Chapter 1

Since this morning, her mind has been occupied with the thought of her boyfriend. She never had a man before Rudy. She never loved anyone before him. She is the woman who doesn’t give hear heart right away, but when she does … Love at first sight was not her thing. In fact, it took him quite months to win her heart. And he did. That moment she said, yes. That was it. She is a one-man woman. For her he was the only man. But that might be disadvantageous in some ways. When something goes wrong, it won’t be that easy to bear.

She is currently readying herself to leave from work inside that office behind Apple Bean’s showroom. She put on her jacket and picked up her bag she kept below the desk. Like usual, she checked herself in the mirror on the wall. In her face, it shows how tired she gets after a day’s work. She slightly brushed her hair. She looked okay. She is now ready to go. She looked around to check for her colleagues. Three ladies are busy chatting, showing no signs of leaving anytime soon.

“Bye, ladies! See you tomorrow,”she waved her hand when they turned their attention to her after hearing her. They simultaneously waved back and continued talking.

“Wait! “She stopped when one of the girls called out her name.

“What?”

“Um, would you like to come with us tonight? At seven ,let’s say?” Donna glanced at her watch and then looked at her again.

She thought for a while and then said, “I’ll skip this time..”

“By the way, you seem to be even more dull than yesterday, huh?”Donna forgot her conversation with her friend and gave her full attention to Carrie. “Are you okay?” Her eyes became even more curious.

“I’m okay, Don. This is nothing. I just didn’t sleep till late last night.” She smiled tepidly. “have a good time.” She tried to look as causal as she can.

“Sure?” The other one asked her.

“Of course!” She turned and walked away from them.

She passed by two other offices before she reached the exit. She left the store which is becoming crowded and noisy. Costumers usually start flocking at this time. Everybody come to shop after work. Fifty meters away from the exit is where the public transportations parked waiting for passengers.

At five thirty in the afternoon, the sun has already sat. The darkness begins to take over, she feels even more dim.

She is not going anywhere that afternoon. She is not in the mood for anything. She just wants to reach home, take a shower and watch TV until dinner.

Carrie’s boyfriend hasn’t called the whole week. And that is what she started resenting since few days ago. She wanted to spend the weekend with Rudy but the last time she called him, he was busy in his work. She sent few more messages after that but there was no reply.

Carrie has never felt more ignored.

For the tenth time after leaving work, she checked her phone to see for any sign of Rudy. But each time, there was none. For anyone who wanted to hear badly from another person but hears nothing after each attempt, worries will grow worse. That is what she is exactly feeling. Anxiety.

Still, Carrie would just let it go. She sent another message. She is angry and worried but she decided to not let him feel it.

-hi. Is anything wrong? –

Minutes later, still nothing came. Maybe his phone is just out of charge or something. Maybe he is in a situation where he cannot receive or send messages. Maybe..

-Rudy,Please say something..-

But her pleading didn’t do anything.

He must be in something she still doesn’t know but whatever it was , ‘ don’t I deserve to know?’

At home, Minda is with her two friends who live in the same neighborhood. The three cannot stay without seeing each other and spending time together. And that makes it even easier for them. Her backyard garden is their favorite place to hang out during afternoons sipping coffee or sometimes small amount of alcohol. It is the shade of the tree they mostly love while enjoying the weather. ‘What else could old

a little bit

people like them who retired early from work do? ‘ That’s how they rationalize their habit. Sarah retired at fifty to enjoy life before she gets too old. Linda was running a small bakery but she turned that over to her daughter to manage, that rendered her even more freedom.

The three youthful ladies unanimously believe that they should enjoying life everyday. Work a little but not waste your life on working alone. To them there is no point. All are truly against greediness and acquiring too much without giving yourself time to relax and have fun. But when they think of fun, they aren’t looking for something unnecessarily expensive. Like being together, to them it is already fun. Taking life seriously is not in their vocabulary. But they make sure to make themselves beautiful which is very evident with the way they all look. Starting from their hair, down to their face, body shape, nails, everything is well taken care of including their wardrobe. And take note, they are not fans of spending too much.

The three have been there since three hours ago already. AS they enjoyed their usual afternoon, Linda does a little bit on her phone creating the perfect photo for her newest article in her blog. It is there where she talks about cooking and baking. She was now quite skilled on manipulating photos using her phone to suit her subject. All Minda and Sarah did was to agree or disagree on the outcome. Sometimes they suggest something also.

“There! I guess it is ready for uploading,”Linda showed the two who cheered excitingly.

The three heard the opening and closing of the gate. “Carrie is here already. Minda?”Sarah turned to her friend.

“Yes, it’s her. She’ll manage, “Minda said and then she continued with her friends.

Carrie, as she opened the gate, can hear low voices from the back yard and already knew who was there. She paid no attention and went in. They can’t see her but she knows that they know she is there. Her mother, Minda and her two other extra close friends are almost always together and are usually at their house. It is probably because there is no one else except her to disturb their happy hours. If she is at work, the whole house is theirs. And when coming home also, she barely makes any disturbance so the three are left by themselves.

Her mother found half of her happiness with her friends, she reminded herself. Good for her, she thought. Seconds later, she shrugged the thought off her mind.

What she’d usually do when getting home after work is either call Rudy and they talk for like ten minutes or so. Or if he was available , they can go out somewhere. Ocassionally he would come over and join them for dinner.

But that slowly became rare since her boyfriend started taking jobs outside town. It would take him couple of weeks or more before he comes back.

She dialed her manager’s number. She is taking a two-day leave because she is not feeling so well tonight.

“What is it, Carrie? I am outside right now. You called me four times? What gives?”

“I’m sick. I cannot come tomorrow. “

“Sorry about that. Make sure to take care of yourself…”

“Okay. I’ll be right back in two days. “

“Ok. Buh-bye!”She hang up.

Six in the morning. Her alarm buzzed. She reached for it and turned it off.

“How are you feeling this morning, Carrie?”

Her mother is standing beside her bed when she opened her eyes. On her face is that same old caring eyes she used to see whenever she suspects she is not in good condition. But when she is, she goes back to her normal loving mode. Minda is no doubt a sweetheart no one can ever ignore.

“I heard from last night you called you are sick.”

“Yes, Ma! I need some rest. I have a bit of colds but I will be okay.”She turned her back to sleep.

“By the way, do you want to come with me for a walk? Maybe you needs some fresh air? “She pulled the curtain to bring some sunlight in.

“No, Ma! I want to rest. You go ahead. Please don’t disturb me for a while.”

“Okay!”