Chapter 1
"How did I put myself in this situation?"
1990
Maricel packed her bags for Manila with a single goal: to change her fate and to send money back to her family in the province. She's a quiet person who prefers her own company, content with her own thoughts and the few close friends she left behind.
She never expected that she'll meet Niro.
Niro was friendly and talkative. the exact opposite of Maricel. Yet working together side by side at the factory, they grew closer as friends, fell in love, and eventually got married.
A year into their marriage, Their eldest child Sandra was born. Sandra was a handful, full of mischief that constantly tested her parents' patience. Like most kids growing up back then, her troublemaking was met with harsh, old-school ways of discipline such as spankings and being tied to a plastic chair until she calmed down. A few years later, the family grew again, with Ramonita and John arriving just a year apart.
2010
With only a month left before elementary graduation, the school was already buzzing with rehearsals. Ramonita—or Ram, as they called her—had inherited her mother's quiet, introverted nature. Shyness kept her isolated. During breaks, while the other kids ran around, Ram usually just buried her face in her arms right at her desk.
"Psst."
Ram didn't move. She assumed someone was calling out to a classmate, until a crumpled piece of paper bounced off her head. Sighing, she lifted her face, picked up the note and smoothed it out.
"You are beautiful" it read.
She stared at it for a second and immediately tossed it into the trash can.
A few days later, the class was lined up for the graduation march practice. Out of nowhere, Ram felt a hand slip into hers. Startled, she froze and looked up at the boy who had just grabbed her hand. It was Eddy.
As she looked at him, her annoyance melted away. she thought to herself, "This boy has a really cute smile, and his eyes are beautiful."
From that afternoon on, Eddy and Ram were inseparable. Whenever class got boring, Eddy would poke her arm and slide handwritten notes onto her desk. It was an innocent, sweet childhood flirting. Watching him laugh, Ram genuinely believed they would grow up and end up together.
But life rarely goes the way we plan at twelve years old. High school arrived, sending them to different campuses, and just like that, they slowly drifted apart until they were nothing but memories.
2011
By her second year of high school, Ram started noticing a shift inside herself— something unfamiliar and confusing. She found her eyes constantly wandering toward her teacher, Ms. Bem. There was something magnetic about her. Ms. Bem was beautiful with a warm brown skin, sharp chinky eyes, and a quick witted humor that made her an instant favorite among the students. Whenever their eyes locked across the classroom, Ram couldn't help but smile. But the smiles were always followed by a knot of an anxiety. Ram kept questioning herself. Did Ms. Bem felt the same way, or was she just imagining things? Was every shared glance just a pure coincidence?
During lunch break, one afternoon, Ram was at her desk again, head buried in her arms. She felt someone slide into the seat next to her, but she stayed still, pretending to be asleep. Then, a familiar scent drifted over—the distinct, sweet trail of Ms. Bem's perfume.
The person leaned in close, a soft whisper brushing against her ear. "I can feel that you like me. Do you feel that I like you too?"
Ram's heart leaped. she was about to lift her head and answer when a heavy tap jolted her shoulder.
Ramonita Montolin! You actually fell asleep in my class. Is music really that boring to you?
The voice belonged to Ms. Thea, her MAPEH teacher. The entire classroom erupted into laughter. Ram sat up, blinking against the harsh light, her mind still completely scrambled.
"I thought it was real." she thought, her chest aching with a mix of embarrassment and disappointment. "It was just a dream."
"Answer me, Ramonita! Why were you sleeping through my class?" Ms. Thea pressed, her hands on her hips.
"Oh, Ms. Thea, I am so sorry." Ram stammered, scrambling for an exclamation. "I really didn't mean to. I drank a milk during lunch, a nd milk always makes me crash. I just couldn't keep my eyes open."
Thankfully, the bell rang shortly after.
"It's a good thing, you escaped Ms. Thea's grilling." Angie said, catching up to her in the hallway. "Seriously, if she kept grilling you, we'd probably still be stuck in that room."
"But for real, Ram, why did you pass out like that?" Jessie asked, leaning in.
"It wasn't an excuse, I swear." Ram replied, trying to shake off the lingering fuzziness of the dream. "What I told Ms. Thea was true. Anytime I have dairy, I get incredibly sleepy. I don't even know why I bought that yogurt drink today. I guess I just missed the taste."
