Chapter 1.1 - Crown and Tremors
They say the most beautiful moment in a woman's life is when it's confirmed that the tiara is finally on her head.
But for me, the most beautiful moment is the one just before the crown touches you
...,
that breathless instant when it feels like physics stops working.
Time slows down.
Everything moves in slow motion.
You start to wonder if this is even real,
and then suddenly, every hardship, every late-night rehearsal, every heartbreak flashes before your eyes.
And when the crown finally lands, you whisper to yourself...,
you made it.
"And the new Miss Las Islas Pilipinas is—"
There it was.
Spotlights. Screams. Confetti—
and then, an earthquake.
Not the cutesy kind that just makes chandeliers sway.
This one had a growl from deep underground like a roller coaster at Star City you never wanted to ride but somehow ended up on, shaking up, left, right.
Surf Dance, is that you?
It felt like a monster beneath the earth was waking up.
The lights flickered, people screamed, wigs literally flew.
Some cried, some prayed, and some... kept livestreaming on Facebook.
TikTok? Maybe. I wasn't sure if they thought it was all special effects.
Then—
blackout. Silence.
Until the ground in front of me cracked open.
A strange light peeked out from the fissure.
Not fire.
Not electricity.
Something else...,
I woke up.
No sequins, no stage, no spotlight.
And most of all, no crown.
Just the smell of garlic rice and the hum of the TV in the background.
"Hoy, Normita!" Uncle Arnel shouted.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to sleep on the couch? Then tomorrow you'll complain again—'I'm dizzy at work'..., because your sleep hygiene's a disaster!"
"It's just for today, Uncle. It's too hot in the room. Nobody's fixed the aircon yet."
"Well, that's what you get! We were perfectly fine with our Condura, but no..., you had to switch to that inverter thing 'to save electricity.' Now look... nobody knows how to fix it! The old one just needed a little shake and ..., boom cold air again!" he said, grinning.
He placed a steaming plate of garlic rice in front of me, tiny golden bits of garlic, chopped spring onions, and five slices of beef tapa on the side, thin but glistening with flavor.
"O, tapsilog!"
"Wow, my favorite! You cooked, Uncle?"
"Of course!" he said proudly.
Right then Toto walked in, holding a plastic bag of hot soup and jingling coins.
"Here's your soup and change, Kuya Arnel. Thank you po!"
As soon as he left, I smirked.
"I knew it. You bought it from Aling Vivian again."
"So what if I did? Hmph! But admit it..., mine tastes better! And she should be thanking me, ha? Every salon customer I have buys from her!"
He laughed hard, proud as ever.
"Fine, fine. But next time, I'll make you some Angus tapa!"
I started eating while the morning news played on TV. Then the headline flashed:
"Light tremors felt across BGC last night. PHIVOLCS confirms it originated from the West Valley Fault."
