over the bed.

"We're going to have coffee sa Starbucks nearby." I opened my eyes and sat up.

"There's Starbucks here?" I asked, too shocked for her liking.

"Christine Ariel Raziel! This is still a place." she reprimanded me, with the typical extra-large eyes for its sockets and a red face.

"Sorry, I thought we were staying on the mountainous areas where we're not able to reach civilization unless we ride a horse for fifteen minutes?" I snorted at the memory of hyperbole.

"I was not lying. You're going to indulge yourself today because we're definitely going to the mountainous areas where we're not able to reach civilization unless we ride a horse for fifteen minutes," she mocked me with my words.

I laughed, "Okay, whatever. I'll shower." I told her dismissively and didn't mind to fix my sheets, we're in the hotel anyway. Might as well get the hang of it today.

I used the free toiletries and went out only wearing a robe. I might be from the States and my bestfriend, oh wait, ex bestfriend, is an Instagram model, but my fashion taste is fairly singular.

I'm pure Filipina, not so flat of a nose but not American looking either. I'm grateful of what I look like but I'm really a mediocre looking, stuck at puberty girl when placed  beside my former classmates.

My fashion taste is very... singular. I wore a jogger pants I don't wanna donate despite its slight discoloration and a couple of homesewn patch repairs with an oversized white tee to hide my growing love handles in which only my mom is very enthusiastic about.

Don't get me wrong, I've never donated anything from my life. Unusable clothes? I could turn them into rags or crop them and sell them out or give them as gifts. I realized I could use them than donate them.

We were taking the elevator with some people and we went out on the same floor and almost all of us went to the Starbucks.

My mom ordered for us while I looked for a comfortable spot and pushed myself to a couch for one with a chair in front.

"Hija, there's a university on the next city from where we'll stay, you can study there. They offer business administration there." my mom finally started a conversation after we sat in silence and indulged ourselves in coffee.

I just shrugged the thought off and started drinking my coffee.

A couple of sips later, we rode a PUJ, because my mom insisted to, to the bus terminal. There were a lot of people around and almost everyone was pushing each other. There's no line, you just have to get past through people and hope the bus you got on has vacant seats.

Luckily for us, we went up just in time for the last row seats despite dragging our entire luggage. I slept the entire time because my mom told me it's gonna take long before we'll arrive. We stopped on a terminal but my mom said we're gonna stop by the intersection which is nearer to our place.

We arrived and the intersection is busy, with a couple bakeries and people rushing to jeepneys.

"Where are we going, again?" I asked, still really annoyed by the fact that I am going to live here.

"Lantapan. That's where I grew up and where your father and I got married." she sighed.

We don't talk about it, but my mom got widowed at a young age which caused her emotional instability that I had to live with my grandparents for a year.

She was financially struggling at that time, widowed, with debt , and had a child to raise. My grandparents caught her once, almost hanging herself and she was sent to rehab.

A few years later and we got sent to the States. New start, new everything. Now, I don't really see a reason to go back here.

My mom managed to drag me and our luggage towards a jeepney and we got in. It was hard to fit everything in the middle of the jeepney. It seems that the people are inconvenienced by it and threw us disgusted faces.

When the jeepney was full, which meant everyone barely sitting down while passive-aggressively trying to push their butts up the seats so they can steal more of your seat space.

I took my earphones out. It's so hot, and I can feel my sweat running from the side of my face to my neck down to my bra. I'm gonna need another bath when I get home, though I'm not really sure where home actually is.

We had multiple stops, the jeepney can stop everywhere the passengers wish. When we arrived in Lantapan, we had to carry our luggages and bring them to our house.

It is big. I knew mom had been saving up for our house but I didn't expect it to be like this. It's a two-storey house. The outside looks plain, with a decent amount of front and side yard.

When we went in, I was in awe of the interiors. This could not have been cheap. Architects, engineers and workers are hired to do this. Everything is sophisticated, but looked neat. Marble floors, black walls with perfectly placed lights to accent them.

I looked around with Mom behind me.

"Mom... How the hell?" I asked, not sure whether to be appalled with the total cost or to be excited to live in here.

She just smiled and said, "let's just unpack and rest for today, okay?"

I nodded and took my things. "Your room is the last one upstairs, keys are already there." she added before disappearing into the only bedroom on the first floor.

As much as I had wanted to inspect the details and sophistication of the house, the travel took its toll on me. Upon arriving into my room, which is bigger than our apartment in New York, I took a bath and immediately passed out on my bed.

I woke up from flapping of wings and a shadow passing through my window lit by the streetlights. It startled me that I immediately stood up and peeked.

There was nothing, just the orange glow of the streets and the sound of bugs and occasional cuckoo. I shook my head, headed back to bed and slept.

That was just nothing.

Or was it?